The Power of Lead Generation for Coaches

Of course, there are several strategies that you can use to generate leads and convert them into brand-new clients. 

You didn’t think this would be too easy did you?!

To help you out, here’s not one, but SIX examples of the most popular and most efficient strategies that we’ve personally used and can highly recommend:

1. Referrals

Also known as word of mouth, referrals encourage your current clients to refer their friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, the dog etc.

The best way to encourage referrals is to offer a damn good service in the first place, keeping your current clients happy is a surefire way that they’ll pass your details on when needed.

You can also offer incentives for referrals. Such as, a referral discount for each new client brought in. Or even a welcome rate to the new referral, if your pricing structure allows it.

2. Social Media

The holy grail, right? Love it or hate it, social media is a killer tool when it comes to lead generation. From the ‘link in bio’ classic to the links you can put in your stories, you have so many ways to collect fresh data using CTA’s.

Pssst… remember we talked about CTA’s in the last blog. Missed it? Read our blog on generating more leads with your website here and check out our helpful list of CTA’s you can use right now.

We’ll talk about paid ad campaigns next, but don’t forget that you can use a plethora of calls to action just in your organic posts on social media.

Now of course, we don’t recommend that you plaster every post with ‘sign up now’ or ‘BUY HERE POTENTIAL LEAD’… but every now and then it’s ok to use your organic social media as a selling platform and generate yourself some leads.

To an extent, we kinda expect it these days.

3. Paid Ads

Moving on from organic social media, paid ads (whether it’s social media, Google Search or other platforms) sole aim is to get people to take action. Otherwise, why on earth would you spend the dollar on them?

You can go broad with awareness ads, shouting from the rooftops about your PT services or your online coaching program. Or you can go more direct and highlight your latest lead magnet to download from your landing page or simply encourage people to book a call with you through DM’s or online forms.

Each one of these strategies is pretty quick at generating new leads for you IF your branding and message are on point. If you want to learn more about branding for your fitness business then take a quick gander at our ‘How to maintain brand consistency’ here > 

4. Content Marketing

Arguably one of the most underutilised methods when it comes to online coaches. When we say ‘content marketing’ we’re talking about blogs, video series, emails and other forms of content that you put out across your digital and traditional channels.

Now, we say it’s the ‘most underutilised’ because it’s one of the biggest methods to tackle. Heck, writing one blog can take up to week (trust us, we know…) and even once it’s written, you need to upload it to your website and format it in such a way that includes subtle (and non-subtle) CTA’s.

Not to mention the effort that a video series can take to plan, record and edit. But the payback? It can be ginormous.

Once your content is posted, let’s say you wrote a blog, and you’re happy that you’ve included a good amount of calls-to-action to attract new leads (it can be a tricky balance!), you can use the blog to boost organic traffic, direct paid ads or use it as part of a lead magnet strategy.

But how can something so simple as a blog, generate you leads?

It comes down to authority and trust, not forgetting our favourite C-word, consistency. Continual, valuable and informative blogging (and other forms of content) all work towards forming trust and authority in your niche.

Resulting in the perfect way to nurture a lead from a click of an ad or a social media post to being a solid new client sale further down the road.

Remember: Lead generation is a long-term strategy, not a quick fix.

5. Lead Magnets

Now, this is the one we most associate with lead generation and it’s probably one of the most effective, but there’s a catch…

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a free asset or a special deal that’s offered in exchange for contact details. This could be a discount code, an eBook, or access to a webinar. So what’s the catch?

Whilst lead magnets can be incredibly effective they don’t necessarily perform their best when acting alone. By that, we mean they tend to be a strategy that’s implemented further along down the sales funnel, not as the one and only or the first strategy you use.

Think about it, yeah you might get a few people to click and download your eBook or grab a discount code, but a person is far more likely to take this sort of action from a brand or business that they are already familiar with.

That’s why starting with strategies like content marketing, social media and paid ads can be very effective at building awareness, authority and trust.

Meaning that when you DO run a lead magnet strategy, your audience is already warm to you and the coaching you offer and therefore more likely to take that action.

6. Networking

Attend local events, national events, and wherever your ideal clients are. You could talk on a podcast or speak at a fitness event near you. It’s not always the easiest strategy to get into, and let’s face it, we’re not all great at public speaking.

If that sounds like the worst thing since sliced bread then try something a little more low-key and local, perhaps you could attend your local business group or local parents group (if your ideal client is likely to be there of course!) and meet people the old fashioned way, over a coffee and a bit of a chin wag.