Recently I was in a Zoom consultation with a Certified Master Hypnotherapist and Coach (we will call him Coach John) to begin the process of setting up and launching a strategic marketing plan. This plan would include all our valuable resources, a clarity coach, a marketing strategist, AND a team to implement all the strategies we know would be instrumental in getting his business not only off the ground but ready to soar.

When we first hopped on the call, he shared that he has tried all kinds of DIY programs that were a waste of his money, that he is tired of going it alone, and needed our help. So right off the bat, we established that our offer would be an excellent fit for what he needs to take his business to the next level.

We went through in great detail exactly what we would be doing with/for him and his coaching business, and I could see he was getting more and more excited at the prospect of FINALLY having a thriving coaching practice.

He asked all the typical questions:

• How long is the program? (3 Phases in 3 months)
• What kind of results have you generated for your clients? (I qualified by saying that he would be in charge of closing his sales, but shared profit reports from our clients that indicate we’ve been able to help our clients achieve an average of 30% return on their investment)
• Do you have any references? (Absolutely! We showcase some of our success stories/case studies and a significant number of reviews on our website, and on Google)
• How soon could we get started? (right away)

Evidenced by his head nodding and note-taking, my responses met with his satisfaction. I was confident I had proven that what we offer would align perfectly with his needs and that within a short period of time (around 90 days), we would help him to have his ideal prospects raising their hand to express interest in becoming his clients.

Coach John stated,

“This all sounds great. What you offer is exactly what I need. In fact, and I believe you may be the answer to my prayers! I can’t WAIT to get started!

What do you charge?”

The real question Coach John should have asked is,

“What do I need to INVEST in marketing for my business so I can ATTRACT more clients so that I can achieve significant business growth and a RETURN on my investment?”

When Coach John received my proposal, his response was swift and abrupt.

“Nope. There is no way I can afford that. Thank you, anyway.”

Knowing how anxious he was to have a successful coaching practice, I suspected he was probably feeling quite deflated. And this was not how our consultation should have ended. In fact, by all measures, he should have been feeling excited and elated to work with us! We have the processes, systems, and strategies in place and aligned for what he needs, and I was certain we could take his business from where it is now to where he wants it to be. I also know that what we charge for the results we bring is entirely reasonable. So I came to this conclusion:

What Coach John was really saying to himself was…

“I am not willing to invest in my business, so I’ll continue to struggle and not gain the traction I need toward attracting new clients and scaling my business.”

I’ve been where Coach John is, and I’ll bet if you are reading this, you can relate to the feeling of frustration you have when your bank account doesn’t match what you need to budget for marketing your business.

I understand the hesitation and even the disappointment over the realization that if you don’t invest in marketing for your business, the reality could mean:

• very few people will know about you and the transformation your coaching or consulting can help them to achieve;
• you will not be able to generate enough income for the lifestyle you truly want;
• you may have to give up on your dream of being a coach or consultant; and
• you may have to get a JOB (and let’s face it, right now, even THAT is not as viable an option as it may have been pre-2020).

The Primary Obstacle Preventing Coaches and Consultants from Achieving the Success They Really Want

The interaction I had with Coach John highlights one of the main obstacles coaches have in building a successful coaching practice and why many struggle earning little to no income. I suggest that the primary obstacle preventing coaches and consultants from achieving the success they really want is:

Not Treating their Coaching Business as a Business.

Michel Gerber in his landmark book, “The E Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” wrote,

“The problem with most failing businesses is not that the owner doesn’t know enough about finance, marketing, management, operations – they don’t! But, those things are easy enough to learn. The real problem is that they think they know enough, and so they spend their time defending what they know rather than discovering what they don’t.”

Thinking back to Coach John, not only is it evident that he didn’t have any idea what investment is required for his start-up hypnosis practice, but I would suggest he isn’t thinking of his practice as a business.

You Need Marketing to Start, Grow, and Maintain your Business.

If your marketing does what it’s meant to do–attract potential clients to your business–then there is ample probability you will achieve greater success. But unless you have a clear understanding of strategic marketing, the skills to implement, and the time to dedicate to it, an investment in others who already have these assets to bear should be worth consideration.

Take inventory of what you already know about planning, launching, and running a coaching business. Then let us help you to gain clarity on the critical elements you are currently overlooking. We will collaborate with you to get it all in place so you can help more people and enjoy a more fulfilling business. What could be better than that?

In Part Two of this post, we share some practical advice on How to Establish a Marketing Budget for Your Coaching Business. –->> Click here to read Part Two.<<–