How do you combine off-line and online network building approaches in a way that focuses your efforts so that you minimize wasted time?
Few people will buy coaching; they will buy solutions to problems that they experience or for overcoming barriers to the fulfillment of a dream or desire.
If they have a problem in mind, they will usually have in mind a solution of some sort. That solution may be coaching or something that resembles coaching. However, the client may not perceive it as such. That is why you need to be looking to develop connections with people who fall into one of four categories:
1. Potential clients with a known immediate need.
2. Potential clients with a likely future need.
3. People who can give you immediate referrals (to someone they know in their personal or business networks who could use your coaching).
4. People who may be able to give you referrals in the future.
Of these, categories 3 and 4 may prove to be of the greatest value to you over time.
In developing your professional social capital network, you are looking to make a reasonable number of high-quality connections, not necessarily to connect with every possible potential client. However, the more closely you have defined your perfect client, the easier it will be to locate people like that. The more specific you can be in defining your target market, the easier it becomes to decide how best to reach people within it. The narrower your definition of your target, the more focused your marketing efforts can be.
You will need to be present and constructively visible in places where the kind of people you would like to meet are likely to be found. Some coaches opt for a wholly off-line approach to building their professional network; others prefer to work online. In today's world, one must combine the two in order to be most successful.
Source: Stephen Newton: Success as a Coach: Start and Build a Successful Coaching Practice
Frank Bresser: The global business guide for the successful use of coaching in organizations