What does every business need?
More clients!
It doesn't matter whether you're brand spanking new trying to sign your first client, selling your first online course, or if you're a seasoned pro looking to scale…
Clients are the lifeblood of every business. And if you’re anything like I was when I was getting started - you’ve been spinning your wheels wondering how on earth people get clients. So, here’s a list of 31 ways you can start attracting clients into your business (starting as soon as this week! Yesss it's totally possible!) One Caveat: This is a comprehensive list for any business to use to brainstorm and identify their next client attraction strategy.
But, the key to a strong Client Attraction Strategy is to pick one to three strategies and go super deep with JUST those, until you have that working for you like a well-oiled machine.
Then, when you’re profitable, you can hire a team, and you can stack on more advanced strategies to scale. If you try to do all of them at once you’ll set yourself up for extreme burnout and failure. (Trust me, I’ve been there!)
HOW TO GET MORE CLIENTS FOR YOUR COACHING BUSINESS OR SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS. 31 Epic Ways To Book Out Your Business
(starting this week!)
1. NICHE DOWN
Ever heard the riches are in the niches? Ask any business coach how to get clients and they’ll first ask you what your niche is. Choosing a great niche can instantly put you in a place of demand. Think about it like this: I recently wanted to hire a book-keeper. I went to 7 different websites. They all said the same thing… we do your book-keeping blah blah blah. Some of them tried to position themselves as the best, because of the software they were using, or their years of experience. Buuut after going through everyone, it quickly became clear that everyone was using cool software. And everyone had years of experience. So what’s a girl to do when everyone sounds exactly the same? Choose based on PRICE.
(Which is an absolute no-no. You don’t want people choosing to work with you based on price! Because then you’re on a downward spiral in a continuous price war - earning less and less as the market saturates.)
But then, I stumbled upon a book-keeper who specifically works with online coaches. His copy joked about his knowledge about masterminds, launches, group programs and more… he joked about not having to spend hours explaining those things to him, or raising eyebrows at how much you spent (sorry, invested!) on your coach… or how much you charge for the mastermind you’re selling... Instantly, he became the obvious choice. Because he knew and understood my world like no other. No more price comparison. No more software comparison. Just the trust that comes with knowing you’re choosing someone who “gets” you better than anyone else. THAT is what niching does. Now, there’s one caveat here. If you do not know your ideal client intimately and you simply choose someone because you think you SHOULD niche (E.g. I’m a life coach who only coaches lawyers - but you’ve never been a lawyer, haven’t worked with lawyers, don’t know what their unique challenges are, don’t understand what their unique obstacles are…) well then you’re going to struggle to truly gain their trust and you’ll niche yourself OUT of a market in seconds! You can’t just slap a label on your ideal client. It has to be a good fit for you and your business. So niche carefully, take your time to figure it out. Because when you niche right, your business has the power to explode overnight!
2. TAP YOUR NETWORK
Let's start with what is often the simplest and fastest way to get your first client signed. Tapping your existing network. Talk About It. Reach Out To Everyone You Know.
Why? Because they already know, like aaand TRUST you. And trust is huge when it comes to hiring or buying from someone. Now, for most people - this one is a no brainer. Reach out to everyone in your contacts list and start talking about what you do. Ask them if they know anyone they could introduce you to who may be a good connection...
Because as they say... your network IS your net worth.
One of my clients was just 2 weeks into implementing her new social media strategy. And she had a workshop to book out, in just a few days. Problem was, she wasn't getting any bites on her social media (because truthfully it takes a bit of time to build up your "know, like and trust factor.") And she was super frustrated that she just wasn't seeing the results. yet. (2 weeks can feel like forever when you're in it. Am I right?!)
So we went back to basics and she started telling everyone she knew about what she was doing. The result - people attending her workshop! And even better - 2 of them wanting to work with her as private clients. #NewClients
Feeling like you don't have a great network?
The truth is: sometimes our family and friends don't support our new ventures - because well, they've never seen us in that "identity." If you've always been the "mom" but not the "entrepreneur" to your family and friends - don't sweat it. They'll come round when you're crushing it...
3. MARKET RESEARCH
If you really want to get more clients with more ease, the best thing you can do is, to know your ideal clients inside out.
Most coaches tell you to create your ideal client avatar and to answer questions about what car they drive, what they eat for breakfast, where they live, whether they’re married or single etc. But if it’s not relevant to the problem you’re solving, it’s not helping you to dial in your messaging. Imagine if I only coached married women aged 25-45 who drive SUV’s, wear skinny jeans, eat smoothie bowls for breakfast, have a golden retriever and 3 kids, and who enjoy picnics on Sundays. Heck, I’d have hardly any clients!! I don’t think any of my clients fit that description to a T.
There are only four things you need to know to be able to create messaging that speaks directly to your ideal client and has them saying,
Omg, you get me better than anyone. I want to work with you!
1. What are their pain points (fears / pains / problems / obstacles)?
2. What is their desire (desires / dreams / aspirations / wants)?
3. If they went searching on google for answers, what would they type in? 4. What have they tried before that didn’t work and why? That’s all you need to know. And you discover that through market research.
Get on the phone with them, talk to them, hang out where they’re hanging out, in forums or groups and read their questions and comments.
Market research is the BEST way to get super clear on what your audience needs to hear from you to turn into paying clients. It will help you to create higher-converting offers and compelling content that actually stops the scroll and leaves them wanting more from you. Oh, and as a bonus, if you host a really good market research call, and your questions are super powerful, that person may even ask you how they can work with you. Now that’s a win-win!
4. GET VISIBLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
Which brings me to #2. If you want to get clients - you have to be VISIBLE.
Look, it doesn't matter if you're the best coach in town. If no one knows you exist - no one is buying. Which is why you've got to be visible.
And social media is one of the best places to get visible today. Buuuut the truth is, social media was already noisy and busy BEFORE 2020.
And standing out in 2021 and beyond is tough when SO many businesses are moving online. (Like EVERYONE is moving online due to the pandemic...)
Which means - you can't just drop a post and run.
And you can't just write a 10 liner caption and hope that one perfectly crafted post (or REEL) is going to = thousands of dollars in your bank.
Because it's never about ONE post, ONE reel, or ONE story.
It's ALWAYS about getting visible consistently.
Kind of like when you workout at the gym - one workout a year isn't going to get you ripped. But a consistent daily routine... that's exactly the kind of thing that cumulatively adds up to BIG RESULTS. So keep at it!
Now, I wish I could say consistency is enough. But the truth is:
You can post 365 days a year and still not get any clients.
Say what?! - I know that one hurts when you've been doing this for a few months and it's still not working.
Which means you also need a CONTENT STRATEGY.
You need to put the RIGHT MESSAGE in front of the RIGHT AUDIENCE.
5. CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY
Clearly communicating your value and putting that message in front of your audience in a way that has them saying OMG this person just “gets me!” is the fastest way to have clients reaching out to you wanting to know HOW they can work with you! (Yip, no more stalking and spamming people in the DMs!)
Let's go back to the gym example.
If you decide you want to get ripped this year - walking at a leisurely pace for 20minutes a day isn't going to get you there - even though you are technically being consistent with your exercise.
Nope - you need the RIGHT kind of exercise.
And it's exactly the same with social media.
You need a strategic social media marketing plan that helps you stop the scroll and build trust FAST. So that people see you as the expert in your field and want to work with you.
Which means if you don't know what to say (or you're hearing crickets from what you are saying) - you need to get your messaging dialed in pronto.
Once you know what your audience needs to hear in order to know, like, trust and want to work with you... and you get consistently visible with that message… That's when clients come finding you - asking to work with you!
6. BE THE GURU - ANSWER QUESTIONS
Sometimes finding clients requires a simple mindset shift. Instead of asking how can I make $10k this month… ask yourself, how can I share $10k of VALUE with my audience… clients will always follow. The #1 thing I attribute to booking out my coaching business in my first 6 months - giving my audience huge wins BEFORE they pay me a single dime! It’s key to building TRUST and trust is key to getting clients.
So, ask yourself:
Where are my clients asking questions that I have the answers to?
Where can I show up and serve them?
Example: There are numerous Facebook groups where people ask questions daily. And you can use the search bar in the group to search for questions on your topic. Do this a few times a week and pretty soon you'll become known as the guru in your field.
And when you answer a question - you can get a conversation going and then move over to the DMs… Then when it feels good, you can offer to help that person to get the results they want and offer a call with you.
7. ASK FOR THE SALE.
It doesn't matter how often you are visible on social media (or anywhere else for that matter), if you don't ask for the sale, the sale won't come.
So often clients come to me and say they're doing all the things:
They're getting visible on social media. They're sharing valuable content. They're engaging. They’re having conversations in the DMs.
But they're not booking any calls; they're not selling any services.
But when I ask them how often they are asking for the sale, (or offering to book a connection call) - they're doing it once a week maaaaybe... or worse... not at all!
And I'm not talking about the P.S. you put at the end of a value post.
I'm talking about a direct promo post that sells your offers.
Here’s the thing there’s a difference between ALWAYS promoting yourself and NEVER sharing how someone can work with you. If you’re only promoting - dropping a promo post and running… well that just feels spammy. There's no relationship building happening which means no trust.
And without trust there is no buying.
BUT, going to the opposite end of the pendulum and simply hoping that people will buy because you gave great value doesn't. work. either.
Nope! It puts you in the friend zone... where I enjoy your content, but NEVER BUY.
Because if you don't tell me you have XYZ offer - how am I supposed to know?
YOU have to tell me.
One of my clients has been stuck for more than 8 months. She’d been posting online sharing value. She had a fabulous offer. But she had zero clients. After working on her mindset and busting through her fears of ‘asking for the sale’ she signed two high-ticket clients in one week promoting her offer. Boom! That’s how fast it can shift.
8. HOST A CHALLENGE
If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that there's one thing I always say:
Business is as easy as ABC. Attract. Build Relationships. Convert.
That's the whole thing. Literally.
But where I see most new coaches & service providers falling short, is they aren't building the relationship.
The best way to get a new client - is to give your audience a win BEFORE they pay you a dime. And what better way to do this than in a challenge.
A challenge is the perfect bite size setting that allows your audience to go deeper with you, get to know your personality and build a lot of trust in a very short space of time.
Hosting an epic challenge comes down to five things:
Give them a SOLUTION to a burning problem.
Make it ACTIONABLE.
Keep it SIMPLE. Don’t share too much. Only what they need to solve one problem.
Give them a taste of VICTORY. They should be able to get a small win immediately.
Make it feel like it flows into the offer seamlessly - like the offer is the obvious NEXT STEP. Make it easy to say YES!!!
9. FREE COACHING / SERVICES
People buy RESULTS. Period. So if you’re brand spanking new and you haven’t gotten anyone any results yet. The best way to get started is to coach or provide your service offering for FREE.
Do an incredible job and get awesome results. Have that person rave about it in a testimonial and voila - instant credibility. When I started coaching, I coached 9 clients for free for 3 months. This not only made me a better coach and helped me to pull in those valuable testimonials. But, I understood my ideal client soooo much better, which meant my marketing was so much more effective in attracting new clients who would happily pay me to get them results too!
10. DISCOVERY CALLS
Speaking of FREE… Offer free discovery calls or free audits. Give people a taste of your coaching or services. Share a pathway to what they want and how you can help them. Some people feel that free calls waste a lot of time. But the truth is, the information you get out of these calls will serve you in your business for years to come.
When you have a system to pre-qualify your leads, having calls with an ideal client is often the fastest and most powerful way to gain their trust because you’re 100% focused on them. Their needs, their challenges, their desires, and their obstacles.
And this kind of connection is ALWAYS going to be more powerful than generic marketing materials appealing to the masses.
If you’re selling high-ticket, this is definitely one to consider. But remember, if you want them to book that call, you have to make it WORTH IT FOR THEM - not just you.
11. FREEBIES & EMAIL MARKETING
Many entrepreneurs think Social Media is the key to attracting clients. But, I’ll let you into a secret. You don’t own your social media audience. And you don’t control the algorithm. Which means you could lose your ability to communicate with that audience at any time. (No FB isn’t just going to implode - but your account can get hacked or shut down, and the algorithm can change and show your content to less and less of your followers)
Which is why all the savvy entrepreneurs know that you need to be using social media to attract your audience and then you need to be sending them to your email; where you can continue building the relationship and making offers.
Yip, building an engaged email list is one of the best things you can do for your business. And you get them on your email list by offering them an irresistible lead magnet or freebie (also called an opt-in page). Then share weekly content via email that nurtures them and directs them to your long form content such as your Blog, YT Channel and Podcast etc. Remember, business is as simple as ABC. Attract, Build Relationships. Convert.
So, don’t just spam your email list with your offers. Aaaand don’t just nurture and never sell. It’s about balance. And consistency.
Value, Value, Value, Sell. Value, Value, Value, Sell.
CONCLUSION:
We’ve come to the end of part 1 of how coaches, consultants and service based businesses can get more clients online. Here’s a quick recap:
Niche Down.
Tap Your Network.
Market Research.
Get Visible On Social Media.
Create a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy.
Be The Guru - Answer Questions.
Ask For The Sale.
Host A Challenge.
Free Coaching / Services.
Discovery Calls.
Freebies & Email Marketing.
Which one was your favorite? Which one will you be focusing on next to get more clients into your business? Tell me in the comments below.
Need help getting more clients? Want to create a simple and effective client attraction strategy that fits you and your business? DM me the words MORE CLIENTS.
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