Michael O. Cooper on Finding Initial Clients
The following is taken from David’s interview with Michael O. Cooper in 10 Super Coaches.
What top three methods, in order, did you use to get your clients in the first 2 years?
Sample Sessions: I find that offering sample sessions is the best way for people to experience my coaching ability and style. I offered coaching sessions to people in networking meetings, at the Chamber of Commerce, associations I frequented, friends, family members, colleagues, etc. I mastered the Complimentary/Sample Session with the help of Michael Charest and Michelle Schubnel in their “Coach and Grow Rich” program. I still find this the easiest and most effective way of landing new one-on-one coaching clients.
Networking: I prefer to network with people I already know frequently and have generated dozens of referrals this way. In the early phase of my business, I spent 5-8 hours a week at networking meetings, and I have to say I was horrible at it! Or at least horrible at attracting clients this way. I did generate some interest, but my “elevator speech” wasn’t strong enough to attract clients because I was too generic (prior to establishing my niches). I took networking classes and now rarely attend general networking events, because I personally do not find it as effective as other methods of attracting clients, although I know dozens of coaches who are experts at it!
Internet: I built my website very early on in my business growth cycle. I believe I hid behind it for a while, but many other coaches and clients know me because of that website – many coaches copied much of the material from it. It took over 18 months to attract a client just from the website alone.