Quick Start Program

Marketing

Marketing is creating the awareness of who you are and what you do, and then communicating clearly to your potential client how you would be able to help them through their challenges by working with you as their coach.

Seven Fundamental Marketing Principles

  1. Determine who you want to serve (your ideal client)

Review the Niche class for help to do this.

  1. Provide specific products / services to those ideal clients that will solve their challenges.

Keep in mind, it is not what you want or think they should have... At this stage you need to make sure it is what they want and think they need

  1. Communicate the benefits of working with you as their coach. (Answer the question: “What benefit will your client receive from your coaching services?”)

Remember this riddle:

  • Features tell
  • Solutions solve
  • Benefits sell - What is the end result (benefit) of your solution?
  1. Build a relationship with your ideal client
  • Establish trust and credibility
  • Maintain consistent communication
  • Offer true value – not fluff
  • Stay connected, but do not be annoying
  1. You must project consistency, reliability and maturity
  • To create a professional image, you must look and act like a professional
  • Doesn’t mean wearing a suit to every event, but you must act appropriate for your ideal client’s group
  • Your written communications (emails, etc.) need to be in a consistent tone without English errors
  • It is hard enough to get people interested in you (no matter how valuable you think they are). You will lose credibility if they see you as being inconsistent or not professional
  1. Start small and build as you develop

The marketing process will feel overwhelming as you are getting started. Remember to keep evolving and taking action. Start small; you will gradually attract your ideal clients. As you and your practice mature, so will the clients whom you attract.

  1. Marketing is an ongoing process (it never stops)
  • Creating a marketing funnel

Marketing Cycles

Client Acquisition Cycle: The period of time from when a potential client first becomes aware of you, until they actually buy from / hire you.

You may have heard the line, “always be selling.” By knowing your Client Acquisition Cycle, you will not always be selling. Instead you will always be creating awareness and developing relationships.

Knowing your Client Acquisition Cycle will have you not be thinking “will they hire me today?” when you first meet an ideal client. Rather, you will understand that it will take XX days, weeks, months or even years until they are ready to hire you.

In turn, this will have you focus on developing the relationship so that they will eventually know, like and trust (and eventually hire) you.

Client Life Cycle: The period of time from when a client first buys from / hires you until they stop buying from / hiring you.

It is always easier to have a current client buy from you than it is to find and develop a relationship with a new client.

By knowing your Client Life Cycle, you will start to see how you can develop products or services to keep your client in your space for as long as possible. Developing more products / services will have them (hopefully) stay longer.

So… how do we do all this?

If the goal of marketing is to create awareness and develop relationships, you need to do things that will have people become aware that you exist and they need to know that you are credible. Here are some of the things that will help.
Marketing Tools
Marketing message:

  • Create a few lines that clearly state who you are, what you do, and how you help your clients (the benefits of your service). Review the Niche class for help with this.

Tag Line:

  • A shortened version of your marketing message. Does not need to “say it all” – rather it should project a basic description of what you do.

Website:

  • A must in today’s world – this is a place for people to learn more about who you are, what you do, and how you help your clients (the benefits of your service).

Business card:

  • You’ll need a professional business card to give to your potential clients.

Introduction Letter / Brochure:

  • A printed version of your website, it should communicate who you are, what you do, and how you help your clients (the benefits of your service).

Social Media:

  • Powerful tools you can use to develop relationships with your ideal clients.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Blogs

Your personal image:

  • Simply said, you need to “dress and act the part.”

Marketing calendar:

  • Create some kind of system / processes that will have you maintain consistency with your marketing communications.

Assignment

The foundation of your marketing efforts is a clear and concise marketing message that communicates who you are, what you do, and how you help your clients (the benefits of your service). Once you have this established, the rest of your marketing efforts will flow with ease.

Complete the below questions to help you establish your marketing message (if you get stuck, review the Niche class to help you through these questions):

1. Who are you (as a coach)?

How might your personal life experiences give you credibility to help others going through a similar experience?

2. What do you do (as a coach)?

What problems do you solve for your clients?

3. How will your clients benefit from your coaching?

Describe how your clients will feel after they have received your coaching support?