I offer free 20 minute strategy sessions to new members of my Facebook group. It’s a great way to get to know them and their business, while helping them talk through questions they have about their website.
Most calls with new coaches go something like this…
“I know my copy needs work, but honestly I’m still trying to figure out what I want to offer. I just need to get clear on my business first.”
And that’s the absolute truth.
Before you spend a ton of time and money on a website, you need to be crystal clear on your own business.
(Side note: That’s why I start all of my clients off with a Brand Boost. Talking through your business at an in depth level gives you so much clarity!).
So what do you absolutely have to have on your website in order to launch your coaching business?
#1 Address Your Ideal Client’s Pain Points
Have you ever had something going on in your body for so long that you almost forget it’s there? It’s like that nagging pain that just becomes part of everyday life.
You’ve gotten so used to it that you honestly forget what it’s like to live without it.
That’s how your ideal clients are feeling right now.
You might know that your program or service will completely transform their life. But they’ve been living their life without what you’re offering for so long, it’s no longer on the top of their priority list.
Want them to buy from you?
Then you’ve got to jar their memory!
Show them that they’re in pain!
The real secret to illustrating pain points well is being super specific about it.
If you’re a business coach, don’t say things like, “Are you tired of wasting time trying to figure out how to launch a successful business?”.
Why?
Because everyone is tired of wasting time.
Pain points that are too general won’t be motivating enough. You’ve got to get specific.
Instead, try saying something like, “Watching yet another coach brag on Facebook about their six figure month after just launching their business, you think to yourself, ‘That should be me! What am I doing wrong?’.”
Can you feel the emotion in that? Creating a scene or story that your ideal client can relate to is a powerful way of addressing their pain points in a way that will motivate them to want to change!
#2 Show the Transformation You offer
Now let’s not leave those leads stuck in their pain. That would just be mean!
Instead show them what transformation your service or program provides.
Providing your ideal clients a glimpse of what their life could be like after working with you will give them hope.
It’s hope that will make them want to buy what you’re selling!
Now where most people miss it in this step is they show wildly ambitious transformations, like, “wouldn’t it be great to make a million bucks, retire your husband, and work from anywhere in the world?”
If you’re coaching women who are scaling six and seven figure business, that might work. But if you’re coaching women who are just starting their business, that’s too far in the future for most people to consider realistic.
Instead of making them hopeful, they’ll just glaze over it and not even relate.
So make sure that your ideal client can actually see herself in the transformations you list! Let them be a better version of herself- not a far off dream version that she isn’t actually convinced can ever happen.
#3 Tell Them Who You Are
Introvert warning: you’ve got to share about yourself if you’re going to sell yourself!
As a personal brand (i.e. your coaching business), you are essentially selling yourself.
And as the saying goes, people have to know, like, and trust you before they buy from you.
Before they can know, like, and trust you, you have to share your story for them to connect to.
Now, this doesn’t mean you have to publish your autobiography on your website. In fact, please don’t do that. Only your mom will read it. Seriously.
But you do need to be able to have two or three paragraphs about your story in how it connects to what you’re selling.
Why?
It lets people get to know you.
It shows you have experience worth investing in.
It demonstrates your expertise.
And most importantly, it makes you relateable.
So let your light shine, mama! You’ve got lives to impact!
#4 Offer social proof
Let’s face it- anyone can claim to be anything online these days. Social proof is absolutely critical in proving your claims.
Do you know that nearly 70% of people read reviews before making a purchase? And for millennials, it’s a whopping 81%!
Here’s some tips for highlighting great client testimonials:
- Ask clients about the transformation they’ve experienced working with you. Transformations are way more powerful than “she’s so great!” And if they can include numbers or statistics, even better!
- Include the client’s real name… first and last. Just having a first name or a first name and last initial just makes it look sketchy.
- Feature your client’s pretty face. Pictures are a must!
- Add their business name or website to show what they do.
But client testimonials aren’t the only way you can show social proof. Here are some other ideas:
Show where you’ve been featured
Written a guest blog posts or appeared in a podcast? Tell the world! The more well known the blog or podcast is, the better this works as social proof.
Use quotes from well known people about what you offer
This is my favorite way to demonstrate social proof before you have testimonials from your own clients. You’re basically validating what you offer with a quote from an influencer about the topic.
Show how many people are in your group or have taken your program
Do you have a big email list or Facebook group? Have you had a bunch of people go through your courses or programs? Telling that is a great way to capitalize on someone’s FOMO (fear of missing out) and motivate them to join too!
#5 Call them to action
You’ve pointed out their pain. You’ve given them hope in the future. You’ve shown them who you are and why you can help them.
Now what?
Now give them a way to buy from you, sista!
And I’m not talking about putting on little Buy Now button the page.
Make that baby big. Make her bright. Make her stand out!
And for Pete’s sake, put more than one of those babies on the page!
This is where you’re shouting “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” from the top of your lungs.
Make your call to action so easy my 3 year old could figure it out.
Yup, that easy.
Here are some tips on making your Call to Action (CTA) foolproof:
- Don’t get super creative with the wording; you want people to know exactly what they need to do next.
- Use a background color for the button that stands out from the page, in a good way. You want to stop the scroll with these buttons!
- If you’re using a long form sales page (AKA a really long page that sells your product or service), use at least 3 CTA buttons.
- Only have 1 CTA per page. You don’t want to confuse people on what they should do next!
Conclusion
You don’t need a huge website with tons of pages when you first launch your coaching business.
Really, you just need 5 things to get you started – address their pain, show your transformation, tell your story, offer social proof, and call them to action.
These 5 things are the key to every great website that converts visitors into clients.
Keep it simple, sista! You’ll be glad you did!
