29 | The Missing Link To Inbound Enquiries

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Hello and welcome to Women in

the Coaching Arena podcast.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor

and ICF accredited coach

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

and I help coaches to

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build brilliant businesses.

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I know that when you prepare to enter

the arena, there is fear, self doubt,

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comparison, anxiety, uncertainty, shame.

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You can tend to armor up and

protect yourself from vulnerability.

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In this podcast, I'll be sharing

honest, not hype, practical and

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emotional tools to support you to make

the difference that you are here for.

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Dare greatly.

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You belong in this arena.

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Welcome to the 29th episode of

women in the coaching arena.

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I'm so glad you are here.

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Today we are diving deep into the

missing link to inbound enquiries.

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This is for you, if you have been posting

endlessly on social media, but have

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never, or rarely received direct messages

or calls booked from your content.

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So I hope you will find this super

valuable because it's easy to get swept up

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in social media and not generate results.

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So I hope this episode will help

you to gain those enquiries and gain

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more chance of obviously converting

those enquiries into paying clients.

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First up let's talk about the value

of gaining inbound leads because

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in this coaching world, there

are two primary types of leads.

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There are inbound and outbound.

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So an inbound lead is someone

who approaches you having been

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drawn in and attracted by your

content or your reputation.

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Or on the other hand, an outbound

lead is someone you have reached

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out to initiating the conversation.

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So while both are valuable, There's

something special and exciting,

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obviously about receiving inbound leads.

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They have shown an interest.

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They're engaged.

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They like you because

they're contacting you.

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And that ultimately means a

higher conversion rate and a

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faster growing coaching business.

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Now we know.

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Why we want to attract

these inbound leads.

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Let's move on to the three

pillars of effective content.

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So firstly, and I'm sure you're

tired of hearing everyone say

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this, but consistency is key.

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So where there is blogposts

you're writing, podcasts

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you're doing, social media.

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Whatever you do, consistency is

what builds up trust and establishes

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you as an authority in your niche.

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I was super excited today when I was

thinking about what podcast episode to

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record so I kind of searched in Google,

how to starta coaching business to

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get inspiration for today's episode.

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And was super excited to see my

own website and my own article on

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how to start a coaching business

on page one, just for records down.

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So it's a super competitive industry,

as I'm sure you realize from being

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inundated with business coaches, trying

to help you to grow your business.

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So to be able to reach page

one of Google, four items down

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without any ads is super good.

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And I wrote that article

over two years ago now.

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And.

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It would have never been found before,

but what I have done since then is

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blogs every single week, pretty much.

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So what that does is update my

website regularly and Google loves

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fresh websites, fresh content.

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So if you are one of these thinking,

I'm waiting to get my website.

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Perfect.

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Just know that this is

not a once and done thing.

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I update my website every single week.

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For example, if I'm promoting something,

I'll put a new banner on there.

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Anything you can see it's keep updating

it, which is why don't wait till

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it's perfect because actually it's

better for you to be updating it than

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waiting till it's perfect and then

never touching your website again.

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So just know that that consistency.

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For me, for example, of writing

those blogs and regularly

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putting them on my site.

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Is finally paying off and I'm

now getting found on Google

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without having to pay for it.

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So you can be the same.

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So have a think for your niche.

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What would people be searching Google for

an aim to create content on those things.

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So the consistency is key.

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Next up having a structured approach

to content can be a game changer.

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I haven't always been good at this.

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Obviously I provide a 30 day

content plan for my clients,

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which helps them to do this.

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But yes, I completely get that it's really

hard to sometimes be that organized person

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and have everything scheduled and ready.

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I'm super lucky right now that I have

a social media manager who is preparing

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this content and doing it for me.

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I know that's not in everybody's reach

but what I would recommend and what I've

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seen work really well for my clients

is batch it all up, get your monthly

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plan, do a two or three hour block on

a Monday and schedule that content.

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My most successful clients schedule

their content, because I think what

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happens when you don't schedule your

content is pretty much the missing

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link that we will be revealing

later on in this podcast episode.

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Our last pillar of effective

content is showcasing proof.

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So there is nothing more powerful than

sharing success stories or testimonials.

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It's a testiment to your skills, the

transformation that you offer, but

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also gaining that trust from people,

helping them to step into the picture.

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Help them to see yes, I

work with people like you.

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Here's this client story.

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And I know lots of clients will

say to me, but no one wants to

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share their testimonials with me.

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I think it's about the

way you position it.

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So rather than asking for a favor in a

testimonial, you want to say, I would

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love to showcase you as a case study

because your story is so inspiring.

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Can we write up a case study or

can we have a conversation to

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reflect on your journey together?

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So that's a really great way of doing it.

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And if they won't do that, you

can still reflect on their journey

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yourself, where were they before?

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What steps did you go through

and where are they now?

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So I would suggest proof faced content.

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Every week or at least every other week.

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As much as you can weave that

into your content strategy.

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So now let's move on to

the missing ingredients.

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So that is product positioning.

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So imagine this, you are

putting out consistent content.

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You are sharing the success stories.

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You're doing all the things you are

meant to be doing but the inquiries

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are not pouring in as expected.

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So what could be missing?

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Often it's clear product positioning.

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So your audience might love your

content and think it's super inspiring.

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But if you are unsure about what

you're offering, how much it is,

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how it's delivered, then they

might hesitate to reach out.

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And I'm starting my offer

to market sprint this month.

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And this is literally day one's work.

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So choose what you are selling.

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And I noticed every single time most

people will resist choosing one thing.

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They'll say I've got four offers

and I've got an online course and

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I've got this and I've got that.

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And it's like, no wonder why you're not

selling anything, because there is so

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much that you don't know really clearly

what you're trying to promote here.

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Therefore your audience won't

also understand what you're

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trying to promote here.

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So pick one.

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Ideal client, one offer and one platform.

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And go all in on that one

thing for at least a month.

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You cannot sell multiple

things at one time.

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It's confusing for you.

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It's confusing for your audience,

so really to make your life

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simple and choose your one thing.

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That clear product positioning will

help people to understand exactly

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what they're getting, how much it's

going to cost and what to expect.

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Okay, next up, let's get more specific.

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So the power of a

product positioning post.

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There are two main types of

product positioning posts.

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There are direct ones and indirect.

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A direct product positioning

post is straightforward.

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It showcases your service,

it speeches it's benefits.

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Think about it as a mini sales page.

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You could do a carousel for this,

or you could just do a short post.

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Since my social media manager started

with me, she has created lots of these.

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And again, if you haven't got a clear

plan and a schedule that you are

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planning out your content in advance.

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This is a sort of post that you

will probably avoid yourself

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because it feels very direct.

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It feels kind of a bit more salesy,

which we can often tend to shy away from.

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But it really does work.

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People do sometimes like to see.

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Very clearly, this is

what you are selling.

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So that's a direct

product positioning post.

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Next up, let's talk about an

indirect product positioning post.

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This is a bit more subtle.

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It might share a success story or a

testimonial that indirectly highlights

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the benefits of your product.

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And you would still want

to have a call to action.

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So for example, if you're

talking about your client, Julia,

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You may be saying at the end.

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If you would like to have results like

Julia then drop me a message today.

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So let's walk through some actionable

steps for effective product positioning.

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Firstly clarity is crucial ensure

that your potential clients

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understand exactly what you're

offering and why it's valuable.

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That is the work you will

want to do prior to promoting.

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And that doesn't always mean how

many coaching sessions we're talking.

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It means really diving deep from your

client's eyes as to this is the problem

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that they are in, and this is where

they want to get to and how you can help

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them step by step along that journey.

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Secondly frequency matters

so regularly update and share

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these product positioning posts.

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I would suggest every six weeks,

for example, for the direct.

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This is exactly what I'm offering post.

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And maybe every two weeks for the

more subtle indirect, here's the

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type of outcome you might be looking

at, if you invest in my service.

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Lastly, always have a clear call to action

on the bottom of your post, whether that

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is inviting them to DM you, book, a call,

or even just engage in the comments.

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Like what's your view.

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Anything you can do to gain interaction

will be a huge step forward.

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Remembering that people rarely

book a call without having some

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tiny interaction with you first.

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So the more you can create content that

asks their opinion, ask for their views.

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The more, they will be able to take

that tiny micro step towards you.

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So let's summarize where we

went to in today's episode.

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First up, we talked about

the value of inbound leads.

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Next, we talked about the three

pillars of effective content.

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So consistency.

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Having a structured approach

and showcasing proof.

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Third up we talked about the missing

ingredient, which is product positioning.

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Being super clear on exactly what you are

selling and the intricate details of it.

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Next up, we talked about the power of

product positioning posts in particular.

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There are two main types,

direct posts and indirect posts.

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Both are useful and I would recommend

putting those into your content strategy.

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If you, for example, don't

use social media by the way.

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Many of my clients don't

and that's absolutely fine.

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You can still do this.

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So make sure your website is super

clear on exactly what you are selling

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versus come and book a discovery

call, but it doesn't really say

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here's what you can buy from me.

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Because just think about

your own buying habits.

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Would you just book a discovery call

or would you want to know a little

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bit more about what they are selling.

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What they could do for you.

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Prior to booking that call.

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I know me personally, I would never

ever book a call with someone unless

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I knew exactly what they sell.

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Exactly how much it's going to cost me.

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So, yeah.

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Think about your own buying habits

and that will help you to step into

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your ideal client shoes as well.

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Lastly, we talked about some actionable

steps for effective product positioning.

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So gaining that clarity,

firstly is crucial.

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Secondly, frequency matters just

because you put out one post saying what

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you sell doesn't mean it's job done.

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You will want to do that again regularly.

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And lastly always include a call to

action on your post, whether that is

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a really direct one like DM me or book

a call, or whether that is an indirect

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one, like a question or share your views.

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To finish up, remember that the key

to attracting those inbound inquiries

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lays in consistent, valuable content

and clear product positioning.

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So implement these strategies

we discussed today and what's

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your coaching business grow.

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I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

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Do share it with your coaching cohort.

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I would absolutely love to help

more coaches sell coaching.

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And drop me a line on LinkedIn

if you found this useful, I

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would love to hear from 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 watering the seed.

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Thank you so much for listening to this

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.