Consistency Is Key
We work with lots of coaches and so I think it’s fair to say that we know how coaches tick when it comes to business building, and one thing we know to be true is that consistency is key to successful business building.
One of the things that they struggle with is understanding how long it can take to start to build a steady stream of inbound enquiries. They want quick results. They want to start marketing today and have a full diary tomorrow. We get that, but sadly it’s not how it works.
It doesn’t necessarily take ages either, but building a coaching business is not a get-rich-quick scheme and do not believe anyone who says that it is.
What this really boils down to is this; coaches get disheartened if their efforts don’t get traction straight away. That disheartened feeling leads to them thinking that there’s no point sticking at it, because it’s not working. So they become patchy in their approach, or they stop all together.
I’m going to use social media marketing as an example of what I’m talking about, but this applies to all aspects of marketing a coaching business.
From Hopeful To Focused
A ‘hopeful’ social media marketing strategy contains lots of motivational memes that say things like ‘dream big and you will achieve’. The sort of thing that makes me feel queasy and frankly, gets nowhere on the ‘creating interest’ front. We work with our mentees to understand why, if they’ve been using that approach, it is never going to bring them clients (spoiler: because no one cares about dreaming big and achieving. It’s meaningless).
Once our mentees understand what they should be writing about and sharing on social media, the next thing they need to do is to create content that is laser-focused at exactly the sort of client they want to work with. They need to talk about things that will have their potential clients saying ‘gosh, s/he’s talking about me!’.
Staying The Course
Once momentum is built with our mentees, the next hurdle is getting them to stick at it. Consistency is key. Let me explain why.
You will find that people watch what you’re doing on social media. If they see that you’re there regularly, with a consistent message that explains to them why they will benefit from working with you, a level of trust develops. People see that you’re ‘real’ and not just some fly-by-night that appears and then just as quickly disappears. This gives you credibility. It turns you, slowly and surely, into the kind of coach who is solid and dependable. Consistency is key.
This is really important. You want to become known as a solid, reliable and dependable kind of person, because that is reflected in people’s view of your business.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Bearing in mind that most coaches are the shooting star type when it comes to social media marketing. What I mean by this is that being visible, consistently, separates you from the masses. Consistency is key.
Being consistent matters. Turning up is easy when you’re riding the crest of a euphoric wave, when your business is new and exciting. Turning up can be hard when you’re not feeling sparkly, or things aren’t going as well as you want them to…
Measure, Interpret, Tweak, Interpret
It’s not enough to post consistently on social media, you have to measure too, and then actually do something based on your data.
You need to work out which of your messages gets the most traction – and crucially – why. If something isn’t working, tweak one thing and try again. The temptation is to tweak lots of things, but then you won’t know which one worked (or worse, stopped something working).
Most importantly – remember this: Consistency is key.
Is your head hurting yet?
If it is, would you like some help? We can help you and that starts with a conversation. My diary is here.