I’ve been having a lot of conversations lately about Facebook for coaches, so I wanted to share some thoughts with you.

As a coach, you’re always in the market for clients, people you can serve through this amazing tool.

Perhaps you’ve told all your friends, gone to every networking meeting in town, and built a killer website…

But still have very few clients… (Okay, maybe a few if you count your mother and the neighbor who only pays half of your regular fee.)

I’ve been there. I know.

It’s so frustrating when we are doing everything we know to do to market our coaching practices but nothing seems to work. And then that nagging voice in our heads gets louder and louder, “What was I thinking? There is no market for coaches. It must be the economy. I’ll just have to wait until it turns around.”

Back in High School

Strangely, that whole situation reminds me of those awkward High School dances.  The ones where I’d dress up and stand by the punch bowl trying to think of brilliant things to say. When no words came out, ­I’d just decide it didn’t matter because boys weren’t interested in dancing anyway.

But the truth was that all the popular girls had more dances than the prom had dresses. Somehow, it seemed like I needed to be popular to get asked to dance. But of course, I would never be popular because I didn’t dance. The circle of loneliness kept going around and around until to salve my battered ego I decided I never really wanted to dance.

But I did.

Dating the Prom King & Getting Clients

Dating and getting clients have a least one thing in common. It’s hard to go from complete obscurity to prom queen all in one day. Reputations and relationships are built slowly one interaction at a time.

Going from new coach to successful coach can be a lot like high school dating. It seems like you have to be a well-known, seasoned coach to attract clients. But you can’t attract those initial clients because you aren’t a well-known coach.

And while it’s tempting to just tell yourself you were never meant to coach anyway, there really is a fairly easy way to attract clients without being well-known so that you become so well-known that you attract clients.

Today’s Virtual Punch Bowl
Facebook in the new virtual punch bowl. It’s the most leveraged way to build ongoing relationships with hundreds of prospects at the same time.

How?

Did you know that the average user on Facebook has 338 friends?  And like rumors in high school, each time one person ‘likes’ you (that is your business page or joins your Facebook group) the word goes out to that person’s circle of friends.  And if even two of those friends have their curiosity tweaked and click through to like or join, word then goes out to their 338 friends. And if four of them like your page… well, you get the idea. Each Facebook like is the first domino in a whole new chain of dominoes.

The best part is that you don’t have to be popular, famous, or well-known to get started.  Simply begin by asking your family and closest friends to swing by and ‘like’ your Facebook Business page or join your free group.  That should be enough to get the ball rolling.

Start that Awkward Conversation
What do you do next? What would you do if the cutest boy in the room walked over to you at the punch bowl?

You would get a conversation started.

You would be polite. You’d ask him about his interests, his car, or last weekend’s football game. You’d know that if you kept the initial conversation focused on him, at some point he’d actually pause to ask about you.

Social Media works the same way. Once people like you on Facebook, immediately trying to sell them on the effectiveness of coaching is like the wallflower asking the captain of the football team to dance. It could spoil the potential relationship forever.

Talk about the things that your new Facebook friends are interested in. Share helpful information about your niche topic. Leave encouraging comments on their posts. By being a real and genuine friend, at some point, their interest will be piqued and they will be eager to learn more about you.

You don’t have to have clients to become well-known. By using Facebook wisely you can now become well-known so that the clients will inevitably and magnetically come.

Let’s Connect
If you have any questions or would like support, encouragement, and companionship on your coaching journey, I’d like to invite you to join my private, free Facebook Group: Christian Coaches Community.

Just click this link and request to join.