Today’s guest post comes to you from one of my favorite clients: Barb Wade, The Coaches Coach. This article was released in a recent ezine and I thought it would benefit many of my readers because it shares some good advice on how to overcome the blocks we set to limit ourselves and create a plan to get clients. No website, no worries! Just get out there and shine! Enjoy!
Barb Wade: No List, No Website, No Worries
Yes, strange but true, I didn’t not have a free offer, or a blog or program launches, or campaigns. I certainly knew nothing of search engine optimization or Google ranking or… basically anything.
So how could I possibly have had a thriving, and even lucrative coaching practice? Hands down, it’s because I was able to have an initial conversation with prospective clients about coaching that was intimate, powerful, and compelling enough for them to make that “yes” decision.
Now I’ll be honest, finding potential clients is one thing. Getting them to say “yes” is another.
In fact, finding possible clients was relatively easy. I went to my circle of peers, friends, and former colleagues first and asked for referrals. And once I had a client or two, I asked directly for referrals and testimonials from them as well.
But a referral is just a name and an address (email or otherwise). The mandatory step was to engage those potential clients in a conversation where I could show them the possibilities that were achievable to them if they chose to work with me.
And that’s exactly how I built a 6-figure business as a general life coach (That’s right, I didn’t have a niche either!).
Now let me be clear, that this kind of consultation or strategy session is NOT a no-cost (and free-form) sample coaching session.
This is a structured exploratory conversation where I help my potential clients define their own dreams and examine the cost and pain of not achieving those dreams in the here and now. Then I illustrate how my services are the bridge between the dream and reality. And finally I invite them to work with me to create the business and life they want.
So here’s the good news. If you’re a coach or solo practitioner, you can absolutely learn and hone these very skills – no matter where you are in your business. You can master the ability to get a YES more often than not, and finally stop worrying about how on earth you’re going to get another client. And you can let go of desperately grabbing for any client that comes along, and gracefully allow the right clients to gravitate to you and make the “yes” decision.
A Get Clients Primer
Here’s a quick primer on the elements you need to understand in order to take your practice as far as you want to:
Define
- Your ideal client
- Their pain points
- Their vision for their future
- Your programs and services as the bridge to that future
Determine
- Where and how to get in front of the right clients
- The overlooked “hotspots” to find clients
- Internet (online) & local (offline) marketing strategies
Design
- A compelling name for your exploratory sessions
- The exact structure of this session (what to say when, how to present your offer, deal with objections, etc.).
- A pre-screening strategy to assess prospects
- The all important follow-up sequence
Deliver
- Adopt a winning mindset
- Uncover their pain
- Paint the vision
- Boldly present the offer
- Overcome objections
- Employ “stick” strategies
And one of the things I love most is that these sessions are not pushy or “sales-y.” I get to truly listen to these potential clients and help them with clarifying their dreams and aspirations as well as showing them why waiting till “someday” to start is costing them a lot more than they might think. Even if they don’t hire me, my intention no matter what is that they have gotten clarity and value, and that I’ve planted seeds that may blossom at some future time.
So STOP telling yourself “you’re not ready” – you need a “list” or a “free offer” or a new website. Just go out there and talk powerfully, and from the heart, to people you can help.
If you would like to learn more about how to master the enrollment conversation and get a resounding “YES” to your programs and services in just one conversation, then take a look at my new Teleseminar course, “Turning Conversations Into Clients.” Enrollment is open now, but it will be closing soon as the course starts next week!
Barb Wade, M.A. specializes in teaching Coaches to create thriving, 6-figure practices in under 20 hours a week! For a FREE “How To Get Clients” BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH KIT just for Coaches, visit http://www.BarbWade.com
Leave A Comment