How to Enroll Coaching Clients Who Care About Their Outcomes

Have there been times when you fought hard for your coaching clients and then realized you cared more about their outcomes than they did?

It may be that you need to be more careful about who you take on. You said YES! to clients you should have said NO! to because they’re unsuitable for your program based on your entry criteria that defines the best persons to get your promised program results.

Now let’s look at how you can use your sales process to enroll your God-fit clients who get the promised results of your program and make you excited to work with them.

Before I dive in, let’s get clear on what I mean by “sales process”. Your sales process starts when your potential client contacts you and ends when your potential client pays for your services and/or signs your contract/proposal. The steps can vary for each coaching business, however, one thing is constant.

✨Your sales process is an opportunity to screen all your potential clients and only say YES! to those best suited to work with you and get their desired results.

It’s how you avoid filling your program with bodies who have the pain points you solve or a credit card but won’t take the necessary actions to move forward and leave you feeling like you care more about their outcomes than they do.

Now let’s dig down into the key things you should include in your sales process to enroll clients who you don’t have to fight tooth and nail with to do the work so they get their desired results.

STEP #1: Get a Program Recipe for Client Success.

Your Program Recipe for Client Success defines the specific ingredients your clients must have to get your promised results.

My friend likes to tell me that “baking is a science.” You have to know the exact MUST-HAVES ingredients to prepare a tasty dessert. Any missing or incorrect ingredient can produce disastrous results.

Similarly, there are specific criteria (ingredients) that your clients must have to achieve their desired results during your program. These ingredients can include: Resources and Assets, Knowledge, Level of Education, Type of Expertise, Attitude, Aptitude, Skillset, etc.

For example: if you are a health coach who requires all your clients to use dumbbells during your program, then dumbbells are a critical resource that they need to get their desired results.

Note that there are 3 absolutely perfect times to communicate/leverage your Program Recipe for Client Success: in your marketing, during your sales vetting process and during client onboarding.

P.S. I talked about how to achieve this during your marketing here: marketing process

Oftentimes coaches neglect to define and/or communicate their Program Recipe for Client Success at any of the above-mentioned stages. Based on my experience, I’ve found that they’re more likely to attract and admit non-ideal potential clients into their program and then fight tooth and nail with them to do the work…

Key criteria from your Program Recipe for Client Success help to funnel out the non-ideal from the ideal (i.e. the sheep from the goats) and set expectations for the duration of your program with your God-fit clients.

STEP #2: Have a Vetting Process.

Have a Vetting Process to onfirm that your potential client has the specific key ingredients you defined in your Program Recipe for Client Success.

I used to feel nervous about job interviews until I had a profound realization: “The power of who to work with lies in the hands of both you and your potential clients.” It’s a two-way street!

And guess what? Your sales conversations (vetting process) are interviews.

You both need to decide that you’re a great fit for each other. You get to choose them as much as they get to choose you.

This shifts your sales conversations from merely seeking to understand your potential client’s pain points and gauge their willingness to hire you to intentionally assessing their fit for you and your coaching program.

Powerful, right?! I thought so too!

Now here’s how you do such an assessment: Expand your sales conversation by asking questions related to the key ingredients/criteria you listed on your Program Recipe for Client Success.

For example: Back to the health coach example, if your program involves shifting your client’s diet using a particular app, you may want to confirm that they have the equipment (smartphone, internet, etc.) to download and access the app. Or if you know a certain attitude is key, you may ask questions that give you insights into that client’s attitudes.

STEP #3: Have a God-Fit Acceptance Process to Enroll Coaching Clients.

After you’ve confirmed that you and your potential clients are a great fit for each other, you must have some process around saying YES! to them.

This process generally includes a method and way to say YES!. You’ll also need a payment method, payment options, and a contract.

You should also include a way to smoothly transition from your sales process to onboarding. This ensures you don’t leave your clients hanging or wondering what happens next.

For example: if your program doesn’t begin until 2 weeks after your client has paid, you can use that time to start sharing orientation materials you know they’ll need. Just don’t go radio silent.

STEP #4: Have A Bad-Fit Client Rejection Process.

Don’t ghost potential clients who fail your screening process. That’s just bad practice and it leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths.

At a minimum, have a method and way to say NO! even if it’s just taking the time to thank them for considering your coaching program

Remember, it doesn’t have to be awkward. Saying NO! is a blessing for you and your potential client when it’s a bad fit.

STEP #5: Create A Flowing Netflix Experience to Enroll Coaching Clients.

Have you ever looked forward to working with someone only for them to share their payment link and nothing works easily and it becomes a total hassle to figure it out?

Or have you ever made a payment for a coaching program and the messages or system access you received left you totally confused?

Do unto others as you’d want to be done to you. Create steps that flow. Make the steps to move through your sales process and transition from your sales process to your onboarding process as simple and seamless as binging on Netflix.

The Point Is…

With these steps in place, you’ll address one of the biggest areas that cause you to admit clients into your coaching program that you have to fight tooth and nail with to do the work.

One Final Thing…

Wouldn’t it be great to only have clients in your coaching program who make you excited to work with them and whom you know will implement to get their desired results? This is one of the outcomes that I help established Christian business coaches achieve during my 8-week Client Experience consulting service. These coaches have delayed signing a lot more clients because they feel something in their coaching program is broken that causes only 33-70% of their clients to get their promised results.

I’ll audit your marketing and sales processes to identify issues/gaps that prevent you from having a flowing Netflix Experience that serves your potential clients better, so you wow your God-fit clients even before they start working with you. We’ll also define your Program Recipe for Client Success so you improve how you qualify/screen your potential clients and only accept God-fit clients into your coaching program.

You’ll also get my help to refine your coaching program curriculum into a step-by-step guide so you deliver your program with excellence that positions your clients to get the promised results without you wondering what’s next or spinning your wheels to be ready. We’ll also refine your client accountability system so you can hold your God-fit clients accountable to implementing action and trigger applicable penalties when responsibilities are not met.

Finally, we bring everything together into a Game plan of action so you can incorporate your new plans into your existing processes and systems.

If you’re interested in this offer, just send me a message and we’ll have a quick chat via Facebook messenger to see if it’s a fit for you.

Comment below if you have any questions or thoughts about what I’ve shared above.