Shownotes
Are you spending more time perfecting your coaching plan than talking to potential clients? In this episode, Joanna explains why your coaching plan isn’t what gets clients to buy. Discover what clients really care about, how to simplify your offer, and the shift that will help you attract more coaching clients.
Timestamps
00:00 - The Coaching Plan Trap
01:45 - What a Coaching Plan Really Is
03:10 - Structure vs Coaching
04:20 - Why Clients Want Certainty
07:05 - When Plans Become the Problem
09:05 - The Three-Phase Approach
10:45 - Simplicity Sells
The coaches who make the fastest progress aren’t usually the ones with the most detailed frameworks. They’re the ones having real conversations, testing ideas, and refining as they go.
Useful Links
How to Create a Signature Coaching Offer (Free guide)
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
Download the 12 ways to get clients now
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Transcripts
If you have been trying to create a coaching plan, working out
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:your framework, mapping your processes,
trying to make it feel really clear and
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:professional, and you're hoping that
once it's right people will start saying
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:yes, I want to gently challenge that and
support you with it today in this episode.
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:Because a coaching plan can be really
helpful, but it's also not the thing
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:that's actually going to get you clients.
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:If we haven't met before, I'm
Jo Lott, a business coach, and
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:I help qualified coaches get
clients with honesty, not hype.
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:I have supported hundreds of qualified
coaches in their business over the
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:last few years, and really excited
to support you today in this episode.
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:Did you know this podcast
is now on YouTube?
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:I would really appreciate you
heading over to my channel, Joanna
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:Lott Coaching, and subscribing,
liking, and commenting on a video.
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:In return, I will put your name into a
draw to win a one-on-one session with me
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:In this episode, I want to talk
about coaching plans, because I
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:recently discovered that this was
a key word that coaches search for.
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:So let's talk about what they are, how
to create one, and also think about
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:them in a way that doesn't take you
away from what coaching really is.
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:So let's start simply.
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:A coaching plan is essentially
a way of mapping out a journey
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:that you will take a client on.
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:It gives a sense of direction, so
you may be thinking about where
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:they are now, where they want to get
to, and the key stages in between.
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:So for example, that might be looking
at where they are now, and this is
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:in real tangible terms, so don't
think they're lost, they're stuck.
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:What does that actually mean in real life?
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:So instead of me being lost or
stuck, maybe I'm not showing
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:up in my business, for example.
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:So really think about the
actions that you can see.
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:If you were filming it, what
would it actually look like?
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:So then think about what's in
the way of them taking action.
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:What is the story they're telling
themselves that is stopping
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:them from moving forward?
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:And where do they really want to get to?
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:And again, think about the
morning, afternoon, and evening.
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:Don't be generic of they, they
want clarity and happiness.
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:We can't picture what that looks like, so
really paint the picture as if you were
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:painting a picture or filming something.
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:A good coaching plan, which could also be
known as your signature coaching offer,
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:will give your client confidence that
you have done this before, and you may
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:be able to support them to their goal.
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:And whether it's the placebo effect
or not, it really does help their
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:confidence in you, and eventually
your confidence because you have
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:done that journey many times before.
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:So it really helps both of you see
that there is a clear path forward.
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:But here is where I see a
lot of coaches get stuck.
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:There is often a tension between
I'm a coach and my client sets the
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:agenda, and I need to create something
structured that people can actually buy.
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:Because in coach training, we are
taught not to lead, not to impose
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:a process, to follow the client.
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:So creating a plan can feel really
uncomfortable, almost like we are
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:moving away from what coaching
is actually supposed to be.
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:And I just want to say, you are not
doing it wrong by creating a structure.
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:You are responding to what the
market wants and wants to pay for.
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:Therefore, you are working in line
with what that client wants because
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:they are setting the agenda, for
example, by buying your program to
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:get a job they want, for example.
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:When someone is thinking about working
with you, they don't know about open
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:space and how valuable it is to just
have space to have a conversation.
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:They think they want something that
they can hold onto and feel secure with.
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:All of us humans like certainty, and
therefore them buying this kind of random
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:space is not gonna help them feel certain.
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:What they want is to understand
What will this look like?
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:How will it help me?
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:What is the journey that I'll be going on?
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:And that desire for something
tangible is completely normal.
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:If you are going on a journey,
you look at a map and you plan
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:the exact route you'll take.
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:If you're building out a
kitchen, you do the same.
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:You measure up, you look at what you
like, and you create a structure, a
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:roadmap, a sense of direction that
this is actually going to happen.
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:So we are used to doing that in
life, and this is not a compromise.
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:It can actually support the coaching
But, and this is the important part,
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:the structure needs to allow flexibility
because coaching is not linear.
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:Clients change their minds, goals evolve,
new things will come up all of the time.
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:So your role is not to force them
through your plan when they've bought
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:your program, it's to gently hold that
plan, guide them, hold the direction
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:while adapting to what's actually
happening for them in real time.
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:I do this, for example, by saying,
"Today we would use to look at the
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:big picture of where your business is
right now, but what's going on for you?
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:What's most important?"
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:If they say, "I've got a webinar tomorrow,
and I've got no idea what I'm saying,"
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:I'm clearly not gonna make them look
at the big picture of their business.
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:We're actually gonna plan that webinar.
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:So you're kind of gently holding
the structure whilst allowing
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:the space for them to actually
do what they want and really use
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:that session effectively for them.
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:Also, once people have paid for your
service, they are far more open to
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:that space because by that point,
they've actually experienced a coaching
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:session, so they usually become far
less attached to the rigorous process
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:that they've bought into as long as
you are checking in with them every
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:step of the way, recontract, really
find out how you can best support them.
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:Also, don't get too attached
to the result that they want.
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:So for example, if you're a career
coach, don't think, "Oh my gosh,
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:this person's not getting a job.
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:What am I gonna do?
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:What am I gonna do?"
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:I used to work as a career coach, and
hardly anybody actually changed career
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:within our 12-week program, for example.
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:Because as we all know in life,
things are never as speedy as we want.
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:It's an emotional journey, it's a
practical journey, but they will
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:always get value from what you
do together in those sessions.
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:I've had people years on message
me saying, "Thank you so much.
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:I've got the job of my dreams, and it's
all due to our sessions two years ago."
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:Whilst I was being hard
on myself thinking, "Oh my
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:goodness, it hasn't worked.
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:They must be really disappointed."
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:But no, they're not disappointed
because that space that you
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:provide will change their life.
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:Where I see things start
to go wrong is here.
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:The plan becomes the focus.
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:You can spend far too many hours refining
it, adding more detail, adding more
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:stages, more language around it, hoping
that if it's clear enough or structured
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:enough, it will be easier to sell But
what often happens if you spend too
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:long on this is it becomes the opposite.
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:It gets so complicated, more
abstract, and really hard for someone
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:outside of coaching to understand.
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:I heard this quote the other
day, which was something like,
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:"Use your intellect wisely."
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:And so therefore, don't fox them with
pages and pages of complicated language.
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:Just say it in a way that is
really, really easy for the
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:average person to understand.
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:Because when someone is deciding whether
to work with you, they are not analyzing
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:your coaching plan as much as you are.
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:They are generally asking themselves
something much simpler, "Is this for me?
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:Do they understand what I'm dealing
with, and can they help me move forward?"
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:That's usually it, and if those
three things are not clear, no
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:amount of sessions or structure
or time or language will fix it.
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:So let's reframe it like this: a
coaching plan is not there to just sell
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:your work, it is there to support it.
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:It will help you to deliver consistently
great results with your clients.
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:It will also help your clients feel
safe and held within that process.
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:It will give them a sense of
progress, especially if you zoom
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:out occasionally and show them
the steps that they have taken.
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:So here is my best tip.
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:Three phases work really well.
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:So even if you have a 12-step
plan or session structure, can
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:you explain it in three sentences?
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:For example, in my Business of
Coaching program, we have three phases.
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:The first is build.
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:You will finish this phase with a clear
niche and offer that has been reviewed
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:and refined with my support so you
know it lands with the right people.
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:Second phase is attract.
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:I will review your content, your outreach,
your conversations so you are not
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:second-guessing at any point, and you
will walk away with a visibility strategy
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:that feels doable and gets results.
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:And the third phase is deliver.
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:We refine your systems and client
experience together so that they
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:feel professional, polished,
and you are ready to grow.
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:Is it really hard to
simplify it like this?
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:Yes, totally.
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:I want to say that I teach you LinkedIn
and AI, and we'll set up your lead
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:magnet, and we'll review your website.
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:There is so much more that we do in the
program, but I have to really keep it
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:simple so that people can initially pique
their interest enough to look into all
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:of the other detail that maybe I have.
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:So if you have been focusing on
refining your plan or your offer,
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:let's take it back to here.
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:Who do you help?
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:What are they struggling with right now?
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:And what do they actually want instead?
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:And can you say that in a
simple three-step way that feels
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:clear and aligned for them?
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:Because when that becomes clear, your plan
becomes easier for both them and for you.
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:The best way of knowing if this is
working is not by rewriting your
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:plan again, it's by having real
conversations, starting to work with
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:people, trying it out, really noticing
what resonates, noticing where people
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:get confused, and refining from there.
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:Because your business will grow through
that interaction and the iteration.
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:You cannot start from where you will
end up without going on that journey.
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:So if you are sitting there thinking,
"I just need to get my coaching
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:plan right," I'll offer you this.
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:You don't need a better plan, but you
need clearer communication and usually
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:a much simpler plan, and that is
when everything will fall into place,
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:when your plan can really support
the work you're already capable of,
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:and you can say it really simply.
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:If you would like support with this,
I have a free guide called How to
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:Create a Signature Coaching Offer.
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:It is designed as a simple checklist
with a real tangible example of a great
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:offer mapped out next to it so you
can see how easy this can really be.
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:I will link to that in the
show notes or description.
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:Thank you for listening today,
and I hope it was helpful.
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:And like I always say, trust yourself,
believe in yourself, and be the wise
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:gardener who keeps on watering the seeds
