Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I wish the clients would just fall into my lap!” or “This whole client attraction and enrollment thing is stressful and challenging.  I just want to coach!”

If you feel that way, you are certainly not alone — this is a lament I hear from clients and followers all the time, whether they are new to the coaching industry or have been doing it for decades.

One easy way to set up your business so clients just “fall into your lap” is through strategic alliances. However, that ease will come at a cost. Strategic alliances take anywhere from 10-90% of the profit, depending on their size and structure, the arrangement you have with them, and your experience level.

Some of my clients have worked for brand name coaching organizations where they earned roughly $50 per hour while the company charged $25,000 a year for their coaching package. Some big name coaching companies pay even less. Even when you find a great strategic alliance who pays fairly, it will be a fraction of what you would make for a direct client.

Some quick math makes it clear that the coach is either making far too little or is working way too hard to make a decent living when they rely on Strategic Alliances alone.

If you want a thriving, sustainable, profitable coaching practice, you have to learn to fall in love with the client enrollment process.  Part of this is learning and mastering the art of conducting enrollment conversations, coupled with showing up and anchoring yourself in the right energetic space.

This is all about perspective and mindset.

Some coaches enter into enrollment conversations feeling attached to a specific outcome, usually with the objective to “get the client,” and have them want to start right away. That focus on the outcome can easily disrupt the energy that draws a prospect to lean in and become a powerful yes.

On the other end of the spectrum, some coaches go into enrollment conversations feeling nervous and wanting to make sure they don’t come off as salesy. The result is that they come off as too nonchalant. That kind of energy will affect the quality of the call even if you’re asking all the right questions.  Often in these cases a client doesn’t lean in because they don’t feel YOU leaning in.

You can think of creating an engaging, successful enrollment conversation as a math problem:

A solid framework to move through the call + The right mindset = Success

 Once my clients have mastered the structure of a great enrollment conversation and they hold the mindset of “this conversation is a gift,” they suddenly notice that their potential clients walk away with value, clarity and gratitude. And when the coach is in the right mindset, if the person is meant to be a client, they will be a client.

Shifting into the right mindset is also when coaches really start loving enrollment conversations. They become fun! Even if the coach previously dreaded them, or became nervous or uncomfortable in some way, the opportunity to have these calls becomes one of their favorite things to do.

Once you master the art of enrollment and marry that to anchoring into a powerful mindset or perspective, it’s a winning combination to attracting prospects and converting them to clients.

If you feel your enrollment skills need help, download my free workbook, find some people to practice with, and soon you may find that your enrollment conversations become a lot more productive and enjoyable.

With appreciation,

Tara Butler Floch