Life Coaches – How To Increase Leads By Identifying Your Ideal Client

Life coaches and personal development entrepreneurs have a desire to help hurting people. In fact, most of us think our solutions can be used to solve numerous problems. And that’s where our problem comes in. We try to help too many people and aren’t able to connect with “everybody in the world.”

The result? Not enough leads . . . resulting in not enough income . . . resulting in added stress in our lives. We may even feel like quitting. But we can’t, because we know we hold the answer that will help many hurting people.

So how do we increase our leads and find these hurting people? We’ve got to narrow the type of problems we attempt to resolve. Looking at all the problems you solve, which ones are the biggest and would have the most impact on a person’s life once it is resolved? Let me give you a scenario.

Let’s say I’m looking for a life coach because I’m stuck in my problems – my marriage is on the verge of a breakup because of my finances. My finances are stuck because of the economy. I can't stand to go to my job because I hate it. I’m scared to break free and do what I want to do for fear I’ll fail and be in a worse situation. I’m not sure that what I love to do can bring in enough money to live off of. I call in sick to work, or whatever the excuse of the day is, and lose pay because I can’t stand to go to work. I’m in a downward spiral and nobody cares and I’m on the Internet looking for help.

As you can see, there are a lot of problems wrapped up in one big bundle. What keywords would I use? Which of my problems would I be looking for a solution to first? Would it be “career change,” “relationships,” “finances,” “depression,” or “saving my marriage?”

What we as coaches need to look at is identifying the bigger picture, and the underlying problems. Instead of promoting solutions to all of the above problems, we take the bigger issue and promote that, as well as identifying the underlying problems resulting from the BIG problem.

For instance, working on a “career change” would be the bigger problem, which results in eliminating all the underlying problems. If that is the field I was to promote, then my major outreach would be on the “career change” aspect, while also identifying the underlying problems so I can connect with heart of my prospect.

And sometimes you have to focus on the “presenting problem” that the prospect is looking to get resolved. For instance, besides being a Freelance Writer and Marketing Coach, I am also an Addictions Coach. My client’s initial presenting problem is to “avoid relapse” or “stop my addiction.” While I attract them by focusing on these two areas, I also know what their underlying problems are (which most people never talk about). These include not being able to maintain healthy, loving relationships, their loss of relationships, lack of forgiveness, lack of purpose in life, no big dreams for their future, don’t know they need to change their stinking thinking, don’t know how to handle their anxieties or hurts, can’t hold down a job because of their addiction, their shame, and their lack of hope of ever living a normal life again.

Therefore, while I connect with the reader when I talk about their presenting problem, I connect on a deeper level when I talk about the problems they didn’t go looking for solutions to. When they realize that I know what I’m talking about, then trust is built and they want to learn more from me.

Okay, now it’s your turn. Of all the problems you solve, which ones are in the BIG overall picture category? Also write down the “presenting problem(s)” your prospect might focus on. So you should have a list of the big problem at the top, with a list of the problems caused by having the big problem. Write out specific fearful thoughts a person might have on each of those problems. Those thoughts will be the connecting points you use throughout your website content. The goal is to go an inch wide but a mile deep in describing the problem.

Once you’ve got this narrowed into an area you want to focus on, you need to change the approach on your website to attract that type of person. If you want more information on how to write a love letter (sales letter) to connect your heart with the heart of your prospect, check out my free report “Coaches – 7 Hot Tips To Increase Your Leads In 30 Days Or Less” at www.FreelanceWriterKathy.com