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181 | Getting Qualified Coaches Their First Clients · Women in The Coaching Arena

• 0:00
  Speaker: If I lost everything tomorrow, my audience, my email list, all of everything I've built so far, and I had to get my first five coaching clients from scratch, what would I actually do?
• 0:12
  Speaker: Honestly, the answer even surprised me because it's not social media, it's not registering my business, and it's not building a website.
• 0:21
  Speaker: If we haven't met before, I'm Jo Lott, a business coach who helps qualified coaches get clients with honesty, not hype.
• 0:28
  Speaker: And today I am giving you the most practical episode that I think I have ever recorded.
• 0:33
  Speaker: The question, how do I get clients, keeps most coaches up at 3:00 in the morning, and honestly, the answer isn't always complicated because there is so much noise out there telling you to do things that don't really matter
• 0:47
  Speaker: for your stage of business yet.
• 0:49
  Speaker: So let me start with something that might feel a bit uncomfortable.
• 0:53
  Speaker: Here's what I wouldn't do.
• 0:55
  Speaker: I would not build a website right away.
• 0:58
  Speaker: Your website is not going to get you clients when no one knows you exist, and it takes a long time to get found by Google.
• 1:05
  Speaker: When I first started, I made this mistake, obviously thinking the website was gonna be the magic cure to having a business.
• 1:12
  Speaker: I also, though, wouldn't spend three months choosing a niche, and I know I go on about niching a lot and it really does matter.
• 1:18
  Speaker: You don't need this perfectly figured out before you start.
• 1:23
  Speaker: You need to just start with some sort of idea, and your niche will get clearer through real conversations.
• 1:30
  Speaker: Clarity really does come from taking action, not thinking about your niche again and again and again.
• 1:37
  Speaker: Definitely don't create a course.
• 1:39
  Speaker: I see coaches do this all the time.
• 1:41
  Speaker: They hear about passive income, but they haven't signed a single client.
• 1:45
  Speaker: They have maybe no audience at all, and they spend all of their time building a 12-module online program.
• 1:53
  Speaker: For who?
• 1:54
  Speaker: Like, we don't even know who your ideal client is yet, and if it's a really vague course title, no one will buy it.
• 2:02
  Speaker: I also wouldn't spend money on ads at this stage.
• 2:05
  Speaker: You are throwing money at a problem that you haven't really understood yet until you really have the foundations in place.
• 2:12
  Speaker: So if I had to start over as a coach, and this is day one, what would I do?
• 2:18
  Speaker: Day one, let's start on a niche that I want to actually begin with.
• 2:23
  Speaker: Really commit to that ideal client.
• 2:26
  Speaker: Niching is really a love letter to your ideal client, and if you don't want to commit to your ideal client, then why should they commit to working with you?
• 2:37
  Speaker: That is the danger of not niching, that therefore you're not committed to your ideal client, and therefore they don't commit to you.
• 2:47
  Speaker: So there is actually a danger in not niching.
• 2:51
  Speaker: Okay, so day one, we're finding out a niche that we want to begin with.
• 2:55
  Speaker: Let's move to week one, the 30-person list.
• 2:58
  Speaker: So first week, I would then create an offer so I have some idea of what I'm selling.
• 3:04
  Speaker: That might sound like a big chore and a big deal to create an offer, but it really doesn't need to take that long.
• 3:10
  Speaker: It doesn't need to be absolutely perfect.
• 3:13
  Speaker: You're just getting a rough idea.
• 3:15
  Speaker: Then I would stop planning, day two, and talk to real humans.
• 3:20
  Speaker: Yep, that is really it.
• 3:22
  Speaker: That is the strategy that I would begin with.
• 3:25
  Speaker: My very first paying coaching client found me through a blog that I'd written on the Life Coach Directory about imposter syndrome.
• 3:32
  Speaker: She then connected with me on LinkedIn and basically said, "I've just read your article.
• 3:38
  Speaker: It's exactly what I'm feeling.
• 3:39
  Speaker: Can we talk?"
• 3:41
  Speaker: So one blog, one conversation, and that was what it took to get my first ever paying coaching client.
• 3:47
  Speaker: But before even worrying about blogging, if I were to do it all over again, with hindsight, I would sit down and really write that list of 30 people that I know.
• 3:57
  Speaker: Not 30 potential clients, just 30 people.
• 4:01
  Speaker: They could be your next-door neighbor, they could be former colleagues, parents from the school gates, people from outside of my coaching course, old friends, anyone who knows my name and would actually be open to a message from me.
• 4:16
  Speaker: I would send every one of them a message.
• 4:18
  Speaker: Not a sales pitch, but just a genuine human message.
• 4:23
  Speaker: Maybe something like, "Hi Sarah, I hope you are well.
• 4:26
  Speaker: I wanted to let you know that I recently qualified as a..."
• 4:30
  Speaker: insert what type of coach you are, "And I'm looking for a few people to work with.
• 4:35
  Speaker: If you know anyone who is new in role or struggling to delegate or needs to up their leadership skills, I would love it if you would pass on my details."
• 4:44
  Speaker: So that is an example, if I was a leadership coach, as to what I would say to people that I know.
• 4:50
  Speaker: You don't need to use fancy marketing language like limited spots.
• 4:55
  Speaker: Just tell people what you are up to at this stage.
• 4:58
  Speaker: Yes, there is more to marketing, and we will do that eventually, but at the beginning, just realize you can't hide behind your computer screen forever.
• 5:08
  Speaker: Here's what may happen from your 30 people list.
• 5:10
  Speaker: Maybe 20 people actually reply.
• 5:14
  Speaker: Maybe five say, "Actually, I might be interested in this myself."
• 5:19
  Speaker: Maybe three people say, "My friend was just talking about wanting to work with a coach or struggling with X, Y, Z."
• 5:26
  Speaker: And suddenly you have real conversations with people who are already warm because they have already been warmed up by you over the last 20-plus years.
• 5:37
  Speaker: The 30-person list that gets your first coaching clients, most people skip this step.
• 5:42
  Speaker: They think, "I don't want to bother people," or, "None of my friends will pay for coaching."
• 5:49
  Speaker: But here's the thing, you are not asking them to pay.
• 5:53
  Speaker: You are asking them to think of someone else that they know, and people really genuinely love to help you.
• 6:00
  Speaker: They do, you just have to ask and have that great relationship that I'm sure you have built up over the years.
• 6:07
  Speaker: I know this works because I see it regularly in my program.
• 6:10
  Speaker: Laura, one of the coaches I work with, got her first paying client directly from her market research calls, not from Instagram, LinkedIn, a webinar.
• 6:20
  Speaker: She did this process and had genuine conversations with people, and it was so good that actually the person at the end of that market research call said, "Actually, can I hire you?"
• 6:32
  Speaker: So your first clients are just one conversation away.
• 6:36
  Speaker: Okay, let's move on to weeks two and three, five taster sessions.
• 6:41
  Speaker: So from those conversations, I would offer five free taster sessions.
• 6:46
  Speaker: I know some of you are saying, "But Jo, I don't want to coach for free," and I really do believe we shouldn't be coaching for free.
• 6:54
  Speaker: But in those early days, just give away those five free coaching sessions because what they will give you is practice with your coaching with real humans, not with coaching buddies who have been on your course.
• 7:07
  Speaker: Testimonials, most importantly.
• 7:09
  Speaker: Just ask at the end, "Was that helpful?
• 7:12
  Speaker: Would you mind sharing a quick testimonial?"
• 7:15
  Speaker: Most people will say yes, or you could even make it a condition of your five free sessions.
• 7:21
  Speaker: This is one per person, by the way, not giving one person five, unless you really want to.
• 7:25
  Speaker: And now that you have that social proof that isn't your mum saying you're brilliant, then you will gain confidence because there is nothing, honestly nothing, that builds your confidence faster than coaching a real person and watching the real
• 7:41
  Speaker: impact that you can have.
• 7:42
  Speaker: That moment that they go quiet and you can really see them processing everything, you get a shift and they notice that maybe they're better than they thought they were.
• 7:52
  Speaker: But here is the sneaky one.
• 7:54
  Speaker: Some of those free sessions will often turn into paying clients, not because you pitched them at the end, but because they experienced how good you were and because they ask for more.
• 8:06
  Speaker: Free coaching is a phase, not an identity.
• 8:11
  Speaker: So here is the reframe for you.
• 8:13
  Speaker: Free is that phase.
• 8:15
  Speaker: It's not an identity.
• 8:16
  Speaker: You are not a free coach.
• 8:18
  Speaker: You are a coach who is strategically using free sessions to build proof and build momentum.
• 8:25
  Speaker: Set a number, five is plenty, and when those five are done, you move to paid.
• 8:32
  Speaker: No guilt, no stress, no debating it.
• 8:35
  Speaker: That is the way it will be.
• 8:37
  Speaker: Okay, so let's move on to weeks three and four now.
• 8:40
  Speaker: So you have done some free sessions, you've got some testimonials, you've had some real breakthroughs with real people.
• 8:47
  Speaker: You now know your coaching works.
• 8:49
  Speaker: Now it's time to charge.
• 8:51
  Speaker: I personally wouldn't start at my full rate.
• 8:54
  Speaker: I would start at a rate that I feel excited to receive for my coaching, but confident enough that I can actually say out loud, because then it removes all of the pressure for both you and for them.
• 9:09
  Speaker: You can say, "I'm offering my first three paid clients a reduced rate while I build my practice.
• 9:15
  Speaker: This rate won't last.
• 9:16
  Speaker: It's specifically for the first few people who work with me."
• 9:20
  Speaker: That's not desperate.
• 9:22
  Speaker: That's actually smart pricing.
• 9:24
  Speaker: And I will tell you exactly what I charged my very first coaching client.
• 9:28
  Speaker: So I had set my rate at six sessions for £600, and she negotiated me down to £550 for the six sessions, which was gutting, but also so very exciting that she was serious enough to make me a counteroffer.
• 9:44
  Speaker: So I obviously said yes, because 550 from my first ever paying client, it felt like winning the lottery.
• 9:52
  Speaker: It was, like, the best moment when my husband came home, and I could say, "I finally got my first paying client."
• 9:59
  Speaker: So here is the thing that blows my mind about that story.
• 10:03
  Speaker: That same client, five years on, has just joined my Business of Coaching program.
• 10:08
  Speaker: She originally came to me to work on her imposter syndrome.
• 10:12
  Speaker: She was working in HR at the time and had absolutely no plans to become a coach or to leave her employment, but she worked through that imposter syndrome, left that job, went to another job, and now has eventually
• 10:26
  Speaker: trained as a coach.
• 10:28
  Speaker: And five years later, she has come back to me to build her coaching business.
• 10:32
  Speaker: So it's such a joy that I now get to continue that relationship with my first-ever paying coaching client.
• 10:38
  Speaker: And the interesting thing is she's really surprised when I then told her very recently that she was my first-ever paying coaching client, because she said, "You were amazing."
• 10:48
  Speaker: And obviously the whole time I was feeling imposter syndrome, like who am I to be your coach?
• 10:54
  Speaker: Because she's amazing.
• 10:56
  Speaker: So she overcame her imposter syndrome, and so did I.
• 11:00
  Speaker: So your first clients really matter.
• 11:02
  Speaker: They will be your champions for the rest of your business life.
• 11:06
  Speaker: She also sent lots of other clients my way as well, so it really is a full circle moment.
• 11:13
  Speaker: So don't feel like you have to go in with charge your worth, charge all this big pricing.
• 11:18
  Speaker: If you are needing your first client, yes, for sure, charge something, but don't feel like whatever price you set now needs to be the price that you end up at.
• 11:28
  Speaker: Okay, so you now may be thinking, hang on, what about social media?
• 11:31
  Speaker: What about creating content?
• 11:33
  Speaker: So here is my honest take.
• 11:35
  Speaker: Yes, social media matters, but not as much as you think in the first month.
• 11:40
  Speaker: We can often think that we'll put out that post and everyone will come queuing at the door, but I'm here to say that most of the time, sadly, nothing happens when you put out your first LinkedIn or Instagram
• 11:53
  Speaker: post.
• 11:53
  Speaker: You need to usually do that a lot of times for a lot of months for it to really, really work.
• 12:00
  Speaker: Social media is what I call shallow marketing.
• 12:03
  Speaker: People see your name, they get familiar with seeing your name in their feed, and they look for a long time usually before they are ready to buy.
• 12:14
  Speaker: And if you only post on social media and don't have real conversations, you will often be posting into a void for months And I can say that because this is a mistake that I made.
• 12:27
  Speaker: So I didn't create a list.
• 12:29
  Speaker: I didn't initially tell all of the people that I knew what I did, because I didn't want anything to do with all of the people that I knew.
• 12:37
  Speaker: I wanted to kind of secretly have this anonymous business on LinkedIn.
• 12:41
  Speaker: Nobody I knew was on LinkedIn, so it was brilliant for me.
• 12:45
  Speaker: I had 50 connections, that was all when I started on LinkedIn.
• 12:48
  Speaker: I now have 20,000 connections on LinkedIn, which is insane.
• 12:52
  Speaker: So I posted into this void hoping that my friends and family wouldn't see, five days a week for six months, and got zero clients from it.
• 13:01
  Speaker: And I was really frustrated, wondering if it was all a waste of time.
• 13:05
  Speaker: But then, finally, six months in, like buses, three people came along at once in that same week, all saying some sort of version of, "I've been reading your posts for ages, and I think I need your help."
• 13:19
  Speaker: So it took six months of consistency before that turned into an actual conversation, which turned into a client.
• 13:27
  Speaker: So yes, social media works, but you need to know that usually it is a slow burn, and you often need to be having direct conversations in the meantime while you build up your trust on social media.
• 13:40
  Speaker: Okay, so now let's talk about my fifth ever coaching client, because this one changed everything for me.
• 13:46
  Speaker: This was finally the point where I did my list and actually got in touch with real people.
• 13:52
  Speaker: So I plucked up the courage to contact someone in the learning and development team at my previous employer.
• 13:58
  Speaker: I didn't pitch her at all.
• 14:00
  Speaker: I didn't have any idea what I was doing, and I literally told her that.
• 14:04
  Speaker: I said, "I'm just starting my business.
• 14:07
  Speaker: I have no idea how coaches get into organizations, but I would love to understand what you actually buy in."
• 14:15
  Speaker: That was all I said.
• 14:16
  Speaker: She took two weeks to reply, which was excruciating, while I convinced myself that everybody was laughing at me in the office.
• 14:24
  Speaker: But eventually, she had a call with me, and I was so enthusiastic about the work I was doing and about coaching and all of the changes that I was seeing with the clients that I was having, like practice
• 14:35
  Speaker: clients at the time mostly.
• 14:37
  Speaker: But she got excited, too.
• 14:39
  Speaker: I do think your emotions are contagious.
• 14:43
  Speaker: And she told me that she had just secured a large amount of government funding to support some engineers who were being made redundant And within weeks, I was completely in there.
• 14:54
  Speaker: I had over 100 coaching sessions.
• 14:57
  Speaker: I held probably 10 plus, maybe 20 group workshops with everything from CV to interview confidence, what do I actually want in my life, such varied topics.
• 15:10
  Speaker: And in all honesty, I felt completely unqualified for this.
• 15:14
  Speaker: I had trained as an executive coach.
• 15:17
  Speaker: I did the ILM Level 7 in Executive Coaching, and this was all career coaching, so it was totally different.
• 15:24
  Speaker: I didn't know anything about LinkedIn other than me practicing on there a little bit to get jobs or anything.
• 15:31
  Speaker: Like, I had never done that type of work.
• 15:33
  Speaker: So I was totally thinking, "Oh my goodness, can I do this?"
• 15:37
  Speaker: Especially when I always had a limiting belief that I couldn't do training and group work, 'cause I always used to think that I was too shy to lead a group.
• 15:47
  Speaker: By this point, I was like, "Yes, I will grab the opportunity, and then I will learn how to fulfill that opportunity."
• 15:54
  Speaker: So I just learned on the job, and it turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my business.
• 16:02
  Speaker: The different people that I got to work with taught me so much about resilience and starting over.
• 16:08
  Speaker: I got paid to learn all of that while having a huge impact on people So when I tell you to think beyond one-to-one coaching, that came from one honest conversation with one person in my network.
• 16:22
  Speaker: That was all.
• 16:23
  Speaker: So you don't always need a big strategy to move to selling to organizations.
• 16:28
  Speaker: You often just need to reap the rewards and build relationships with people that you know already.
• 16:34
  Speaker: So there you go.
• 16:35
  Speaker: There is your first five clients without all of the stress.
• 16:39
  Speaker: You don't need a website, you don't need ads, you don't need six months of content planned in advance.
• 16:45
  Speaker: So as a recap, day one, niche or get a general direction of travel.
• 16:50
  Speaker: Week one, you're gonna create a quick offer, then create your 30-person list, send some genuine messages.
• 16:58
  Speaker: Weeks two and three, offer five free taster sessions and gain some testimonials, and the remaining of week three and four, set your first program rate and just start charging something.
• 17:12
  Speaker: Throughout, you can build your presence on social media, but just don't put the pressure on yourself thinking that that has to get a quick result in your first month of business because whilst, yes, it does happen, and you
• 17:26
  Speaker: may have heard the case study I've just published from Andy, who did get a client from his first ever LinkedIn post, but that is exceptional rather than the norm.
• 17:37
  Speaker: So just know that, and don't be hard on yourself.
• 17:40
  Speaker: So your homework this week is to write that list of 30 people.
• 17:44
  Speaker: Just list them out.
• 17:45
  Speaker: Don't think, "They're no use to me.
• 17:46
  Speaker: They're not my ideal client."
• 17:48
  Speaker: You don't even have to message them right now.
• 17:51
  Speaker: Just write their names down because once they are on paper, you will start to slowly, slowly gain the courage to reach out, I promise.
• 17:59
  Speaker: This is for your first five paying coaching clients.
• 18:03
  Speaker: Yes, it's messy.
• 18:05
  Speaker: Yes, you haven't got a real business strategy in place, and you will eventually want that.
• 18:11
  Speaker: Some people are happy to go the messy route.
• 18:13
  Speaker: Some people do like to do it step by step with solid instructions, and I completely get that as a real person who loves following the steps.
• 18:22
  Speaker: So do go out there if you can, take these steps, but if not, please do take the CEO scorecard.
• 18:30
  Speaker: This will help you figure out which area of your business needs the most attention right now.
• 18:36
  Speaker: You will leave with a personal result knowing which stage of business you are at and what to focus on first.
• 18:43
  Speaker: You will find the link in the show notes and description below.
• 18:46
  Speaker: If you know a coach who wants more clients and needs to hear this, I would love you to share this episode with them.
• 18:52
  Speaker: This episode may get them unstuck.
• 18:55
  Speaker: So I will see you again soon, and like I always say, trust yourself, believe in yourself, and be the wise gardener who keeps on watering the seeds.