You spent time and money to get your coaching certification and you’ve honed your craft to best help your clients, whatever your coaching niche may be. 

You might be a business coach, life coach, or a career coach. but you’re not a digital marketer or web designer. This means that although you are amazing at helping people, you find it harder to get the clients in the first place! 

I get it! I found it hard too when I first began as a freelancer.

This is an issue, especially in the coaching industry, where there are just so many coaches out there. LinkedIn is inundated with coaches, who are all fighting for the same clients and it’s growing all the time (33% between 2015-2019)

So, how do you stand out amongst everyone else? 

Well, there are many things you need to do: social media, outreach, build a community, email marketing, etc, etc. – I know, exhausting! I can hear you asking, “Patrick, you still haven’t told me why I need a website? 

This is why. 

When a client is looking to hire a coach, it’s incredibly personal. It isn’t like a company that sells a product in which the people don’t matter. It’s not like when you are signing up to the gym in which the location, equipment, and classes that are on offer are the important things. 

When a client is looking to hire you as a coach, they are only going to be judging one thing: you. Ultimately, they are only going to hire you if they feel that:

• You offer the results they are looking for.
• You are experienced and capable enough to achieve those results.
• You are a good fit for them in terms of needs, personality, offer, etc. 

Some coaches have told me that they don’t need a website because they just want to use LinkedIn. Well, if you are like Darren Gibb (who I was recently talking about this with) and you’re aiming to be the LinkedIn guy, then I agree that you maybe don’t need a website. However, for the vast majority of coaches you 100% do need a website as it helps you:

1. Stand Above the Crowd – If other people don’t have a website, or have a crappy DIY website, then you’ve already elevated yourself above the competition.
   
   
2. Add Credibility – As I said before, there are so many coaches out there! Some of them are titans of the industry, and some are just getting started or doing it on the side, and there is everyone else in between. It’s so easy for everyone to set up and market themselves on LinkedIn/Instagram/Facebook that the coaches who have professional websites are way ahead of the game at being seen as professional and trustworthy.
   
   
3. Clarify your Message – A good website will make clear what you’re offering and who you work with within a couple of seconds. This helps convert the kind of clients you want to work with and sends away the clients you don’t serve and the deadbeats who waste your time.
   
   
4. Inform  – A professional website will fully inform potential clients about you, about why they should work with you, and helps them envision a life after you’ve helped them overcome their problem.
   
   
5. Envision their Dreams Coming True – A good professional website should paint a picture to potential clients of how amazing life would be if they overcame their current problem or achieved their wildest dreams. If you’re a life coach this could be helping visitors imagine a life in which they are more energetic and dynamic, a relationship coach might paint the picture of bringing back the romance in their difficult marriage, or a finance coach might help visitors dream what their lives would be if they were financially independent.
   
   
6. Give Social Proof – So you know those happy clients you’ve got? Well, your website allows you to leverage them to get you EVEN MORE CLIENTS. Nowadays we have to see solid proof that other people have enjoyed a service to feel that it’s legit. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Search Engine Land) and 72% of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review (SEW), so it’s crucial to any coach’s sales process to show their client testimonials on their website.
   
   
7. A website should be the cornerstone of a coach’s sales funnel – You might be rocking it on social media, sending out great emails, churning out podcast episodes, or speaking at events. And whilst these can all be awesome ways of generating leads – You need to convert them. Professional websites are built to convert visitors into clients. They are built to bring potential clients through the buyer journey and get them to take action (consultation call, sign up to blog, buy a course, etc.)