#98: Remote Coaching #2 (Getting Your First Clients)

Legion Strength & Conditioning Podcast

Even for well-established coaches, acquiring new clients can be a real challenge. For someone just getting started, getting that first client can be a total mystery.

In the early 2010s, there were only a handful of coaches even offering remote coaching. Now, there are dozens of programming companies offering individualized coaching, templated training, and free blogs with workouts.

So, how does a new coach get started? Do you need a significant social media following with a fancy funnel? Do you need to join a more established coaching company with a pipeline of clients?

Many people don’t realise that the best place to start is coaching on the gym floor — delivering value to people and helping them. Once an in-person relationship has been established, it’s not as much of a step to switch to online coaching. And, it’s a lot easier to build trust with someone if you are in the same physical space.

In this part of our series on remote coaching, we get into the helpful (and not-so-helpful strategies) for acquiring new clients. We discuss the different games people play on social media and the importance of referrals to help grow that client list.

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We run online workshops for coaches as well. Find out when our next workshop is here: https://legionsc.com/program-design-workshops

These podcast are posted in video format on YouTube as well.

Show Notes:

• [1:00] The challenge of getting clients in the current remote coaching environment
• [3:00] The importance of starting on the gym floor and being in front of people
• [5:10] Why is it easier to build trust in person?
• [7:00] Referrals as a source of coaching clients
• [8:20] Creating trust with a group of online clients
• [13:00] Playing the #content game to get new clients
• [14:50] Helpful and unhelpful social media tactics
• [16:55] The importance of being responsive to communication with prospective clients
• [23:45] Are you creating useful content or content just to attract new clients?
• [25:15] The importance of clarity on what you want to accomplish with social media
• [28:00] Helping your athletes train with others (and build the network of people who see you as an expert coach)
• [32:15] Some bad coaching behavior we’ve seen from prominent coaches