Think about your priorities for this initial group of clients. My guess is that the #1 thing for this group isn’t that they are “the perfect group of clients that are super ideal and can pay premium rates and rock your world.” Sure, they may do some of that or all of that (in which case, sweet!) – but the top priority for this group really often is that they get you coaching.

The types of considerations and goals for this initial group, if the #1 priority is to get you coaching, are things like – practice managing a roster of clients, learning how you like to set up your sessions, experimenting with the types of clients you might want to work with, and building up your confidence that you can do this and realizing man oh man what an impact you make.

With those in mind, there’s no need to stress or worry about this initial group of clients. You are looking to extend an offer to your first group of clients, that is a great value for them, and for you. Being clear on what qualities you want this group to have, what your priorities are, and what goal you have in this first phase, helps you take the pressure off and gets you starting to invite people to work with you.

Two questions to consider

What are the top priorities for you with this first group of 5 clients?

Is the priority finding a mix of people you’re comfortable practicing with? Or, is it finding people who will pay a fair amount to start your business financially? Maybe it’s to learn what it’s like to coach people you don’t know? If you get clear on what you’re hoping for with this initial group, it can help steer how you approach enrollment.

What types of parameters do you have for this group?

This could be things like how many hours of coaching, how long they need to commit to working with you, etc. Often these parameters are influenced by expectations from a coach training program if you’re enrolled in one. For example, coactive certification or another ICF credentialing course.

10 Ways to Your Initial Group of Clients

1. Social Media post

Write a facebook post and include an offer for clients. Share a bit about your coaching, where you are now with coaching, and include a way for them to get in touch with you such as an email or website.

2. Map out your groups

Think about the groups you are a part of, perhaps a college alum group, workout class, or book club, and share what you are doing with them, and include an offer.

3. Establish your credibility

Share articles you come across in the news or on other blogs that write about coaching or wellbeing, and post the articles to your social media. Add a few sentences with your commentary on the article. Sharing articles relevant to your work starts to position you as someone professionally involved in the field, and establishes your credibility.

4. Connect your offer to the season

Look at the calendar to see what notable dates, events or holidays are coming up, and put together a clear package around that. For example, if New Years is around the corner put together a clear offer around working with people on setting goals for the new year and invite people to book that. This gives something tangible to your offer, and connects it to something timely and recognizable.

5. Direct ask

When you meet or come across someone you’d love to coach – just tell them. Share with them what you see in them, that you believe in their goal, that you’d love to work with them. It might not have occurred to them that they could work with a coach. So share with that person what that’d be like and why you’d love to coach them.

6. Chat it up

Start a conversation with anyone you run into. While you’re getting ready to start your next spin class at the gym, talk to whoever is around you, leading with curiosity. Tell them you are a coach, and what you love to work with people on.

7. Talk to your current job

Talk to your job about coaching people at work. You could see about adding it formally to your job description, or start off with a few clients at lunch or after work.

8. Coach connectors

Coach a bunch of people and ask for them to share your information with their friends. Or, ask them to write you a review / recommendation on your LinkedIn page, or to use on your website. Coach people to build up a few strong reviews so you can use these as social proof on your platforms. Remember, people generally love connecting people. When you let connectors know what you do, they can keep you in mind to better serve their networks.

9. Make an easy ask of your family

Send an email to your friends and family describing what you do, and ask them to share with their friends. Make it easy for them to refer you by being really clear about what coaching you do, and how they can help. Often your loved ones want to support you – but don’t know how. So make it super easy for them and let them know specific ways they can support you.

10. Coach referrals

Lean into your network of coaches for coach referrals. Send a description to other coaches for what type of coach you are and what type of clients you like to work with. Ask them to do the same and send this to you about themselves. Then you all have a list of strong coaches to refer clients to when the right client for another coach comes along.

What will you commit to doing this week?

Once you have this initial group of clients, you can put together a more sophisticated plan for enrollment, but for now – don’t overplan it. Take these first steps to start working with clients and get coaching! Enjoy.