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29 | The Missing Link To Inbound Enquiries
Episode 2928th September 2023 • Women in The Coaching Arena • Joanna Lott
00:00:00 00:14:31

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If you've been doing all the things and never had an inbound enquiry, this episode covers what may be missing in your content strategy.

Jo emphasises the importance of gaining inbound leads and discusses the three pillars of effective content. She highlights the value of consistency, structured content planning, and showcasing proof through success stories and testimonials.

The missing ingredient is also discussed, with an emphasis on understanding one's own buying habits and promoting products regularly with clear calls to action. By implementing these strategies, your coaching business can experience growth.

The value of gaining inbound leads [00:00:00]

Explains the importance of inbound leads and the higher conversion rate and faster growth they can bring to a coaching business.

The three pillars of effective content [00:01:14]

Discusses the importance of consistency, having a structured approach, and showcasing proof in creating effective content.

The missing ingredient [00:05:45]

Highlights the significance of clear product positioning in attracting inquiries and converting leads, and provides tips on how to choose one ideal client, one offer, and one platform for effective product positioning.


Gaining Clarity on Product Positioning [00:11:52]

Importance of gaining clarity on product positioning and the need for consistent frequency in promoting it.


The Power of Call to Action [00:11:52]

The significance of including a call to action in posts and different types of call to action that can be used.


Consistent Valuable Content [00:11:52]

The key to attracting inbound enquiries lies in consistently providing valuable content and clear product positioning.


Useful Links

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Jo know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: joanna@joannalottcoaching.com

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Hello and welcome to Women in

the Coaching Arena podcast.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor

and ICF accredited coach

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

and I help coaches to

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build brilliant businesses.

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I know that when you prepare to enter

the arena, there is fear, self doubt,

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comparison, anxiety, uncertainty, shame.

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You can tend to armor up and

protect yourself from vulnerability.

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In this podcast, I'll be sharing

honest, not hype, practical and

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emotional tools to support you to make

the difference that you are here for.

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Dare greatly.

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You belong in this arena.

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Welcome to the 29th episode of

women in the coaching arena.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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Today we are diving deep into the

missing link to inbound enquiries.

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This is for you, if you have been posting

endlessly on social media, but have

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never, or rarely received direct messages

or calls booked from your content.

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So I hope you will find this super

valuable because it's easy to get swept up

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in social media and not generate results.

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So I hope this episode will help

you to gain those enquiries and gain

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more chance of obviously converting

those enquiries into paying clients.

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First up let's talk about the value

of gaining inbound leads because

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in this coaching world, there

are two primary types of leads.

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There are inbound and outbound.

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So an inbound lead is someone

who approaches you having been

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drawn in and attracted by your

content or your reputation.

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Or on the other hand, an outbound

lead is someone you have reached

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out to initiating the conversation.

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So while both are valuable, There's

something special and exciting,

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obviously about receiving inbound leads.

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They have shown an interest.

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They're engaged.

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They like you because

they're contacting you.

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And that ultimately means a

higher conversion rate and a

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faster growing coaching business.

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Now we know.

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Why we want to attract

these inbound leads.

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Let's move on to the three

pillars of effective content.

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So firstly, and I'm sure you're

tired of hearing everyone say

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this, but consistency is key.

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So where there is blogposts

you're writing, podcasts

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you're doing, social media.

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Whatever you do, consistency is

what builds up trust and establishes

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you as an authority in your niche.

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I was super excited today when I was

thinking about what podcast episode to

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record so I kind of searched in Google,

how to starta coaching business to

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get inspiration for today's episode.

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And was super excited to see my

own website and my own article on

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how to start a coaching business

on page one, just for records down.

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So it's a super competitive industry,

as I'm sure you realize from being

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inundated with business coaches, trying

to help you to grow your business.

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So to be able to reach page

one of Google, four items down

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without any ads is super good.

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And I wrote that article

over two years ago now.

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And.

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It would have never been found before,

but what I have done since then is

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blogs every single week, pretty much.

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So what that does is update my

website regularly and Google loves

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fresh websites, fresh content.

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So if you are one of these thinking,

I'm waiting to get my website.

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Perfect.

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Just know that this is

not a once and done thing.

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I update my website every single week.

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For example, if I'm promoting something,

I'll put a new banner on there.

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Anything you can see it's keep updating

it, which is why don't wait till

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it's perfect because actually it's

better for you to be updating it than

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waiting till it's perfect and then

never touching your website again.

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So just know that that consistency.

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For me, for example, of writing

those blogs and regularly

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putting them on my site.

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Is finally paying off and I'm

now getting found on Google

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without having to pay for it.

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So you can be the same.

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So have a think for your niche.

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What would people be searching Google for

an aim to create content on those things.

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So the consistency is key.

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Next up having a structured approach

to content can be a game changer.

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I haven't always been good at this.

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Obviously I provide a 30 day

content plan for my clients,

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which helps them to do this.

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But yes, I completely get that it's really

hard to sometimes be that organized person

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and have everything scheduled and ready.

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I'm super lucky right now that I have

a social media manager who is preparing

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this content and doing it for me.

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I know that's not in everybody's reach

but what I would recommend and what I've

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seen work really well for my clients

is batch it all up, get your monthly

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plan, do a two or three hour block on

a Monday and schedule that content.

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My most successful clients schedule

their content, because I think what

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happens when you don't schedule your

content is pretty much the missing

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link that we will be revealing

later on in this podcast episode.

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Our last pillar of effective

content is showcasing proof.

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So there is nothing more powerful than

sharing success stories or testimonials.

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It's a testiment to your skills, the

transformation that you offer, but

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also gaining that trust from people,

helping them to step into the picture.

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Help them to see yes, I

work with people like you.

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Here's this client story.

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And I know lots of clients will

say to me, but no one wants to

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share their testimonials with me.

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I think it's about the

way you position it.

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So rather than asking for a favor in a

testimonial, you want to say, I would

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love to showcase you as a case study

because your story is so inspiring.

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Can we write up a case study or

can we have a conversation to

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reflect on your journey together?

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So that's a really great way of doing it.

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And if they won't do that, you

can still reflect on their journey

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yourself, where were they before?

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What steps did you go through

and where are they now?

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So I would suggest proof faced content.

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Every week or at least every other week.

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As much as you can weave that

into your content strategy.

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So now let's move on to

the missing ingredients.

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So that is product positioning.

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So imagine this, you are

putting out consistent content.

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You are sharing the success stories.

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You're doing all the things you are

meant to be doing but the inquiries

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are not pouring in as expected.

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So what could be missing?

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Often it's clear product positioning.

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So your audience might love your

content and think it's super inspiring.

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But if you are unsure about what

you're offering, how much it is,

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how it's delivered, then they

might hesitate to reach out.

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And I'm starting my offer

to market sprint this month.

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And this is literally day one's work.

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So choose what you are selling.

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And I noticed every single time most

people will resist choosing one thing.

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They'll say I've got four offers

and I've got an online course and

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I've got this and I've got that.

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And it's like, no wonder why you're not

selling anything, because there is so

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much that you don't know really clearly

what you're trying to promote here.

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Therefore your audience won't

also understand what you're

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trying to promote here.

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So pick one.

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Ideal client, one offer and one platform.

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And go all in on that one

thing for at least a month.

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You cannot sell multiple

things at one time.

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It's confusing for you.

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It's confusing for your audience,

so really to make your life

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simple and choose your one thing.

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That clear product positioning will

help people to understand exactly

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what they're getting, how much it's

going to cost and what to expect.

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Okay, next up, let's get more specific.

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So the power of a

product positioning post.

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There are two main types of

product positioning posts.

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There are direct ones and indirect.

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A direct product positioning

post is straightforward.

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It showcases your service,

it speeches it's benefits.

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Think about it as a mini sales page.

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You could do a carousel for this,

or you could just do a short post.

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Since my social media manager started

with me, she has created lots of these.

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And again, if you haven't got a clear

plan and a schedule that you are

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planning out your content in advance.

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This is a sort of post that you

will probably avoid yourself

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because it feels very direct.

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It feels kind of a bit more salesy,

which we can often tend to shy away from.

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But it really does work.

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People do sometimes like to see.

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Very clearly, this is

what you are selling.

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So that's a direct

product positioning post.

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Next up, let's talk about an

indirect product positioning post.

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This is a bit more subtle.

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It might share a success story or a

testimonial that indirectly highlights

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the benefits of your product.

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And you would still want

to have a call to action.

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So for example, if you're

talking about your client, Julia,

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You may be saying at the end.

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If you would like to have results like

Julia then drop me a message today.

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So let's walk through some actionable

steps for effective product positioning.

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Firstly clarity is crucial ensure

that your potential clients

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understand exactly what you're

offering and why it's valuable.

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That is the work you will

want to do prior to promoting.

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And that doesn't always mean how

many coaching sessions we're talking.

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It means really diving deep from your

client's eyes as to this is the problem

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that they are in, and this is where

they want to get to and how you can help

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them step by step along that journey.

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Secondly frequency matters

so regularly update and share

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these product positioning posts.

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I would suggest every six weeks,

for example, for the direct.

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This is exactly what I'm offering post.

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And maybe every two weeks for the

more subtle indirect, here's the

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type of outcome you might be looking

at, if you invest in my service.

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Lastly, always have a clear call to action

on the bottom of your post, whether that

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is inviting them to DM you, book, a call,

or even just engage in the comments.

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Like what's your view.

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Anything you can do to gain interaction

will be a huge step forward.

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Remembering that people rarely

book a call without having some

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tiny interaction with you first.

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So the more you can create content that

asks their opinion, ask for their views.

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The more, they will be able to take

that tiny micro step towards you.

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So let's summarize where we

went to in today's episode.

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First up, we talked about

the value of inbound leads.

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Next, we talked about the three

pillars of effective content.

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So consistency.

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Having a structured approach

and showcasing proof.

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Third up we talked about the missing

ingredient, which is product positioning.

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Being super clear on exactly what you are

selling and the intricate details of it.

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Next up, we talked about the power of

product positioning posts in particular.

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There are two main types,

direct posts and indirect posts.

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Both are useful and I would recommend

putting those into your content strategy.

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If you, for example, don't

use social media by the way.

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Many of my clients don't

and that's absolutely fine.

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You can still do this.

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So make sure your website is super

clear on exactly what you are selling

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versus come and book a discovery

call, but it doesn't really say

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here's what you can buy from me.

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Because just think about

your own buying habits.

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Would you just book a discovery call

or would you want to know a little

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bit more about what they are selling.

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What they could do for you.

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Prior to booking that call.

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I know me personally, I would never

ever book a call with someone unless

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I knew exactly what they sell.

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Exactly how much it's going to cost me.

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So, yeah.

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Think about your own buying habits

and that will help you to step into

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your ideal client shoes as well.

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Lastly, we talked about some actionable

steps for effective product positioning.

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So gaining that clarity,

firstly is crucial.

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Secondly, frequency matters just

because you put out one post saying what

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you sell doesn't mean it's job done.

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You will want to do that again regularly.

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And lastly always include a call to

action on your post, whether that is

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a really direct one like DM me or book

a call, or whether that is an indirect

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one, like a question or share your views.

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To finish up, remember that the key

to attracting those inbound inquiries

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lays in consistent, valuable content

and clear product positioning.

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So implement these strategies

we discussed today and what's

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your coaching business grow.

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I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

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Do share it with your coaching cohort.

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I would absolutely love to help

more coaches sell coaching.

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And drop me a line on LinkedIn

if you found this useful, I

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would love to hear from you.

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And like I say, at the end of every

episode, trust yourself, believe in

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yourself and be the wise gardener

who keeps on watering the seed.

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Thank you so much for listening to this

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

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I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

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That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

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joannalottcoaching.com.

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And I'll also put links in the show notes.

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Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

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Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

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personally thank you for that.

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Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

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who keeps on watering the seed.

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Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.

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