If you’re in the start-up phase of your coaching practice and are still waiting to land your first business coaching client, this post is for you.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I said that one of the smart things I did before starting my business was to buy and read a shelfload of books on starting and running a business? It really helped me get going fast and without making some obvious mistakes.
With hindsight, probably the best piece of advice I read back then was in a short little book that was basically a day-by-day guide to starting your business (sadly, the name of the book escapes me right now, but it’s back home on my bookshelf).
The book had a whole series of questions you had to answer, one per day, until your business was ready to launch. And pretty much the first question they asked was “where is your first customer going to come from?”
Then the next week, they asked the same question: “Do you know where your first customer is going to come from yet?”
And again the week after. Every week they repeated the same question.
Finally, I got it.
I’ve talked to a lot of entrepreneurs over the years who are in the early stages of setting up their businesses.
The ones who succeed are always able to answer that simple, pragmatic question very clearly.
The ones who struggle tend to spend their time dreaming about how they’re going to expand in year three, what sort of staff they need, what their big vision is. But they overlook the very simple, challenging, yet crucial question: where is your first customer going to come from?
And so I ask you, start-up business coach:
Where is your first business coaching client going to come from?
If you don’t know, I suggest you check out Eric’s ebook, Secrets of a Business Coaching Rock Star. It’s jam-packed with the lead generation and sales skills you’ll need to master to turn your coaching practice dream into a living, breathing reality.
And if you’re not completely obsessed with that question, I strongly suggest you stop everything you’re doing and figure it out RIGHT NOW.
It’ll make all the difference in the world between a coaching career that struggles and a coaching career that succeeds.
Ian Brodie helps consultants, coaches, and other professionals to attract and win more clients. He’s the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller Email Persuasion and has been named as one of the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders in Marketing and Sales and one of the “resources of the decade” for professional services marketing. You can get more of his in-depth tips on starting and growing your business at www.ianbrodie.com
