Proven Strategies To Enroll Coaching Clients [A Detailed Guide]

Proven Strategies To Enroll Coaching Clients [A Detailed Guide]

Do you end up wasting your time doing random things to gain clients? Do you want a detailed plan of action to get consistent clients, even if you started a coaching business yesterday? You're in the right place if you've answered "Yes" to these questions.

For coaches, enrolling clients can be a challenging task.

But here's some good news!

We've got you some fool-proof strategies and techniques to spike up your enrollment rates. Whether you're a life coach, diet coach, or mindset coach, this guide will take you step-by-step through getting the right enrollments. So, are you ready to build a coaching empire?

Let's dive in.

Why Aren't You Getting Clients?

You may be a fantastic coach. You are working hard, investing time and money to get clients. But your enrolments may fall short of your expectations. Why?

Let's find out.

Reason #1: Targeting everybody

Are you running behind everyone? Then, it's time to stop.

The old saying 'All that glitters is not gold' also holds for the coaching business. Not everyone you come across is your potential client.

Here are some good starting points to cut out the noise:

  • Define your specific niche and whom you want to cater to
  • Use a buyer persona to comprehend your potential client
  • Find your clients using any of the strategies mentioned in the article
  • Check out this video to find your profitable niche

Pro Tip:

Engage more meaningfully with the right audience, and limit effort on other interactions.

Reason #2: Not knowing your audience

"Understand your customers" is a well-known business mantra. No coach can be successful without it. So, you need to actively learn about what people are looking for.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. 1
    Gather data:  Surveys can get valuable information about your customers. Some useful websites include Survey Junkie, InboxDollars, Swagbucks, and Survey Monkey.
  2. 2
    Interact with your audience: Talk to customers on Quora, Reddit, social media, or other online forums. Ask about their challenges and aspirations.
  3. 3
    Figure out what it means: Evernote or Notion are great ways to record and analyze the data to draw valuable insights.

Pro Tip:

When you solve problems, enrollments soar.

4 Tips to Enroll Coaching Clients

Now that you know whom you want to cater to and what these personas want, let's check out how to get those enrolments rolling in.

Paid ads and content marketing are great strategies. But here's the hitch. Paid ads cost new coaches an arm and a leg, while content marketing is a time-delayed process. So, here are a few other effective ways to get your first client fast.

#1. Word of mouth

Best For: Anyone from beginner to seasoned coaches.

This is all about building on the goodwill of friends and family. Your community can be your biggest cheerleader.

Inform your friends, family, and neighbors about your services. Gain trust and experience by helping them for free. Ask people for referrals and testimonials if they appreciate your work. Leverage these to get high-paying clients.

#2. Collaborate for mutual gain

Best For: New coaches to seasoned coaches with at least one client.
Your most accessible referrals may come from professionals in a similar space. Talk about your skills and how they can benefit their clients.

Put a cherry on the cake by making your offer irresistible. How do you do that? Make a proposal that benefits both the referrer and the user. A referral fee complemented by a first-visit discount can do wonders for your enrolment.

Another great idea is collaboration for workshops. These are great for meeting new people who are interested in what you have to offer. And when attendees go home impressed, they talk about your work. This, in turn, generates more leads!

#3. Networking, networking, networking

Best For: Anyone from beginner to seasoned coaches.

Being present in the right place at the right time can work wonders. Hang out at network events or meetups. Meet new people. Find your target audience and engage with them.

But here is the trick - never push the audience towards a sale. Instead,  build a good rapport and understand what they do. You may also offer some insights based on your niche. By establishing expertise and connection, you open doors to client conversions.

Best For: Anyone from beginner to seasoned coaches.

Being present in the right place at the right time can work wonders. Hang out at network events or meetups. Meet new people. Find your target audience and engage with them.

But here is the trick - never push the audience towards a sale. Instead,  build a good rapport and understand what they do. You may also offer some insights based on your niche. By establishing expertise and connection, you open doors to client conversions.

#4. Combine good old-fashioned advertising with new-age marketing

Best For:  Anyone from beginner to seasoned coaches.

Preferences vary. What appeals to one may not appeal to another. So, your advertisement strategy needs to account for these. It also depends on your target clients and budget.

A simple beginning is to use flyers or newspaper advertisements for local reach. Once you get a few paid clients, you can pay for more advanced marketing strategies such as funnels, social media, and content marketing.

How To Get Clients with Funnels

Would you like to build an email list and generate more sales? Funnel marketing is one of the most effective methods to create high-quality prospects.

An effective sales funnel provides you with the following:

  • High conversion rates
  • More web traffic
  • Credibility

Here are the two best funnel marketing strategies you should use to attract audiences.

Low ticket sales funnel

Also known as the "Tripwire Sales Funnel," it intends to make people buy products at a lower price. What this does is that it gets you a high-quality email list! You can use this to sell the more expensive offerings using email marketing.

This funnel is ideal for selling products or services below $100. A tripwire sales funnel contains four pages.

Sales page - This page helps promote a product or a service using persuasive copy. Ensure the product is attractive and less expensive— The ideal prospect may not choose products that are missing.

Checkout page - It's a one-click call-to-action page that enables a smooth payment process.

Upsell page - Do you have multiple products or services? If yes, sell related products along with the tripwire offer at a higher price. You can opt for upselling products or services that have been created a long time ago.

Thank You page - This page consists of a thank you message.

At last, invite the audience to connect with you on social media or offer a free 15-20-minute coaching session to provide more value.

High ticket sales funnel

In this sales funnel, you sell services that are over $2000. This is also known as the "Application Sales Funnel" and is one of the best tactics for coaches who want to sell premium services.

It has two pages.

Application landing page - This page consists of success stories, testimonials, or videos explaining why prospects should consider this offer and how they'll benefit. It also includes powerful CTA along with opt-in forms. This page generally collects a lot of data from the audience to understand them before the sales call.

Thank you page - A thank you page is a simple gratitude page that often includes freebies like eBooks, templates, or mini guides. Finally, hop onto a sales call with your target audience and close the deal.

Another great technique is attracting clients using webinars. Instead of a high-ticket offer, you can invite the audience to attend your webinar for free. Then, you can persuade them to buy products immediately. Although running a webinar requires more experience and communication skills, it's one of the best techniques for enrolling clients.

Pro Tip:

Make sure you use Facebook or YouTube ads to drive traffic to these sales pages.

How To Get Clients on Social Media

Whether you want to increase enrollments or scale your business, social media is your go-to choice. Most coaches leave tons of bucks on their table for not using social media effectively.

Let's explore strategies that work for all novice to seasoned coaches to enroll more clients.

Enroll clients on Instagram

  • 39% say they're interested in a service or a product after seeing it in the Instagram story.
  • On the other hand, over 50% of people make buying decisions only after seeing the service or products on Instagram.
  • 39% say they're interested in a service or a product after seeing it in the Instagram story.
  • On the other hand, over 50% of people make buying decisions only after seeing the service or products on Instagram.

Thus, Instagram is one of the best places to enroll clients using tactics from posting engaging content to being active on stories. Here's your mini guide to leverage Instagram to gain your ideal clients.

Step #1:
Create a spellbinding bio that grabs the audience's attention

A bio is the first thing people see when they land on your Instagram page. So, it must be compelling to hold their attention.

If you're a fitness coach, say: I've helped 'X' people lose 'Y' pounds in less than 'Z' days/months. Similarly, if you're a life coach, tell how you've helped people overcome procrastination and drive insane results.

For instance, you could say: I help entrepreneurs increase productivity using the "X" technique that improves your business results by 'Y%.' Also, you can list your achievements or certifications to increase credibility.

Step #2:
Focus on content creation that people can't help reading more

Instagram is the king of media, such as images and reels. Post high-quality images that are appealing to the eyes. A few best content formats include videos, reels, carousels, stories, and lives.

Leverage videos and posts to showcase your expertise in your niche. Provide an in-depth solution for specific questions. Stories are ideal for sharing your thoughts, opinions, or behind-the-scenes.

Engage with the audience each week through lives where you can answer the potential client's questions. Usually, reels reach a wider audience. Use reels if you want to share content with more people.

Remember the captions to share your personal stories. In general, long-form captions of about 1,000 to 1,500 characters drive the highest engagement. The more you create content, the more engagement you have. When there is more engagement, you'll grab the attention of more of your audience.

Step #3:
Turn your followers into clients

This is the crucial step to monetize from your social media account. Since you're posting consistently, you might have garnered hundreds of followers. Now, it's time to nurture and convert them.

Send them a personalized message and start conversations as soon as someone follows you. If they are a good fit for your coaching, offer a short coaching session for free. However, if you're an experienced coach, you may take them to your sales page or webinar page to convert them into paid clients.

NOTE:

Instagram is slower to build community in the initial stages. So, it's wise to opt for other client acquisition models such as LinkedIn marketing, Facebook marketing, podcasting, or guest posting.

Enroll clients on Facebook Groups

Facebook boasts about 2.9 million monthly active users and is the world's third-largest social media platform. If you target middle-aged groups from 25 to 34 years, then Facebook is your ideal platform.

The niche Facebook groups ensure you meet ideal clients. You can either create a new Facebook group or join any one of the existing groups. Since you're a beginner coach, joining existing groups opens many opportunities.

Follow the below process to enroll clients in your business.

Step #1:

Join the group 

The foremost step is to join the suitable Facebook groups where your ideal clients hang out the most. If you're a career coach, find relative career groups by typing in the keyword "Career" in the search bar.

You see the list of multiple relevant groups. Read the group discussion and join three to four groups.

PRO TIP:

Join private groups to find high-quality clients. Public groups generally boast a lot of noise, making it harder to find clients. However, you can use them to know more about your target audience's likes, dislikes, challenges, aspirations, etc.

Step #2:
Provide value

This is one of the significant steps to building rapport with the audience. The opportunities unlock only when you're ready to give value before taking from pockets.

One of the best ways to grab an audience's attention is by creating entertaining yet informative posts.

Grab the audience's attention by asking questions, telling facts, or signing some jokes. After getting their attention, share valuable insights, suggestions, or tips. Finally, provide a call to action so that you can move them to take the desired action.

Step #3:
Hop on to a sales call

Share freebies or give free assessments that interest your audience. Offer them a free 10 to 15 minutes to resolve one big issue that would otherwise cost them hundreds of bucks. Ask them if that makes sense at the end of the post.

Also, you can add a sentence: "DM me Assessment to analyze your performance for free."

Then, reach out to the prospects who have messaged you. These are your ideal clients. Talk to them, answer their questions, overcome objections, and convert.

Enroll clients on LinkedIn

LinkedIn – one of the most effective networking platforms for over a decade - became the #1 popular platform in the USA in 2022. Also, 10.7% of the world's population uses LinkedIn.

Most successful coaches use direct outreach to get clients. Unlike cold emails or cold messaging on other platforms, cold outreach on LinkedIn works best.

Does your ideal audience hang out on LinkedIn? If yes, you should use this four-step strategy to enroll clients.

Step #1:
Optimize content

One of the best ways to increase a client's enrollment rate is by posting value-driven content. Share content consistently and engage with other posts. The more you engage with others, the more will be your brand awareness (That's how LinkedIn works).

Also, make sure your LinkedIn profile is fully optimized. Be specific. Say, "I help busy people improve their diet to lose weight rather than saying, "I'm a weight loss coach."

Step #2:
Improve your network

Make new connections and improve your niche circle.

Understand who you want to target. Would you like to connect with business owners or job seekers? Do you want to help HRs or software engineers?

Once you have a clear idea of who you want to target, go to the LinkedIn search bar and search for your ideal clients. For instance, if you want to target business owners, you can search for "Founders or CEOs" in the search bar.

Schedule 30 to 40 minutes daily to be active on LinkedIn and send at least 20 to 30 connection requests. Make sure you send personalized requests to increase the connection rate. Don't spend hours crafting messages that kill your time. Instead, use one script and customize it accordingly.

PRO TIP:

Use LinkedIn's Sales Navigator for an effective connection rate and enhanced search functionality. Also, Sales Navigator helps you draw out a list of your target audience based on their demographics.

Step #3:
Start conversations

As soon as your clients accept your connection requisition, send them a thank you message and engage them in your conversations. Make sure you text back the prospects immediately to avoid wasting time.

Give them a quick reply and try to understand their current state, aspirations, and other key things that move them to take your services.

Step #4:
Get onto a sales call

The final step is to get the clients onto a sales call. The purpose of a sales call is to make the client say "YES" to your business. You should help them make the right decision.

However, you don't hear a ‘yes’ every time from the prospect. In such cases, don't try to push them toward a sale. If the prospect isn't ready to take your services, ask what's stopping them from acting. Clear all the objections of the ideal prospect and show them you're the one who can transform their life.

Get Clients on Autopilot with Content Marketing

While quick conversions are essential, getting recurring business with content is a game changer in the long run.

The life span of social media content ranges from 24 minutes (Twitter) to 24 hours (LinkedIn). The YouTube content starts decaying after 8.8 days. In comparison, the Pinterest content lifespan is around 3.75 months.

But did you know the average lifespan of blogs? Two years— Post a blog today and enjoy exceptional ROI even after two years. Content marketing is the best way to win the long-term coaching race, especially blogging.

Here's the step-by-step process to get clients through blogging.

Step #1:
Research and brainstorm

The primary step in content marketing is researching the target audience.

  • Navigate to the sites like Quora, online forums, or Reddit
  • List out the things people are discussing
  • Spy on your competitor's blog

Check what they're blogging about and verify what's working for them. Meanwhile, list the 50 questions your ideal client would ask if they met you or during a sales call. Then, write a comprehensive blog post on each topic.

Step #2:
Write killer copies

All your efforts go into vain if the copy isn't engaging. Here are a few tips for writing better copy.

  • Create a headline that hooks the reader
  • Write short sentences and paragraphs
  • Focus on website UX/UI design
  • Don't forget to add a specific CTA for each of your blog posts

Did you know long-form blogs convert the audience better than short copies? Another advantage is that comprehensive guides increase your credibility and illustrate your expertise. Shift your focus to creating comprehensive guides, case studies, and video tutorials to educate the audience.

Step #3:
Promote it on social media

Finally, hop onto your social media to promote the blogs in small bits. For this, take a short paragraph or a sentence and share it on your social media handles. You can further drive the interested audience to the website by inserting blog links in the comment section.

PRO TIP:

Don't like writing tons of stuff? Or love communicating directly with your target audience? If yes, YouTube is an ideal choice. You should follow similar steps as mentioned earlier to create even videos. However, you should focus on producing HD-quality videos to grab visitors' attention.

The Golden 5-Step Enrollment Strategy

Here's the gold mine for coaches to enroll high-quality clients in networking events or social media platforms. Use these five simple steps to get paying clients from a business development expert, David Goldman.

Step 1:
Establish a relationship

There must be rapport between you and your ideal client. This could be getting referrals from your existing client base or meeting at an event. Initiating conversations is a lot easier once you've built a rapport.

Haven't you met your client before?

No worries. Here's another awesome idea. Connect to them on social media or engage with their content. Leave caregiving or meaningful comments that stick. Then, drop a personal message appreciating their work.

That's how you establish a relationship. 

Step 2:
Find out possibilities

This is one of the crucial steps to move the client through the buying journey. Initiate conversations and try to understand the present situation of the prospect. Find answers to questions such as

  • How are things going with them? 
  • Do they think they have a problem?
  • Is there anything that I could help them solve?

One of the best ways to find out potential clients need your service is by listening to them carefully. Try to understand "what's making them say "X" things" or "why are they saying that."

Step 3:
Make them understand the 'Value'

Like earlier steps, this conversation should also start with the client. Here, you should make your ideal prospects understand the value of the service they're looking for.

For this, you may ask questions like:

  • How much would be the value of these things in your real life?
  • How much do you think they are worth to you?
  • How much would it cost you if you don't resolve it soon?

These questions help clients understand the depth of the problem and the value of the solution. In most cases, you get vague answers such as "I don't know," I'm not sure," or some other generic answers. Be focused on eliciting specific numbers rather than foggy answers.

Step 4:
Grab an opportunity

In this step, you introduce your offer that could help clients solve a specific problem. Usually, the conversation about your service should start with the client. So, make sure you ask the right questions that draw out suitable responses so that you can put your service in front of them.

A few questions include:

  • What do you think might solve the problem?
  • How do you think you can solve your problem?
  • Would you like to seek help from any external source?

To cut a long story short, the client has some problems or things to be done. And you should convey you're the right fit to help them.

Step 5:
Close with a CTA

Whether your prospects or interest in your business or not, you should always close with a call to action.

After explaining how your services help the prospect, ask if they've any questions. Answer them deliberately if there are any. Or else, end the conversation using highly specific CTAs, as mentioned below.

  • Are you ready to go ahead?
  • When do we get started?
  • Are you ready to start tomorrow? If not, when is the best time?

The secret Recipe To Enroll Coaching Clients Effectively

Most coaches fail to enroll clients despite working on several strategies. One of the possible reasons could be searching for clients in the wrong place or running behind the wrong clients.

Suppose you're a business coach, and your ideal clients are established business owners. But you constantly engage with budding business owners and pitch your services to them. As a result, you get most turndowns for various reasons, from lack of money to knowledge of your services.

So, make sure you list 30 to 50 people within your niche and connect. Attend industry-related events and workshops. Meet the right people and pitch them the right way using various strategies, as mentioned earlier.

All you need to do is build trust in your audience and make them realize you're the perfect person to work with to expect the transformation they need.

In short, do things right.

The right people, the right place, the right rapport, the right offer, and the right enrollment system in place provide you with a fortune.

That's it. You'll see consistent enrollments.

Discover The Ultimate 12-Step
Client Enrollment Script

Selling Your Coaching Packages Can Get Intimidating...
But Not With This Script By Your Side.