Finding true success in coaching presents some significant challenges. All are solved with pinpointed focus on one target audience, plus a handful of winning strategies and a bit of patience. No joke. Targeting your attraction energy on one unique group is where leverage begins.
10 Common Challenges Life Coaches Face
All coaches in their first few years of business experience similar challenges. Recognize any of these?
- Potential coaching clients can’t seem to justify your fees.
- Your confidence is flagging.
- You’re getting too few referrals for your coaching.
- You’re not filling your groups.
- Your coaching benefit statement falls flat.
- Networking isn’t working.
- Your social posts aren’t getting traction.
- You’re working really hard and feel de-motivated.
- You’re overwhelmed by information.
- Your income doesn’t justify your time or investment in your coaching business.
I get it! I had all of these problems when I started as a coach because I didn’t have much of a strategy.
Try looking at your challenges in your coaching business as if they are symptoms of a root cause.
The root cause is …
calling yourself a life coach,
selling life coaching
and serving too broad of an audience.
Let’s tease this apart so you can see what I mean.
And while we go through these I’ll share some of my related Prosperous Coach Podcast episode links so you can dig deeper and learn more.
Symptom #1: Potential Coaching Clients can’t seem to justify your fees
Root cause: You’re trying to sell coaching, which is a hard sell. So, when you talk about and sell coaching it is perceived as a luxury service rather than essential support. There’s an easier way to earn as a coach without selling coaching.
Solution: Your services will be perceived as essential when you show how they address the BIG PROBLEMS of your target audience while you help them reach a big goal. This is what smart coaching niches are built on.
Are you solving a big enough problem in your coaching business? If not all these challenges will continue to haunt you.
Let’s put our heads together to nail your niche.
Symptom #2: Your confidence is flagging
Root cause: Focusing your energy on rarely works keeps you stuck and in pain.
Solution: Focus your energy, words and attention on one target audience instead. What makes them tick? What are their most elusive goals? What solutions would inspire them to invest in their future with your support? Speak about that not coaching.
Symptom #3: You’re getting too few referrals for your coaching
Root cause: If you aren’t articulating what you do n a compelling way, then other people don’t know who to refer to you or why to refer someone to you. You tell everyone you know that you’re a life coach but only people who want to study coaching themselves really care. (You and I know how valuable coaching is, but we are initiated.)
Solution: Champion one unique and accessible audience and build your coaching niche around helping them solve the BIG problems that get in the way of their big goal. Those specifics will make sense so that not only will you get referrals from friends and colleagues, your clients will also fill your practice for you.
Symptom #4: You’re not filling your coaching groups
Root cause: Your leads list is too small. There’s a factor of 10 issue. If you market to 1000 people in your audience, 100 may pay attention, 10 may attend your free event, 1 might enroll. That means you need a big leads list to successfully fill successive groups. It’s a hard way to earn.
Yes, I know, people say you multiply your income when you leverage your time into groups. But they don’t tell you how hard it is to fill those groups. It’s far easier to work with less clients at higher prices. More on that later. ; )
Solution: The more narrow and viable your target audience is, the easier it is to attract attention and inspire investment because they find you instantly credible and relevant.
Symptom #5: Your coaching benefit statement is falling flat
Root cause: Chances are that you have mentioned coaching in your benefit statement and that stops people from hearing anything more. It’s what Robert Middleton calls “process-speak” and it is like pushing a big rock up a steep hill every time you try to enroll a client.
Solution: Tailor your benefit statement to name specific problems and goals of your targeted audience and it will be more appealing to everyone.
Okay, we are 1/2 way through the 10 challenges. You can see that organizing a smart niche around the challenges and desires of one group makes it possible for you to become a coach in high demand. Before I get to the other 5, I want to help you with this …
I’d love to help you choose a smart and profitable niche centered around a unique and viable audience that will let your genius shine. Let’s start with a STRATEGY SESSION! Learn more here.
Symptom #6: Networking isn’t working
Root cause: You’re not leveraging your time in front of large concentrations of your specific audience.
Solution: Once you’ve niched to a unique group you’ll know exactly where to find those individuals and make a meaningful connection.
Symptom: #7: Your social posts and blog articles aren’t getting traction
Root cause: You’re writing about self-actualization topics – balance, self care, vision and values, life purpose. It’s what all coaches do and there’s too much of it out there. Google “work/life balance” and you’ll be shocked at the millions of hits. Answers to those topics aren’t what a specific audience is looking for. But if you speak to specifics that are highly relevant to one audience, traction happens.
Solution: Only write about what is highly relevant to your ideal coaching market. And watch how quickly your credibility soar. You’ll have followers and engagement that turn in to clients.
Symptom #8: You’re working really hard but getting poor results
Root cause: Scattershot marketing techniques take more time and are less effective than targeted marketing. All the effort to warm up a prospect is lost if they don’t engage immediately.
Solution: When you are focused on one unique group all of your efforts will nurture that audience. Your ideal clients will be pre-sold on working with you before you ever meet.
Symptom #9: You’re overwhelmed by information
Root cause: Bright shiny object syndrome driven by scarity thinking has set in. Your subscribing to too much and buying too much that won’t help you. You grab for the answer but can’t implement. Building a coaching business is far more complex than learning coaching and you deserve to have a mentor help you get everything right the first time. That’s my jam.
Solution: Turn off the firehouse of information. Follow the mentor who you connect with most. Then implement what you learn. If you need help reach out to that one mentor.
Symptom #10: Your income doesn’t justify your investment in your coaching business
Root cause: You’re not charging enough. You might think: “I’m new so I should keep fees low.” That will keep you struggling and not win you more clients.
Solution: Higher prices are justified when you specialize. Experts can charge much more for their services and get it. You become an expert quickly when you champion a specific group.
If you’re ready to shift your results, let’s develop a smart and profitable niche you’ll love. You’ll be amazed at how it makes your life easier so you can coach more, earn more and market less. Sign up here for a Nail Your Niche Session and we will do this together!
All those challenges will dissolve away once you have a clear strategy.
