Find Your First Client As A Business Coach

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

- Lao Tzu

Congratulations, you started your business as a coach, and now you are looking for your first client. You may require strong marketing skills, a broad network, communication skills and sales techniques. This may all seem impossible, but have more belief in yourself. After you close that one client, the second and the tenth will come along. 

Let’s dive into this article to begin the journey of a thousand steps. 

What type of business coach are you? 

First things first, it is a crucial one that you have a superpower. Ask yourself this, what experience or credibility do you have? Why kind of business coach are you? Know your domain, skills, and strengths and use them to your advantage. The clients are seeking from experts. If you need some certification to start off, go for it! Remember, this is your superpower. Your idea clients want to know they are dealing with experts who can help grow them or their business. 

It's all about the client’s intentions

Your intentions matter the most when you're out there selling yourself to the public. Our actions endorse our intentions. Coaching is a perfect opportunity to help solve the prospect’s problem. Helping them should be your sole intention while dealing with every single client. Not only do you need to win their trust, but it’s better to think about forming long-lasting relationships with them. Offer to help first, then seek to get paid!

Get your first no and move on

Get over your ego. The no’s will help you find your yes faster. Finding clients is a numbers game. The more you talk to prospects, the better you understand the needs of your prospects. Listen and develop the languages of the clients. Recognise how you can help them. Don’t be afraid of the rejections, it’s part of the sale process. 

Amplify your voice, Attract their attention

As a business coach, you will need to invest in a lot of time building your delivery skills. Confidence is key to attracting the attention of prospects. Because no matter how well-experienced you are, you can easily lose a potential client due to poor delivery skills. Read books on personal development, networking and communication skills. Go on video and practice. Go on stage and tell your story. Storytelling can be a great way to connect with your prospective clients. Amplify your voice and attract your ideal clients. 

Networking is key

Start off with your friends and family first, ask them to leave feedback and recommend you to others. You not only need to connect to your friends, but you also need to reach out to other coaches to collaborate with them. Use social media to try to connect to people who are experienced in this matter so that you can learn a thing or two. Ask them to leave feedback and suggestions to improve yourself. As the famous saying goes like:

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

In this case, other coaches are not your enemies, but they are your competitors in business and you can learn from them.

Be social, go on LinkedIn 

        As a business coach, you need that professional shop window which will give you an opportunity to showcase your expertise and everything about you. LinkedIn offers that excellent platform. If you want to give your niche a wide social coverage, then you want to consider using a platform that has over 600 million users worldwide. 

One of the most important reasons why you should use LinkedIn is because it gives you as a coach direct access to your preferred target audiences and groups relevant to your field of expertise. You are able to find and engage with both small and large business owners on the platform. And in future, if you need to consider growing as a coach, as it is the case with most business coaches, you will still have access to that audience through LinkedIn.

Some tips for a coaching startup

• Don't underestimate the power of social media, use it to engage your audience. Interact on Facebook groups, go on Linkedin. Be social and share value. 
• Attend events and grab this opportunity for networking. 
• Tap your past clients if you had a business in the past.
• Offer free or cheap workshops during the early stages of business and always ask for feedback or testimonials.
• Be consistent with your marketing strategy, especially when it comes to email marketing.
• Be the type of coach you would want for yourself, give it y’all.
• Last but not least, have patience.