Coaching Is Client Focused
Coaches are all about the client. We’re all about not inserting our knowledge and experience into the coaching conversation. We understand that each client is unique and that holding space for one is a different experience from holding space for another.
It’s the main reason that when I ask coaches ‘what outcome do your clients want?’ the answer is invariably ‘it depends’ – It depends on the individual and their unique set of circumstances, it depends on the particular challenge that brings them to coaching, it depends on how much action they take.
Because it’s so client focused, it depends, it depends, it depends……
Here’s the thing. Marketing is client-focused too.
Coaches Don’t Like Marketing
I think it’s fair to say that in general, coaches don’t like marketing. They tell me it makes them feel grubby and salesy. That they want to shower their soul after reading some other coach’s dreadful pushy claims.
They also tell me that if their coaching is good enough, their clients will find them and that after the first couple of clients, the rest will come by referral. Yet when I ask how that’s going for them, they pause….
Here’s another thing. No matter how wonderful your coaching is, clients can’t find you if they don’t know you’re there.
Marketing Is Client-Focused Too
My mission is to help all coaches understand that they don’t have to be shouty, loud, braggy marketers.
Good marketing is client-focused. The difference between marketing focus and coaching focus is that marketing focus is on one kind of client.
The one kind of client that it’s focused on is the kind of client that you love working with, the kind of client that makes you think yes! when you see their name in your diary. Better yet, you choose what kind of client that is.
When you know who your client is, you know where they are. When you know where they are, you can be there too. Your job as a coach/marketer (because that’s exactly what you need to become to build a financially viable coaching business) is to become visible to your chosen kind of client and articulate to them what the benefits of working with you are. That’s it. That’s all of it. That doesn’t sound too scuzzy, does it?
Of course there are many moving parts to marketing, but the basic premise is always the same; become visible to the kind of people you would like as coaching clients and articulate the benefits of working with you.
Now tell me why that would be uncomfortable? It wouldn’t, would it?
If you’d like some help figuring out the kind of clients that you’d most like to work with, may I invite you to join us for our 4-Day challenge, Nail Your Niche? We run it several times a year and it’s always extremely popular and rewarding for qualified coaches building a business. Join our waiting list and we’ll see you soon!