Why Coaches Don't Get Clients

Should you have a coaching application form on your website? And if you do, what should you put on it?

An application form stops the wrong people getting through to you. But every question you add is another reason for someone to give up and leave. So in this episode I go through when a form is worth it, when it gets in the way, and what to ask.

What I cover:

• When to use one. If your coaching costs thousands, or you're running a group or a mastermind
• The mastermind where one lady took over every week, and how the right questions would have caught it
• When not to use one. If you're new, need clients or your coaching is cheap, put your prices on your website instead
• Why six to eight questions is enough, and why "what's your biggest challenge?" is a waste of a question
• The questions to ask instead, including the two that save you a lot of wasted calls
• The difference between an application form and an intake form
• Why your intake form should ask if they're seeing a therapist or a doctor

The full guide, with an example form written out, is here: Coaching application form: when to use one, and what to ask

Communication coaches help people get their message across when it really counts. Presenting at work, being heard in a meeting, giving someone feedback without it turning into a row, getting through a job interview without your mind going blank.

In this episode (recorded in a French bistro again, so you'll hear the waiters) I go through what a communication coach really does, who pays, whether you need a qualification, and how to become one that people will pay. It's based on what I've found going through nearly 11,000 coaching websites.

What I cover:

• What happens in a session, and the difference between coaching and teaching
• The two groups who pay: individuals and employers, and why the boss paying the bill might want something different to the person in front of you
• Qualifications. You don't need one in the UK or US, but there's a line you must not cross with speech and language therapy
• Five steps to becoming a communication coach
• Why "I help people communicate with confidence" tells a stranger bloody nothing (86% of coaching sites couldn't be understood by a stranger in five seconds)
• Picking your slice. Engineers presenting to directors, nurses doing handovers, the father of the bride with a speech in six weeks
• What selling double glazing taught me about why people buy
• Tom's example, and why being exactly right for a few people beats being a bit relevant to everybody

The full guide, with all of this written out, is here: How to become a communication coach

If you've ever typed "life coach salary" into Google, you'll have seen some big numbers flying about. Six figures in your first year and all that. I reckon a lot of it is rubbish, and it's making good coaches feel like failures.

In this episode (recorded in a bistro in Cognac, so excuse the coffee cups) I go through what the research really shows. That research comes from analysing over 11,000 coaching websites, 170+ coaching niches and nearly 2,000 coaching books.

What I cover:

• Why there's no such thing as a life coach salary
• Where the ICF figures come from ($67,800 in North America, $52,400 in Western Europe) and why they lean high
• The simple sum: paid hours x your price, minus your costs
• Dan's example. $18K in year one, then $43,200 once he switched to a 12-week package
• Why it only takes three new clients a month to hit the ICF average
• Why hiding your prices on your website loses you clients
• How your niche changes what people will pay

The full breakdown, with the figures and Dan's example laid out, is here: How much do life coaches make?

Not financial advice. Just how the sums really work in the coaching world.

Struggling to get coaching clients? You've probably been told you need more visibility. More posts, another funnel, another lead magnet. In this episode I explain why that's nonsense, and what really gets coaching clients.

I'm David Poole. I've worked with coaches, instructors and trainers since 2007, and I've spent the last few years researching why coaches don't get clients. This is the short version.

In this episode:

• The real reason you haven't got enough coaching clients
• Why talking about yourself, your method and your certificate makes people leave your website
• Why coaching words like clarity, abundance and alignment get scrolled past
• How to understand one client so well you can predict their next thought
• What chatting someone up has to do with marketing your coaching business
• 3 simple steps to get more coaching clients

Mistake 1: You talk about yourself

Go and look at a coaching website. Any one. Count how many times it talks about the coach. The method, the certificate, the journey, the life story. Now think about the person reading it. They're asking one thing: is this for me? If your words are all about you, they can't answer that. So they leave.

The better coaches fix this. They start saying "you" and "your" and talking about the client. It's a good step. But it's not enough on its own.

Mistake 2: You're guessing what your clients want

This is the one that really hurts. Open any coaching group on Facebook and look at how coaches describe the problems they solve. Clarity. Abundance. Alignment. Manifestation. Confidence. Clarity again.

Your clients don't talk like that. Nobody wakes up thinking "I need clarity." They wake up thinking "I'm broke and I don't know where my next client is coming from." Or "I can't face another day with my boss." Or "my partner doesn't understand me."

If you're not using the words your clients use, they'll scroll past you. Every single time.

Getting coaching clients isn't about doing more

This sounds a bit backwards. More activity usually isn't the answer. Understanding one client really well is. When you can predict their next thought, your offer fits, your words fit and you stop shouting into the social media void.

What chatting someone up teaches you about marketing

Picture seeing someone you fancy across a room. You don't walk over and read out your qualifications. You pay attention to them. You notice what they respond to and you adjust. That's marketing, and you already know how to do it. The coaches who can't get clients are the ones standing in the corner reading out their CV and wondering why nobody's interested.

3 steps to get more coaching clients

1. Pick one client. Not a demographic. One real person with one real problem.
2. Find out how they talk about that problem. Go where they ask questions online, read exactly how they phrase it and write it down. Their words, not yours.
3. Say it back to them. On your website, on your social media and on your sales calls. Their problem, in their words, and the outcome they want.

That's the whole game. Not more activity. Better aim.

Why hardly anyone does this

Because it's boring. Proper research takes time and it's not glamorous. I know, because I've done it. But the coaches who do the research are the ones who get the clients.

The research behind this episode

At Going Beyond The Illusion I've covered 117 coaching niches and around 900 super niches. I've pulled apart thousands of coaching websites to see how coaches market themselves, and I've analysed nearly 2,000 coaching books. If you want to see what the research says about your niche, it's all on the website.

Who this episode is for

Life coaches, business coaches, health coaches, mindset coaches, relationship coaches and anyone running a coaching business who's tired of posting every day and getting nowhere.

Read the full guide: How to get coaching clients