I get it. As a life coach you started your career in hopes to create massive impact and change the world. You know that once you have a client, you are going to co-create prodigious results in their life. Yet does it feel like getting these ideal clients is a struggle? Where are all the people you are supposed to support? Trust me when I tell you that finding my ideal coaching clients used to be my least favorite part of being a coach. I knew that my coaching program would get people results, yet I was blue in the face trying to get other people to see what I could see. I had my website ready, yet other than the random people that signed up of their own volition, I struggled to create a steady stream of flowing clients. Figuring out how to create a consistently booked calendar took me a lot of time, and I am more than happy to share some quick tips to help you start converting leads into high paying clients right now.
I know you’ve heard this first tip before, yet I want you to ask yourself how well you are implementing this first tip. You guessed it: you deserve to be showing up on social media. That said, there is a rhyme, reason, and strategy to this. If all you post on social media is an invitation to your coaching calendar, chances are that your audience has started to tune you out. You are more than just a coach, and your potential clients, leads, and followers want to get to know the real you. Attracting an audience is going to require that you show up as your authentic self as much as you can. Share posts about subjects that interest you on a personal level. For example, if in your spare time you love to do dog-shows, share this passion with those on social media. The more your audience can see into your life, the more they will begin to know you, like you, and trust you. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a hundred times: add value. Value on social media, although it does include your life coaching tips, it is not limited to only your life coaching advice. Value also comes from other areas of life where you consider yourself an expert. Add value on other subjects you care about; for example, if you are an amazing cook, share your favorite meals with those watching you from afar. Your audience knows intuitively that you are more than your title of “life coach” and they want to see who you are outside of that role. This means, yes, sharing your life coaching tips of the day, yet it also means sharing who you are in other contexts of life.
You are more than a robot with answers. You are a real person on your own life journey. Your audience wants to know what you are currently learning in your own life.
Just as important as value sharing on social media is storytelling. Vulnerability online will be your biggest asset when you are able to do it without complaining. When you are sharing your current struggles and learnings, do it from a place of creativity and empowerment that will allow your audience to want to take responsibility in their own lives too. If you have a life coach of your own, share what you are learning and growing in with your coach, as this will allow others to see that you are walking the talk. Storytelling is a way for your audience to get to see the human in you.
When you are adding value on social media, and you are sharing your own journey through storytelling, your “call to action” posts for potential leads will be much more successful. What are some powerful “calls to action” (posts online that ask your followers to take action) that you can post? I recommend you post your online calendar to your social media sites about once a month. When you do this, allow your potential leads to know how sacred your time is; so rather than posting your calendar and saying “sign up here for a consultation,” instead try saying something like, “I am shocked that I have time to do 5 vision calls next week. This is rare! Claim one of these 5 free sessions before they are gone!” Again, if you do this too often, your audience will no longer believe that your time is sacred or valuable and you will begin to fall on deaf ears. So instead, keep this calendar invitation to once a month.
Another “call to action” you can post is an invitation to an online webinar you are teaching or a mini 5 day class you are putting on. Invitations to your upcoming webinars and classes will be an easy decision for your ideal clients when your class is a small investment of time and money. For example if you’re posting about your 3 month program for $3,000, this post will get a lot less engagement than a post about your 5 day class for $27. A 3 month program, although much higher in value, may seem like a massive commitment to someone who doesn’t quite understand the value of your program yet. So when you are converting leads into clients, expect that they will be more likely to take a smaller action step first. Once you have small paying clients in your 5 day class or on your paid webinar, you can then upsell them into a higher priced program.
You can also put together survey questions to allow people to see that you have an upcoming program. Survey your audience by asking them what topic they would want to grow in with your coaching. Once you have a program in mind, continue to survey your audience by asking them specific questions about the topic at hand. For example, you can start this initial survey by asking something like this, “I’m creating a new program and I’d love your input. I have it narrowed down to a coaching program around vulnerability or a coaching program around connection. Which of these topics would interest you more?” Once you have the chosen topic your survey questions will be more specific. You can then survey your audience with the following: “I’ve put together a coaching program around the context of vulnerability. I’d love to ask where in your life you feel comfortable being vulnerable? Where in your life do you struggle with vulnerability? When I have this program completed, would you be interested in hearing more about this program?” Now you have a list of leads you can follow up with once you have created your coaching program.
Lastly, you’re going to want to pick up the phone. Invite others personally to come to your webinars, classes, surveys and programs. Picking up the phone might be scary at first, yet once you do it from a place of genuine connection and service you’ll be able to have a steady stream of paying clients. Calling people on the phone does not have to feel awkward. I recommend you start by calling the people who most engage with your online activity. This isn’t meant to be a cap or a limit on who you can connect with on the phone, yet it is a great place to start. The people engaging with your dog-show posts are actually warmer leads than the relatives you haven’t spoken to in three years.
When you do pick up the phone to call someone out of the blue, start your conversation by asking the person how they are doing and what they have been up to lately. This will allow you and your lead to come into rapport; it also leads to an opportunity for this person to now ask you how you are doing and what you have been up to lately. At this time, you can let your lead know that you have been doing free vision calls for people and you’re excited to offer one to them. Let this person know that if they don’t have time for a vision call today, you can get them on your schedule for the following week. These initial conversations can be short. Building upon your connection with this person can happen in as little as five minutes. So pick up the phone, call your potential leads, and connect with them briefly before setting them up on a longer call.
Now that you have people on your calendar for a vision call, you’ll want to know how to direct the conversation on that longer call. Again, you’ll first spend a few minutes getting into rapport with your potential client. Then remind them that you are adding free value on this session by eliciting a vision for their life, and at the end of the session if it is in alignment for you to support them with ongoing coaching, you’d love their permission to share the opportunity. Start the vision conversation by asking the person what they would want their life to look like if they could wake up to everything they’ve ever wanted to have, be, and do. Continue to ask this person coaching questions to expand their vision in a way that brings them clarity and excitement. When the lead is clear on their vision, let them know that you would be happy to support them on their journey to this vision by way of your coaching program. Then make your offer.
There are dozens of ways to connect with people and turn leads into paying clients. In this article we covered the basics of social media, surveys, webinars, classes, and phone calls. The most important thing you can do is start; just start showing up in ways you haven’t tried before. If you’ve mastered social media, yet you know you can grow in direct phone calls, try picking up the phone and see how it goes. Conversely, if you are brilliant on the phone but don’t yet have a small class or webinar to invite people to, spend some time creating this smaller offer so you can support others to take a small step forward. If you’d like more support in closing leads into high paying clients, we actually have a program where we go into more specifics, how to details, and inspired actions steps to support you in creating a steady stream of clients. Additionally, part of your ICF certification includes resource development credits; so if you’d like to learn to build your business and get ICF credits, you can contact us directly at geniusunlockedcoaching.com. At the end of the day, you’re in this business to create a massive impact. Let’s go change the world.
