If you’re operating in the online business coaching world, and you follow any the most successful life or business coaches, or can’t help stalking the websites of the top business coaches in the world, then you’ve wondered at least once, “how to get more coaching clients?” or asked yourself, “why is my business so slow?”
In Part 1 of this series we discussed “How to Shift Money Blocks and Upgrade Your Money Mindset,” and Part 2 explored the “3 Ways Your Money Mindset May Be Sabotaging Your Business and Keeping You Broke.”
In Part 3 we will discuss how to get more coaching clients, focusing on 3 ways your money blocks may be holding you back from attracting ideal clients and the shifts that could transform your relationship with money.
Whether your goal is to become the best life coach for women or the best business coach for successful women entrepreneurs, there is one key ingredient for success; a roster of high premium ideal clients that want to work with you.
You must be visible to your ideal clients. They must know you exist and know where to find you.
In the online coaching business space, this means you may want to invest in a coaching website that attracts high premium, ideal clients within your viable niche with a powerful marketing message + compelling call to action that indicates to your clients that you understand their pain and desires and can deliver the solutions or outcomes they desire (create marketable high value offers/packages + make/sell offers).
The bottom line? Transforming your relationship with money empowers you to create high value offers that clients want and are happy to invest in, and gives you the confidence to set prices and sell these offers/enroll clients with ease.
This is the secret to creating more coaching clients.
To create ideal clients in your online coaching business, strategy, tools and training are great, but those fall flat without a premium business mindset.
Premium Business Mindset
For any entrepreneur struggling to create ideal clients in her coaching business, yes, you can go create clients without looking at your underlying beliefs and stories.
But hold on…
The prefect website copy won’t make you create clients. The perfect social media post won’t do it. The best website images won’t do it either.
You probably already have all of those. And yet… you’re still wondering why you’re stuck.
How many times have you been uninspired? Unmotivated?
How many times have you procrastinated? Stayed stuck in perfectionism?
Maybe watching a Ted talk would help. Maybe watching an inspirational video might help.
You have to actually take inspired action.
Ask yourself what thoughts, stories and beliefs you’re basing those actions on?
Listen to what you actually tell yourself about your life, business, the world. How do those thoughts and words influence who you are and what you create in the world?
What is possible if you actually got the root of why you’re unmotivated so that you can finally move forward in every area of life?
Look again. It’s not just happening in your business.
Your business mindset is the way you see your business, which is based on your subconscious thoughts and the words you speak about the things going on in your life and business. The magic happens when your underlying thoughts and beliefs inspire you to take the actions you truly desire.
Bridging that gap is where the 10x magic lives.
When working with women entrepreneurs, especially coaches, money mindset is a huge issue that holds them back from getting more clients or creating any form of abundance in their lives.
All the money magnet mantras, manifestation rituals, and affirmation statements are just another thing on your long to-do list if your underlying beliefs about money are blocking your ability to create money.
The money blocks in the way of attracting ideal coaching clients are couched in three types of common fears.
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Fear of Success
The fear of success is one that has some of my clients rolling their eyes at me. Most women entrepreneurs, even some of the most successful life coaches understand their fear of failure. But as a women’s business coach, the fear that I come up against the most, even in my own business, is the fear of getting the thing I want or growing into the person I’m meant to be.
The reality is that the more successful you are, the bigger your vision and dreams, and the more inspiring your goals become. You’re no longer looking for the 6 steps on how to make 10K in your business every month. You’re probably interested in leveraging your business to give you more flexibility and building a successful team.
How does this show up in your business?
- You’re procrastinating more than usual.
- You’re not taking advantages of opportunities that show up in your inbox.
- You’re not raising your rates.
Procrastination is not unusual
The key is really noticing where you are procrastinating more than usual. If you dig deep enough, you’ll find that you’re afraid to do the thing you’ve committed to, not because you’ll fail, but because you’re afraid of who you’d have to become or what you’ll have to do.
Some things that come up for women entrepreneurs, in this case, coaches, include procrastinating on launching their new program or even launching their new brand or website.
Why?
Because they’ve moved from the point of “what if no one signs up” to “oh my gosh, what if all 25 women sign up? Can I handle all that work?”
They are stuck with questions of “Do I have work harder?”
“What if I can’t spend more time with my kids?” or “What if I have to work harder?”
“What if I become a bad mother?”
What if all my friends are right. Maybe I can’t have it all.
For my part, I know I have had all these thoughts both as an attorney in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur. I was sick and tired of worrying about how to manage my businesses and make enough time for my daughter. Plus, I used the breakup of my marriage to label myself a bad mother for thinking about creating and growing a business instead of just hugging my daughter and rocking back and forth with her all day. How dare me try to have it all, right?
Money Mindset – Hidden Money Blocks
These are all valid concerns and fears, but the underlying money block here is that success means I must work harder or making more money is hard. Less fun. Less time.
That whole Either/OR game we love to play so that we stay stuck. Why would you want to grow a successful coaching business if it’s going to take you away from your family and have you working 80 hours a week?
Once these blocks show up in your space, you come up with a million and one reasons not to create more coaching clients. You start believing its no longer safe to be successful.
Is this something you resonate with?
What if you could come up with at least 10 ways you could create more fun, more time, more joy and more motivation when you grow your business to the next level? What would be possible for your life and business if you could replace Either/Or with AND?
Let’s talk about missed opportunities
This is a sneaky one because it keeps us focused on taking care of our to-do lists instead of focusing on our top business priorities.
You get emails from other coaches or entrepreneurs to be part of a summit, or you have opportunities to get your message out in the media, but again, you’re worried.
“How much time will this take?” What if you do this and you’re swamped with new clients and can’t attend all your kid’s soccer games over the next 6 months? What if you again, become that “bad mother?”
Money Mindset – Hidden Money Blocks
Again, it’s just not safe to be successful. You have competing interests. Your hidden and subconscious beliefs assure you that there is no way you can handle all of this. After all, you only have three clients now and you can barely get things done. How are you doing to manage with 7 more clients. Get real!
What I’ve observed is that we tend to put this under the fear of failure box, but what’s happening is our fear of success – fear of getting the one thing we desire most.
Not raising rates is probably one of the most common self-sabotaging habits
When working with women entrepreneurs, one of the questions I ask when co-creating financial goals is, “what do you want to make each month?”
And I notice that most women coaches don’t really take this into consideration in their business and struggle to come up with a number.
When I ask other service-based entrepreneurs like hair salon owners, fashion designers or physicians or attorneys, the number usually just rolls of their tongues.
I find it interesting and it makes me curious to see what’s truly behind that. The story or belief in the way of saying, “This is what I want.”
If this you resonate with this, where else is it showing up in your life? Wise people say how you do one thing is how you do everything.
As for raising rates, working with a coach (and many other service-based women entrepreneurs) to double the investment in her services brings on something close to a mini-heart attack. Even when the value of her services is 5x more than her current rates.
As a heart-centered entrepreneur, I understand how the whole money/sales thing could feel scary, odd, or sleazy, but that’s just another money block.
Money Mindset – Hidden Money Blocks
Transformating one’s relationship with money and creating abundance in every area of life involves more than just putting your heart and soul into creating impact in the world. A crucial ingredient is getting paid what you’re worth. Exchange of value. Payment for services.
Anything that blocks your ability to receive stems from money mindset blocks like “I am Not Enough” or “I don’t deserve this,” or “I am not worth it.”
As a 10x Business and Mindset Coach, I believe that every woman entrepreneur deserves to get paid for the value of her services and that, an equal exchange will inspire greater enjoyment, growth, transformation, impact, service, sales and profits.
Anything less is a breeding ground for burnout, overwhelm, doubt and resentment.
Coaching an entrepreneur to raise her rates is challenging yet rewarding. The moment she recognizes her value and owns her worth is priceless. Because only with boldly stepping into your power do you get paid the amount you ask for.
What’s the effect of raising rates? More value, More money, More impact and Less work.
Scary for some. Exhilarating for others.
But most importantly, you create the roster of MORE happy, ideal clients who do want to work with you and will willingly pay you. You attract your tribe.
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Fear of Visibility
Not every online entrepreneur is an extrovert. Running an online service business, especially online coaching, can be scary for entrepreneurs like me who are committed introverts. But taking a vow not to be seen is the death of online marketing.
The way most entrepreneurs see this is “I’m just scared to fail.” Again, I say No Way. What’s really going here is the fear of been seen
Why? Because this will lead to more ideal clients.
I get that your rational mind doesn’t say, “I don’t want to blog today because I don’t want to get more clients.” But that’s really what your subconscious money blocks are doing to sabotage your business.
Guess what? As an online business owner, your fear of visibility is a true business nightmare because been afraid to put yourself out there is keeping you a secret from the people who need you most. It goes against that commitment you made to make a positive impact in the world and be of service to your clients.
Maybe you’re scared to blog. Scared to post on social media. Afraid to say something that will piss someone off.
What if people don’t agree with you? What if people think you’re stupid and don’t want to read what you write. What if your marketing message falls flat?
What if. What if.
No one really likes rejection.
Being a business owner includes being a courageous and powerful leader who takes a stand and has something to contribute to her space, despite what’s already been said. Your unique view, position, passion and personality is what attracts your clients to you, NOT your training and degrees. Your contribution is your truth, and yours alone. It’s safe to add your truth and the way you see your world to the space.
Who gives a shuck if someone doesn’t like what you say. That helps you. You automatically know (without an enrollment conversation) that they are not your ideal client. Time saver!
Money Mindset – Hidden Money Blocks
How comfortable are you being seen?
Are you even aware that hidden subconscious blocks may be keeping you from creating your dream business?
The underlying money mindset block here involves (1) I’m not an expert, (2) waiting for permission to speak up, and (3) fear of being bossy. I had one client tell me that women were not allowed to speak up in her family and women were seen and not heard. This belief has influenced how she’s operated in both the corporate world and her online coaching business.
Who else is familiar with growing up in a family where you’re not allowed to have opinions, especially if you’re a woman?
Whatever your “story,” it’s holding you back.
It’s holding you back from showing up fully in the corporate boardroom and stating your opinion in a meeting, AND when you quit that job in disgust to start your own business, it’s going to show up again and hold you back from being seen in your business.
What if it is safe to be seen? What would your version look like?
I love blogging, and creating content so that I show up in my subscribers’ email inboxes at least twice a week. I do what I l enjoy and what serves me best.
The key is to do what works for you and serves you and your business best. Don’t try to imitate the most popular coaches. Do what is within your zone of genius and you’ll shine in that space.
Consider showing up in your marketing. Show your personality. Infuse yourself in your marketing.
Love wearing bold bright colors? Love surrounding yourself with fun? Let your brand and the photos on your website reflect that. After all, you want to attract your ideal clients – not everyone.
Just the ones who resonate with your message. There are enough clients out there for everyone, and you can’t support everyone.
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Fear of Making Money
You’re probably wondering, “why would I start a business if I’m afraid to make money?”
And that’s a valid question. But when you understand that 95% of your business decisions stem from your subconscious (aka breeding ground for all limiting beliefs), then you can see how this competing intention would show up on the day you write your business vision to create 12 clients.
Sometimes the reason why you’re not creating more clients in your coaching business is that you’re afraid to make more money.
Why? Because its not safe to go higher than your income ceiling. This is a big one.
Have you ever had feast or famine months in your business? You’re riding a constant roller coaster of good and bad months. Some months you’re living client payment to client payment. Other months you’re making more money than you dreamed possible.
In my previous post, “How Your Money Mindset May Be Creating Consistent Feast or Famine Months in Your Coaching Business (Especially If You Love Freedom),” I spoke about my own personal experiences with this.
“Prior to going into coaching full-time, I noticed that I was operating under an income ceiling. If I hit that number or close to that number, I somewhere managed to create lower numbers the next month. No matter how hard I thought I was trying or what I told myself, I just never got above that income ceiling.”
I’m not unique. Many women entrepreneurs have a set money point, and as soon as they hit that ceiling, their money blocks kick in and stop them creating more clients or money in their business.
Money Mindsets – Hidden Money Blocks
What about you? What’s your ceiling? How safe do you feel about earning more than enough money?
When I asked clients how much money they want to make, I get “I just need enough to be comfortable?” That’s noble and there’s absolutely nothing wrong.
Let’s say you’re committed to working with a charity and a big focus on your business and commitment to making impact in this world is tied to the financial contributions you make to that charity. How can you do that without making money? Just a thought.
AND there is no right or wrong way to do anything. There are a million other ways to make impact without money.
The money blocks in this instance tend to come from several places.
- what we learned about money growing up. Those limiting beliefs we picked up along the way from our family and life experiences. Maybe it’s a result of cultural and gender influences. Shifting this involves taking an honest look at your money story, owning it, and deciding to create new beliefs that serve you so that you’re no longer a victim of false beliefs.
- dealing with your own trust issues. Maybe you’ve collected enough evidence along the way to show that you are not capable of managing more than a certain amount of money. It shows up in sneaky ways. Maybe you have a goal of $10,000 this month. As soon as you hit $4500, shuck hits the fan. You get sick. You have to cancel sales/enrollment conversations with potential clients. You get the flu or a sore throat. There’s a family crisis. It’s been happening 8 out of 12 months but you really haven’t noticed because its flu season or its just life. Guess what, its your subconscious telling you you’re not worth it because you haven’t shown you can handle it.
Call to Action
Shine the light on those gremlins! Kiss them goodbye and send them love.
Yes, you can create more clients. Yes, you can manage more money.
Take a deep look your money story. What are your words? What are your thoughts?
Own what’s so with you right now. What if you don’t just gloss over the feelings? Be with the feelings and emotions that come up.
What is true? What are the facts? What are the beliefs?
What beliefs can you hold on to because they serve you?
Which can you let go off because they’re in the way of your big, bold dreams and vision?
What do you notice? Notice what awareness you can create around your situations (so you know when they show up again at the next level).
Based on that awareness, I invite you to make a commitment that serves you.
So, what are you committed to?
Is it writing 4 blog posts every month (with a call to action) or sending at least 1 newsletter (with a high value offer) to your tribe every month?
Is it having conversations with 5 potential clients every month?
Is it consistent $10,000 and above months?
Is it a commitment to a spiritual journey that grows your faith and abundance?
Is it hiring your own Business and Money Mindset Coach?
Is it doing a bit more of the inner work so that you can see your world differently and transform your life and business?
You’re the expert of your life. You get to choose.
Based on this commitment, what top 2 inspired actions (baby steps) can you take TODAY?
What support do you need Now?
How can you get that support? There’s nothing more powerful than vulnerability in recognizing you need support, and there’s nothing sexier than asking for support.
Cheers to your fabulous Success!
I’m MiMi Dabo and I support Women Entrepreneurs who struggle with Creating Premium Clients and Charging their Worth, to Confidently Package, Price, Market and Sell their Services to their Ideal Clients in a Profitable Niche.
I help them to ditch the crappy Money Blocks and stories, and package their services into irresistible high-end offers for their ideal clients, raise their prices or charge what they’re worth, and market and sell with ease so they can radically increase their income – while changing the world in the process. Visit www.lifecoachforwomen.com.
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