4 Common Mistakes Online Coaches Make When Trying to Scale Their Business. And whatโs actually preventing them from growing quicker.
Too busy to read this blog...well I’ve got your back friend. I’ve recorded an audio clip, so you can listen to it easily.
Over the past year I’ve invested in my growth as a coach, but I’ve also had the opportunity to support some amazing women in their journey.
And I’ve spent this time observing the common mistakes coaches make when trying to scale their business.
In fact, these mistakes are ones I’ve observed over the course of my 15 year corporate marketing and communications career. So, they aren’t exempt to just online coaching businesses.
And I get why we experience them. It all boils down to wanting to scale before we are actually ready.
Ya know...wanting to experience growth quickly and right now. But as you’ve heard many times before, growing a business takes time. It’s not something that happens over night and if we try to force it we’ll end up wasting loads of money and time.
And we don’t want that, right?
That’s why I want to share with you the common mistakes I see online coaches make when trying to scale their business.
To start you must understand that there are stages in your business, which are:
- Start Up
- Growth
- Maturity
- Renewal
If you’re in the startup phase trying to implement growth phase strategies aka scaling, you’re going to struggle. And you’re likely experiencing one or more of the mistakes below.
So let’s dive!!
1. Lacking Clarity Around Your Niche
While most of you have likely heard this before, it’s still one of the biggest blocks most coaches face when trying to scale their business. We get so caught up in wanting to grow fast that we bypass the step of getting to know our audience.
It’s like buying a couch for a house you haven’t bought yet. What if the couch doesn’t fit or it doesn’t look good in space?
Well trying to scale your business without knowing your audience is like buying that couch before buying the house.
It’s a little backwards if you ask me.
Do you agree?
In order to truly know your audience, you must start working with them. If you’ve spent months downloading freebies, attending free workshops, or signing up for a challenge all in the hopes you’ll finally unlock the clarity you need to tune into what your audience really wants and desires you’re in trouble my friend.
What most gurus aren’t sharing with you is...you actually have to work with REAL humans to understand them. Scrolling on IG, collecting hashtags, or joining FB communities will only get you so far. And they are the least direct way to getting to know your audience.
“But Kathryn, that’s my problem I can’t land a client because I don’t know how to speak to them in a way that resonates with them.”
I hear ya!! But I am not letting you off the hook that easy my friend.
My question for you is, is there anyone in your orbit right now that’s aligned with your ideal audience?
And can you reach out to them and ask them questions?
When working with my clients that is the first thing I get them to do. Start making connections with people, and invite them on a call to chat with you for 30 minutes.
This doesn’t have to be a sales call, it can literally be pure exploratory for now.
Instead of focusing on not having anyone to talk to, let’s reframe that into, what creative ways can I implement right now so that I can connect with my ideal clients and really start to learn about what they want.
2. Trying to Sell an Offer Your Audience Doesn’t Want
If you don’t know your audience or what they actually want you’ll likely make this mistake. Spending all this time creating the perfect offer no one wants.
Yikes!!
It’s a nightmare I’ve seen one to many online coaches experience. And I really want to help you avoid this mistake too.
So, before you go spending months creating a course I want you to press pause. Go back up to mistake number one and start asking your audience what they actually want with the intent of listening to them.
This doesn’t mean you do everything your audience asks. Heck, I don’t want you jumping through hoops. As the expert, you want to listen to what they want, but deliver what they actually need.
For example, if someone came to me saying they want to scale their business but I identify off the hop they aren’t ready to scale I’m not giving them scaling strategies. But the strategies we focus on will feel like growth because they’ll start landing more clients.
3. Wasting Money on FB Ads Before Mastering Your Messaging
Messaging is the most vital component in your business. If you haven’t figured out how to talk to your audience in a way that resonates with them, you’ll dump money on ads with little to show for it.
I see so many coaches spending money on ads to try and scale their business but they haven’t mastered their messaging.
And there is nothing worse than spending money and not seeing a return on your investment. It’s especially hard in the early stages of business when it can feel like money is only going out.
Am I right?
“But Kathryn, FB ads do not work for me,” is probably one of the most common things I hear from my audience.
The thing is the ads aren’t working because your messaging is off.
It’s that simple.
So if you want to attract more clients invest in someone who can help you nail your messaging before attempting to scale your business with ads.
4. Creating Multiple Offers at the Same Time
I resonate with this mistake so much because I’m a creator to my core. As a result, I’m not short of ideas.
The shiny object syndrome is the real deal my friend. It’s also the very thing that will keep you from growing your business.
Why?
Because our energy flows where our attention goes. So, if you’re trying to grow your business by offering multiple programs or courses simultaneously your attention is going to be spread too thin.
And I get why we do this. We are hoping that something works. We believe if we offer our audience multiple choices they’ll pick one.
But multiple offers does the complete opposite. It actually confuses your audience.
Have you ever looked aimlessly at a menu and thought, man there are too many options. I just can’t choose one.
Well, that is how your audience feels when you present them with multiple options, which ultimately confuses them.
And a confused audience won’t buy.
So, if you’re in the startup phase it’s imperative to focus on offering one course or program.
Once you’ve mastered it and scaled it, you can think about offering complimentary programs or courses to support your already existing client base.
I hope these common mistakes have helped you identify where you might be in your business and why you might be struggling to grow it. If you are loving this content and want to see more of it, please send me an email [email protected] or comment below and let me know!!
