This special three-day podcast series is tailored for coaches eager to enhance their businesses by building scalable offers and implementing effective systems.

Throughout the series, listeners will gain insights from Jo Lott's journey, focusing on actionable steps to achieve greater income freedom and a stronger influence in their field.

On Day 3 of the series, Jo highlights the importance of celebrating client investments, providing clear guidance, and nurturing long-term relationships to foster loyalty and referrals. She also emphasizes leveraging feedback, success stories, and referral programs to enhance client satisfaction and build a thriving coaching business.

Timestamps:

[00:01:00] Overview of the Week's Topics

[00:04:00] Onboarding Process Essentials

[00:07:00] Nurturing Long-Term Client Relationships

[00:08:00] Retention Strategies

[00:10:00] Feedback and Testimonials

[00:12:00] Building Your Referral Engine

If you would like to join Slack group where we discuss challenges and share experiences use the link below.

Register to join the FREE Slack community



Useful Links

The Next Level Mastermind details

Download the Free Digital version of Coaches' Planner (edition 2025)

Signature Solution Step-by-Step Self Study Course

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

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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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This is a special three day podcast series designed for coaches who are ready to up their game by building scalable offers, building out their systems, perhaps delegating to a team and maintaining a really high client experience to build and maintain your retention rate.

Over the next few days I will share my own journey of doing these things as well as actionable steps to help you make your coaching business more sustainable and impactful.

Do follow along for the next three days.

Join the conversation in our free Slack community over this next week where we will explore each topic further and you can ask for my support and support of other coaches.

I hope you love this three day Next Level series.

If you are looking for our regular episodes, you will find it as usual on Thursday.

Hello, welcome to the third and final Next Level podcast series.

I hope you have enjoyed this week to paint the picture of the inside of someone's business who has done the initial build phase.

So once you have built your business, have an established client base, then often you may start to consider moving to next level strategies.

So that is what we have covered this week.

Monday we talked about leverage programs, Tuesday we talked about team and systems and today I'm going to cover client experience and how to build raving fans into your business who stay with you for years and who build that system of referrals for you in your business.

So I am super super blessed and that is why I wanted to include this episode because it really helps when you have that social proof and other people saying that you are great at what you do and sending other clients your way, maybe posting on social media telling people what an impact you've made on them.

That type of social proof cannot be denied or underestimated because you can tell people all you like that you are brilliant, but what really makes a difference is when others tell them so.

For example, at my in person dare greatly event recently, I probably had maybe 10 people there who had been previous clients and 20 people there who haven't been clients yet.

And I would say since that day, despite me not even pitching on the day to join my programs, I've had probably 10 sign ups either into my business of coaching program or into my next level mastermind which is starting in January.

By having advocates in the room for me and my business who had paid to be there.

Like I hadn't paid them to be there and say nice things.

They had genuinely booked a ticket.

Although I do know people who do give their clients free tickets for this very reason, but I hadn't actually even thought about that.

But it's a very good idea.

My clients genuinely wanted to come along and on the day in every single breakout room, they were laughing about how it seemed like they were planted there to say nice things about my program, about the difference it's made in their business.

But they were genuine advocates of the work I do.

So that is what I'm sharing with you today.

I've taken some time to think about my process for this, so I will start with onboarding.

Your onboarding is more than just your welcome email.

It really surprises me how few people take this very first basic step.

So the first step I would do when somebody signs up with you is to show excitement that they have invested in themselves and their goal.

It's such a scary moment when someone decides to take that step and sign up for your coaching that you really want to show them how excited you are for them in this big moment.

Next up is clear next steps.

What happens when they sign up?

Do they pay?

Then get a clear, easy to understand contract.

You would want to have a really nice welcome experience.

I always have a welcome video which shares how excited I am and paints the picture for the journey ahead.

Under this welcome experience you will want to have a onboarding form and clear communication of the process ahead.

Finally, you will want to set goals with them.

So in that initial onboarding form or strategy session you will want to find out what they ultimately want and start mapping out quick wins to help them to get excited about the journey ahead.

One thing that also really helps is to take that step back and show them the roadmap.

This is something I did a lot in my Elevate Group program because it's really easy to forget get how far they have come on the journey.

I've recently created a roadmap client tracker type tool to do exactly this with tick boxes so they can think yes, I have set my financial goal, I've set my niche.

I've done my offer.

I'm consistently marketing.

I've practiced sales calls like all of the things on our journey so they can start to see how it all comes together.

So that is our onboarding process in terms of tech and tools you might need.

I also have automated welcome sequences which again outline where your client is on their journey.

It builds the momentum to remind them of the sorts of things that they may be struggling with.

I've had really good feedback on my welcome sequences, especially covering the bits that call out where they may be struggling this particular week.

So for example, if it's tech week, the email will say yes I know you may be recalling of the idea of tech.

I promise you can do this.

I've done it myself and I hate tech and it can just reassure them that they are in the right place.

If you are running a group program, you will probably want to have a client portal for your resources like videos and worksheets and things in terms of tech.

You'll also want to have scheduling tools for setting up calls easily.

Let's move on to nurturing long term relationships I feel very blessed that my first ever business of coaching client which was three and a bit years ago now.

Lorraine Ivers, hello if you are listening, is a real advocate of mine.

She always puts comments on my posts and puts things out saying her business wouldn't be where it was if it wasn't for my support.

And I feel so lucky that even all these years on Lorraine champions me for supporting her on the journey because it's really hard when you start your business and now she's further along, she really knows that.

So I guess that's probably why she is so relieved to have had someone to hold her hand through the early phase.

When you don't know your niche, you don't know your offer, you've never posted on social media, you're scared to bits about sales calls and coaching and all of the things.

So it's been wonderful to be able to also support her recently in my elevate program and she joined my online planning workshop this week.

So to still be in touch all these years on feels amazing.

As you continue to grow and scale you will want to systemize this and build in regular check ins to see how people are.

You can create ongoing value through resources.

So for example, my clients gain lifetime access to the portal, also ongoing value through championing them and occasionally sending messages giving feedback in a really kind way.

If I see that something could be made better.

Many of my clients have also built their network of others from the program.

Lot still stay in touch with their pods that they may have met or their accountability partners that they met as part of the program.

Let's talk about retention strategies.

So the first one, again highly overlooked in most coaching business is genuine care.

I honestly think that my clients know that I want them to succeed.

I've always done onboarding gifts but recently I've also implemented personalized off boarding gifts because that was one area that I felt like I was falling down.

As in I always had a really nice note and things.

But what I learned from running in person days is that people generally remember the beginning of things and the end of things and very rarely remember the middle.

So why not create that really great onboarding experience and off boarding experience for your clients?

I love to show recognition of their journey, to acknowledge their traits and their commitment, continuing to have them on your master list which they will receive each week.

Being connected on social media makes a big difference.

I've had several of my coaches actually who have never connected with me on social media, so they actually don't really know what I'm up to, which isn't ideal really when you are working with them or afterwards because then they really can't see how you are doing.

Now let's talk about feedback and testimonials and you really want to systemize this.

It's something I've been doing recently with Olga in my team to maximize all of the data that I have from clients.

First, let's talk about case study creation.

You will want to document that client journey really, really well.

I've been working a lot on this recently and to be honest, I've always prioritized this in my business, which is why I think my business is really thriving.

You can highlight their specific transformation, what they've gained on the journey, what they've learned, what they enjoyed.

You can do this through various different approaches.

So written testimonials.

But also what I love is the storytelling videos.

Mine are actually fairly long, so maybe 15 to 20 minutes.

But what this means is I can repurpose some of them for my podcast.

I can also repurpose for social media, and I've also been repurposing short segments of them for my sales page.

So there's so many ways that you can utilize this feedback.

When you get it, you'll want to build this as a templated system in your business.

Develop a full library of those transformations and screenshots so you have them really handy to use in your marketing materials.

This is something we have been building out in my project management system recently and it's made a huge difference in my marketing.

Let's now cover feedback.

I've often tied this into the case study process, but recently I've been working further on this because if you want what they call a Net Promoter score, which is a standardized way of measuring customer loyalty, it's based on a single survey question asking your clients to rate the likelihood that they would recommend your service to a friend or colleague.

You'd want to have it on a score of 1 to 10 and then you can start to publish your Net promoter score.

Okay, let's finish up by talking about building your referral engine.

So first, incentives.

So actually I don't have an official incentive for clients, although I always surprise them with either a 10% referral fee or a one to one session or a gift of some sort if they refer people my way.

You can also create partnerships with other people that you have built relationships with and perhaps offer them a 10% fee or hire.

You can encourage your clients to share their experiences.

For example, at my in person day I had a videographer there and I asked those who were clients or knew me well to share a few words so I could use that in my future marketing.

You can also leverage things like LinkedIn recommendations and Google reviews.

I've done that lots recently, so there is so much you can do to build that relationship with clients and I think the most important part is having genuine care for your clients.

Again, I've been super lucky to have a co coach in place who also has genuine care for my clients.

No matter whether it's personal or business related, my clients know that we are there for them.

They can contact us and they will get support to meet them where they are at.

This sounds to me like such a simple basic concept, but after working with a lot of different people over the last five years, I can see how easy it is to miss these vital steps of genuinely caring about your clients, being connected with them on social media so you can kind of see what they're up to and stay in touch and just building genuine good relationships with them so you can stay in touch.

If you see something they could do slightly different or you see an opportunity for them, contact them and tell them.

Remind them that they are brilliant and they will champion you in return.

So Action Steps from this episode, audit your current client experience, create your onboarding process, develop a systematic feedback collection process and design a referral program.

If you want to chat about this or any of the Next Level Series episodes I have covered this week, do head over to the Slack group which is only open the remainder of this week.

You can chat through what's coming up for you personally on these Next Level strategies.

I'm also holding a Q and A this Friday from 10 till 11, so if you have registered for this Next Level series, you will be able to join me live on Friday to chat about these Next level strategies or My Own Mastermind which is coming up to help you to implement and move to your next level.

As you will know if you've been doing this for a while, it's all about refinement.

Small tweaks make a huge difference in your business.

I was out with my Own Mastermind people yesterday in London for the day and for the evening and I gained so much that I know is going to completely transform my business.

This is what you get when you're part of a mastermind of people who can discuss these Next level strategies with you.

They will share what they're doing inside their business which will spark ideas for how you can do things.

My own Mastermind will also have the magic of some in person as well as online because it's really nice to build those proper relationships where you can WhatsApp people on your journey to leverage scale, create great client experience, build out your systems, build out your team.

Apply for My Next Level Mastermind.

It starts on the 9th of January.

It is application only to ensure that we get the right people in the room.

You will find the details to the Next Level Mastermind in the show notes and you can apply there.

I'm really excited to have hired a brilliant sales funnel expert to do an external review of your business if you join the Mastermind by Friday 20th December.

So you will gain that bonus where they'll literally look at your email.

If you've got a podcast, they'll listen to your podcast, they'll sign up to your nurture sequence and then you'll gain an hour call with a comprehensive review of where you need to up level in your business and we will use that as part of our strategy.

The price is 33% off because it's the first time I have run this Mastermind.

Like I said, there's in person too.

It's an absolute steal.

Next time I will be raising the price significantly.

This is your opportunity to gain personal support and the right type of people around you who are succeeding so you can be in a room where the results you want are normalized.

I hope you loved the three day Next Level series again.

Do sign up in the Show Notes if you haven't already got access to the Slack channel and the Q and A.

I can't wait to hear what you have gained from this three day behind the scenes series.

If you want to connect with me and other like minded coaches, don't forget to join our free Slack community which is open this week only.

There you will be part of a supportive space where we will continue the conversation and share all of our own insights to help each other to scale and grow our own coach businesses sustainably.

You will find the link in the show notes to sign up.

I would love to see you there and hear your thoughts.