Most coaching businesses don’t need better marketing to get more clients.
Instead, they need to keep the clients they have longer. Read more about the siren song of “More Clients!” here.
There are two reasons your coaching business can’t keep clients.
- They aren’t getting the results they expected when they signed up.
People signed up for your coaching for a reason. It wasn’t because they want to help you build a “lifestyle business”.
Do you know the result they want to get?
Are you measuring their progress toward that result?
Are you showing them that they’re making progress?
Are you tracking the ROI your clients get on your service?
Are you measuring how quickly they reach their short-term targets (speed to outcome)? - They don’t perceive that you care.
If you’re like me, you care about your clients a LOT. But are they getting that message?
Do you send personal messages, or automated texts like this one:
(I actually got that from a former accountant)
Do you deliver the same level of attention and detail to every client?
Do you actually know their goals?
Do you measure Net Promoter Score?
Are your clients referring new clients?
Do they feel like they have a personal connection with you?
These two factors – results and perception of care – are the biggest retention factors in any coaching business.
They’re so important that my mentorship practice was named for them. The “Two Brains” refers to the way our brains actually function: one side analytical, one side empathetic. Your business should work the same way.
I sign up for a lot of coaching. Often, the coaches charge over $20,000 per year. I’m always excited to start with them. But over 50% of the time, I cancel after my first contract, because their delivery is poor.
The easiest client to sign up for a year of coaching is the client who’s just finished a year of coaching…unless your program isn’t actually getting them results, or your delivery is poor.
In fact, clients who are getting amazing results will still quit your program if they feel like they’re just one more number, and you care more about getting more clients than about getting them results.
Many coaches are great at getting clients. But if they can’t keep clients, they won’t be around very long.
