In this empowering episode, Jo Lott reveals the transformative roadmap to becoming a fully booked coach. Uncover the pivotal role of niching, the art of building a personal brand, and innovative marketing strategies. Jo shares real-life success stories and practical tips to guide coaches at every stage of their journey. Tune in for an episode filled with actionable insights to elevate your coaching business.

Topics:

Understanding Your Niche:

[00:01:00] The significance of niching in a global economy and the depth of niching beyond the basic help statement.

Building a Strong Personal Brand:

[00:05:00] The role of authenticity in personal branding and the impact of sharing your personal story.

Effective Marketing Strategies:

[00:06:00] Strategies for building an online presence, focusing on deep marketing strategies, and a recommendation for Brandocity for branding needs.

Client Relationship and Referral Building:

[00:08:00] The importance of relationships in business growth and creating excellent client experiences for referrals.

Sales Funnel and Conversion Techniques:

[00:09:00] Understanding the coaching buyer's journey and the importance of patience in building trust.

Conclusion:

[00:12:00] Jo underscores the need for resilience, adaptability, and an expert identity for success in coaching. She encourages listeners to trust in their abilities and make a difference.

Useful Links

FREE 5 Day Challenge: Online Course and Group Mastery Challenge - sign up now - starts 26 Feb

Brandority - Websites and Branding

How to secure more coaching clients' free training

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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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.

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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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Hello, welcome to the 47th episode

of women in the coaching arena.

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I am so glad you are here.

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Today.

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I am talking about a topic that

most of you want to know about.

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The roadmap to becoming

a fully booked coach.

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So, whether you are just starting

out or looking to grow and expand

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your business, this episode will help

you with actionable strategies to

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guide you on that journey to success.

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Yesterday.

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I held a VIP day with someone one-on-one.

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Who has been going round on

her niche for three years.

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And just as I knew she would, we got

that niche sorted within that session.

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And I am so happy for her.

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It really is the foundation

of your business.

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So no guessing what my first point is.

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So it's understanding your

niche and your ideal client.

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Why this matters now, particularly is

that we are operating in a global economy.

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So since COVID, everything's

pretty much online.

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Maybe before you would have got away

with being a general coach because people

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looked for people within the neighborhood.

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And now you have the scope to find

someone anywhere in the world.

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And so therefore you can

find exactly what you want.

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So if you want to be a vice president

of an organization, you will be able

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to work with a specialist that can

help you in your industry, become a

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vice president of an organization.

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And so just like Deliveroo and Uber.

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Everyone wants exactly what

they want and they want it now.

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So that is why niching is so, so crucial.

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But this runs super deep.

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I did a workshop this week on niching.

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And I was so pleased that people who

have been in their coaching business

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for like 12 plus years joined and

gained so much from the experience.

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Because it's not just about that.

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I help mums who wants to

get back into the workplace.

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It's not just about your help statement.

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There are so many other layers.

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So from your help statement, if we

are building a pyramid, for example

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That's the first step then we need to

decide, is this a bleeding neck issue?

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Is this something that they need to

sort out, or is this a sprained ankle

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that they are just going to hobble on?

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And, whilst I would love to help

you to create niches out of nothing.

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We really need someone to buy your things.

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So there is nothing any marketing

expert will be able to do unless

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there is a real, genuine problem

out there that people want to solve.

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Also in this comes your point of view.

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People greatly misunderstand niching

and business building and they

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think, oh, I've got this sorted.

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And I speak to people all the time who

say, it's fine, I've done my niche.

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And I've got a rough idea of my offer.

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And it's like, if it's not working,

then it's probably not good enough.

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So you need to be open to

continuously refine it, make

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it better, make it stronger.

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We are in a competitive industry

and every tiny nuance matters.

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Just like if you are writing a

book then where you put those full

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stops and how you phrase the words.

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Every single thing

makes a huge difference.

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Just like when you were talking, your

tone of voice makes a huge difference.

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So that is why I really

want to emphasize to you.

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It's not just about a basic thing.

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There is nothing basic about

marketing or business building.

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Just like there is nothing

basic about coaching.

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Someone can tell you exactly what

questions to ask in a coaching session.

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But unless you ask them at the right time.

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Ask them in the right way.

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Feel into whether that's

right at the time, then that

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question is not going to land.

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And so it's just the same with your niche.

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It's about backing it up with your story

and, with real genuine market insights

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as to whether that is a required service.

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Next up is building a

strong, personal brand.

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Back to your story.

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The challenges you've overcome.

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People don't buy coaching.

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They buy the transformation they

want and the person that they

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want to help them to get there.

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So let your authenticity shine

through that is your greatest

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differentiator in this marketplace.

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Next up is effective marketing strategies.

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So firstly, you will want to have

a great website, a great LinkedIn

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profile or Instagram or Facebook, or

however you are building your business.

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Saying this, I have just released

a new website of my own last

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week, which is very exciting.

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Something I've been wanting

to do for four years.

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Cause I've still had my own

kind of homemade websites.

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So, if you are looking for an

amazing website or branding,

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logos, all of those things that

can hugely transform your business.

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My sister has a design business

where she can do all of that for you.

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It's amazing.

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Isn't it?

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That until I Googled her myself last

week because I want to write social media

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posts about her doing my website that

I didn't realize that she had 15,000

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five-star reviews for her design work.

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So again, back to why I always

say, do your friends and family

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know clearly what you do.

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Because then they can recommend you.

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So I have had loads of clients say, oh,

I've got this brochure that I'd really

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like to be designed for me for corporates.

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Do you know of anyone?

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For some crazy reason.

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I have never recommended my sister

because she hasn't really mentioned

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really specifically exactly what she

does enough for me to register in my

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brain and be able to join the dots.

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So back to the niching.

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How can you help people like your

friends and family who are your biggest

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advocates to really start recommending?

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So if you want an amazing personal brand

at a really, really great price, I will

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share her details in the show notes.

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Her company is called Brandocity and she

will give you the LinkedIn profile banner,

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the Facebook banner, the Instagram's

pretty pictures, everything to match.

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And if you want a website, a logo.

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All of those things to match as well.

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She can do those things.

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So build that effective

marketing strategy.

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Firstly, starting with

your online presence.

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And then with how you

are connecting to people.

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I like to think about as

shallow and deep marketing.

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Most people stay at the shallow

end, which is putting out social

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media posts, which is nice.

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And people will see them and people will

remember you for three seconds, but what

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we really want is deep nurture strategies

where people really get to know you.

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So things like this podcast.

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YouTube.

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Talks, you might be able to do.

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Networking events you

might be able to visit.

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How can you help people

to really get to know you?

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Because to buy from you.

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They really need to know like, and

trust you or be referred from someone

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who does know like, and trust you.

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So, how can you build that

know like, and trust today?

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Next up is client relationship

and referral building.

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Your entire business is

built on relationships.

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How can you give the

best client experience?

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So those people leave you

amazing case studies, which

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then sends more people your way.

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And again, this is

something to be built, like.

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I am now able to sell from a sales

page, for example, because I have

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deep nurture strategies in place.

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So I have this podcast where

I can get to know people.

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I do webinars.

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I do events.

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I share a lot of case studies with

my clients showing the journey

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that I've helped take them on.

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Just another reminder to know that that's

something that is built and that's taken

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a long time for me to build that, to

be able to say, sell on a sales page.

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So don't think if you see someone,

for example, using a sales page,

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that is the right strategy for you.

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Your situation will be different.

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I mean, up until six months ago, I

was selling from a word document.

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So don't think you need to have everything

perfect in order to get started.

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You don't even need the website straight

away, although I know everyone wants it

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and yes, long-term you definitely will.

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But to get started, you

can just put out there.

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I can help you.

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People can inquire.

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You can have a conversation with

them and follow up with a document.

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So don't let things stop

you from taking action.

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Things do not need to be perfect.

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Next up is sales funnel

and conversion techniques.

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So understanding your

sales funnel is crucial.

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How are you managing to build people

from the bottom of the staircase while

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you were at the top and help them

take these tiny steps towards you?

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Most people don't just leap

to the top of the staircase.

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They might see you on social media.

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Eventually sign up for your lead magnet.

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For example, if you have that set up.

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That's something I do in my program.

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If you want help with that.

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Then maybe come to one of your free

events where they get to know you a little

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bit more, then maybe book a discovery

call and then maybe sign up to you.

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So, again, this is a perfect

reminder of patience.

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The average buyer journey for

coaching is often around six months.

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So while it's, yes, you might get those

one or two that are like, yay, exciting.

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I'm going to buy now.

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Or if they are referred from your

family and friends, Many other

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people take a really long time to

get to know you enough to think.

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Yes.

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I'm ready.

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This is the right person.

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I'm going to do something.

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Some people have been in my world two

plus years and attended my webinars

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for a really long time before they

thought, yes, I want to do this now.

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And this is the right person to help me.

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So do know that everyone is different,

but be patient and help them to trust you.

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If you had a friend that rocked up once

and then you didn't see them again for six

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months, you'd think they were a bit flaky.

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And that is what people would

think about you if you can't

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help them by being a reliable,

trustworthy source in their worlds.

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So, let me summarize our points.

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First was understanding

your niche and ideal client.

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Second building a strong personal brand.

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Third was effective marketing strategies.

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Fourth was built those client

relationships and referrals.

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Fifth was your sales funnel

and conversion techniques.

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And finally, just a reminder that being

fully booked doesn't happen overnight.

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It takes persistence resilience

and a willingness to adapt.

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So be that person.

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Step into that identity of that person

who is committed to their business.

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From being in this industry, there are

a lot of people kind of playing around

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rather than being prepared to say,

I want to be an expert in this space

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and I am committed to that process.

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So be one of the top people

saying, I am an expert.

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I am use those words.

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That's an identity shift.

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We need that identity shift.

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And again, that's greatly misunderstood.

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People forget that this is all nuanced.

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All of the things I mentioned, as well

as who you are, will make a massive

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impact on your success in your business.

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So be that person who says I am and

go for it in your business this year.

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I had three lovely messages

yesterday saying that they had

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left me reviews on Apple's.

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Thank you so much for taking your time.

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It means so much to me, and it means so

much to the algorithm of the podcast.

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So please if you have gains any

value from this podcast so far.

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Especially if you are an apple listener,

because that's the only one you can

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write a review on in particular.

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Then hit the title of the podcast,

scroll down past about three or

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four episodes and you should get

to the rate and review section.

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And please do drop me a line if

you've done this and I will personally

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thank you and help you in some way.

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So go out there and become fully booked.

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I am championing your success.

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And like I say, at the end of every

episode, trust yourself, believe

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in yourself and be the wise Gardner

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.