26: Can You Attract Coaching Clients As A Thought Leader?

This episode is an ON AIR Coaching session where I get to work with with a real human being instead of just speaking out in the air by myself. It's so much fun for me to do these Coach the Coach sessions and I hope you find value in them.Today, I'm working with Je'von Ikner to help him finesse his target audience and niche.Je'Von's background includes 4 years in Wallstreet and a stint with Club Med working as a personal trainer, which he segued into owning a gym with a partner.Je'Von explained that he wants to take a more holistic approach to wellness with his clients. He let go of the gym recently to focus in on developing his coaching business.He is also a new husband and father. His son, Maxwell, is just 10 months old.Why Not Coach People Like You?I had an instant idea after meeting Je'Von in a Discovery Session that young men with new families could be a great audience for him. He agreed but he was a bit hesitant, thinking that he needed to have everything figured out before he could help someone else with that.Do you worry about that too?If you've had an impulse to work with people that are essentially in the same boat as you, it's a good impulse! As long as the target audience is well defined and narrow enough that you can create compelling messaging and offers that strike a resonant chord, it can work beautifully.1. You only need to be one small step ahead of your coaching clients.2. Did you know that most subject matter experts became experts by making a study of how to help themselves through a challenge? You can do that too.3. Few people have the time or inclination to self reflect enough on how to breakthrough a specific challenge. As a coach, you can do some advanced thinking about your audiences common challenges and goals. Look at your own experience dispassionately for a while. Then create a model to help yourself. Test it out. Finesse that to help others in the same boat.Don't worry, you'll still be able to meet your clients where they are and coach them in the moment. But, if they're going to enroll you, they only want to know that you've thought it through. A little structure goes a long way!I reminded Je'Von what coaching is really about. Je'Von laughed because he realized while we were talking that I would ask him that. He said: "Coaching isn't necessarily a how-to.You're not giving someone the answers so much ashelping them evoke their own answers, gain different perspectives,then have a choice of answers that allows them tomake the decisions that are in line with where they want to go."Elegantly put.What Are the Top Challenges of Your Target Audience?Next, I asked Je'Von what are the real challenges he's experiencing as a young man with a new family.What he shared was poignant:1. The biggest challenge is lack of personal time that can bring up feelings of guilt and resentment. ·      time to see friends·      time to take care of your body·      time to develop a new business or pursue a dream2. The fear that he may have to give up his dream.3. And knowing how to raise a human being is a daunting challenge for all new parents.... Find more about this here.