The Ins and Outs of the Coaching Business- Part Three
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If you missed part one or part two, check them out and get up to date!
There are many ways to monetize an online business, and coaching can be a lucrative one. In 2012 when my business started to take off, I got multiple requests for one on one coaching. For a long time I resisted because I’m an introvert.
I can clearly remember the day someone bought my $1197.00 package when I did launch my coaching business. I couldn’t believe someone would pay me that much to coach them. Me, former bread guy from Wisconsin. Since then, I’ve had a few $10,000 months. Not telling you to brag, but to show you that you too can make significant income with your coaching business.
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These days I’m not taking any one on one coaching clients because of the different group programs I offer. Teaming up with Jared Easley, Dixie Gillaspie, and Jimmy Burgess for these programs has been amazing! We’re having a blast and those in the programs are accomplishing so much. You can decide to go one on one or a group; either way has amazing opportunities for your business.
Marketing
The success of your coaching program will live and die by the marketing. Two of the best ways to market are word of mouth and your email list. If you have helped someone, or coached him or her for free, ask them to refer someone who’s looking for coaching your way. You’d be surprised by all the opportunities that are in your sphere of influence. By simply looking around I’m guessing you’ll find your first or a new client.
The next place is your email list. Many of you know how big of a fan I am of email lists. The best way to sell to your email list is with the soft sell. You’re not trying to overwhelm your list with an over-the-top Internet marketer sales pitch. The best way is to give them value, and simple mention that you have coaching for sale. Tell them if they’re getting value from the free stuff, imagine how good the paid stuff will be.
If your email list has been consistently getting value, this will be a no brainer for a few of those people on the list. The way you can give them extra value is by offering exclusive content. People on my email list they have told me they get value from my exclusive content on Saturday’s. This softens the sell.
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There are many ways you can market your coaching business. You can take out a Craigslist ad. When I started my coaching business I took out a few Craigslist ads and got four clients in Milwaukee (where I used to live). On the same token, you can take out in ad in your local paper or on your local news affiliate website. These are great for local clients.
Online, you can pay for social media ads; I have also landed clients using Facebook ads. For a time, this was how I got all my coaching clients. Social media sites have a vast amount of information about their users. When you pay for an ad, you can target those who see the ad. Facebook has options for you to target someone down to the cereal they eat. If you create an appealing ad, and target the right person, they will click-through to your website and check out the offer. If you make it appealing enough, they will buy without knowing you. Remember, these are people who are looking for what you offer.
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Another way to market is through webinars. You offer a free webinar teaching something specific, and then offer your coaching services at the end of the webinar. If you create a compelling webinar, people will come. If they get value from the teaching, they will buy your coaching program.
To get even more bang for you buck, partner on a webinar with someone who has a bigger email list. If you’re in the online space, you’ve seen this happening. One person has a program or service and does a webinar with another person who has an email list. Both parties split the profits.
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Here’s the thing, you don’t need to partner with someone who has a big email list. If you have an email list of 100 people, and someone you partner with has an email list of 200 people, that’s 300 people that could see your webinar. If you get 40 people on the webinar, all you need is one person to buy.
That’s all you’re shooting for, just one person. Once you land one, then you focus on two and so on. Too often we think we need to have ten people sign up for our program. If you get one person that buys your $1197.00 program, that’s a good chunk of money in your pocket. When you land a few of those each month, the income starts to overtake your day job. Focus on one person at a time, not trying to land everyone!
This is the end of our series on coaching. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and got value! Use what we’ve talked about to create a profitable stream of income for your business in 2015!
What did you take away from this series that you’ll apply to your business?
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The registration for Jared Easley and my new course closes for good tomorrow (Wednesday). We’d love to have you join the 15 other people who have signed up! Details here
Photo: Flickr/TranceMist
