Prosperous Coach Podcast

This episode shares steps you should take BEFORE you create your coaching website. I’m talking before you pay a designer, before you decide to buy a Wix or Squarespace template and do it yourself ...or before you ask your well-meaning friend who has a bit of skill to do it for you.

Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/165. 

I am not a web designer. But as an international business mentor for coaches with 20+ years experience in solopreneur business development, I know how websites work for coaches if done right and what doesn’t work to attract paying clients.

I'm the TEACHER Archetype. If you don’t yet know your archetype, listen to Episode 12.

I tend to learn from my mistakes by studying solutions then creating step-by-step guides for others. It’s the way I roll. So, after I launched a couple of dud coaching website when I started as a coach a couple of decades ago, I decided to study to understand what makes a coaching website client-winning. Learn more about that at prosperouscoach.com/42.

One thing became crystal clear in my study. Most coaches put up a website too fast and end up having to do them again.

I’m lucky that coaches— my target audience — find my website either because they’ve found my podcast, were referred by another coach or coach training organization, or they’ve Googled "coaching niche."

It’s satisfying to realize that I have done a good job driving traffic to my website because a steady stream of coaches who already know they want to hire me are showing up there. That’s what I want for you too.

On my website the coaches fill out the application on my Work with Rhonda. That’s called a conversion process.

Does your website have a conversion process that inspires your audience to have a Discovery Call with you?

In that application, most coaches share that they are feeling lost without a clear coaching niche or target audience. But then they say they are working on their website, creating ads, social posts and coaching programs.

And I think ... bummer, because the coach has done things out of order and if they want to be successful they will be starting from scratch not very far down the road from now. 

It's an honest mistake. When you finish coach training there's this emotional rush to get a website up, to start doing all the conventional things most coaches think are the way to attract coaching clients fast.

Here’s the truth, if you create your website before you know who you're serving and the problem you help them solve its like building a house on land you don't own or buying a car before you can see over the steering wheel.

Developmentally, it's better to wait to create your website until your business model has a solid foundation.

I made this mistake myself. In my first year as a coach I threw away a lot of money and effort creating a pretty website with a lot of philosophical copy about the power of coaching. I worked so hard on it. But it sat there collecting cyber dust.

Your website can be command central for your coaching business. If it's created correctly it will definitely help you earn well and serve more clients. But an online brochure about coaching will not create those results.

3 Critical Decisions Before You Start Your Coaching Website

Read about the 3 things to do BEFORE your create your coaching website here.

This episode is about how to be authentic in your coaching business and share your personal story to attract ideal clients. Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/164

Vulnerability Wasn’t Always Prized

When I launched Prosperous Coach, sharing your mistakes or shortcomings was not a great strategy. Unless you were famous already, sharing that you went bankrupt, ruined your marriage or lost your business wasn’t received as a reason to listen to what you have to say. Marketing and selling had a different style and come from.

Facebook had only been around for two years. And few people were sharing selfies.

If you were looking for help to achieve something you were looking for an expert who had significant credentials and social proof in the old fashioned way.

And if you wanted to attract clients you needed to toot your own horn without much airtime, if any, on the zigzag it took you to get to where you are. Trust was built by showing people how you have everything figured out.

So coaches and anyone selling a personal or business growth program were a bit more buttoned up. You pushed your knowledge and successes out ahead of you keeping more personal things to yourself.

I’m not exactly sure when things changed. I’m guessing it was around 2010 — but I know that it was revolutionary when it became okay to be vulnerable with prospects and clients.

More than that … vulnerability is now appreciated and even perhaps expected in many spaces. Thank you, Brene Brown!

I was a late adopter of that in my business and it contributed to a slow down for a few years. I found it more difficult to drop the shield and even had some judgment about the messiness of other coaches and other people marketing approaches in a really loose and personal way. 

More Authentic Marketing for Coaches

Now, I’m a total convert and can easily say that it’s a relief to just be me all the time. Not omit or hide anything. And I often have coaches tell me how much they appreciate my authenticity … how much they appreciate that I keep it real! 

Most of my clients worry that their faux pas or so called failures in life are not going to be well received.

I was talking to one of my VIP clients the other day and she was concerned about whether her personal story would turn her clients off. But she had chosen a target audience and niche that’s related to those difficult times in her past. I could clearly see that sharing her story would build trust with her audience.

Trust … that’s what creates followers and enrolls ideal clients. Think about it … if someone cannot see you as trustworthy, they certainly cannot hire you.

You’ve heard of the know-like-trust factor. Bob Burg wrote a book called Endless Referrals and coined that term. But it’s an OLD concept. Yes, you can get referrals if people trust you. But that’s not the only benefit of trust.

6 Powerful Questions Coaches Can Ask

When I’m helping my clients choose a target audience and develop their coaching niche, I ask questions to uncover their skills, experience and expertise, their interests and personal story.

 Click here to read the 6 powerful questions to uncover your personal story and how it might relate to your strategic coaching niche.

This episode is about thinking through how you’ll earn as a coach based on how many clients you can feasibly serve at a time. It requires a bit of math and strategic thinking. And, it will be eye opening! Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/163.

Are You Charging for Coaching by the Session?

Most often, when I meet new coaches in a Discovery Call or Strategy Session where I help them with a bite-sized topic such as determining their audience and niche — if they have paying clients at all, they are charging by the session.

Speaking in terms of US dollars, they’ve set their prices anywhere from $25 to $150 per session. Some may be packaging sessions of say  … 3 sessions for $450.

At the top of that range, coaches tell me they feel uncomfortable. $150 per hour sounds exorbitant! I mean aren’t those getting close to lawyer rates? Would anyone or should anyone pay more than that for coaching?

So I get it. These are the same concerns I had as a new coach. Part of the issue here is perspective. The standard behind that approach is pricing in dollars per hour. That way of thinking will not help you earn well as a coach.

I’ve switched up my perspective on pricing and invite you to do the same. First, what’s making you think about pricing with that old standard?

Well to start you may be used to earning an hourly wage or salary. You might also be used to receiving benefits like health insurance, paid vacation and sick days as part of your employment package.

Once those things are deducted from your pay and you divide the amount of your net paycheck by the hours you work, being paid $25 to $50 per hour seems decent, right?

A small percentage of employees in the world earn $150 per hour or more so it seems crazy to believe you can as a coach, right?

Why Charging By the Session Keeps Coaches Struggling Financially

But wait … the key word is ‘employee’. When you’re working for yourself, you pay for your own health insurance. There are no paid vacations and sick days. At least not in the way you’re used to thinking.

And, you may not realize that you also will invest money regularly into your own business infrastructure beyond the initial costs of coach training. Add to that the hours and expenses of marketing. You’re paying your own social security (an amount deducted from US paycheck).

As part of my VIP program I help coaches create that infrastructure and set up systems. It involves paying for a few accounts. Those yearly or monthly fees add up. Health insurance and business expenses need to be taken into consideration when pricing your program.

After all you need to earn well as a coach. You may have a full time job now that you want to transition out of soon. Or you may have been laid off or quit which lead you to building your coaching business. In any case, it’s important that you think differently about your time, your expenses and earnings.

When I started my coaching business I imagined I would work with a lot of people every year. I also thought that everyone wants to hire a coach. I figured it was just a matter of a great looking website and maybe a little public speaking and I’d soon have a flow of eager clients. 

Can you relate?

Click here to read about a more savvy way to price your coaching program.

I’ve never known a coach who wouldn’t get value out of this episode even a few years in to their coaching business … or ten. Find the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/162.

Just the idea of money is fraught with complicated beliefs stemming from our childhoods and even further back than that. Unhelpful beliefs about worth and earning and money are deeply rooted into our cultures and ancestry. So it’s not surprising that we all struggle with money mindset.

·      Most of us have worthiness issues and that feels like imposter syndrome.

·      Some people don’t think they should charge for coaching because it’s a helping service.

·      And for some, money is distasteful — a dirty thing. No doubt many dirty things have been done in the pursuit of money since humans started walking Earth.

But money itself is just a tool. That’s an important shift right there. It’s a neutral tool that, at this point in human existence, most of us need to employ to live.

And here’s the thing … if you want your coaching business to be your livelihood, you must face these old beliefs with a singular determination to shift them.

I’ve learned that mindset shifts are totally doable. They are a lot easier than we think. It’s a big part of how coaches help their clients achieve goals. The way you think about something will determine how well you’ll do. For your own integrity, you need to walk that talk and face down your unhelpful mindsets. 

Focus on Shifting Your Money Fears

So I want to invite you to something … as you listen to this today, consider listening without distraction and aim to takeaway one specific thing that you’ll use to help you shift unhelpful money mindsets.

I’m about to give you 6 things you can say to a prospect during a Discovery Call once you’ve shared your price for your Signature Program if the price makes them hesitate to hire you. And by the way, if you’re charging enough, there probably is going to be some hesitance there.

Use a Proven Process to Enroll Coaching Clients

First, you need to use a proven process to enroll coaching clients. If you haven’t already, listen to Episode 19 called How to Enroll More Coaching Clients Without Being Salesy — my most popular episode so far. That may be because I offer a free download with my step-by-step script to use in your Discovery Call.

That’s the enrollment process that I use. It works so well especially if you are offering a Signature Program, which is a one-on-one long term, high-ticket program tailor made for your target audience. It’s far better than selling coaching packages. And it’s a part of what I teach VIP clients in my Signature Program.

Okay, so let’s say that you’ve already asked 5 of the powerful questions in that enrollment guide so you understand what exactly your clients want and are challenged by as it relates to your coaching niche.

You’ve told them about the major milestones you’re going to help them achieve in your Signature Program and how many sessions plus other features they get.

Now you’re at the moment to tell them your price for your Signature Program. Your goal is to seamlessly move into this part of the Discovery Call without a hitch.

Go here to read the rest of the transcript including 6 Things to Say to Help Coaching Prospects See the Value of Hiring You

This episode is for new coaches who are shifting into full time coaching from a full time job. That transition is a big leap mentally and emotionally. Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/161. 

Building a business and then sustaining it is an amazing personal journey. More and more people are deciding to be their own boss because they want to have more lifestyle freedom and to be at the cause of their own circumstances.

But if you are taking the leap from employment into entrepreneurship it’s no small thing. There are big shifts that require mindset mastery as you transition.

·      You go from being directed by a boss to supervising yourself in every way.

·      You go from a defined infrastructure and role to creating your own systems and functions from scratch.

·      You go from working collaboratively to working alone, at least at first.

·      You had a regular paycheck, which will become an irregular income you have to generate on your own.

·      Someone else administered your payroll, taxes and benefits and now you’ll manage that yourself.

·      And, you leave behind an established organizational culture and your own reputation and now you’re going to have to create a new one. 

It’s an identity crisis. 

The truth is that your identity is more innate than you think. Plus, all of your core values, talents and skills come with you into your business. I would even argue that you get to be more of yourself and bring more of yourself to your business. 

Look you’re a multifaceted being. Starting your coaching business is a chance at a makeover where you get to be a better you. And that is enormously satisfying, and I think totally worth the adventure.

Leverage Your Background Into Your Coaching Niche 

Last year, one of my VIP clients was shifting from a career of nearly two decades, all in one industry, into her own coaching business. Her previous position had status, significant responsibilities and a salary to match.

And, understandably, she was terrified about shifting to full time self employment as a coach.

Fortunately for her she decided to leverage her work experience by choosing a related audience and niche. And this is something I highly recommend to coaches when they can.

She had instant credibility with her audience because she had been where they are now. And, it was easy to put together relevant messaging and offers because she knew the context her audience lives in. 

So, leveraging your background into your target audience and coaching niche will somewhat reduce the stress of the transition because there’s common ground into the thing you’re going to be doing.

But when you’re a free agent you’ll need to think a bit differently.

Now, I come from a family of entrepreneurs.

Go here to read 7 ways to make your transition to full time coaching easier.

This episode is a Listener's Choice episode, which means it's a favorite of coaches. Find the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/160.

You’ve heard that you need to build the know-like-trust factor with your target audience before they’ll hire you. It’s true. 

Imagine that your ideal clients reach out to hire you already feeling a deep connection with you and want already what it is that you offer. It raises their willingness to invest at a high level and fully dedicate themselves to the work.

So how can you convey credibility as a brand new coach?

So to answer that question – how can you convey credibility as a new coach – let’s l=turn this around. Shift your perspective on the problem. It’s nearly always the best way to solve problems.

What inspires YOU to feel that a resource is trustworthy?

You’re listening to this. I bet you heard about me from another coach or saw something posted  somewhere. If this is your first episode you might not feel trusting of me.

But if you’ve been listening for a while and looking forward to these coming out every Tuesday, my guess is your sense of my credibility has been building and trust is growing. 

Some people say things like credentials and years in business, or reviews and testimonials that convey that trustworthiness. And sure, absolutely. Those things do help.

But there’s something that grabs attention and builds trust even faster than credentials, years in business, reviews and testimonials …

Coaching Prospects Trust Coaches Who Understand Them

I hear constantly from clients, prospects and fans of my podcast that they feel like I’m speaking directly to them. Someone wrote me today saying: “I’m beginning to think your podcasts are written for me.”

That is your goal.

People will trust you if they feel understood by you. And this is the territory where brand new coaches can get real traction.

As a new coach you’d be unlikely to have loads of credentials or relevant testimonials. You haven’t had the chance to build up social credibility online. And, you don’t have ‘word of mouth’ going for you yet. 

So instead, put your attention on KNOWING your audience inside and out. 

I just received an email from a company that wants to promote my podcast. It took me all of 5 seconds to decide to toss that email.

Not only did they not even use my name, I could see that they had not bothered to research me at all. It’s arguable that they know little about the challenges and goals of podcasters.

That’s a stupid and wasteful way to develop a business.

I get countless requests to connect on LinkedIn from supposed experts pushing out blasts to all coaches promising to help them get a steady stream of clients. It’s clear from what they write that they don’t understand coaches.

They haven’t bothered to look at my profile. They searched “coach” and then put out the same basic message as thousands before them – all of whom I summarily blew off.

Don’t ever market like this. You will LOSE CREDIBILITY so fast. And essentially it’s spamming. Never spam.

Do Your Homework, Coach

Go here to read about 2 more critical ways to build your credibility so coaching clients want to hire you!

This will be a super short episode. And it’s part of the Smart Mindsets & Habits series. Also this is a LISTENER'S CHOICE episode meaning it's a favorite of coaches. Find the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/159.

I feel so honored that when I work with my clients I get to see them shift their mindset in ways that will help them succeed faster at this game called entrepreneurship.

By the way, thinking of building your coaching business as a game is one way to take the pressure off and enjoy the journey.

So the specific mindset I’m digging into today is about OWNING your right:

·      Own your right to be in business for yourself

·      Own your right to earn well

·      Own your right to live the life you want

That may sound odd. Let me explain.

My Early Coaching Business Was An Albatross

When I was new to my own coaching business I treated myself like I didn’t deserve to be in business, like I didn’t deserve to earn well and have the life I want. Here’s what I did instead:

1.     I over-complicated my business model by offering way too many options to prospective clients. 

2.     I undervalued myself and charged way too little to sustain my business. 

3.     I over-delivered in every single way. 

4.     I was too accommodating with my schedule.

5.     I allowed late payments.

6.     Ultimately, I didn’t think through what I wanted and plot a strategic course to get there.

Bottom line … I was operating unconsciously in my coaching business. I was driven by a mindset that doesn’t go well with being the CEO of a business. Big mistake.

A few years in, I realized that I had created a monster — a business that was complex, running me ragged and paying me poorly.

Its part of the reason why I now teach coaches to create a Simple Coaching Business Model and to strategically grow their business from the get go.

The Big Mindset Shift and 7 Actions to Charge Coaching Clients More and Get It

So here’s the secret I want you to come away with from this episode … ACT AS IF

Act as if you are already in high demand.

There are 7 ways I can think of that will help you do this:

1.     First decide what you want your life to be like.

2.     Strategize every step of your business development to fit that vision.

Go here to read the rest of the 7 ways to act as if you're already in high demand so you can charge and earn more as a coach ...

This episode is meant to help you earn more by strategically determining your coaching niche and all that goes with it. Find the show notes at prosperouscoach.com/158.

When coaches ask me in a Strategy Session: "Is this a good coaching niche?" What they really want to know but don’t know to ask is:

Will focusing my energy this way repay me with a consistent flow of clients who are willing to invest?

That's the 6-figure question.

A strategically determined coaching niche is the linchpin for your financial success. Without that direction and focus your messages and offers will be vague and won’t capture attention. Which means you won’t have that consistent flow of paying clients.

A profitable coaching niche helps you to:

• Quickly become a coach in high demand through momentum.
• Leverage your efforts and contextualize your messages and offers, instead of being all over the place.
• Command higher fees.

Test the financial viability of your current coaching niche with these 5 powerful questions:

POWERFUL QUESTION #1: Does Your Coaching Service One Specific and Viable Audience?

If not, consider narrowing your audience to a specific group before you go much further in your biz.

A target audience is a specific audience that’s small enough to help you stand out in the crowd. It is not a coaching track or a coaching topic.

So, for instance, your target audience isn’t relationship coaching. That’s a track, a general topic. 

Your target audience isn’t even a specific topic, such as dating.

An audience is a group of PEOPLE with unique goals and big problems in the way of that.

Since coaching is all about people, shouldn’t your marketing and services be tailor made to one group? You cannot tailor make something that’s for everyone or even for a big amorphous group. Don't try that.

The narrow audience I used in episode 140 called What is Missing In Your Coaching Niche was single parents who want to date successfully. Single parents have specific dating problems and specific dating goals that a relationship coach could specialize in.

Go for a group that’s that narrow and you’ll magnify profitability. That may seem contrary to you. But take the advice of every marketing guru I’ve ever known – target a specific narrow audience. Your life will be easier.

POWERFUL QUESTION #2: What is the BIG OUTCOME your narrow audience wants?

People want. And when they want they are driven to get.

I know it sounds basic, maybe even base, and it kind of is. For people that have their basic needs regularly met, the drive to get what they WANT is even stronger than the drive to get what they need.

Episode 99 was about this. It’s called What Coaching Clients Want Vs. What You Think They Need,.

I remember being oriented around people’s needs after coach training. I tried to market to needs. But then I realized that focusing on needs wasn’t going to result in clients who invest well over the long term.

In other words, I couldn’t make a decent income focusing my coaching on needs.

It is said … “offer what they want and then help them get what they need.”

If you don’t know specifically what your audience wants that lack of understanding will keep you from having a profitable coaching business.

Read about the remaining 3 powerful questions to fully test your coaching niche here.

This episode is inspired by earnest new coaches everywhere. May you uncover your greatness and personally evolve through your coaching business. Find the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/157.

I’m privileged by my long-term experience and my long-range view of this industry and entrepreneurship.

Because I have the honored role of mentoring other coaches to build their coaching business, I get to somewhat re-live those early years over and over.

I know what you’re going through. And I also know the high potential ahead of you if you stay the course.

So I want you to know that I realize that it’s easy for me to say what I’m going to say. You are in the thick of things and I’m observing it.

But because I’m an empath – I feel what people around me feel in an energetic way. It can be a gift and it can be ... painful to watch the mindsets that trip coaches up. They tripped me up too.

You know the power of mindset in working with your clients. What a person believes can make or break their opportunities.

These 3 mindsets could kill your coaching business because until they are shifted in your mind, they will run you ragged.


The High Pressure Mindset

I mistakenly answered an unscheduled call the other day. It was a coach who wanted my help RIGHT NOW! She didn’t take it in when I explained that I was booked 8 weeks out. Later in the day, she sent not one but 4 emails loaded with exclamations points and extreme urgency wanting me to accommodate her.

The pressure was palpable. I started to feel as breathless as she was. I knew she wasn’t an ideal client for me because I don’t respond well to the energy of push, push, push.

Coaching and entrepreneurship often attracts high achievers – people who make much of life and business look easy. But under the surface they are boiling with anxiety and the need to do everything well right NOW!

To these dear people — the idea of patience feels like prison and following a process step by step is torture.

Faster, faster, faster is their motto and work style. There’s a desperation attached to it.

Do you recognize yourself in this sub-group? If so you’re in good company. Your coaching business is an excellent territory to shift this mindset for a more peaceful and yet still successful life.

If you’re in a big hurry to make things happen. STOP! You are not a chicken so turn off the pressure cooker!

The pressure you put yourself under creates the exact opposite thing you desire. Energetically, it’s like you’re walking around throwing hot acid all over the place. Prospects will perceive the push and steer clear not knowing why but certain they don’t want to be a part of it.

Try this mantra … Mindful action, step by step, builds prosperity.

The Plan B Mindset

A coach recently asked me …
“How soon will I know this coaching business isn’t working and it’s time to go for plan B?”

Whoa! That was a loaded question underpinned by a sense of doom. That’s scarcity thinking, ya’ll. Big time.

To read more about two of these killing mindsets and learn the mantras to break yourself out of them go here.

If writing for your business is your nemesis or you just wish it wouldn’t take so long, this episode is for you. Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/156.

Also as a bonus to help you write more effectively grab your copy of my free downloadable guide called 5 Rules to Write Better Copy at prosperouscoach.com/47.

You know this … writing well is one of those skills that can catapult your business into a more profitable gear. If you can learn to write in a way that your audience wants to read, you can:

·      write and publish your own books

·      develop online training programs

·      publish a weekly blog

·      post articles on well known platforms

·      create excellent scripts for your podcast

·      write better presentations, lead magnets and guides

And all of that would help you attract and enroll more high paying clients and earn in other ways too.

But for most coaches I meet they say that writing doesn’t feel easy and it’s so time consuming. One of my clients told me that it takes at least one full day to write a blog post. And I remember taking that long when I first started writing.

Here’s the thing … writing is easily mastered with a few tools in your toolbox.

You Are a Better Writer Than You Think, Coach

And, of course, it’s part mindset. Some of my clients tell me they are not good at writing. Inevitably, I disagree! I love helping my VIP clients learn how to write even better and it’s fun for me to copyedit and give suggestions for all of their writing.

I find that they all very rapidly improve in their skills so they don’t need my edits any more.

The real issue is how long it takes to organize thoughts into a flow that inspires reading.

I was a passable writer when I was given the opportunity to write the curriculum for Coach Training Alliance. By the time I finished that project I was a far better writer and could write fast.

Surprise, surprise … writing more means writing more easily and better.

5 Secrets to Whittle Down Your Writing Time

1.     Know your key takeaway before you start writing.

2.     Keep your topic specific and bite sized.

3.     Use a formula for the flow of paragraphs.

4.     Set a timer to write, then another to edit.

5.     Go for good enough.

What’s Your Big Aha or Takeaway?

All writing should have a top takeaway. To impress your audience and show your value, provide one well formed and unique aha, insight or tip. Don’t start writing until you’re crystal clear about what that is.

And one is all you need. The biggest mistake writers make is delivering too much at one time. I delivered my top takeaway for this episode in the 5 secrets just named. Now, I’m going to flesh it out a bit more for you.

The Strategic Writing Formula

When you write your blog or notes for your podcast your goal should be to inspire, guide and entertain your audience ...

To learn the Strategic Writing Formula find the full transcript here.

And don’t forget to grab my bonus for you of a free downloadable copywriting guide ...