20 Surefire Ways to Get Business Coaching Clients

Being a business coach is incredible—you can build a seven-figure business by offering premium coaching packages to your clients. You’re in the perfect position to help people develop their businesses and enjoy living the life they’ve always dreamed of.

But what exactly do you do as a business coach? And how can you help transform the lives of entrepreneurs who seek your help?

Table of Contents

What is Business Coaching?

Business coaching is all about helping entrepreneurs reach their business goals. It’s the process of taking a business where it is now to where the owner envisions it to be.

As a business coach, you’re responsible for providing business owners with expert and personalized guidance on how to run their company. You’ll assist the owner in mapping out his goals and keeping him accountable every step of the way to help him succeed.

A business coach’s role can be as small or as big as it needs to be, so here are some examples of how coaches assist business owners:

They help owners enhance their business skills.
They provide constructive feedback regarding the owner’s strengths and weaknesses.
They help owners look for and identify business opportunities.
They connect owners with organizations and other professionals that are relevant and advantageous to their business.
They help entrepreneurs transition from a small business to a larger enterprise.
They assist owners in proper financial planning for their business.
They listen to the owner’s problems and help them in goal setting and plan development.
They make sure that the business owner carries out the plan.
They help owners balance their business life and personal life.
They encourage, motivate, and build the owner’s confidence and self-worth.

How Do You Get Business Coaching Clients?

Whether you’re a novice business coach or already a seasoned one, getting clients is an integral part of your coaching business. You may be excellent at what you do, but none of those would matter if you can’t find clients who are going to pay for your expertise.

Check out these 20 evergreen ways on attracting more clients for your business coaching practice:

Client Attraction Tip #1: Give value first.

A mistake that rookie business coaches make is putting a price tag on their services right away—and then being unable to justify the price due to lack of experience.

Put yourself in the shoes of a potential client. Would you hire someone who pitches to be your business coach out of the blue without anything to show for his work—no experience, no testimonials, no case studies? Or would you go for someone who has helped you before, even if he doesn’t have any client reviews at the moment?

For most people, option number two is the obvious answer. So, before you price your services, focus first on helping as many people as you can to get your name out there.

When you come from a place of help, people will view you as a valuable resource. Eventually, you’ll be seen as an authority in your field, attracting business owners and making them want to work with you.

Some examples of giving value are:

Posting helpful business tips on your social media accounts
Answering questions in Facebook groups with lots of business owners
Creating a lead magnet—like a video series, PDF, or cheat sheet—and giving it away to people for free in exchange for their emails

Client Attraction Tip #2: Improve your branding.

Your website, social media accounts, and other online profiles are what people usually see first online, so you must make a great first impression through clear and consistent branding.

Branding is not just about having your logo on your website or profile. It’s also about having a branding statement that clearly shows who your ideal client is, what you can do for them, and why they need to choose you over others.

If your offer is confusing, it’s easier for a potential client to say no and move on to the next business coach with a more transparent offer.

You can craft your offer using this easy formula: “I help [insert your target market] achieve [insert outcome] through [insert your skill or offer].”

Now, read your profile as if you’re a potential client and see if it resonates with you. Another litmus test is to ask someone else to read it for you, then ask him what he thinks you’re offering.

Put your branding statement in all your online profiles, such as your Facebook and LinkedIn pages. You should also:

Have a professionally shot photo with a simple white, grey, or black backdrop.
Write an attractive headline, not a job title. Make sure to focus on the benefit you can give to potential clients, not just plainly stating what you do.
Update other sections of your LinkedIn profile, like your education, work history, awards, and accolades.
Ask for recommendations and testimonials from people you’ve worked with before, even if they’re not coaching clients.

And while websites are not yet necessary when you’re starting out, having one gives you a boost of credibility and legitimacy. Here are some pointers to make your website attract leads:

Make sure that your site is responsive, fast, and easy to navigate.
Avoid effects that will slow down your site, like parallax effects and tricky animation.
Have easy to understand sections, like Work, About, and Contact pages.
Use a legible and neutral typeface so that visitors can easily understand your message.
Limit the number of colors you use to make your site look unified.
Have a simple logo, or just typeset your name in Helvetica Bold.
Make your site SEO-friendly so that you’ll appear on search engine results.
Name the images on your site with descriptive names so that they will also appear on SEO.

Client Attraction Tip #3: Niche down.

It’s normal for novice business coaches to work with business owners in different industries. But as you become more experienced, you’ll realize that some clients are a better fit for you than others.

Maybe you’re getting more clients in the health and wellness field because you used to work in the same industry. You understand their struggles, allowing you to help them more.

Or perhaps you’re more inclined to help corporate leaders because you were also an executive before. In turn, these clients gravitate toward you because you speak the same language, making communication a lot easier.

Focusing on one niche and leveraging your experience will help you gain more traction as an expert in your field.

Client Attraction Tip #4: Spend time where your clients are.

Once you know the kind of clients you’re serving, it’s time to know where they hang out.

Join groups and forums where your target market usually spends their time. Do they have a Facebook or LinkedIn group? How about a subreddit?

Doing so allows you to gain valuable insights about your potential clients. What are their dreams? What are their goals? What are their challenges? What business strategies have they tried before? Did they succeed or fail? All these insights can help you craft a business coaching program that can solve the common problems of your clients.

And while you’re in the group, make sure to give value continuously. Answer any questions that they may have that’s connected to your business coaching services. Help them out when you can.

You can also use this as an avenue to tell them how your coaching has helped other people jump start or take their business to greater heights.

A few more tips to help you with your social media reach out include:

Use relevant hashtags to make it easier for your prospects to find you.
Block 15-30 minutes a day for engagement so that it doesn’t eat up most of your time.

Client Attraction Tip #5: Constantly connect with your target market.

Thanks to social media, it’s now easier to connect with people who might need your services.

Make it a habit to send at least 10 LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram invites per day. These people may not end up as your clients, but it’s a great way to grow your network. And the more people you have in your network, the easier it is to connect with their second-degree connections.

However, avoid sending direct pitches about your coaching services. People don’t like being sold to. A simple “hi” and “thank you for connecting” will suffice. Since they are already in your network, they can now view the helpful posts that you place on your social media accounts.

Client Attraction Tip #6: Continue nurturing your contacts.

Connecting with people and expanding your network is useless if you don’t nurture your connections.

Commit to engaging with them. Maybe you can send a quick congratulations if they post about an achievement. You can greet them during birthdays or other important occasions. You can even send a gift during the holidays.

It’s all about building relationships. Not only will you regularly get clients because of your engagement, but you might also get referrals because you’re always staying on top of their minds.

Client Attraction Tip #7: Leverage your current connections.

Your friends, family, and acquaintances are the low-hanging fruit of your budding coaching business.

There are two ways to get clients from them. One, tell them your offer and ask them for any recommendations. Two, offer them your service pro bono or at a discount for the sake of getting started.

You can offer your business coaching to a restaurateur who’s looking to open a new branch. You can also assist a friend who wants to transition from a corporate job to a full-time wedding photographer.

Just make sure that you ask them for a glowing review or testimonial to enable you to reach the higher fruits in the tree.

Client Attraction Tip #8: Tap your old clients.

Did you know that it’s easier to secure a repeat client than to get a brand new one?

Since these clients already know how you work, they’re much more likely to hire you again if the need arises.

Here’s how you can reconnect with your old clients and potentially get them back for more work:

List down all the business coaching clients you’ve had before and drop them a quick “hi” via email, text messaging, or whatever works for you. Make sure to personalize your communication. Don’t make it sound like you’re sending a mass email to everyone within your network.
Ask them how their business is going, give a few ideas that you think they might be interested in, and invite them for a call or a quick coffee.
Follow up after a week to bump your message up in that person’s inbox.

Don’t be afraid to ask your old clients for referrals or introductions to potential clients. You’ll be surprised at how much people are willing to help if you only ask.

Client Attraction Tip #9: Publish content.

Have you ever wondered why business websites often produce blog content?

According to HubSpot, companies with blogs have 97% more inbound leads compared to companies without blogs. Even small businesses experienced 126% more lead growth when they started producing regular blog content.

To make sure that your blog posts resonate with your audience, look at the problems that your prospects are experiencing and give solutions to them. Aside from giving you credibility, these blog posts establish you as an authority in that area and help you build your thought leadership.

You don’t have to post every day. You can start with one post a week and build up from there. The important thing is quality and consistency. Create an editorial calendar and commit to your schedule.

Aside from blog posts, here are some other ways to publish content:

Write value-laden posts in your social media accounts, like Facebook and LinkedIn.
Share content made by thought leaders in your industry. This is also a great way to network with industry leaders.
Comment on other people’s posts with useful information.
Guest blog for another person’s blog to expose your ideas to a new audience.

Client Attraction Tip #10: Set up a discovery call process.

If you want to dig deep into your prospects’ problems and close them as a client, you should get them on a discovery call.

A discovery call is an opportunity for you to diagnose your prospects’ problems and see if your service can help them out. On the other hand, your prospects can also get a feel of your offer before they commit. These calls can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

To set up discovery calls…

Set up a free conferencing service like Skype or Zoom.
Instead of going back and forth about your availability on email, use a scheduling service for setting appointments. You can also set up a web page on your site that allows people to book discovery calls with you.
Map out your call’s structure for a smooth flow. Regardless of whether the prospect ends up as your client or not, he should feel like he’s gotten value out of that call.

Client Attraction Tip #11: Run promotional offers.

Promos are a great way to drive engagement from your target market. But they don’t have to drain your wallet, especially when you’re just starting out.

An example of a promo that only requires a time investment is giving out free 30-minute consultations. You can award these to the first ten commenters on one of your blog posts. You can also ask them a question and choose the best answer among the participants.

For participants who didn’t win a free coaching session, offer a discount. By participating in your contest, they already expressed interest in your offer, so there’s a good chance they’d be willing to pay for it.

Here are some pointers in running contests and offering promos:

Don’t focus on your offer but on the benefit, you can give to your prospects. Remember, they’re not exactly buying a coaching consultation from you. They are buying the transformation that your coaching session can provide them.
Put a limit on the free sessions you offer. It shouldn’t take so much time that you no longer have space to take up paid coaching clients.
Don’t offer the promo too frequently, or your target market will learn to tune it out.

Client Attraction Tip #12: Engage in networking events.

Local networking events provide an opportunity to showcase what you do.

But you don’t have to attend every event in your area. Grace only the ones that your target clients will likely attend so that the time you invest won’t go to waste.

That’s why you need to get clear on your target client first, the type of coaching you want to offer, and the problem you want to solve. Have an elevator speech about what you do so that you can communicate effectively when the opportunity to talk about your services arises.

And it might seem old-fashioned, but business cards still come in handy during in-person meetings.

Here’s are some guidelines on how your business card should look like:

Make sure it says what you do.
Your contact info should be legible.
Avoid using additional photography and illustrations for a clutter-free look.
Use only one to two typefaces and colors for a unified look.

During events, ask for your prospect’s card first before you give yours. This way, you can follow them up instead of waiting for them to reach out.

And when you contact them, don’t forget to add a small note about who you are and where you met. Keep it short, and close with a note inviting further dialogue if they’re interested.

Client Attraction Tip #13: Use videos to market your business coaching.

With 78% of people watching online videos every week, you ought to give video marketing a try.

You can record videos giving out free business coaching tips to lend you more credibility. You can also show how a day in the life of a business coach goes for added authenticity. These videos make your prospects feel like they’ve met you in person, even if you’re only connecting online.

When creating videos for your business coaching practice…

Don’t stress about the tech. Your videos don’t have to be fancy and top-of-the-line; a smartphone with decent audio and video capabilities will do. The important thing is that your videos are genuine.

If you’re having a hard time editing, delegate it.

Be clear about what you want to accomplish in your video series. Outline what you want to say so that you get to cover all the key points. Let your audience know what to expect and the outcome you want to achieve.

Client Attraction Tip #14: Create a podcast.

If you want to elevate your status as a thought leader in your industry, hosting a podcast is a great way to establish yourself as an expert.

Another option is to be a guest speaker in other shows. Post on your social media networks that you’re looking to be featured as a guest. Include two to three topics that you’d be interested in talking about to make it easier for people to understand the value you’re bringing.

You can also do a tit for tat—ask a podcast host to feature you and get that host featured on your podcast as well. Just make sure that both of your audiences will mutually benefit from your partnership.

Client Attraction Tip #15: Build an online community.

Imagine gathering all your potential clients in one place—wouldn’t your life be a lot easier?

An online community, like a Facebook or LinkedIn group, can help you better connect to your target market. It establishes you as a helpful facilitator and makes it easier to engage with your audience in real time.

But avoid using your group as a place for constant self-promotion. People don’t like being sold to. Instead, always provide value, and the leads will come knocking at your door.

To maintain a thriving online community…

Always engage with your audience. Tag people to encourage them to share their insights.
Be active and consistent. Schedule around 3-4 posts a day so that your group members will always have something to look forward to.

Client Attraction Tip #16: Do email marketing.

Four out of five businesses use email marketing to get new customers, so this is an excellent opportunity for you if you have an email list.

Maximize your chances of getting more leads with these email marketing tips:

Ask your subscribers what their biggest challenge is that’s related to your coaching practice. You may invite them to a discovery call afterwards to prod deeper, then make an offer to help them through your business coaching.
Keep your emails short and easy to digest, between 200 and 300 words. The goal is to make a meaningful connection with your audience frequently. Tell a story, share a lesson, or provide some entertainment.
Have a call to action in every email.
Focus on your most engaged audience and remove the ones who have not opened a single email from you for at least three months to optimize your open rates.
Schedule your email at the same time each day to help your subscribers build the habit of anticipating and reading your emails.

Client Attraction Tip #17: Network with other coaches.

You can either see other business coaches as fierce competitors or look at them as collaborators who can help you grow your coaching business.

Some coaches choose to focus on only one aspect of a business, so you can collaborate with them in other aspects. You can also refer clients to one another when one of you is fully booked.

For instance, if you’re focusing on marketing a business, teaming up with a financial business coach can result in referrals and partnerships.

You’ll also gain a lot of insight into the strategies other coaches are using, allowing you to emulate what’s working and minimize what’s not. Seeing how they brand themselves will also help you differentiate yourself from them and carve your offer.

Client Attraction Tip #18: Speak in live events.

When you put yourself on the stage and in front of hundreds of people, you’re positioning yourself as an authority in your field—even more so when you share valuable information about a problem that your prospects want to solve.

But if you’re not yet ready to host your event, you can still become a speaker by checking out events by your local chamber of commerce or rotary clubs. These organizations are always on the lookout for speakers who can address their members.

When speaking publicly…

Decide on the topic you want to talk about. Make sure that it’s connected to your coaching practice so that you can easily transition from giving value to offering coaching for attendees who need further assistance.
Promote your event on social media to get people to show up.
Give a clear call to action at the end of the event—like scheduling a complimentary coaching session with you—so that your audience knows exactly what you want them to do.

Client Attraction Tip #19: Ask for testimonials and reviews.

Your customers are your best salespersons. The testimonials you get from previous clients are a type of social proof that you can leverage to get more clients.

TrustPulse has some pretty powerful stats to back up the importance of reviews:

91% of millennials trust reviews as much as recommendations from their loved ones.
83% of people trust reviews more than paid ads.
90% of internet users need less than ten reviews to form an opinion about a business.
More than half of consumers won’t use a business if it’s rated less than four stars.
94% of online consumers said that a negative review had convinced them to avoid dealing with a company.

Feature your testimonials in your blog content, value posts, social media, and website to encourage prospects to trust you.

Client Attraction Tip #20: Say no to people who are not your market.

Saying no may seem counterintuitive, but it’s one of the best things you can do for your business coaching practice.

Every time you say no to someone who doesn’t seem like the right fit, you’re giving space for more ideal clients to show up.