How to Get Clients as a Coach or Consultant

What's the secret to getting clients as a coach or consultant?

Start with ONE client. Then serve that client in the best way you possibly can.

To get clients, choose a specific niche, package what you do into one clear offer and start one-to-one conversations with the people who need it, using two connection-based strategies before you try to build an audience. Sell that package three times. Deliver so well people buy again and refer their friends. Only then scale your marketing.

So many coaches crave a big brand with a huge following, and they try to skip steps to get there. It doesn't work.

I didn't start with a big brand either. I started by coaching individual clients, one at a time, on their websites and their brands. Live Your Message has now worked with 19,246 students in 140 countries, and when I look back at how it began, there were seven specific steps that got the ball rolling.

The seven steps from one client to a full practice

1. Niche
2. Package
3. Attract
4. Sell
5. Deliver
6. Sell again
7. Scale

Most people want to start at step 7. Here's why you shouldn't.

Step 1: Choose a niche so the right people know you're for them

So many coaches try to be all things to all people -- "I'm a life coach AND a business coach!" -- that they end up being nothing to no one.

When you choose a specific niche, it's like switching on a lighthouse. You send out a beam that says to exactly the right people: I help people just like you. I can help you.

Some examples:

• Instead of a general life coach, you help women who've just become empty nesters find their purpose for the second half of life.
• Instead of a generic business coach, you help owners prepare their company for sale.
• Instead of an operations consultant, you help independent dental practices cut no-shows and fill their schedule.

The more specific you are, the more universal you become. You stop being a bargain basement "help everyone with everything" coach and become known for YOUR thing.

If you haven't chosen yours yet, start with my guide to choosing a profitable niche.

Step 2: Package what you do into one clear offer

Once you've chosen your niche, package it into one specific offer. It could be a VIP day, six sessions or a three-, six- or twelve-month engagement. For consultants it might be a fixed-scope project or a monthly retainer.

The key is being specific. You're no longer waiting for people to book a session when something comes up. You're leading them and saying:

• This is what we're going to do together.
• This is what it looks like.
• This is how long it's going to take.
• This is what it costs.
• This is what it's called.
• These are the steps we'll focus on.

When you do that, your business comes alive. One sale can carry you for three months or a year instead of keeping you in feast or famine mode, chasing the next single session.

Step 3: Attract clients from the bottom of the Marketing Pyramid

There are endless marketing strategies out there. Every blog, newsletter and group has another one. It's overwhelming.

But when you're getting started, there are seven essential strategies. And you only need to start with two.

I think of marketing as a pyramid. At the top is Authority or 1:Many Marketing -- social channels, podcasts and big audiences. At the bottom is Connection-Based, 1:1 Marketing -- real conversations with one person at a time.

Most coaches starting out begin at the top. They open an Instagram account, broadcast to anyone who'll listen and wait to be discovered. But growing a following takes a long time, and followers you've never spoken to are hard to turn into clients.

So start at the bottom. You can still use online channels to spark conversations, but whatever channel you choose, the goal is to move people into one-to-one conversations.

Pick two of these seven. Add more as you grow.

Chatterboxing

Chatterboxing means having strategic conversations everywhere you go, online and off -- at the grocery store, on a plane, in an online group.

It starts when you realize that YOU are the voice of your business, everywhere you go.

The goal is to talk AROUND your topic, not to sell. When someone asks what you do, give them a sentence they can picture: "I help independent dental practices fill the gaps in their schedule." If they lean in and it sounds like they or someone they know has that problem, ask a question and move into a deeper conversation. If not, enjoy the chat and move on.

I highly recommend chatterboxing as one of your two.

Double down in a hub community

Your goal here is to become the number one resource in someone else's community -- an association, a professional network or an online group.

My friend John Corcoran did this with a group of high-achieving women. He became the lawyer they all recommended, and he filled his entire practice from that one community.

Pick one community where your clients already gather. Show up consistently, answer questions generously and be the person people tag when your topic comes up.

Become a hub

If you're a social person, consider creating your own hub: a monthly roundtable, a peer group or an online community around your topic.

The big advantage is that you fish in your own pond. You're not a guest in someone else's space. You make the rules and showcase your expertise to people who've chosen to be there.

Social video to private messages

If you love video or want to give it a go, this one's for you.

Go live or post a short video showing one useful thing related to your topic. When people comment or react, send them a personal message. Thank them, ask what made the topic relevant to them and listen.

These are people who've already raised their hand. You're simply continuing the conversation.

Mine your value network

I really believe you already know everyone you need to know to start your business -- and to get it to six figures -- no matter who you are or where you live.

Your value network is everyone you're already connected to: former colleagues, clients from past jobs, friends, neighbors, your old school network. Make it a two-way street, giving and receiving introductions.

A simple ask: "I've started helping [who] with [problem]. Who's the first person you think of who's dealing with that?"

That question is specific enough that people can actually answer it.

Find referral partners

Referral partners are people who serve the same clients you do, but do something different.

A career coach and a resume writer. A business coach and a bookkeeper. A nutrition coach and a personal trainer. You each send clients to the other when it's a fit.

This is where your niche pays off again. When you're clear about what you do, partners know exactly who to send you -- and that you won't compete with them.

Prospect in other communities

Find the groups and forums where your people ask questions. Watch what they post, and respond with your specific expertise.

When someone's question shows they need more help than a comment can give, offer to continue the conversation privately -- and always follow each community's rules about messages and promotion.

That's the seven. Pick two. Do them every week. If you already have ten clients, add one or two more.

For the detailed version of this when you're starting from zero, read how to get your first 3 clients without an audience.

Step 4: Sell your package three times as fast as you can

After you've attracted the right people, it's time to sell. And this is where so many coaches stall.

I've met so many people who keep waiting to sell their package. They think they need one more certification, or another hundred hours of coaching for free, before they're allowed to charge.

Here's the truth: having a business isn't about having something to offer. It's about having people buy what you offer.

So sell three packages as quickly as you possibly can. Selling one could be luck. Selling two could be a fluke. Selling three means you've got a proven package. If three people will buy it, six probably will. Then sixty.

If sales calls make you squirm, read sales calls that don't feel like selling. The short version: your job on the call is to understand their problem and tell them honestly whether you can help.

Step 5: Deliver so well your clients want more

Once you have your first clients, WOW them.

That does two things. You gain the confidence that comes from knowing your work is extraordinary. And your clients become your best source of the next ones.

It's far easier to sell again to a happy client than to find a stranger, because most of the cost of running a business is attracting customers in the first place. Happy clients also refer their friends and give you the stories that sell your next package.

Ask every client for feedback at the end, and capture the specific result they got. Here's the testimonial most people overlook.

Step 6: Have a next offer so you can sell again

Don't sell once and say goodbye. Have a next step ready for clients who finish your first package.

That might be a longer engagement, a monthly retainer or a group program for past clients. When you have that next-step offer, you start to have a real business. People stay with you, buy again and become fans who refer others.

If you're always hunting for the next client, read the "one client away" myth.

Step 7: Scale your prospecting once the basics work

Once the first six steps are working, you're ready to scale.

Now you want a steady pipeline, with people coming in on a regular basis. Keep your two essential strategies going, and add a few more advanced ones:

• Run your own online group or community
• Reach out to prospects on LinkedIn
• Write guest articles or appear on podcasts your clients listen to
• Start a local meetup or speak at local events

This is how you grow from your first ten clients toward a six-figure practice. When you're there, growing from $30K to $100K a year is the next stage.

Where coaching fits

Steps 1 to 4 are where most coaches and consultants spin their wheels: the niche that won't commit, the package that's still a menu, the marketing that never turns into conversations and the sales call they keep putting off.

That's what Momentum is built for. It's our 12-month business coaching program, with levels for each stage. Momentum Activate is for business owners from $0 to $29K a year who haven't made their first sale or aren't yet clear on who they serve. Momentum Accelerate is for those at $30K to $99K a year who are ready to stop trading hours for dollars. Every level includes your own Momentum Coach and monthly live workshops, including Get the Client sales training with Jennifer Rada.

See how we work with business owners who are just starting.

You can make a real difference in the world and make a great living doing it. Start with one client.