If you don’t have a powerful offer that attracts clients you love, and plenty of them, please don’t spend your time and money on any marketing (or un-marketing) activities until you focus on that first.
It’s kind of like deciding you’re going to host a party and announcing to everyone you happen to meet, “You’re invited to hang out and have fun!”
What’s your idea of fun? My interest in attending your party will vary greatly depending on whether your idea of fun is an Equinox ritual, a Bible study or a Pampered Chef party.
And what kind of experience do YOU want to have at your party? Who would you like to attend?
If knitting is your thing, you probably won’t have the optimal experience with a group of Harley-riding bikers. (Though, you never know.)
If you’d like specific results for your business — like soulmate clients, transformational experiences, inspiring connections — you’re more likely to get them by being specific about what you’re up to.
But what most coaches do is make an offer to “a discovery call where I’ll help you get direction on your next steps.”
Even the full offer for most coaches is a package describing the features (number and duration of sessions, included training, email support) and a general description of the expected results (let go of mindset blocks and set soul-aligned goals) that tells us nothing about who it’s for and how it gets results.
All of which is totally cool, by the way. But results will vary, as will the type of people who show up for it.
When I shifted from a generic offer like this to a specific one two months ago, the difference in response was immediate.
I went from sporadic inquiries every couple weeks to 3-5 consistent inquiries each week — all of them referencing the specific offer for my beta-program and asking whether or not they might be a fit.
So if experiencing this shift in response sounds like something you’d enjoy, get more specific in creating your offer with these elements.
(You can follow this clarifying process even if you’re not focused on tangible results. I have client-playmates who are putting out clear offers focused on an experience where results will vary, as well. It’s still more powerful with a clear intention.)
WHO is your offer for?
Give a description that helps your soulmate clients recognize themselves, which may include such things as career type, stage of life, gender, age, personality traits, or circumstances.
Where are they starting out? Where do they want to go?
What do these people bring to the table that makes you want to hang out with them? What are they missing that they’ll need to get where they want to go?
WHAT is on offer?
Describe the experience itself, what people will feel, see, hear and do. Explain the intended journey from start to finish.
What transformation will they experience? What form will it take?
What results can they expect?
HOW will you do it?
You have a process for this journey, even if it’s non-linear. Tell us what’s involved in creating this transformation and the 3-7 steps or elements involved.
What tools, techniques or philosophy will you use? What will be required of them?
Include at least an idea of the cost and tell them what to do next if they’re interested, and how you’ll proceed from there. (“PM me for more details and we’ll have a chat to see if it’s a match,” is my current favorite.)
Don’t get tripped up by the specificity here! It’s actually CLARIFYING and LIBERATING.
I’d been fighting specificity for a while, thinking that it would limit my creativity, but now, I’m including space inside of my offer along with specific outcomes.
My motto:
You can do it however you like.
And chances are creating a specific intention will help you, even if you end up changing it along the way based on the feedback you get.
Here’s how you might approach this process with an example I’m very excited about:
I just hired a new coach (yay!) and I’m already getting ROI after just one session: client inquiries, email subscriptions, and engagement.
How might my coach get more clients (like me) who get spectacular results and are super fun to work with?
I’m considering what makes me a good match for this particular coach.
We share a common worldview, interests in spirituality, the Three Principles and Dzochen meditation, in particular.
I’ve worked with lots of coaches over the years and have a belief that I’m the one who creates the transformation and value. I bring a willingness and openness to trust myself in the experience, and my choice to hire him.
I also have years of experience in coaching, internet marketing, writing and business, with all the skills, talents and assets that’s created.
I happen to love the way my coach thinks, his appreciation for paradox and absurdity, and his sense of humor and willingness to play.
So, making the assumption that I’m his ideal client who’s positioned to get the best results from him (for illustrative purposes) he might clarify his offer to get more people like me by focusing on these elements.
His WHO might be experienced coaches with an extensive background in marketing who’ve already been successful in business (he could even describe the income level), are drawn to spiritual philosophies like Buddhism, non-dualism and the Three Principles, who love to play and stretch their thinking. They’ve hired many coaches in the past and take responsibility for creating their own experience.
He might craft a specific offer for these people that’s designed around the journey he’d like to have with them by describing where they begin, where they’re likely to end up based on his previous client results, and what they’re likely to experience along the way.
Then he’d describe how he does it, which philosophies and methodologies he might draw from, and what that journey looks like, along with the cost.
What’s the result of this specificity?
He ends up with more awesome clients who get amazing results, because he crafts an invitation just for them.
Now, he might decide this is TOO specific. Maybe he doesn’t want to just work with coaches. So he can switch to people with experience in corporate or solo-preneurship. Or he can take out the career reference altogether.
The potency of his offer comes from his own clarity about who he’d like to work with, what he’d like to help them with and how he wants to do it. Unlike traditional niching, it begins with the creation he desires, not simply traits that match a particular group of people.
This specificity creates a powerful intention that becomes magnetic for the people he wants to attract.
If you’d like to create more of this clarity in your message designed to attract the results you desire, it would be my great joy to assist you.
I have an inspiring self-paced coaching journey for experienced coaches, healers and spiritual experts, working with me 1:1 to craft potent offers that attract soulmate clients with transformational content and joyful un-marketing on a path to consistent $10k income months.
My client-playmates who get the best results are also good writers and/or speakers who love sharing what they know. It’s currently priced at the mid-four figures, with monthly payment options. Contact me here if you’re interested for more details, and we’ll have a chat about whether you’re a match.
See how much clarity I’m getting? And how it gives you an idea of whether or not you’re interested?
Yours in creative play,
Steph
