There are many ways to gain high-paying clients. And, you don’t have to be on social media 24/7 to do it either. Some methods I’ve personally have had success with over the years, especially workshops and virtual summits (but we’ll get into that a little later).
Keep reading as I share practical marketing strategies for attracting your ideal coaching clients without social media.
Table of Contents
Host Virtual Workshops and Webinars
For my first example, I want to draw from one of my clients, podcaster and author Janine Bolon.
She said: “From my first workshop, several people joined my group and 1-on-1 coaching program. I intend to run one a month going forward, and I now use the workshops as my primary way of attracting clients!”
I’m always going to suggest hosting virtual workshops and webinars, because I’ve had so much success with it myself. I’ve launched dozens of workshops and each time I got new high-paying clients.
A workshop is the perfect place to show off your expertise in your market. You’re delivering useful, actionable information in the niche you’re working in, and the best part is, your ideal audience is going to be exactly the kind of people who could benefit from some coaching.
If you’re not fully into this idea: I’ve sold over 1,000 workshops between $27-97, and I’ve also held over 1,000 appointments after my workshops and summits for people who wanted to then become clients. If that doesn’t convince you it’s worth it, I don’t know what will.
If you’re thinking about going ahead with this, you can read our Virtual Workshop Mastery guide.
Key Takeaway: Virtual workshops are the perfect place to find new high-paid coaching clients and build a private community. They will get a glimpse of your expertise, get to know you, and realize you are the obvious choice to help them reach the next level.
Host a Virtual Summit
I’d like to use another client of mine, Sara Artemisia, as an example for this. Sara has hosted a free virtual summit, giving knowledge and expertise in her niche, and has used it to attract new customers:
“Working with Liam allowed me to grow my email list by 5,000 people, to generate $1,000s and pivot to a completely new niche in a few short weeks.”
A virtual summit is a way of bringing together expert voices on a particular subject.
They’re also a popular way for coaches to bring in additional income and expand their successful coaching business using less complicated funnels.
For instance, I’ve launched over 15 summits myself, and have made multiple 6-figures every year off the back of these summits.
But virtual summits can also be used to attract new clients for your online coaching business. Like workshops, these will be people looking for specific advice in your field, and they may be eager to work with you after you’ve given them some useful, practical tips.
Key Takeaway: Virtual summits are an excellent way to attract new clients. You can sell these summits as digital products, too, giving you a future source of passive income.
Host a Podcast
Business coach Laura Agar Wilson runs the podcast The Wholehearted Business Coach, which gives advice to other coaches, entrepreneurs, and business owners. Laura says on her website that podcasting “has supported me to be visible on several platforms and has helped me create content that will serve my business now and for the future.”
If you have the time, hosting a podcast can be a great way to attract coaching clients.
The key is to offer useful information within your niche. Take some time to write down ideas for topics.
You can dive deep into your specialist knowledge here; podcasts can be as short as 20 minutes, so you can spread your ideas over several episodes.
The key to this is giving your listeners some actionable information they can use. This builds trust and makes listeners see you as an expert.
You can also invite guests, which is an excellent way to bring in new listeners. My website, Talks, can link you to the perfect podcast guest for your show.
Key Takeaway: Running a podcast takes effort and dedication, but it may provide you with a pool of potential new clients, and will help build trust between you and your listeners.
Speak at Conferences
Erin Halper, CEO of The Upside, speaks on LinkedIn about her experience with conferences:
“When speaking in front of an audience, don’t be afraid to weave in phrases like “When I work with clients, I see …” to remind folks what you do for a living, without overtly promoting yourself (which can be off-putting).”
I think this is excellent advice. Speaking at conferences or online events can be a useful way to find people who are seeking advice from experts, and they’ll automatically see you as one, since being invited to speak at a conference gives you authority.
So how do you get invited to speak at conferences? Mostly through networking. Attend events yourself, get to know the organizers, follow events on social media, and join professional networks. This can be a good investment of your time and an effective strategy in the long term.
Key Takeaway: Speaking at conferences gives you authority and professionalism, and it’s a great way to attract high-paying clients looking for expertise.
Launch a Referral Program
Small business coachBradley Saribekian has had success with referrals and says in an article for LinkedIn:
“Referrals are a great source for your funnel, but make sure it feels like you are asking for something other than a sale or lead.”
Setting up a referral program doesn’t have to feel formal or like you’re spamming your current clients. It can be conversational. You need to be able to offer something that benefits your current clients and inspires them to share your coaching services with others.
For instance, this could be a percentage discount for your sessions. But this is a great way to find high-paying clients via people you already have in your network.
Key Takeaway: Set up a referral program that works for your current clients and gives them an incentive to get others to sign up.
Run a Direct Mail Campaign
Siân Mansbridge is a marketing consultant for C.J Talent. She likes direct mail as a marketing tactic for getting new clients because it offers a good mix. As she says in a post on LinkedIn: ‘When you get on and offline marketing techniques working together, in sync, there’s a compound effect.’
I like the direct mail route because nowadays, it’s surprising:
“I don’t get as much physical mail as I used to, so it stands out for that reason. You can direct your ideal coaching clients to your website, and it does give a professional look that high-paying clients may find attractive.”
Key Takeaway: Don’t write off direct mail as an option for attracting new coaching clients – some coaches have seen success this way.
Do a Podcast Guest Tour
Talent agent and career consultant Emily Maguire talks on her website about being a podcast guest:
‘As a guest, you can discuss your ideas … you can establish yourself as an authority figure.’
A lot of finding new clients is down to sharing some of your coaching wisdom on a particular subject.
High-paying clients want to know that their money is going to be invested in something that will have a tangible outcome for them, and part of that is trusting that you know what you’re talking about. Having a popular podcast choose you as a guest is strong social proof for your coaching practice.
Podcast hosts are often looking for guests to share their expertise. You can use my Talks Connect community as a way to pitch podcast hosts.
Key Takeaway: You don’t need to run your own podcast to make the most of them. You can offer your services as a guest, and this will open up your services to new audiences.
Start an Email Newsletter
I like Rebecca Tolin as an example of an email newsletter that will appeal to clients. She’s a mind-body and life coach, and she offers a newsletter within that niche. Her newsletter contains useful content for clients (like meditations, for example), but also links back to her coaching services.
A newsletter is useful because you can get some of your personality and expertise across without it looking too ‘salesy’; email newsletters can feel like a conversation more than a sales pitch and can help bring new clients into your online coaching space.
Again, this builds trust, familiarity, and authority. Which is so important when you’re trying to attract high-paying clients to sign up for coaching sessions.
For example, one of my former clients, Carl Cincinnato, gained over 100,000 email subscribers after working with me. There is power in having a strong number of email subscribers, as your next wave of clients could be among them.
Key Takeaway: Investing some time in an email newsletter can build authority and trust with your potential client base, and if you have the time, it’s worth giving it a shot.
Collaborate With Other Businesses
In English communication coach Amil Rasheed’s opinion, collaboration is useful:
“In my experience, collaborating with other coaches has always been helpful. Yes, you can learn from others and help others. It absolutely raises the overall level of the industry and quality of coaches.”
There are many ways to collaborate for coaches – you don’t just have to collaborate with other coaches. Collaboration is helpful for everyone, you just need to find businesses within your niche.
For example, you might do some guest posting on a blog for a local business within your niche, or you might agree to appear on a podcast or a YouTube channel.
Collaboration is good because it opens up your network even wider. You will have the attention of people you may not have been able to reach before, and those people might just be looking for a coach with your level of expertise.
Key Takeaway: Collaboration is beneficial for everyone and can open up your work to a much wider audience.
Host Invite-Only Events and Dinners
Mark Coles, fitness coach, talks about the benefits of in-person events on his YouTube channel: he talks about how crucial it is for retaining good relationships with his current clients.
I agree, but I would go further and say that invite-only events are brilliant for gaining high-paying clients. You could encourage your current clients to invite people they know, for example. Networking events may seem daunting, but it’s a good way to build a relationship and a rapport with high-profile industry figures.
It positions you as a person of note within the industry and builds your network. The advantage of in-person events is that people will remember you when they think of this specific event. This is particularly useful for executive coaches to find your ideal clients.
The great thing about invite-only dinners is that you will have time to prepare. You’ll already know the people attending, and you’ll be able to have deeper conversations quickly with the introductions already taken care of. Plus, you’ll be intentionally putting yourself around the people you would specifically love to work with.
Key Takeaway: In-person events are excellent for attracting high-profile figures within your industry.
Sponsor Industry Events
Another way to attract new clients is to sponsor industry events. You can sponsor a conference or a meetup specific to your industry.
For example, if you’re a business coach who works with agencies, you can sponsor a conference that your current and past clients attend every year. This way, you can touch base with former clients, network, and get your name out there with high-paying clients who may also be attending the conference.
In-person networking is incredibly powerful and gives you a chance to have one-on-one conversations with potential new clients.
Key Takeaways
There are many ways to attract high-paying clients without social media. From personal experience, if you can get into virtual workshops and webinars, you’ll find it’s one of the most powerful ways to gain new clients.
Take this real example from one of my workshop clients, Philip Duncan:
“From my workshop, I instantly brought in $6.5k in revenue and was able to drive people to book a call with me for my high-ticket services. I then secured another $10k the following week.” There are real benefits to focusing on this.
But any of these tips are a great way to grow your client list. Plus, it cuts down on your social media time, so if you’ve been stuck in a cycle of doom scrolling, now might be the time to think about switching up your current marketing efforts.
If you want to find out more, watch our free training on how to get coaching clients today.