Why You're Not Getting Enough Clients

There are a million different tactics you could be using to get new clients, but if you're not getting enough new clients, it can be hard to identify which tactics you need to focus on in the first place.

In this episode, I help you zoom out and look at your lead gen and client attraction process from a bird's eye perspective so you can identify the specific reason that's keeping you from getting more coaching clients.

In today's episode, we are going to be talking about why you're not getting enough clients, and there are a lot of potential answers to this question. There are a lot of things that go into getting clients or not getting clients, and in answering this question, the conversation tends to really drill down at specific tactics and strategies that maybe you are or are not implementing. And for each of those strategies or tactics, there are a lot of variables that go into play when it comes to whether or not you're getting results. 

For example, it's really easy to think that “Okay, if I just start posting the right content on social media, then that will solve the problem, then I will start getting enough clients,” and that's not entirely true, because that is just one small tactic in a larger client attraction process. That's exactly why, today, I want to zoom out and look at the client attraction process from a bird's eye perspective, so not talking as much about the specific tactics and strategies, but rather identifying the main components and saying, “Okay, if you're not getting any new clients, or if you're not getting enough new clients, it's one of these three high-level issues that you're experiencing.” Once you identify which of those issues that is, that's the point at which you can then zoom back in and begin to identify the tactics and strategies that are going to solve that one high-level issue that you're running into. 

With that, we can go ahead and dive into the first common issue that's resulting in your not getting enough clients, which is that you're not connecting with ideal clients. What we mean by this, in this particular context, is that you're not actually getting in front of them and connecting with them on a personal level. You're not actually having these one-on-one interactions with ideal clients. 

I want to break that down a little bit further, because there are two pieces I want to make sure I mention today. The first is that connection piece, obviously. Are you starting these conversations? Are you starting to build these relationships, and really connect? The second piece of that is are you connecting with ideal clients? You can be connecting and building relationships with people all day long, but at the end of the day, they really need to be ideal clients. Because if they don't fit your ideal client profile, then you're not actually making any progress towards bringing them on as clients. 

But what happens if you are starting these conversations and connecting with people and they are, in fact, your ideal clients? Well, that brings us to the second big reason that you're not getting enough clients, which is that you're not taking those connections and conversations and booking calls with those people, actually getting them on your calendar for a discovery call. There are two main reasons why this might not be working for you. The first and, honestly, most common reason that you're not booking calls is that you might not be asking for the calls in the first place. That could be because maybe you're not confident enough or you are scared of being told “No,” of being rejected. 

The first big piece that I want to look at, when you’re not booking enough calls, is are you asking for the call in the first place? The second big reason that you might not be booking enough discovery calls is that you're asking for the call—you are, in fact, asking—but you're getting told no. Usually, this is entirely due to how you are framing or communicating that set attempt or that ask to get them on a call. If that offer for a discovery call is being declined, and if that person is, in fact, an ideal client, like we just talked about with that first reason, well, it's all about how you're making that ask, how you're framing that call. 

I can give you just one quick tip here, which is that you might be, when you're asking for the call, really more trying to sell your coaching or sell your offer, rather than actually sell the discovery call. When you're trying to book a discovery call, you're not trying to pitch your offer at all, you're pitching them on a free 30- or 45-minute call with you. That shift is huge; it's going to help you book way more calls, because a discovery call is much easier to “sell” in a Facebook message or a LinkedIn message. 

But suppose that you are having regular conversations, and these conversations are with ideal clients, and say that you are successfully booking discovery calls with these ideal clients. When you're asking for these calls, they are saying yes, and they are showing up for these discovery calls, but you're still not getting enough clients. In that case, your problem is that you are not structuring and conducting these discovery calls in an effective way, and there are a lot of components that go into a successful discovery call. 

If you're not converting those discovery calls into clients, then the high-level reasons that might be contributing to that could be structure—you are not structuring those discovery calls in an effective way; maybe you're treating them more like a casual conversation, where you just don't know how to conduct an effective discovery call. It could also be that you're not showing up confidently—you're showing up with some nervous energy, and your prospect is picking up on that, and that is getting in the way of the sale. 

The third is that maybe you've been taught to sell in a way that just feels yucky and gross for you. Maybe you have been given this sales script and told to use it, and you're trying to, but it just doesn't feel right to you. It doesn't feel natural and authentic, and that could be getting in the way of the sale. The fourth is mindset. Are you approaching a discovery call with the goal of closing a sale, or are you approaching it with the mindset and the goal of helping your prospect get the help they need, whether or not that help is you? 

The main takeaway for this episode that I want you to consider is that if you feel like you're not getting enough clients, don't get caught in the weeds with the specific strategies and tactics. At least don't do that yet. First, you want to zoom out and, like I said, look at it from a bird's eye perspective. First ask yourself, “Am I connecting and starting conversations with ideal clients?” If you are indeed doing that, then ask yourself the next question: “I'm having these conversations with these ideal clients, but am I booking discovery calls with them?” If not, then that's what you need to focus on. But if you are booking those discovery calls, then it's time to consider the third and final thing that it could be: “I'm getting them on these calls, but am I conducting these calls in the most effective way?” and, “If I'm not, then what is getting in the way of making these discovery calls more effective?”