Does your website captivate people and pull them toward you?

In Donald Miller’s book, Building a Story Brand, he writes, “If we pay a lot of money to a design agency without first clarifying our message, we might as well be holding a bullhorn up to a monkey. The only thing the potential customer will hear is noise.”

I can’t tell you how many coaches have come to me having already spent well over $1,000 on branding and building their website when they don’t even know who their Ideal Client is and how they serve them. And, no surprise, they usually tell me that the process was a struggle and they aren’t happy with the outcome. This is why I encourage my clients not to invest in branding or website development until they are super clear about who their Ideal Client is and what their unique value proposition is. Otherwise, you’re basically flushing money down the toilet.

I understand that coaches want to create credibility. They’re afraid that if they don’t have a website, people will question their legitimacy. But the reality is that a vague website or an “all things to all people” website can be just as damaging to your credibility as no website at all.

Think about it like this: if you need heart surgery, do you go to a general surgeon or a cardiologist? After all, a general surgeon is schooled in heart surgery; he or she may do one or two a month even. A cardiologist, on the other hand, specializes in heart surgery and likely does many every week.

Who would you prefer to work on your heart? I know who I would choose, and the same idea applies to coaches. The more niche-specific you are, the more “easeful” your branding and website creation process will be, and the more credible you will look to your ideal clients (if you are niche curious, read more about niche here).

Until you’re clear on your niche, your ideal client within that niche and your unique value proposition to serve them, do not invest in website creation. Instead, put up a one-pager on Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress.com until you’re clear about who you are and what you have to offer.

If you aren’t sure who you’re here to serve, but you know you are a kick-ass coach, working with someone like me is a great opportunity to get everything figured out and start attracting those ideal clients to you. If you are interested in exploring how we could potentially work together, I’d love to connect with you. Please schedule a complimentary Business Breakthrough Session to learn more!

With appreciation,

Tara Butler Floch