I am so clear that you’re a coach not because you love marketing; you’re a coach because you love helping people. If you loved marketing, you would have a very successful career in advertising.
And yet, the coaching world can be very crowded. So standing out is both tough and a must. I’ve also found that, unless you’re a coach, it’s difficult to understand the value of coaching.
So how can you market yourself to your target audience in a meaningful way that doesn’t feel like you’re selling out?
1. Redefine what it really means to be of service.
There are a lot of coaching training programs built on the premise that the more you serve, the more clients you have. But the implication becomes, the more you give stuff away for free, the more clients you will attract!
I think there’s a missing link here.
There are people out there whose lives will transform through working with you as a coach, and you cannot rob them of the opportunity to decide if they want to work with you or not.
If you’re having free coffee dates, giving away free sessions, and serving, serving, serving without ever actually converting people into clients, they’re missing out on the incredible value that comes in truly investing in themselves.
Marketing is not selling anything. It’s an invitation. It’s about giving people the chance to decide.
To be specific, it’s sharing who you are and giving people the opportunity to decide what they want to do with that information.
That’s all you’re doing.
2. Create a cause bigger than your fear.
Odds are that at some point in your life, you’ve had to find an apartment in a short span of 30 days.
As stressful as it was, I have every confidence that you successfully executed the super clear process of reaching out to friends and family for leads, posting on social media, and combing Craigslist on a daily basis.
I’d also be willing to bet that you were so active and focused that you didn’t have a place in your life for fear. Instead, you simply did what was necessary to get the job done.
And you did! You found an apartment. Which means you dealt with the urgency of needing a home, focused on a deadline, and had no choice but to replace fear of being homeless, with impactful action.
So…let’s do that with your marketing!
How can you create a cause that’s bigger than your fear?
We often look at the scary things that will happen if we post on Facebook about a class that we’re teaching, or send out an email inviting people to an introductory session. We look at the judgments others might make or any vulnerability we might feel…but we never look at what we stand to lose by not taking any action.
Let me be clear: In this context, I don’t even think it’s enough to look at what you as a coach stands to lose; I think it’s more about what the planet stands to lose by you not sharing your work and your purpose with the world.
I was talking with a client last week and she is in “analysis paralysis.”
She is so afraid of putting the wrong impression into the world that she’s putting no impression into the world.
So, I created an imaginary scenario for her:
We are in a sci-fi movie; the world is going to explode in 30 days if you don’t generate $3,500 worth of business in the next month.
Eeek!
Now, we’re playing a game, which takes a lot of energy out of the fear, but it also offers a very specific lens for her to find the focus and urgency for putting herself into the world in a productive and effective way.
From here, I asked her to consider that pressure of making $3,500 in one month. If the world depended on it, which of her awesome ideas is most aligned with immediate income generation?
Done.
Now we have a plan, and we have a healthy urgency to help her execute it in an empowering way.
In fact, doesn’t that sound like the beginning of the film “Jobs”?
Remember when Steve Jobs motivates Andy Hertzfeld to come up with a solution to the fact that their computer isn’t saying “hello”? Now, many would consider his tactic a threat, but he was creating a bigger cause to motivate Andy.
Yes, yes, I know Steve Jobs didn’t do it in a supportive way and instead, instilled threatening fear as a motivator, but Andy came up with a solution, didn’t he?
So, maybe… Job well done! (No pun intended.)
What are some strategies that have helped you put yourself out there in a fearless and empowering way? Tell me all about ‘em in the comment box below.
