To highlight the importance of knowing your prospective client, you can imagine the success you’d have if your target market was adolescent youths from broken families and you promoted your $1,500 monthly coaching service in the Financial Review!

Whilst this example is obviously ridiculous and extreme, clients can be a fickle bunch and it’s crucial that your services are tightly aligned with your prospects profile and needs.

Most novice coaches come from the mindset “I’m going to coach XYZ group”. But they give little thought to the specific challenges, needs, desires and nuisances of their target group (niche). And without this information they’re almost doomed to failure.

They first develop how they’re going to coach, and then try to impose that service onto their target client. This approach does not work!

You must be client driven rather than product driven. You should first identify the specific client group you want to work with and then develop services and products that satisfy and fulfil their unique and specific needs.

What’s the best way to determine the needs of your target client?

Ask them! Interview them; survey them; take them to lunch and pick their brains; hold tele-sessions; talk to industry professionals already dealing with them; go to industry events; read their journals.

Asking the hard questions up front is so important to the long term success of your coaching business and your market niche (more on developing that niche soon).

Remember that it’s not enough for you to perceive that someone NEEDS what you have to offer. They have to WANT what you have to offer and be motivated to buy it.

The benefit you purvey with your offer must VASTLY exceed in value your clients’ perceived risk of investing in it.

Focus your attention on client groups who are already looking for the solution you provide and are willing to invest in the solution. Here is a 7-Step Process to develop products and services that are in high demand by your target clients:

1. First determine the top 3 most serious and annoying challenges that your target group want to solve.
2. Determine how regularly they face these problems and the financial and emotional cost to them having these problems recur.
3. Develop solutions to solve these top 3 challenges/problems.
4. Package your solutions as service and product based offerings.
5. Price point your services based on the financial costs your clients incur by not having the problem solved.
6. Establish yourself as a specialist who can help them solve the challenges/problems they have.
7. Demonstrate to them through quantifiable proof how you have solved their problems with like groups.

If you take this approach, not only will your services be aligned to your client, your clients will actively seek you out to have their costly recurring problems resolved!

Education-Based marketing is the process by which you attract and convert highly-qualified clients by giving them what they want… valuable information and advice that solves their problems; AND removing what they don’t want a SALES PITCH.

Education-based marketing is generally undertaken by delivering Credibility Marketing techniques such as public speaking, information based teleclasses, publications, networking, repetitive communication systems (newsletters, communities, eZines), hotlines, free educational give aways (such as reports, assessments, tools, eCourses), etc.

To develop effective education-based marketing products there are 3 Immutable Rules that you should keep top of mind:

Rule #1: It’s OK to lose money at the front end.

Whilst the development and delivery of education marketing products can be revenue positive, it’s Ok if it costs you money at the front end. As you’ll recall in previous articles, we discussed the Lifetime Value of a Client and the Client Acquisition Cost.

Many businesses often use “Loss Leaders”, or products and enticements that cost them money up front, knowing that they are going to make money at the back end (when clients convert and purchase their products).

For example: You may deliver a free Workshop on “Learn the FIVE groundbreaking strategies used by Super Star mums (including Elle McPherson and Liz Hurley) to SHED FAT after giving birth and be at normal weight within 3-months”.

The workshop may cost you $5,000 to develop, promote and deliver. You may have 30 attendees. Your upfront loss is $167 per attendee. But you may convert 12 clients and know that each client, on average, is worth $2,700 revenue for you. In this example, you have netted $27,400.

NOTE: A free coaching session upfront is probably the most common use of the loss leader principal amongst coaches, although we don’t necessarily recommend its use!

ALSO NOTE: Notice how the promotion is ‘education-based’ not sales-based. An attendee at the workshop will GAIN VALUE from the workshop REGARDLESS of whether they take up your product offer at the end or not.

You have also positioned yourself as an EXPERT by delivering valuable educational content, and have put yourself in a position to link ALL attendees into an ongoing value-add program - such as a Tele-Workshop Series; eNewsletter; etc.

Rule #2: Must be of high perceived value.

The product that you provide should be of very high perceived value to your prospects. One of the most significant barriers for business people to get their minds around with the education-based marketing concept is the idea of ‘giving away’ their valuable intellectual property.

Education-based marketing is NOT about giving away your service or information. It’s about INVESTING it.

By demonstrating the high value of your service you build substantially higher levels of TRUST and rapport with your prospects. And you position yourself as an EXPERT.

Withholding of knowledge only leads to DOUBT in the mind of your prospect as to your ABILITY to deliver on your promises. If you readily INVEST your intellectual property by giving it away, your prospects will TRUST you; acknowledge your ability to help them; and develop the perception that you have significantly more information of value to provide them (through your pay-for-service products).

Rule #3: Must be ongoing.

One of the greatest advantages of education-based marketing is that it lowers your prospects defence mechanisms, and it allows you to showcase your skills. To take full advantage of that opportunity you MUST continue to educate your prospects through an ongoing process.

At any point in time only a very small percentage of your prospects will be READY and willing to purchase.

Most businesses have a marketing system that TOTALLY NEGLECTS this critical fact.

If 100 people enquiry about your services, most likely only 8 to 15 will be seriously looking to purchase your services at THAT point in time. The others are simply inquisitive or think they may purchase at some time in the future.

As we mentioned in an earlier article, this process is called the Cycle of Life. You MUST recognise that your prospects are going through the Cycle of Life. You MUST have a means to add value to them in a non-intrusive and informative manner. And your process must be educational, informative and REPETITIVE.

Getting lots of traffic to your site is great, but if you aren’t collecting the contact information (i.e. names and e-mail addresses) of visitors, you’re wasting every single click.

If visitors leave your site without buying your product*, there’s a good chance they won’t ever be back and you’ll have absolutely no way of following up with them.

*Remember - Only a very small percentage of your prospects will be READY to purchase at any particular point in time. This is identical in an online and offline business. Most businesses have a marketing system that TOTALLY NEGLECTS this fact. Read more about the cycle of life in sales…

It can take up to 7 points of contact to make a single sale, so you’ll want to begin collecting visitors’ contact information from day one using an opt-in form on your home page.

Here are some ideas for e-mails you could send in case you need an excuse to follow up with your opt-in subscribers:

• Monthly or bi-weekly newsletters with tons of tips and info.
• Free reports on a variety of topics that your market would appreciate.
• Answers to common questions people ask about your product.
• Offers for products similar or complementary to ones you may have already offered them.
• Free product trials that give potential customers a taste of what you have to offer.
• A “downgrade” offer for a product that is less expensive or robust than your featured offer.
• Following up with the addresses you gather is quick, easy, and simple with e-mail management and automation software.
• You can create e-mails called “autoresponders” that potential customers receive automatically, as soon as they opt- in on your site - within seconds - no matter what time of day it is, or whether you’re even at your desk.

In addition to having regular systems to collect customer information and help you constantly communicate with prospects, you can develop referral systems to boost your subscription rate, including:

• Directing your subscribers to a referral section right after they’ve subscribed to your resource/newsletter. This page can include an offer (e.g. free eBook or free article) to reward them for referring your link to friends.
• Having a co-registering referral system with a partnering business. For example, if someone subscribes to your newsletter, a pop-up window will appear offering free subscription to a partner’s newsletter. The same happens from the other end. It is a very cost-effective way to double your list.

For more information about internet marketing, subscribe to a free 1-month trial at www.coachingclub.com.au.

Joint ventures are a highly leveraged way to grow your business and exploit an exhausted or passive asset in your, or the other parties’, business. Joint ventures are also known as host-parasite relationships; in reference to the beneficial (symbiotic) relationships found between two entities in nature.

In most instances, one business will contribute to the well being of the host; and the host will provide a reward in return to the parasite. The resultant benefits are greater than one business could capitalise on alone.

An effective host-parasite relationship provides the parasite with a highly targeted prospect group, leveraging off the established rapport with the host; and provides the host with a means to re-sell to a passive asset base.

In many ways, approaching another business with an offer to engage into a mutually beneficial relationship follows the same marketing principles as B2C communications. Below we outline some of these similar characteristics, along with unique issues you should consider when prospecting a joint venture:

Get the right host - Marketing fundamentals still apply. You’re better off having a smaller group of highly qualified leads than you are a big list of unqualified leads. You must carefully select who you host with as it will dramatically affect your outcomes.

Congruence - You want your host to have similar business values. If you establish a host-parasite deal with a host that has a poor reputation and no rapport with their clients, your deal will not work. Aim to find hosts with great industry reputations (these are usually the ones that’ll be hardest to convert to a host-parasite deal, but will be worth it in the end).

Win-Win - You must make it worthwhile for the host to enter into the relationship. The best place to start is to identify your Cost of Acquisition and Net Marginal Worth. These metrics will tell you what you can pay the host as a commission.

Bigger ticket items - There is little value trying to establish host-parasite deals to sell your small ticket items. There is no margin for you to commission back to the host, and you need such a large number of sales to make money that it makes the process redundant. Aim to use host-parasite relationships to sell products and services from the bottom (narrow) end of your sales funnel.

Non-competition - Identify hosts that won’t deem your offer to be competitive. Ideally, your product will add-value to their clients and prospects; and make them money!

Control Distribution - It’s important not to breach Privacy legislation. In most cases the host will distribute your offer to their list. This is more leveraged anyway as it serves as a testimony of your product.

Demonstrate the value - When approaching a host, you must clearly and succinctly explain how they will benefit from the relationship.

Volunteer to develop the marketing material - You should not impose effort on the host. Only reward. Let them know you’ll supply all marketing material, which will be subject to their approval. You may even offer to pay their distribution costs to their list.

How to Approach a Host

Here’s an example approach you can utilise to contact a prospective host: 

Hello [Name],

My name is _____________. I own ___________ company. We specialise in _________________.

I’m contacting you because I believe I have an offer that will make you additional income, with little to no effort whatsoever, no investment on your part, and absolutely no risk.

In fact, if you’re interested, I believe I can demonstrate how every one of your clients, and even your unconverted leads, can be worth an additional $____ to you.

Every business has an enormous amount of unrealised value. This is usually in the form of the goodwill you’ve established with your clients and prospects over the course of your relationship with them.

What I propose is this: After you’ve extracted all the sales and profits you believe you can from your clients, together we’ll sell them my product/s and share the profit.

You can control the marketing by way of an endorsed letter at my cost.

Our service is a natural mesh to your clients and prospects. It’s not competitive, and I believe, will even assist you build greater rapport with your clients.

This marketing system is used to great affect by big businesses. It’s one of their secrets to massive profits. Maybe you’ve received a statement from your bank or credit card company that includes promotions to other companies. What I’m suggesting is very similar and works to great affect.

As I only have ____ available, I can only work with a limited number of companies at one time. As you have an excellent reputation in the marketplace I chose to approach you in the first round. I’ll give you a call on _____ to discuss this further.

Source: www.coachingclub.com.au/ezine

Looking for ways to develop a successful marketing mindset that will help you grow your coaching business? Below are nine winning fundamentals to get your marketing approach right:

Focus on the right thing. Too many coaches become passionately in love with the wrong thing. They fall in love with the technical aspect of delivering coaching. The service. Obviously enjoying the delivery of your service is important, but as a coach your primary focus and love (metaphorically) should be your clients. Only by having a strong client focus will you be able to develop a winning marketing mindset.

Overcome your fears. We recognise that a significant proportion of coaches feel uncomfortable with elements of the marketing process - endorsing their abilities; closing a sale; committing a client to a contract etc. But it’s critical to recognise that these are all essential elements of marketing and of business in general. You must overcome these personal barriers. And the best way to do that is to recognise your resistance to them and actively seek ways to improve in those areas.

Remember, these barriers exist solely within your own perception. They don’t exist within your prospect’s reality, only in your mind. What is the absolute worst outcome of you asking a prospect if they’d like your professional assistance to attain their goals and better their life? That they don’t take up your service. Well, if you don’t close they’re not going to take up your services anyway, so you’re vastly improving your chances of converting them if you ask.

Be determined to succeed. You need to be absolutely determined that you are going to succeed. If you just want to succeed, but you are not willing to go the extra mile, you will get swept aside by those that are more determined. If you are truly determined, you will be confident and this confidence will automatically show in your business and be transparent to prospective clients, peers and the general public. Prospective clients will want to be associated with you, and clients will want to continue their involvement.

Persevere. Coaches with a marketing mindset embrace challenges as part of life and part of business. If you perceive challenges as impassable barriers you will never develop a marketing mindset. It’s crucial you accept you’re going to confront hurdles as part of business. How you perceive these hurdles, as opportunities or barriers, will drastically influence your level of success. Perseverance is a key ingredient in developing a winning mindset.

Remain positive. Literally nothing destroys a marketing mindset more than a negative attitude. A marketing mindset is a ‘can do’ attitude. Faced with the same challenge, the coach with a positive ‘can do’ marketing mindset will find a way; the coach with a defeatist attitude will submit and fail.

Set Goals. As a coach this is something you should know a lot about. Set yourself specific, achievable, stretch goals.

Plan a strategy. Establish a specific plan of action to attain your goals. Identify what resources you’ll need and the possible challenges you may confront.

Implement your plan. This is the most difficult part - implementation of your plan. Modify it where required, change your goals as others are attained, modify your plan if flaws are perceived, but always continue implementing. Non-action is the precursor of business failure. If you continue to implement, your business will always sustain forward momentum. If you have momentum, your direction (goals and plans) can always be adjusted.

Keep marketing. Your success or failure hinges on your marketing. Always maintain your marketing mindset. Always be focussed on marketing. People get caught up in the day to day ‘operation’ of their businesses and put marketing aside. This is a recipe for disaster.

How effectively you market will be the most influential determinant on the success (or otherwise) of your business. Marketing is not difficult or confusing, but it does require significant ongoing diligence and attention. The moment you lose focus on marketing your business is the moment your business performance will suffer.