Best Life (Coach) Newsletter #004

Hey coaches!

This week we cover your ideal client avatar, knowing when to walk away, and landing pages. 

If you like this week’s newsie, tell your friends to subscribe here. It’s the number one way to support the collective ????.

~ Sarah

1. Your Client Avatar – Explained (Sarah Mae)

Does the idea of creating an ideal client avatar make your eyes glaze over? 

As a new coach or small business owner, it’s common to feel resistance towards the idea of identifying your ideal client. Especially because no one really does a good job at explaining WHY we need this!

How can imagining every little detail about your ideal client possibly help you? Sure, it makes sense to understand what social media platforms they use, but what type of shampoo they buy? Come on…

I hear you, and in this insight, I’m going to share what makes this such an effective strategy for selling. It all comes down to relationship building.

I take acting classes. When preparing for a role actors take the time to make choices about who their character is so they can understand everything they can about them. What drives them? How do they move? How do they talk? What school did they go to? What is their relationship with their parents? What is their favourite band?

The more you understand about your character, the more you can embody them truthfully. However, the audience never knows these things, the actor does all that preparation, and what the audience sees is a real person that they can connect with.

Ideal client work is the same. The more you know them, the more real you are when wherever you are showing up. The more real you are, the more people are going to connect with you. Not because they are that “ideal client” person, but because you made them feel connected to something real. You created a relationship.

Action: Get real specific about who is going to buy your offer, know what side of the bed they like to sleep on and what their favourite dessert is. Then speak specifically to THEM when you’re creating your content.

2. Know when to walk away (Steph)

As a life coach, it’s important to recognize that not every prospect will be the right client for you. While it can be tempting to take on every potential client that comes your way, this can lead to frustration and disappointment down the line. 

When you’re speaking with potential clients, frame your discovery calls as an opportunity to determine whether there is a good fit between you and the prospect. This allows you to screen out those who may not be the right match for your coaching style and approach. If you feel like the prospect is a good fit and has the potential to be an ideal client, then you can invite them to join your coaching program or offer.

By learning to identify the wrong fit early on, you can avoid headaches down the line such as no-shows, refunds, and other challenges that can arise when you work with clients who aren’t a good match for your coaching style. To further protect you and your client, it’s important to have a clear coaching contract in place that outlines the terms and expectations of your coaching engagement. This should include a cancellation clause that allows either party to terminate the agreement if it’s not working out.

Ultimately, focusing on finding the right clients for your coaching practice will help you build a strong reputation and attract more of the right people to your programs and offerings. So, take the time to screen potential clients carefully, and trust your instincts when it comes to determining whether someone is a good fit for your coaching practice.

Action: Create a list of the qualities that your ideal clients embody. Take some time to reflect on your past clients and identify the traits that made them a good match for your coaching style and approach.

3. Start with a Landing Page (Sarah Mae)

New coaches typically fall into two camps. Either you are in Camp A) Procrastinating building a website because the tech scares you, or you’re in Camp B) Procrastinating coaching by tinkering about getting your website perfect before you “launch”.

Which camp are you in?

Whether you’re A or B, here’s some important news for you… You do NOT need a full-blown website at this stage, instead, you will get your biggest return on investment (ROI) to create just ONE landing page.

A landing page is a stand-alone web page created specifically for marketing or advertising purposes, where a visitor “lands” after clicking on a link from elsewhere. The average conversion rate of a landing page is 9.7%, (while the average website conversion rate is only 2.35%). Better yet, these are search engine friendly, and you own the content (unlike most social media accounts).

Your landing page can be for a freebie (ebook, tool, video, etc.), your coaching offer, or even just your newsletter. Anything that provides value to your target audience.

There are many platforms available for building landing pages, including Leadpages, Unbounce, and Instapage. Most email marketing platforms offer landing pages (we like MailerLite). Alternatively, you can also build a one-page site with WordPress or Squarespace.

Less is more when you’re creating a landing page. Here’s what to include:

➡️ Above the Fold (content viewers see before they scroll down):

– Header: a specific title that says what exactly they are signing up for (no vague coach speak)
i.e: The New Plantparent Guidebook

– Sub-header: 2-3 sentences or bullets that explain what the benefits are
i.e: A 35-page ebook filled with the best tips and strategies to help you keep your indoor plants happy and alive.

– CTA: specific call to action. What do you want visitors to do? This is the actionable next step to fulfilling the claim in your header. This should link to a pop-up form that captures their email and either sends them their freebie or prompts them to book a call in your calendar.
i.e: Download Your Guide

➡️ Below the Fold

– Short Bio: Let people know a bit about who you are and why they should trust you
– Social Proof: Testimonials!
– CTA: Repeat your CTA

Here’s an example: https://bestlifecoachcollective.com/biz-clarity-playbook/

Action: Create a landing page for your offer. Remember, Keep It Simple Sassy ????

Who’s the Best Life Coach Collective?

We’re on a mission to help coaches succeed so that more people can experience the dramatic benefits of coaching. 

In addition to being educators, branding specialists, marketers, and leaders in project management, we are coaches. We believe in community supporting and uplifting each other, and we are here to share high-quality, vetted, and actionable coaching insights as we learn them.

Until next week!

???? Sarah, Melissa, & Steph – The BLCC Team (left to right!)