coaching – Michele Christensen

To make sales, you have to make offers!

Ask Me Anything, Segment 17

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I fill in the final piece of finding coaching clients. You have to make offers! If you don’t actually give your audience a chance to say yes and make a purchase, it’s much harder for them to say yes to working with you. This is Segment 17 of the Ask Me Anything Series.

Summary here:

In this video, I cover the importance of making offers for your coaching services and for other products or services.
It’s not enough to just have a website and hope people will visit and purchase.
After building an audience and regularly communicating to them with valuable content, you have to actually make an offer for which they can pay you.
Some offers are for a free item such as a webinar or teleseminar, however at some point you must make a paid offer in order to make money.
Takeaway: After taking the time to grow an audience and nurture your relationship with them, you have to make clear and specific offers for your coaching services.
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How to communicate with your audience

Ask Me Anything, Segment 16

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Once you start building an audience for your coaching, consulting or service business, you’ll need to communicate with them on a regular basis to build credibility and demonstrate your ability to help. This tip talks about how to communicate with your audience. This is Ask Me Anything Segment 16. Link mentioned in video: www.michelechristensen.com.

Summary here:

This is Segment 16 of the Ask Me Anything series, and it’s a continuation of segments 12-15, in which I answer the question of how to find coaching clients. You will get the most out of this video by watching segments 12-15 first. You can find all segments of Ask Me Anything here.
In previous segments, I taught how to build an audience for your business and how to attract just the right people to that audience. In this video I talk about how to communicate with that audience.
The short answer is that the best way to communicate with you audience is however they like to receive information! However, email is the go-to tool for my own business and for most of my clients.
Specifically, I am referring to building a list of people who have signed up and actively said they want to receive emails from you.
Never add someone to your email list without their clear consent. It’s annoying, it’s against the law in many countries, and it makes you look like you don’t know what you are doing.
Once you start a list, you can start establishing your credibility by delivering valuable content to them.
You will also need to make offers at regular intervals so people can actually buy from you.
With an email list, you’ll never have to try and sell your coaching services to a “cold” audience. You can keep in touch and demonstrate your worth before you ever offer something for sale.
Having a list lets you control the timing of when people hear from you, and lets you take full responsibility for making sure you stay in touch. You don’t need people to remember you and your website in order for them to see what you are offering.
Takeaway: Keep in touch with your audience regularly in a way that is appealing to them. Email is a great tool for making sure you communicate with your audience regularly.
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Use the right language to attract your ideal clients

Ask Me Anything, Segment 15

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One of the best ways to attract the right people to your audience is by using the right language for them. This may not be the same language you use when talking about your work to people in your field or people who aren’t interested in the results your work brings.

Summary here:

This segment of Ask Me Anything is on how to attract just the right people to your audience
Use the language your clients use when describing your work
Don’t use clinical, technical or industry terms
Don’t focus on showcasing your incredible vocabulary! Instead, focus on communicating in a way that makes your ideal client feel like you completely understand them and can help them.
Takeaway: By using the language that your ideal clients already use, you’ll attract those people to your audience
If you liked this tip, go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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What kind of clients do you love to work with?

Ask Me Anything, Segment 14

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When building an audience for your coaching business, it’s important to focus only on attracting those people who you love to work with and who get great results from your work. In this video, I teach how to spot those people. This is Segment 14 of the Ask Me Anything Series.

Summary here:

This video goes further in answering the question “How do I get coaching clients?” It’s a continuation of Ask Me Anything Segments 12 and 13. If you haven’t read or watched those, I suggest you do before reading or watching this segment because you will get more out of it. Click here for Segment 12.
In the last segment of Ask Me Anything, I talked about building an audience of people interested in the work you do. In this segment, I help you get very focused on a specific subset of those interested people, your ideal client.
There are lots of terms you could use to describe the people you really want to work with – people use target market, niche, demographic, etc. but your ideal client is a specific subset of these terms.
I could teach an entire series on describing your ideal client, and some people do, but in this video I’ll present a short list of characteristics to think about in describing your ideal client.
Your ideal clients are the people you love to work with. For me, that is super-creative “right brain” people. I’m very concrete and linear, so working with right-brain people creates magic!
They get great results when they work with you.
They have a specific challenge that you totally geek out on! They struggle with the one thing you love to talk about.
They value you and your expertise.
They are able and willing to pay for your service.
They follow your advice and love the results they get.
The final and very important characteristic of your ideal client is that you like them! Don’t fill your practice with people you don’t like. Neither of you will get good results.
Now that you know what kind of people you are looking for, in the next segment I’ll teach you how to attract those specific people.
Takeaway: Get really specific about the kind of people you want to attract to your coaching business.
If you liked this tip, please go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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Build an audience of interested people (Ask Me Anything Segment 13)

Ask Me Anything, Segment 13

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Instead of trying to sell to people right away, focus on building an audience of people who are interested in the services you provide. That way, you can build credibility and connection before you try to sell anything. Link mentioned in the video: michelechristensen.com.

Summary here:

This video goes further into answering the question “How do I find coaching clients?” You’ll get the most of out this video if you’ve already watched Segment 12 of the Ask Me Anything series because this video expands on that one.
In the last video, I made two points to start with finding coaching clients: don’t try and sell “coaching,” instead focus on the change your work provides, and second, know who is will benefit most from your work and tailor your message to them.
Building on those first two points, before you try to sell anything, start by cultivating an audience of people who would be interested in the services you provide. The people you want to be building a relationship with are people who may at some point make a purchase if the right offer comes at the right time.
You can build your audience on social media, speaking, by building an email list or a number of other ways.
By building an audience before you begin selling, you will have time to build rapport, show that you can help and demonstrate your expertise.
Takeaway: To find coaching clients, first build an audience of people who are interested in the change your work provides. In the next few Ask Me Anything videos, I’ll show you how to do this.
If you liked this tip, please go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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How To Find Coaching Clients

Ask Me Anything, Segment 12

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In this segment of Ask Me Anything, I give the first of several tips on attracting coaching clients. This video explains how to view your coaching services from the point of view of your potential clients. Link mentioned in video: www.michelechristensen.com

Summary here:

In this video, I give the first of several tips on how to find coaching clients. The very first thing to understand is how to view your coaching services from the perspective of a potential client.
Nobody lays awake at night thinking “If only I had a coach….” What keeps people awake at night are the problems and concerns you help them with. People probably lay awake thinking things like “If only I could lose this 20 pounds,” or “If only I didn’t fight so much with my spouse,” etc.
So, in order to find coaching clients it’s important to think less about the fact that you provide coaching, and focus more on the fact that you solve problems that people suffer from.
It’s also very important to focus on who you help. Even if you do work with everybody, if you try to write or speak in a way that appeals to everybody then nobody will feel like you get them and their exact situation. Ideally, someone who would benefit from working with you will hear or read your words and say “Oh my gosh, how does he or she know exactly what I am thinking?”
In the next few Ask Me Anything segments, I’ll be giving you specific examples of how you can use this information to find coaching clients.
Takeaway: The very first step to finding coaching clients is to think about your service from the point of view of your potential client.
If you liked this tip, please go to www.michelechristensen.com and enter your name and email address, and I’ll send tips and strategies like this for solopreneurs right to your inbox!
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