Lead generation is the most important aspect of building a successful business coaching practice—and for many business coaches, the most elusive. Over the years, we’ve experimented with tons of tactics to help business coaches generate the leads they need to grow. And we’ve found that these eight are consistently the most effective.
If you’re struggling to generate leads, we highly suggest you dump old, ineffective strategies you may be using, and focus in on these.
Referrals
First is referrals. This is the fastest, easiest, and most high-leverage way to get new clients for your coaching business. You can get referrals either from existing clients or others in your network. Here’s our favorite strategy for setting up a meeting with a contact and leaving with warm names you can reach out to, with the added bonus of a vigorous endorsement from a mutual acquaintance.
Networking
Networking is another way to generate warm leads…IF you do it right. That’s a big “if,” because far too many people go to networking events only to hide in the corner and get nowhere. But networking can be incredibly effective if you follow these steps.
Social Media
Beware: you can waste a lot of time, money, and energy spinning your wheels on social media. We’ve used two social media strategies to great effect; leave the rest alone. First, we have a free Facebook group where our clients and prospects can interact with one another. This is a very positive, supportive environment that gives members access to Certified Coaches Coaches and allows folks to build a community while getting our best advice. Could you create something similar for your clients?
Second, we use micro-targeted, paid marketing on Facebook and LinkedIn. We know exactly who our target market is, and we show them ads that are designed to get them to opt into our database by offering free, high-value content.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is the process of creating high-value, actionable content to your prospects before they buy. It can come in many forms: ebooks, podcasts, mini-courses, blogs (as in this very post you’re reading), YouTube videos, and more. The trick is to ensure that the content you give away for free is as good as the content you sell. When people become clients after consuming your content, it’s not the content itself they’re buying: it’s the help implementing it, and the accountability to make sure they do it right.
Direct Mail
Contrary to popular belief, direct mail isn’t dead! In a world in which everyone’s inbox is inundated with an endless stream of solicitations, direct mail can still work well. Use it to generate new leads, warm existing leads, and drive traffic to your digital properties.
Outsourced Telemarketing
Why “outsourced”? Because, in most cases, your time is too precious to spend it cold calling. (That doesn’t mean you don’t need to spend time every day on the phone, though!) Use outsourced telemarketers like ConnectAndSell to do the screening and appointment setting for you, so that you can spend your time having live conversations with real prospects who want to talk–instead of suffering through hours of fruitless dials. We call this “warm calling” because you’re phone calls are to warm prospects, not cold ones.
Bold Walking
Bold walking is the practice of going into places of business, in person, to meet and connect with business owners. Of course, this strategy works best if you’re focusing on being a “local legend” (someone who works a particular geographic market as opposed to, say, a particular industry). Bold walking is a great way to break into a new area, or to make connections in the community that can pay dividends now and down the line.
Strategic Partnerships
Strategic partners are highly valuable relationships that essentially provide you referrals in bulk. They’re non-competitive companies that cater to your approximate customer profile and preferably have an advising role: think accountants, bankers, and lawyers. These relationships can take time to cultivate, and because they operate on trust, sometimes you need a large portfolio of experience to prove your value. But they are worth their weight in gold if you can be the go-to expert recommended by other trusted professionals.
Don't waste your precious time and resources on tactics that don't work. These tried and true approaches to business coach lead generation will give you a lean, effective marketing system that gets results.
What Are You Waiting For?
I’m not exaggerating when I say that these are the ONLY eight lead-generation strategies you need. Don’t waste your precious time and resources on tactics that don’t work. These tried and true approaches to business coach lead generation will give you a lean, effective marketing system that gets results. Enjoy!
