Prosperous Coach Podcast

Find the full transcript of my Interview with Nichole Betterley, where you'll also find a link to Nichole's free guide for you, 5 Things for Powerful Coaching Websites.

Nichole Betterley is the Owner and Chief Web Wiz at "N" Powered Websites. She helps coaches, consultants, and other solopreneur service providers create websites that get noticed, get used, and get clients. She has more than 13 years of experience with what works for the ever-moving target of powerful websites and online marketing. Nichole lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, daughter, and the obligatory, work-from-home cat (even though she’s really a dog person at heart).

Rhonda Hess: Hey coaches, I am so excited to share a special person in my business life with you. And this is the sixth episode of Client Winning Coaching Websites series.

Today we're going to be talking about the difference between a DIY website, one that you do yourself using something like Wix or Squarespace or having a professional designer create a custom website for you.

There are a bunch of critical differences and I want you to know what they are so that as you're making this decision you can go in with your eyes open.

The special guest that I have for today is my friend and colleague, Nichole Betterley. She and I have known each other ... I think for 13 years or something like that now. (Nichole: Yeah!)

Nichole runs a company called NPoweredsites.com. Nichole, you call yourself the Chief Web Wiz. Tell us a little bit about you.

Nichole Betterley: Thank you so much for inviting me on your podcast to begin with. I'm just, I'm so excited to be here and to talk with you about this. I've been a web developer for 13 years now. Actually, you were one of my very first clients and I just hold our relationship so specially in my heart.

I came to be a web developer. I have a long history of loving technology and coming out of college I got a job as a developer at a big corporation. And like so many of my clients are, you know, after 11 years of that, I, I totally burnt out on that. And so now I'm corporate refugee.

... Learn more about why custom design looks and works better.

This episode is part of the Client Winning Coaching Website series.  

In the last episode I described 3 approaches to choosing your brand or company name and domain.

Today we're diving into how to create your benefit statement so that it's attention-getting. It's the second thing your web visitors should see on your website to help them feel at home and interested in what else you have to say there.

 You've no doubt heard the concept of a Benefit Statement. It's a single well-crafted sentence that describes specifically how people in your target audience will benefit from working with you.

I like to call it a Core Message because it identifies your coaching niche and all of your other messaging and offers will stem from the concept. But for the purpose of this episode, I'll stick with Benefit Statement.

If you've ever done any live networking, you've probably experienced that dreaded moment when it comes around the table to you and you're supposed to say what you do.

I remember times like that where I literally snapped to attention when someone introduced themselves with style. That's the power of a well-crafted Benefit Statement.

But I've also heard and read a lot of there statements that lack inspiration and won't help the coach attract clients.

Obviously, you want yours to be highly relevant and compelling to your target audience. 

 So in today's episode I'll explain 4 main things:

1. What makes a Benefit Statement COMPELLING as well as how to avoid that "MEH" response.
2. What a well-crafted Benefit Statement will do for you and your target audience  plus why it will help you get engagement and enroll clients from your website.
3.  A bunch of Benefit Statements that are beautifully word-smithed for impact as well as some that are duds so you can see the difference.
4.  The pre-work and basic formula for crafting your own Benefit Statement.

 So first, what does a Benefit Statement do for you and your prospects?

 Your Benefit Statement is an attention-getter. It's the centerpiece of your marketing. When you share an effective Benefit Statement, people will understand exactly who you serve and why those people would want to hire you.

You want colleagues and friends who hear it to say:
     “Oh, I know someone who could really use your help!”

You’ll use your statement a lot over the course of your business, including as:

·      The first marketing message in the header of your website.

·      The first sentence that you say to introduce yourself to prospects.

·      The beginning of your “elevator” speech when you share what you do in a networking meeting.

·      One of the first sentences within your “bio” for a presentation or your by-line in any kind of guest article or promotional material.

·      It's also what you'd say if someone asks what you do for a living.

... Learn what your benefit statement does for you here.

This episode is part of the Client Winning Coaching Website series.  

In the last episode, I detailed exactly what your website needs going for it to be a client-winning website — the type of site that helps you attract and enroll new clients.

Branding is the first thing people will see on your website and you want to leverage it by having it be on every page, plus anything else you create — a blog, a podcast, a business card, social profiles, letterhead. You get the picture.

What is a Coaching Business Brand?

It's best known as your company name. You'll have a logotype made for your brand. But branding goes deeper than that. It's about the personality of your business.

Words are powerful!

When I first launched my coaching business, the brand I chose was Bubbling Well. That's still my dba and what I use for the legal entity, copyright and other official things.

But, while the word is lovely, it only meant something to me. And it didn't help my clients — who are coaches — to find me or understand how I can help them.

So in 2006, I changed my brand to Prosperous Coach, because helping coaches reach financial prosperity is my mission.

Branding a critical phase in your coaching business. It's an opportunity to design a lasting brand that artfully describes your target audience and your coaching niche.

It's best not to create your brand until you've chosen your target audience and designed your niche. Every step leverages the next.

Here's the secret ... the narrower and more focused your brand, the easier it is to remember. 

Which of these brand grabs your attention most? And which do you think is most memorable?

Rhonda Hess Coaching

Bubbling Well

Prosperous Coach

You can tell that I felt the last one was most memorable. And indeed, it was somewhat magical when I made the shift how much easier it was to attract prospects who were ready to work with me.

3 Guidelines to Choose Your Brand

1.    It’s meaningful to your target audience.

2.    You love it!

3.    No one else has a similar brand / domain name.

The last point is more important than you might think because it's better for everyone if your ideal clients don't confuse your business with someone else's. I know coaches who have received a “cease and desist” letter from someone who had the brand name first.

Brainstorm your brand while you're online. Use a Google search first to see if your company name idea comes up that way. And if not, then use GoDaddy to see if the domain that matches your idea is available. If not, you'll want to get more creative and unusual.

Let’s say you want the domain successfulmompreneurs.com and realize that someone has already registered it, DON'T simply choose a different suffix such as successfulmompreneurs.net. Similarly, if someone else has smartstartbiz.com, don’t opt for jumpstartbiz.com. In both cases your brand won’t stand out and you may lose clients to that other business.

Once you’ve landed on a good brand/domain, consider reserving not just the .com but also the .net, .biz, and .org.

Reserve the Domain For Your Own Name Too

Internet consultants recommend that you reserve your own name as well, even if it is not your company name. Your web designer can point the DNS servers of that domain to your brand domain. That way if someone can’t remember your brand name but they remember your name they can look it up and they will still arrive on your website.

... Learn the 3 approaches to brand your coaching business here.

Hello coaches! Today we are doing something a little bit different ... I'm going to take you on a journey. And, this is really about websites and how they work on your behalf to bring you clients and future clients and get people on your list so you can connect with them and build relationships of trust with them over the long term.

I've been talking about websites for a couple of episodes recently in a new series that I'm working on called Client Winning Coaching Websites. This is the third episode in this series.

If you haven't heard the first two, I'd recommend that you go back and listen. But after you listen to this one.

Okay, so today what we're going to dive into is what is it that makes a coaching website client winning.

And remember last week I talked about how so many coaches are putting up what I call an online brochure, which is really not geared for attracting and enrolling coaching clients.

As a result, the website just kind of sits there and does nothing. And it's frustrating because no doubt you spent money on it and time on it and invested a lot of your heart and soul into it too.

There is a totally different way to do a website and if you're about to start your website, I hope you'll listen really closely because it does begin with some really early things. One is choosing a viable target audience full of seekers and developing a really smart niche that's going to help you stand out in the crowd.

But also there's the mechanical thing which is to choose a website template that is actually geared towards enrolling clients for you and a lot of them are not. That online brochure type is not.

Imagine the Customer Journey Online

Now, take a couple of deep breaths, close your eyes and think about when you've been online and something has jumped out at you and hit the mark about what's important to you .

You have clicked and gone to a website. Then, because of the experience that you had there on the website, you made a decision to sign up on a list for get a free download. Or, perhaps even taken a stronger action and actually invested money into a program of some sort.

That journey is called the customer journey.

Create a strategized customer journey like what I describe below for your website tailored to your target audience.

The easiest way I could think of to illustrate this for you was to talk to you about your own goals and objectives as a coach.

As human beings, when are on the Internet, we are mostly in a trance moving through this thick, very busy, loud, marketing-heavy environment. We very quickly make decisions about what we're going to pay attention to and what we're not going to pay attention to. 

It's mere seconds. We pay attention to is something that has a high degree of relevance to us as individuals.

Your top challenges and goals are floating around in your head in the background all the time. Something that you're struggling with, something that you are challenged by, something that you'd like to change, something that you've tried to do on your own but haven't been able to.

You're looking for help ... maybe even consciously yet.

Relevance is What Grabs Attention Online

... Learn more about how to grab attention online.

Hello Coaches, this episode is the 2nd in a new series called Client Winning Coaching Websites. 

Your website can help you attract and enroll clients IF, but only if, you create it and write copy in a specific way so that it will attract and enroll clients.

It also requires quite a bit of strategy. I can help you with that.

In addition, it requires you or your web designer to choose a certain type of website template.

Not all web templates are set up for conversion. More about how conversion works in a minute. 

The previous episode, was about 3 things to do prior to creating your coaching website and meant to help you out especially if you're about to create your website. But it also can help you if you already have a website for your coaching business.

The main point to that previous episode was that, BEFORE you create your coaching website ... 

• choose a viable target audience full of seekers 
• conduct market research with them
• and then tailor your web copy and offers to fit what you learned from the most important people in your coaching business ... your future clients.

By the way, I was so excited to see that a record number of coaches listened to that episode. I'm honored. I think it struck a chord.

And I know how much you want to be successful in your coaching business. That's my goal too for you!

Bearing that episodes' message in mind ... today we'll dig in a little deeper. Peel another layer off the website onion.

Online Brochure Versus Client-Winning Coaching Website

Last week, a coach I recently met, launched his new website and asked a bunch of coaches, including me, to give him feedback. That was a brave thing to do.

As soon as I could, I checked out his site. What I saw was the kind of website I see most coaches put up at first. And, it's what I did when I finished coach training school.

His site is what I'd call an online brochure-style website. 

When the internet first became a place to do business, nearly every entrepreneur — consultants, coaches, other types of business owners — put up an online brochure.

At that time, it was the trend. The way to do business.

But having an online brochure is not the best way to do business online anymore.

The reason is that there is so much information online, so many websites and other types of marketing PLUS the internet has become a volatile place, meaning it's changing rapidly. 

And the competition online is fierce.

You Are Competing For Attention Online

You may think ... But, Rhonda, I'm not trying to compete! 

That's what I thought when I launched my first website.

The truth is whenever you do anything online to attract clients — whether you put up a website, create and engage in social posts or put out a blog or podcast — you are competing ... simply for attention.

So, in each of those cases, if you want to attract and enroll coaching clients, you need to be online in a strategic way.

An online brochure is NOT strategic in any way. Bottom line, it's not going to help you enroll paying clients.

What An Online Coaching Brochure Looks Like

... Learn more about ineffective and highly effective websites here.

 for mThis episode is part of a brand new series called Client Winning Coaching Websites.

 It's especially for new coaches who don't have a website yet. I want to help you do it right the first time.

This series is also for you if you have a coaching website already and it's not serving you well. No one is going to the website, signing up on your list or contacting you for a Discovery Session. 

There are good reasons for that and I want to help you get your website working for you.

So be sure to stay tuned for each successive episode in this series because I'll be going into details. And I truly believe you'll have some big AHAs about how to improve your website.

This episode is about first steps to take BEFORE you create your coaching website. Before you hire a designer. Or before you decide to buy a Wix or Squarespace template and do it yourself. A dubious choice! Or, before you ask your kid or your best friend's cousin to slap up a website for you.

All tough choices especially if you do that BEFORE you make these critical 3 decisions about your coaching business.

First, I want you to know that I am not a web designer. But I am an international business mentor for coaches with 20 years of experience.

And, because I'm the TEACHER Archetype, I tend to learn from my mistakes by studying and creating step-by-step guides for others. So, after I launched my 4th website, which is a client generating website, I decided to pass on what I learned. 

I created a step-by-step online training program called Client Winning Websites & Blogs for Coaches.

It was a fantastic, comprehensive training that sold well for a long time.

But, the world of the Internet changes so fast. I took the program off the market because there are constant subtle shifts in how things work, in Google's algorithms and in online trends. I didn't want to be updating that product every 6 months. I'd rather be helping coaches in Strategy Sessions  and in my VIP 5 month Coaching Business Breakthrough program.

Every coach I work with, I help them write client-winning copy for their website and manage the web design process because my website and my client's websites are proof that you can turn web visitors into clients if you create a friendly journey for your target audience on your site.

I realized recently, why not repurpose and upgrade the material in Client Winning Websites & Blogs for Coaches into bite-sized insights for Prosperous Coach Podcast.

So, over several weeks I'll cover in great detail what makes for a client-winning coaching website and I'll share some examples you can see online.

Today's mini-episode is about 3 the things you should do before you create a coaching website so you don't waste time and money.

And that's always my aim— to help you create a financially successful and rewarding coaching business from the get go, rather than getting stuck blindly following the masses of coaches who don't create a sustainable business. There's no reason why you should know how to do this without support from someone who has taken the less traveled road and found an easier way.

Okay... let me tell you story ... and see if you see yourself anywhere in this.

About 1 - 3 times a week a new coach reaches out to work with me and they fill out the application for my VIP Signature Program ...

... Learn more about this here.

Hello coaches, this is my fourth mini episode for you on the topic of Client Management that started with Episode 34. It's part of my series called Smart Mindsets & Habits. 

My husband and I have been getting our house ready for sale. Now we've got a fabulous buyer and it is time to pack. That's why the mini episodes. And coaches have been loving them. Thank you for listening! 

Today, we're talking about how to assess whether a potential coaching client is right for you.

Ideally, fit is assessed during the Discovery call. That's the Discovery Session, not a sample coaching session. There's a difference.

That's a time where you ask powerful questions to draw out what's going on with your potential client, what's in their way of the thing that they want the most. And then, you establish how you can help them in your signature program to achieve that thing they want most.

Fit Starts With Your Coaching Niche

Fit partially depends on your target audience and coaching niche.

You know me, I'm always talking about having a target audience, a specific narrow target audience for your coaching business, learning from them what it is that they want so much they'll invest in your help to get it.

Then, develop your coaching niche around that and what you bring to the table regarding the outcome they most want that you're going to help them get. 

When you focus on your audience and niche, there's a lot of power behind it because you can specify everything in your messaging and programs to fit them. I believe in it as the most powerful way to become highly successful in your coaching business. 

Why does assessing fit depend on your niche? Let me give you an example ... 

I help coaches build the foundation of their coaching business so they can launch with confidence and succeed financially.

My ideal clients are primed to develop their entrepreneurial business and to do the work of building that foundation together. 

I ask coaches about the kind of support systems they have in place, what kind of time they have available to work on their business with me. If they don't have enough time or support at home, if they're not excited about being an entrepreneur, then they're not a good fit work that I want to do with them. 

You'll develop your own way of assessing fit based on your niche. 

Are They Coachable?

Another aspect of fit is about coach-ability. 

... Learn more about how clients show their coach-ability or lack thereof. 

This episode is a mini ... because I am selling my house and moving, so these are short, unedited off-the-cuff episodes for you.

I'm getting some really positive comments about these!

Today's topic is ... should you send gifts to your coaching clients? 

The first answer is that it's totally up to you and you should always do what you feel is right. I think that every coach deserves the opportunity to try things out and see how they work for them. We're not all the same.

That said, I'll tell you that I have changed my tune about giving gifts to clients over the years.

When I first started my business, I got pretty precious about every aspect of my business. I bought all these beautiful little envelopes and cards and all sorts of paraphernalia with my coaching business logo on it. (That was the old fashioned thing that people said you should do and I bought into it.) 

I would also send my clients birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. I put a lot of thought into them.

But over the years, I noticed that I wasn't getting the reception that I really wanted to from giving those gifts. And I think that sometimes gifts are so personal. We all have such different tastes.

Giving a gift to a client can sometimes burden the client and burden the relationship. So my new thought about it is not to give gifts.

If you do give gifts, whether they are for birthdays or Christmas or a similar holiday, I would suggest that you keep them small and relatable and perhaps something that's relatively generic, such as an Amazon gift card. That is unless you know for sure that a specific gift is going to land with your client. 

For example, if a client mentions a book they want, just send it to them even if it's not yet their birthday. Then you will have done them a great favor and they'll feel that you listened to them. 

I think that gifts that have your logo on it, such as a cup or a pen, come across a bit salesy and they might even do the reverse of what you want them to do.

Now there is a circumstance that I still give gifts that I feel really good about ...

When a past client or a colleague refers a new client to me, someone who enrolls in my long term program, I like to respond in a personal way.

Recently one of my colleagues — a fellow trainer at coach Training Alliance, the place where I wrote curriculum — sent me a number of clients who all enrolled!

I called her and thanked her then said: "I want to treat you to something that you don't normally treat yourself to." She loves massage. So, I asked her who her massage therapist is and got his contact information. I called him and said: "I want to gift my friend with a number of sessions with you."

I bought her four massages and sent her an email saying: "You've got four sessions waiting for you with your massage therapist." She loved that gift.

Reward past clients for referrals. They feel special when it's something personal that they really want.

Now, if you have something that you really want to put into the hands of your clients at a special time in their lives, then you should do that 

These days, because I have so much expertise in helping coaches build a successful business, I have a lot of guides I've written that are primers. I like to gift those out to my clients throughout my signature program. 

And because there's a constant flow of extras coming to them, I think that there isn't any expectation or real desire for any other kind of gift.

I hope you got value out of this mini episode!

The Next Episode is: How to Assess if a Potential Clients is a Good Fit for You

Hey coaches, I'm excited to talk to you today about eight powerful questions that you can ask your coaching clients nearly any session, any time, any client.

These are powerful questions that are standard in the coaches toolbox.

As you know, I am selling my house and all of the things that we are doing to get it sold. I just decided I wanted to do some mini episodes for you that don't take much time to listen to. They also won't be edited. So I'm doing this off the cuff and I hope that you find it valuable.

You can see these questions written down on my website.

The right question can really help anyone zoom past obstacles and into a power zone of awareness and action on their own behalf.

That's why questions are so valuable to coaches and in coaching.

So the first question that you can ask that of course really unlocks a lot for your clients:

What do you want?

Well, sometimes people have a hard time answering this question, but with probing questions beneath it, you might be able to get them to it. 

The second question is:

What's holding you back?

As human beings, we do generally have a sense of this. We might be in denial about it, but we generally do know what we're doing that's either sabotaging ourselves or what we're thinking, what we're feeling that is lingering too long for us to be able to transform.

So what's holding you back? 

That question will cause your coaching client to go inside and really look at the truth with a capital T. 

The third question is:

What is it costing you to continue holding back? 

I don't know if we normally as human beings think about what the costs are of our actions, of our thoughts, of our habits, but to ask someone that causes them to look at themselves from a place of self responsibility.

The fourth question is:

How could you show up differently? 

Presumably you're talking to them about a circumstance or a situation and this question allows them to wonder, Oh, I'm at choice here. How could I show up differently? 

I remember this one time where I was going to be speaking in public at a pretty big event for coaches and I was just so nervous. I called my husband for support and he has asked me: How do you want to show up, Rhonda?

I paused and I thought about it. Well, I want to show up standing in my power, believing in myself and being open and vulnerable to my audience as well as delivering something that is actually valuable to them.

Those four answers just grounded me. They made me feel good again, made me feel ready again. And I realized that it was okay to be vulnerable with my audience. It's okay that I was nervous and I didn't have to try to obliterate that nervousness before getting on stage.

The fifth question is:

... Read the other 4 powerful questions here.

This episode is part of the Smart Mindsets and Habits series. And it's a continuation from Episode 34 about client management systems.

This questionnaire I'm about to take you through is one piece of a good client management system.

This episode and the next 3 will be mini episodes because I'm moving house! So you'll get a bitesized idea in a short time. I hope you find them valuable.

By the way, Prosperous Coach Podcast just passed 10,000 downloads! That's one sign among many that these episodes are landing well with you. Thank you for listening and sharing this with other coaches! We are growing a community.

If you'd like to be part of that community, join us in the Prosperous Coach Club on Facebook.

Questions are the life blood of what coaches do with clients. Open ended questions are so powerful that a single one can evoke a positive shift.

It makes sense that the coaching client intake would include powerful open-ended questions!

Here are the 10 questions I have in one document of my intake packet: 

1.     What are your strongest beliefs about yourself?

2.     What are your strongest beliefs about the world?

3.     What wisdom has come out of your greatest life lessons?

4.     When in your life have you felt the most generative?

5.     What does prosperity mean to you?

6.     How do you define your success?

7.     What is your BIG WHY for creating an ongoing business?

8.     How might you sabotage your own success? 

9.     What do you want me to do if I notice sabotaging behavior?

10. How can I best empower you?

The Next Episode is: 8 Powerful Questions to Ask Coaching Clients Anytime