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If you are considering starting a coaching business, it is an intelligent choice. Many people have felt the need to help others, especially during a pandemic filled with isolation and uncertainty – and the numbers show the potential of this industry.
Coach Foundation reported that the estimated market value of the US coaching industry grew from $707 million in 2011 to $1.34 billion in 2022. That’s an astronomical increase in 11 years. There is no doubt that the market is rising rapidly.
But the real question is, how do you scale your business to stand out from the competition? Scalability comes with patience, careful planning, measurement and adjustment. I’ve outlined six steps you can use to effectively scale your coaching business:
Related: 4 Steps to Grow Your Coaching Business to $1 Million a Year
1. Choose a coaching model and style
By choosing a coaching model, you can focus on the coaching style, pricing and target audience you are targeting. Models include:
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Private coaching: Also known as one-on-one coaching, private coaching usually involves one client attending weekly or bi-weekly sessions with a coach.
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Group coaching: Here you coach people in groups. It is more scalable than private coaching as it generates more revenue for that one hour session.
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Business coaching: This is where you are brought into a company and your job is to help employees coach on specific issues, such as leadership coaching.
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Online coaching: This is one of the most popular ways to coach today. Simply sign up for an online course platform and coach people via livestream.
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Personal workshops: Here, coaches speak at conferences or give coaching workshops.
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Hybrid coaching model: A popular choice. Coaches use two different types of coaching models together. It is quite common for coaches to use online coaching and workshops as their hybrid coaching model.
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Sell products: Coaches create products and sell them over the web. This can be anything from an on-demand coaching trajectory to a white paper, book or guide.
2. Find your niche and make it your centerpiece
Harvard Business Review shared an interesting comment about coaching. It is the bridge between consultation and therapy. Coaching is about focusing on the future, improving performance, achieving goals and helping people discover their path and purpose.
Because coaching has so much to do with personal and/or business goals, it’s important to share which coaching niche you want to fall into. There are a few questions to ask yourself when trying to establish your niche:
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What is your passion?
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Have you had an experience that you think others will identify with?
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What are you good at?
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What problem are you trying to solve?
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What do your friends and family think you are good at?
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What do you like to do?
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What do you think people will pay for?
Related: How to Create an Endless Stream of Clients for Your Coaching Business
3. Find your target audience
Your niche determines who your target audience is. Identifying your target audience is an important step as it shows you what type of messaging to use to target this group of people.
People love personalization. They want to be addressed as individuals and to interact with coaches with recognizable experiences and stories. Your target audience should be identified based on criteria such as demographics, experiences, hobbies, interests, goals, etc.
4. Create your offer and sales funnel
You want your audience to visit your website and understand who you are, what you offer and how much it costs. You can achieve a tidy and streamlined sales funnel by using landing pages on your website. Every landing page should share information about a particular service so your audience isn’t distracted. Users should be able to log in then and there.
Related: 4 Steps to Build a Successful Coaching Business
5. Advertise
This is where scalability can get expensive. But you need to drive traffic to your dedicated sales funnel landing pages. You can do this by using one of the following proven advertising methods:
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Facebook and Instagram Ads: Use this affordable way to grow a social media audience and drive traffic to your website. It’s a great way to get your brand and name out to the masses.
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Google AdWords: This is a suitable pay-per-click advertising method if you’re targeting specific keywords. For example “interview coaching” or “spiritual life coaching courses”, etc.
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Email advertising: Once you’ve built a customer database, it’s a good idea to send regular emails about your business. Try using email as a tool to sell, promote your blog, and share more about yourself.
6. Automate as much as possible
The final step is about investing in a high-quality online coaching platform that allows you to automate many of your tasks. Part of this automation takes place by using:
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An automated email sequence to new customers
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Calendars to book your appointments, which are embedded in your online coaching platform
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Online coaching software already integrated with Zoom
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Integrated e-commerce capabilities within the coaching platform, so all your goods and shipping information are in one place
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Automated reports on a weekly or monthly basis
Coaching is an industry with so much potential, and the best part is that anyone can do it. If you want to scale quickly and efficiently, follow the steps above and don’t forget to invest a lot of time in planning.
Like many other projects we have in life, if you plan and stay ahead, you attract the right type of clients and stay relevant. So look at your resources, invest in automation and take the time to be as niche as possible. People love personalization and interaction with coaches who strive to stand out – it’s time to push the boundaries.
