Coaches develop their techniques and help clients by facilitating, observing and teaching by example. As a first time coach, it is difficult to share insights that take time to develop through experience as you engage with other coaches and clients. Like any other profession that you enter for the first time, not being able to perform the required job is always at the back of your mind. Sometimes lack of traction, failure to impress the client or perhaps lack of perspective invokes accountability for you as a coach.
Keep in mind that you might be a newbie being a coach but your prior and present industry experiences make more sense to the clients than your experience as a coach. Some strategies can help eliminate ambiguities and position you as a confident mentor that you need to be for your clients. No doubt your first clients will set a mark for your coaching success! Do not slip through the cracks and coach the issues to be addressed rather focus on the person you coach. Let us have a look at some ways to grow your first clients on ProductHired.
Tips to grow your Clients
Tell your existing mentees that you’ll be working with them on ProductHired
ProductHired has helped many clients position themselves in a job market with an experience matching any other coaching site, then why only us. Remember we are market exclusive and provide value services to a discreet audience only. Our coaches are product experts and so are the lead mentors, and this positions ProductHired in a competitive position than the rest of the market. Experts from a host of employers come together in ProductHired and help each other when needed and you get some degree of coaching before, after and during the phase of approaching the clients. This consortium not only positions lead mentors in the forefront but also allows new mentors to learn calculated approaches for future references.
Post your services on your current social networks
Your social media pages are your targeted audience – people who follow you or want to reach you now know how to approach you in times of need. Do offline marketing, hit Quora, join Toastmasters, use HARO or write guest posts. ProductHired also brings clients from various channels, attracting the right audience for you by marketing on various platforms including Slack channels and Linkedin. Remember to keep connected to at least 5-10 people everyday in your personal media space. Add value to group discussions on forums and post your services where needed.
Use your thoughts through leadership blog or other writing mediums to generate new leads
Write and publish content! Leadership blogs and personal experiences help people understand their needs and position you as a desired coach. Coaches who talk about realistic data and personal experiences are sure to hit any candidate. Write and ask your connections to send referrals to the blogs, so you can attract maximum audiences.
Ask your client for recommendations or referrals
Where content tells, referral sells – we know people look at reviews even when buying a product online or in stores. Coaching industry is no different to this market behavior and candidates shop around and look at reviews, referrals and recommendations to decide what works best for them. As new coaches, when reviews will be scant, recommendations and referrals can make it up for you to attract new clients.
Offer free sessions to bring in new clients and convert them later to career coaching
Filter-invest in short and free sessions for clients to turn them into potential candidates. Understand how you both can enjoy talking during the session in a meaningful dialogue and turn the discussion into a result oriented talk. That way you will eventually feel confident of turning the talk into a problem solving conversation. It also ensures that when clients are in, they are fully invested to stick with you for a longer profitable two-way learning experience.
Remember hard work Sells
Where your first batch might seem experimental and requires a lot of effort on your part, it also sets a tone and precedence to develop rapport, content, approach and strategy as well. When free consultation is a boon for your coaching success, so is marketing across your personal media channels. Trust yourself and give honest opinions where necessary and exhibit leadership through examples. The more you are passionate to help your clients, the expectation of better outcomes is sure to follow. Get access to webinars, courses, more resources to keep adding information. This requires research, active participation, hard work and persistence.
