Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider before starting any health program.
If you've searched online for the term "how to get clients as a health coach" you've probably come across the same advice: find your niche, create a website, use social media, join networking groups and more. While all this is great advice, there are some core concepts you must understand in order to truly attract and build a sustainable client base.
You can be on every marketing platform and social media outlet, but if you don't understand the core concepts that we will discuss in this post, you are likely spinning your wheels.
Before we get into the concepts, let's first talk about the health coaching business and why it can be challenging to acquire clients.
The health coaching business
Health coaching is no doubt a much needed profession in today's world, with more and more people needing help cutting through all the noise to make healthy lifestyle changes. But the industry is still new (to the public anyway), and with any new industry, it requires mass adoption from the public to be seen as something that provides value and is worth investing in.
In addition, there are many people without credentials who call themselves health coaches. This can make it confusing for the public to distinguish between who is legitimately trained and certified, who is not, and what the difference is. Some people may not understand what they're paying for when they hire you, or they might question whether your services are worth the cost.
In order for health coaching to be successful in the health and wellness industry, you and other health coaches must communicate the value of your services, demonstrate you are qualified and knowledgeable to build trust with potential clients. Understanding and implementing the concepts we will discuss below is key to achieving this.
So how do you attract health coaching clients? You need to learn how to sell.
Learn the art of selling yourself as a health coach
The services that you provide as a health and wellness coach are immensely valuable. You help lay the foundation for people to live healthier and more fulfilling lives (this is a big deal). The key here is that you must translate your value into words, actions, and behaviors that will establish trust with potential clients (i.e., the public).
Some key points of selling your services are to:
Understand your clients' needs and pain points
Professional health coaches take the time to understand their clients' unique needs, challenges, and goals. This can help you tailor your coaching services and approach to better meet their needs.
Emphasize the benefits of your services:
When selling your services as a health coach, it's important to focus on the benefits your clients will receive, rather than just the services you offer. This can include improved health and wellness, increased energy and productivity, and reduced stress and anxiety.
Be transparent and honest:
Health coaching is about helping people achieve their goals and improving their livelihoods. As a coach, it's important to be transparent and honest about what you can offer, and to be realistic about the potential outcomes of your services.
Build trust and credibility:
Trust and credibility are essential for building successful relationships with people. As a coach, you can build trust by being knowledgeable, professional, and reliable. You can also build credibility by sharing your own experiences, achievements, and qualifications.
Offer a clear call to action:
Finally, when selling your services, it's important to offer a clear call to action; don't beat around the bush. Inviting clients to schedule a consultation, enroll in a program, or purchase a package of services is a great way to inspire them to take action. By providing a clear path for people to take the next step, you can help convert interested prospects into paying clients.
Sales usually comes with a negative association, but when done correctly, it is actually in favor of the person on the receiving end, because they become aware of all the possible opportunities they might not have been aware of before.
Be assertive and not passive in your approach, but be careful not to be too pushy. The key is to be informative and helpful, while making sure the client understands your value.
Learn what it means to provide value
When we buy things, whether it's a product or a service, we are more often times than not subconsciously looking for it to solve a problem we have. The bigger the problem, the more we are willing to pay? Why is this? Because it provides us value by solving our problem (or at least alleviating it).
Most people know the value of feeling better in their bodies, and this is your opportunity to provide them with that solution. But first, you must understand how to provide value to potential clients long before they pay you a dime.
To start, you've already done a lot to provide value, and that is taking the time and energy required to become a trained health coach, but it doesn't stop there.
So how can you give value before the work with a client even begins? Here are some tips:
Continuously learn and grow
As a health coach, it's important to stay up-to-date on the latest developments and trends in health and wellness community. This could involve attending conferences and workshops, reading industry publications, and taking continuing education courses to expand your knowledge and skills. By continually learning and growing, you can provide more valuable support and advice to your clients.
Specialize in a specific area
Another way to become more valuable to potential clients is by specializing in a specific area of health coaching. This could involve focusing on a particular health condition, such as diabetes or heart disease, or a specific population, such as seniors or athletes. By specializing, you can gain expertise and experience in a particular area, which can make you more valuable to people looking for support in that area.
Build a strong online presence
In today's digital world, it's important for health coaches to have a strong online presence. This could involve creating a professional website, maintaining a blog or social media accounts, and providing valuable content, such as articles, videos, or podcasts. By building a strong online presence, you can reach more health coaching clients and demonstrate your expertise and value as a health coach.
Sharpen your communication skills
Your communication skills are also essential to success as a health coach. That means being able to effectively listen, explain complex topics in simpler terms, and provide feedback in a helpful and supportive way. Working on your communication skills can help you build stronger relationships with clients and ensure that they get the most out of their coaching experience.
By offering value before you even start working with a client, you can position yourself as the ideal health coach and increase your chances of converting prospects into paying clients.
The most important thing to remember is that selling isn't always about convincing someone to buy—it's about providing valuable information and resources that help them make an informed decision. When you approach potential clients with that mindset, you can create a positive experience for everyone involved and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Understand the fundamentals of marketing
Many times when people start businesses of any kind, they think that once they have the services and/or products they are offering, it will naturally draw in customers. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. It requires marketing to spread the word about your business and let potential clients know why they should choose you.
Here are some marketing concepts that you should familiarize yourself with as a health coach:
Consumer behavior
A health coach should understand how consumers make decisions, particularly when it comes to health-related products and services. This can help the coach tailor their marketing efforts to better align with consumer needs and preferences.
Market research
It's important for a health coach to understand market research and how it can be used to gather information about consumer needs and preferences, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
Branding
A strong brand can be a powerful tool for a health coach, and understanding the basics of branding can help the coach develop a consistent and effective brand identity.
Digital marketing
In today's digital world, it's crucial for a health coach to understand digital marketing and how it can be used to reach potential clients and promote their services. This can include tactics such as social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization.
Strategy
Finally, it's important to have a plan in place. This includes setting goals, determining the best tactics and channels to use for marketing, creating content that resonates with potential clients, and evaluating how successful your efforts are. A well-thought-out strategy is vital to your success. No matter what path you take, having a plan in place will help you stay focused and organized, and ensure your efforts are paying off.
Retargeting
Retargeting is an excellent way for health coaches to stay top-of-mind with potential clients. By tracking the actions of visitors on your website, you can retarget them with relevant ads (if you choose that route) that encourage them to take further action and ultimately convert into clients.
Also, keeping in touch with previous clients through email marketing, social media, or even postcards can be a great way to stay top-of-mind and encourage repeat business. Utilizing retargeting and staying in touch is an excellent way to build your business.
By understanding the fundamentals of marketing, you can create an efficient effort to reach potential clients.
Focus - Pareto's principle
Finally, Pareto's principle is an important concept to remember. It states that 80% of results come from 20% of effort. This means you need to focus on the efforts that will give you the biggest return and prioritize those over anything else. As a health coach, this could mean concentrating your time and energy on activities like networking that can help you reach new clients, or creating content to build your brand. By focusing on the activities that will yield the best results and eliminating what won’t, you can ensure your efforts are paying off in a big way.
Conclusion
Working as a health coach is an incredibly rewarding profession, but it does come with unique challenges. By understanding the concepts discussed in this post, honing in on your strengths, and focusing your efforts on the activities that will yield the best results, you can increase your chances of success. With a little effort and determination, you can be well on your way to becoming an effective health coach, with clients willing to invest in you and your services.
