Shownotes
The more you understand the hidden work behind a coaching business, the easier it becomes to stay consistent long enough to see the results. In this episode, Joanna shares the part of building a coaching business that rarely gets talked about: the time, energy, and consistency required before the clients come.
This episode is for coaches who are showing up consistently but questioning whether the time they’re spending on marketing is normal, and need reassurance that they’re on the right track.
Timestamps:
[00:00] The real question behind “how much marketing?”
[01:00] Why coaching and business are two different things
[02:00] What marketing actually includes
[03:00] A 20-hour week breakdown
[04:00] Reframing marketing as part of your mission
[05:00] Curating your LinkedIn feed
[06:00] Changing beliefs through your content
Powerful quote from the episode:
“Visibility creates opportunities.” - Jo Lott
Today, choose one small action that creates visibility and trust that it is building something, even if you can’t see it yet.
Useful Links
Download the 12 ways to get clients now
Learn about The Business of Coaching programme
Download the Free Digital version of Coaches' Planner (NEW edition 2026)
Free Essential AI Toolkit – 2 Must-Have Prompts for Coaches
How to secure more coaching clients' free training
Rate and Review the Podcast
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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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Mentioned in this episode:
Clear Yes Workshop - Strengthen Your Niche Message
Join Me Live: The Clear Yes Workshop If you know you’re great at what you do but potential clients still are not fully understanding your value, this workshop is for you. On Wednesday 22 April, 1.00 - 2.30pm BST, I’m hosting The Clear Yes Workshop. A live training designed to help you strengthen your niche, message and promise so clients stop saying “sounds interesting” and start saying “how do I work with you?” Inside, I’ll help you create messaging that feels clearer, stronger, and more compelling so your coaching is easier to sell. You’ll leave with: A clearer way to explain what you do A stronger message that resonates More confidence talking about your coaching Bonus for the first 15 sign-ups: A personalised Loom review of your messaging after the workshop. Investment: £39 + VAT Sign up via the link below. https://go.joannalottcoaching.com/yesworkshop
Transcripts
One of the questions that came up
in a recent q and a I held this
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:week was about how much time.
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:Coaches should actually
spend on marketing.
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:The person asking the question had heard
me say somewhere between 60 and 80% of a
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:coach's time is often spent on marketing,
and around 20 to 40% of their time is
6
:spent on actually coaching clients.
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:And understandably, they wanted to
understand what I meant by that.
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:And I completely get the concern 'cause we
go into coaching because we love coaching
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:people and we don't often love marketing.
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:So if most of my time is spent
marketing, will there be actually
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:enough coaching work and money by
the end of those coaching hours?
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:And it was a great question 'cause I
could, I could have read it in so many
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:different ways, but actually what she
really wanted was reassurance that
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:it was normal, that it was taking
her so long to market her business.
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:When we train as coaches, we often
don't hear about this side, and
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:there aren't many coach training
organizations that really say what a
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:steep learning and curve is after your
qualification to learn the business side.
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:So you actually get a diary
full of coaching sessions.
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:So depending on where you are in
your journey, if you are starting
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:out, this might be new to you.
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:If you've been going for a while, you
will know that it's a very different
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:thing building a coaching business than.
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:Doing your coaching qualification.
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:So let's really talk about that large
proportion of your time that will need
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:to be spent on marketing activities.
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:So you actually get to help people
to discover you, understand what
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:you do, and begin to trust you
and ultimately buy from you.
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:Marketing isn't just posting on LinkedIn.
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:When I talk about marketing, I'm including
things like creating those posts.
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:Yes, commenting on others posts,
maybe speaking on podcasts,
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:maybe writing up your website.
32
:Essentially, all of the admin and the
learning that you do in your business,
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:other than the work in those coaching
sessions, all of the things that will
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:create visibility in your business
because visibility creates opportunities.
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:If you imagine a 20 hour working week,
which is essentially what I do, 'cause I
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:do school hours and that's many, that's
really common for many of my clients too.
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:Then how about thinking about
12 hours of that week being.
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:Marketing, admin, messing around with
your website, writing posts, scrolling
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:on social media, all of the things that
we need to do to market our business
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:and engage with others, and maybe
eight hours of actual coaching clients.
41
:I asked in the chat of this q and
a that I did, if that was others'
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:experience, and everybody said yes.
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:It's such a relief to hear
someone say it out loud.
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:Because I think everybody thinks that
everyone else has got a diary full of
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:coaching clients, and actually most of the
time people are spending a lot of work.
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:Getting those coaching clients in
the door, your job is to create
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:those conversations that will
eventually bring clients in.
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:So start to see marketing
as part of your business.
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:I honestly see it as part of my mission.
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:I get to change people's
lives through this podcast.
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:I get to have an impact through posts
I share and different marketing classes
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:that I run just like I did last week.
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:So.
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:The more you can begin to practice
marketing, the more you will actually
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:love sharing your message, getting
clearer on your own point of view, and
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:being a way to really express yourself.
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:If you get that marketing right, you
will get those coaching clients in
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:the door, do the work you want to do.
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:Gain experience, gain case studies, gain
confidence in the process, but those
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:first few clients require a lot more
proactive reach than many people expect.
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:Something else that came up in the q
and a was the feeling that LinkedIn
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:was sometimes full of other coaches,
and that can certainly happen
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:'cause we are the ones posting and
commenting to grow our businesses.
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:And social platforms tend to show us
people who are similar to ourselves
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:and they also know about the algorithm.
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:So they'll show you the stuff that
they know that you are interested in.
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:One helpful thing that I showed
them is to curate your LinkedIn
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:feed by creating a filter to choose
the companies and the types of
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:people that you want to engage with.
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:If you start engaging with.
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:Other companies and other things that you
don't normally see in your LinkedIn feed.
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:And then your feed will actually be
filled with people that you want to engage
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:with, as well as obviously the other
coaches that you want to support as well.
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:So do use that trick.
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:You can Google exactly how to do that.
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:Or actually you can message me
and I can send you a short video I
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:have on how to create that filter
to curate your LinkedIn feed.
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:One last thing that coaches mentioned is
that marketing can feel uncomfortable.
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:It often feels like self-promotion,
but when you think about marketing
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:through a slightly different
lens, it becomes so much easier.
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:Marketing at its best is simply
sharing ideas that help people to think
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:differently about their situation.
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:When I teach email nurture
sequences, for example, I teach
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:about changing people's beliefs.
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:So they line up with the beliefs that they
need to have to change their situation.
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:So for example, if someone doesn't believe
that there is such thing as school hours,
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:term time only work, then they won't.
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:Come and work with a career coach.
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:'cause they'll think there's
nothing else I can do.
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:I just need to slog it
to London and back again.
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:And that's all there is to it.
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:So if in your marketing you can
share examples of what is possible,
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:slowly, slowly, they change
those beliefs just like I did.
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:And I'm so grateful to have
seen people's free marketing.
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:And seeing somebody say that she
had a term time only, school hours
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:only business, which opened my
mind to be able to create my own.
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:So that's the power of marketing.
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:I'm like here today,
living my dream business.
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:My dream life, because someone was
kind enough in their marketing to
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:show me that that was possible.
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:So think about how you can
change your clients' lives.
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:What do they need to believe in order
to get closer to what they want?
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:So maybe they think they're
not a natural leader.
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:How can you show them
examples of other leaders?
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:Like years ago, I often
joke that I thought.
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:Of a, A leader was a man in a gray suit.
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:That was like 50 plus because that was
my experience of what a leader was.
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:So when someone once called me a leader
of my group and my community, I was
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:really shocked because I didn't match up
to that vision in my head of a leader.
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:So how about you go out there if you
are a leadership coach, for example.
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:And show them what leadership really is.
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:It's just being someone to aspire
to rather than someone dictating the
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:rules, which is something that many of
us have in our heads about leadership.
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:The final point is that marketing
results rarely happen instantly,
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:and you don't always hear the
results of your amazing marketing.
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:People need to see your ideas
multiple times before they
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:feel familiar with your work.
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:They also don't always tell you
that things make a difference.
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:So for example, this month I'm running
a podcast review competition and
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:hearing the amazing impact that this
podcast has had from people that
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:I had no idea had been listening.
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:So.
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:Like I say, you don't always get to
hear the results of your work, but just
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:slowly, slowly start to build that trust
that is happening and let those results
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:compound and build your confidence.
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:Continue to show up long enough
for people to really understand
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:what you do and to get to know you.
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:If you are listening to this and thinking.
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:I didn't train as a coach so I could spend
my life marketing then I completely hear
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:you and I know the feeling, but the goal
isn't to market 80% of your time forever.
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:The goal is to build enough visibility and
relationships that your pipeline becomes
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:steady, and once that happens, you will be
able to shift that balance naturally down
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:towards more delivery and less marketing.
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:So if you are a qualified coach
building your business and you want
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:practical guidance on the actions
that lead to clients, I've created
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:a really simple resource called 12
Ways to Get Paying Coaching Clients.
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:It's not talking about all the
different ways you can post, but it's
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:talking about 12 ways that you can
get clients today if you actually open
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:the document and take those actions.
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:So do grab the link in the show notes and
I hope it helps you get a client today.
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:Please do get in touch with me.
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:If it does.
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:I would love to hear your results.
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:So thank you for being here today.
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:It was so good to spend the time with 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 ordering the seed.
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:Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):
Thank you so much for listening to this
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: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.
