I’m sure that you’ve heard that you need to niche your coaching market. Target a specifc subset of your market where you’ll make the most money.
I’ve discovered that I don’t want to waste my time talking with people who would have never bought from me in the first place. I assume that’s about 80% of those who need me. So, instead, I’d rather focus my time on the 20% who are more likely to buy.
So, even as you decide on your target market, apply the 80/20 rule. Look for the 20% that are more likely to buy, 20% that will spend more than your average client, and stop wasting your time on the wrong 80%.
Let’s apply some numbers to see how big of an impact that makes on a coach. Let’s assume that you make $100K now by focusing on your current prospects.
Let’s also assume that you meet with 1,000 prospects to get that $100K. This really isn’t too far off target for the way most coaches do it. In fact, most won’t make the $100K because they don’t meet that many people. But, let’s get back to our thinking.
Out of 1,000 people, the 20% we want to work with results in 200 people that produce 80% of our income. Those 200 produce about $80K for us.
Let’s also assume that you meet with a prospect about 2 hours. So if you meet the whole 1,000 people to make your $100K, that’s about $100 per meeting, or $50/hour. Hmm! Not where I’d want to be.
But that also projects to 2,000 hours in sales meetings for the year. In short, that’s every last hour of your week in sales meetings, and no time for delivering, coaching, consulting, training, which is what you are paid to do. Either you won’t have time to deliver, or, you’ll be working 80 hour weeks.
But back to our 80/20 rule. Now you are meeting with 200 people to make $80K. You’ll be making $400 per meeting, or about $200/hour. That’s a lot better. And you’ll be in sales meetings about 400 hours for the year, 1/5th of your time, or 8 hours a week. Leaving 32 hours a week for coaching, consulting, or training.
Isnt’ that starting to look like a successful coaching business?
But, now, let’s apply the 80/20 rule to that 200 people. Now that breaks down to only 40 people who produce $64K for you. That’s $1.6K per meeting, or $3,200 per hour. A total of only 80 hours in sales for the whole year.
Doesn’t that look even better.
The last time I showed this to some coaches they responded that the hourly rate looked pretty good, but they didn’t want to live on $64K. Well, great! Then don’t.
Now that it takes only 80 hours to sell $64K, by adding only another 80 hours in sales you’ll double that to $128K. That’s the beauty of improving the efficienty of this system. It gives you LOTS of spare time to either relax, or apply that $3,200 per hour to make even more money.
Alan Boyer
$100K Small Business Coach
Helping coaches, consultants, and trainers reach another $100K to $250K in months, and to stop playing at building a coaching business.
