I was talking to a coach last week about them using a marketing tool that has a monthly subscription. This isn’t a Coaching Revolution coach I hasten to add.
The tool I was recommending costs $19pm and it offers massive time-saving potential for this particular coach.
I can’t afford it she said.
I was a bit stumped. It’s a business expense I explained your business can pay it.
She went on to explain that she only uses free versions of software, to keep costs down. She was waiting until she found clients before she started to spend any money on things that she could get for free.
I Dug A Bit Deeper
I asked a few more questions and it became apparent that this coach was hesitant about spending money on marketing tools, because her marketing isn’t actually working. What I mean by that is that for all her efforts to date, this coach hasn’t actually found any paying clients.
Where that had lead her – not unreasonably – was to a position where she didn’t actually believe in marketing. Her evidence to date meant that she didn’t believe that it could work.
I was taken aback! Of course marketing works!
This has played on my mind for days and I have worried at it like we did when we were children at the jelly hole in our gum that a freshly fallen tooth left behind.
Why didn’t her marketing work? What had she been doing? So I went and did a very quick audit of her social media presence and her website.
Spray And Pray
This coach had a very scattered marketing approach, along the lines of if “I put myself out there enough, someone will see me”. Sadly, that’s not how effective marketing works.
Done right, marketing works every single time. It generates inbound enquiries from exactly the kind of people you are trying to engage.
So why don’t more coaches do it well?
Effective Marketing
Our group mentor Becky Field made a very interesting observation recently and I’d like to share it with you.
She said that coaches marketing their businesses fall into three categories.
The Panickers
These are the ones who try something for a couple of weeks and then change track, because it’s not working.
Chop and change every couple of weeks.
- Two weeks of LinkedIn, then drop it.
- Clubhouse for the next two, then drop it.
- Facebook next – create a page, then a group and drop them because they have no engagement.
- TikTok….
On and on in a frantic, panicky circle.
The Frozen Ones
These coaches are frozen by sheer panic.
These people are perfectionists who cannot bear to become visible until everything is perfect.
So they wait.
They create content and images and save them, debate with themselves, they wait until they are absolutely certain that what they are going to put out into the world is utterly perfect.
In short, they do nothing at all.
The Ones Who Know
This is the category where the coaches succeed. They have learned the process of marketing successfully, and they know that it takes time.
They choose their social media platform(s) based not on the ones they like, but the ones where their ideal coaching client is. And they post consistently, sharing insight and ideas that will be interesting to the kind of client they want to work with.
They are patient.
This process works every single time that the coach sticks to their message and stays consistent.
It works. Every. Single Time.
However, it will take some time – there is a period that really feels like you’re shouting into the void, like no one can hear you.
But they can hear you.
This Shit Works
We have a hashtag that we use in The Coaching Revolution – #thisshitworks. Our clients share their stories of success in our private community using this hashtag. The reason they do this is because they have reached the other side of the void, and it’s important for newer clients to understand that what we teach works and to take heart.
This is an example of a post from a client who, having been consistent with her marketing for several months, suddenly reached the end of the void.
In August, I was frankly sh+tting myself
In August, I was frankly sh+tting myself. I billed hardly anything and was starting to wobble. I even had a conversation about doing some interim work in my old job which I really didn’t want to do.
Went on holiday for 2 weeks and came back and it’s gone bonkers!…
I’m sharing this because I’ve had so many wobbles in the last 12 months and knowing #thisshitworks for others really has been helpful….
So, here we go (this has all happened in the last 10 days):
- Will be delivering a full-day workshop next week, already been paid for 50% of it (this was agreed last Monday)
- I have been booked for 2 inspirational speaker gigs (both come via LinkedIn content attracting my ICA)
- I’ve been asked for a proposal for an 18 month plan to support a business with 1:1 & group coaching and a training programme
- Two other corporate proposals that are a bit smaller than the above but still significant
- Have agreed to be an associate for training facilitation for the company that wanted me to do interim (told them I’d only do the bit I like ?)
- I set up a Facebook group as a spin off from my podcast and got 115 members in 48 hours!
- I’ve been approached and agreed to be on the advisory board for a new qualification in my niche industry (giving me credibility and it’s personally rewarding for me too – it’s voluntary)
- And now have 3 new 1:1 clients and 3 more discovery calls booked for the next week
I’m actually really overwhelmed but also recognise I need to take stock and celebrate these achievements
I feel like I’ve worked my ar&e off for a year to get here.
Relentlessly posted on social media since October last year and only joined The Coaching Revolution in March, which is when I got really targeted and clear on my marketing message.
But… it turns out… #thisshitworks
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