In today’s guest post, Karen Williams answers a question pondered by many looking to start, or grow, a coaching business.

How do you really get to know your clients?

by Karen Williams

Have you been told you need to niche? Perhaps you are reluctant as you don’t want to restrict your market or maybe you don’t know where to start? Even if you know your niche already, how do you really get to know your clients and what they want?

If you don’t get to know your clients, your message is going to get lost. They will be clicking off your website as soon as they arrive, they won’t get where you are coming from or perhaps they won’t find you in the first place.

If you’re not getting the results you want right now in your business, here’s 3 things to look at first:

• Check that the language you are using on your website is pitched at the right level. When you create your website, your blog or any other literature, make sure you are using your client’s language and ask yourself ‘will my clients understand what I mean?’ Keep it simple. For example, you might want to use ‘say’ instead of ‘verbalise’.
• How much jargon are you using when you are communicating with others – both in writing and face-to-face? For example, you might get a better reaction if you say ‘I help you to manage the way you feel…’ rather than ‘I help you to get in the right state’.
• How clear is your message? I mentioned this in my blog recently, where I give suggestions about how to master your message to get the right response.

So how do you actually reach your clients and find out what they want?

I was talking to a client this week and I simply asked him, ‘who do you know in this field who can help you?’ and when he reeled off people he knew, I suggested that he take them for a coffee. Talking to people who are either in your target client group, or are connected to this group, is a great first step to finding out what they want.

If you already know some of your ideal clients, why not do a survey to find out what their problems are and what you can do to help them? I regularly survey the people on my contact list by using Survey Monkey. I also ask questions via my social media contacts. When you do this using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative questions (i.e. to get some figures and more lengthy responses), you can start to understand the dreams and challenges of the group and the actual language they are using.

Lastly, check out your competitors. Even if you have chosen the most unique niche, there are probably other people doing something similar to what you do. Find out what they do well, what you can model and what you can do differently to meet your client’s needs.

There are a lot of coaches in the industry doing something similar to what you do. To be successful you can’t be the same as everyone else and need to stand out from the crowd. By doing your research, you’ll quickly understand what makes you different, how you can be distinctive from everyone else, yet still give people the results that they desire.

About Karen Williams

As a business coach and mentor, author, speaker, and firewalk instructor, Karen Williams, from Self Discovery Coaching, works with coaches and solopreneurs who are breaking free from the corporate world and want to create a successful business. She helps them to develop the foundations for a successful business, stand out from the crowd and enjoy every step of the way.

Karen is the author of The Secrets of Successful Coaches, which reached #1 in the Business charts on Amazon and has just released her second book, How to Stand Out in your Business, which you can order now.

Karen is also running the Star Biz conference on 3 and 4 November, with 8 expert speakers and a firewalk experience. In this unique two day event, you will discover what makes you outstanding, how you can express this uniqueness in your business, and leave with a 90 day step-by-step plan to transform your business and double your clients.
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