Note: This article was originally published in January 2008 Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. newsletter, a free monthly publication featuring business-building strategies for professional coaches.
Have you been inundated with greetings, articles, programs and other special offers related to the start of the new year?
Ever wonder why?
There is a natural sense of fresh beginnings and renewed possibility that occurs at the start of each year. This makes it a great time to market and promote your coaching services. Kudos to you if you are already in New Year Marketing Mode!
What?!? You haven’t taken any action yet to leverage the New Year Phenomenon?
No worries! It’s not too late.
Just think of it as riding the second wave of the New Year Mindset. Focus on the fact that New Year’s Resolutions don’t work, but coaching does. In fact, in the January 14th San Francisco Chronicle I read,
“About 35 percent of people break their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January, according to a survey by Franklin Covey.”
Did you know that you can leverage the “New Year’s resolutions don’t work…” theme from mid December through early February? Early February is also the same time as International Coaching Week (Feb 3-9, 2008). How perfect!
Ready to take action?
Use this simple 4 step plan and increase your client base in the next 30 days:
1. Create and offer something that leverages the idea, “New Year’s resolutions don’t work. Coaching does.” For example:
- Give a workshop or presentation.
- Write an article, report or top ten list.
- Do a teleclass or webinar.
- Develop an e-course.
- Record a podcast.
Offer your thing for free and make sure it positions you and your coaching as a resource. Ideally your free thing would be customized for your target market.
2. Promote your free thing, targeting your ideal client base as much as possible.
3. Offer a Complimentary Coaching Consultation (CCC) to the people who receive your free thing.
4. Conduct your CCC’s, handle sales objections and convert a percentage of your prospects into wonderful, new, paying clients.
This is a pretty simple and straightforward process, right?
Yes, it requires some work on your part, but we’re not talking about rocket science.
The “New Year’s resolutions don’t work” theme is universal. Whether you are a life coach, a corporate coach or a business coach, whethere you specialize in relationships, ADD or business, you can apply this theme to any market.
Want results? Take action. Get out of your comfort zone. Let go of perfectionism. Be willing to put yourself out there. Take advantage of this natural time for making a fresh start.
And remember, New Year’s resolutions don’t work. Coaching does.
“My coaching business before the Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. system wasn’t really working, especially with my approach to services. I didn’t have a clear strategy on marketing, packaging and pricing my services. The materials helped me to narrow my business focus and my target market. I feel more confident talking about my business and working with others now. The Packaging and Pricing module and the Client Consultation components really helped a great deal. It also gave me the confidence to charge more for individual coaching and to create some lower-priced/ shorter-term coaching products.
“Michelle, I continue to benefit from the training I received from C&GR – my company made a six-figure profit last year, and is on target to multiply those results again this year!”
“Before I learned the Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. system I was unfocused. I felt like I was all over the map. I only had a few clients, no groups and no plan to increase my revenue expect to work harder.