Wanting to appeal to everyone
This is a classic mistake. And this is where you see a lot of companies - not just coaches - losing their way. When everyone's a prospective client, no one is. Let me explain... Clients like to be coached by someone who understands them and understands what's important to them. If they don't feel that you're a coach that 'people like them' would go to, they won't become a client.
All successful coaches are clear about who their clients are. They understand what their clients want and need, even before their clients do and they Market directly to them in language that appeals to them.
Even big companies like McDonalds split their customers into distinct groups and market to them differently.
For example, do they run a 30 sec TV advert that says "we do burgers, fries, shakes, salads, ice creams, toys and parties - we do all sorts of fast food, so come to us if you're hungry"? No, they market one
product at a time to a different group - Happy Meals to kids, Salads to young women, etc.
Why is it then that I speak to so many coaches who say 'I can coach anyone'?
Now, if I was considering getting a coach, would that make me think 'So they'll coach anyone? Great! That means they can coach me'?
No, it makes me think either that they don't have any areas of coaching that they're particularly good at or they're desperate for clients!
When I'm lecturing, running training courses or even working one-to-one with coaches, many of them get frustrated when I first suggest selecting a niche to market to. They think that having a niche means being a 'Confidence Coach' or a 'Work/Life Balance Coach' and they don't want to restrict the type of coaching that they do.
And that's absolutely right.
As a coach, you could find that there are many issues that your client wants to work on. For example a Business Coach might be brought in to a company to help with writing a business plan, but as the coach gets more involved, they might find that the owner has some confidence issues that need to be addressed.
Niche Marketing isn't about the type of coaching you do.
It's about choosing a type of person that you want to work with and finding ways to attract those people. As you build your practice, you might decide to market to a few different niches.
One of the easiest ways to figure out who would be the best types of people to target as clients is to talk to your past and existing clients - even people who you coached as part of your training.
Here's an idea which I've used and it paid off. Call up your favourite client and thank them for giving you the opportunity to coach them. Tell them how much you enjoyed coaching them and explain to them that you'd really like to work with more people like them. But don't go overboard or they'll think you're a creep!
Ask them what they like about you and the way that you coach.
You might find some surprises here. One of the business coaching clients I talked to said that he chose my company because I'd turned up for my first meeting with him exactly on time and if I said I'd
call him on a certain day, I did. This was something that was really important to him and it wasn't what I was expecting him to say at all!
Your clients might tell you that, say, they like that you're available until 8pm so they can have sessions after work. Or that you can empathise with them because you used to be in the same line of work as them. Or they might tell you about the progress they made that was really important to them.
Whatever they tell you, write it down. And also ask them whether there's anything you could do better or find out what it would take for them to do more business with you (if, for example you're doing Corporate or Business Coaching) or to recommend you to their friends or business associates.
Even if you've covered this extensively in your intake sessions and coaching sessions, make sure you know as much as possible about them and the life they lead. What do they do for a living, where do they live, do they have kids? Again, don't just fire questions at them or they'll get freaked out.
But the idea here is to try to figure out how you can attract more clients like them. You're trying to find out what the characteristics of 'ideal' clients are. Where else do they go to seek help? What factors are important to them? How are you going to find people like them?
When you're done, thank them again for their help and follow the conversation up with a thank you card or a small gift - something related to the coaching you offer. Of course this conversation doesn't have to happen on the phone. If it's appropriate you could take your client out for lunch or for coffee.
You'll generate a lot of goodwill and strengthen your working relationship with them no end. And you'll have found out all sorts of things that make you different from other coaches and you can use these in your Marketing.
Contact:
Agbolade Omowole
nigeriaslifecoach@gmail.com
+2347064649978
We've had articles published in the Guardian, Nigerian Tribune, Punch, and several other newspapers in Nigeria.