7 Proven New Coaching Business Models That Drive Client Acquisition

Over the past five years, the U.S. business coaching industry's growth has been steady. As a result, revenues for 2022 will reach $14.2 billion. And projections indicate the sector will continue growing in the coming years. This is great news if you're considering starting a coaching business. However, there's one key challenge you have to overcome to capitalize on the numerous coaching opportunities: client acquisition is increasingly becoming a challenge.

For starters, client acquisition costs have risen 60% over the last six years. And worse, consumer trust in brands is diminishing. This means that you have to spend more to get viable client leads. And once you get them, converting them into paying clients is even harder. 

So, while the industry is thriving and growing, many coaching businesses don’t reflect that growth. In such a lucrative sector, there’s one element necessary for success: having a robust coaching business model.

Read on to learn about business coaching models you can adopt to increase client acquisition. But first, find out what a business coaching model is and why it's essential to have one.

What Is a Coaching Business Model? 

A coaching business model includes the operating structure and strategies you'll use to create and deliver value and profit from your coaching practice. 

While it may seem straightforward, that's not necessarily the case. And this is where many coaches begin losing ground. Even though the practice may revolve around you or your specific approach or methodology, it's still a business. 

Think of your business coaching model as your path to success. It should feature your primary services and operating approach, your target audience and expected costs. 

So, if you want to position yourself as a great business coach, you'll need to approach your coaching business a bit differently.

Think of your business coaching model as your path to success. It should feature your primary services and operating approach, your target audience and expected costs. 

There are many coaching models in business you can use, but you need to find one that best suits your unique needs. 

Pro Tip: Over time, adjust your model to account for growth, market changes and other factors influencing success. 

Why Your Choice of a Coaching Business Model Is Important

Your coaching business model will dictate how everything about your business operates. It determines your marketing, pricing, web design and branding strategies.

Without one, your coaching business risks becoming disorganized, which will erode both efficiency internally, and client trust externally.

New Coaching Business Models That Improve Customer Acquisition

There are many types of business models you can use as a coach. But understandably, most coaches use a few tried and tested methods. 

This involves offering one-on-one coaching sessions to clients and growing into group sessions as you get more clients. And, every coach uses these techniques. Plus, the business landscape is evolving. So, you’ll need to look beyond these traditional approaches if you want exceptional results that help you get clients. 

Pro Tip: Try to be innovative when developing your business model by using methods like blue ocean strategy to define your marketing approach. 

1. Lean Into Your Network with the Partnership Business Model

A crucial component of any coaching business model is defining your ideal client. Once you do, you need to package your offer appealingly and present it to them.

On paper, it sounds easy, but that's rarely the case, especially if you're starting. 

Before a client pays for your service, they'll want to know how you've helped others. Your brand may not yet have the necessary recognition and appeal to guarantee a consistent stream of clients. 

While you can grow organically and build on these things over time, there's another option to boost your efforts at getting clients. 

According to this Business Performance Innovation report, 57% of companies use partnerships as a client acquisition strategy. High-growth brands are more likely to use partnerships than their counterparts.

Outside your competitors, there are likely other businesses targeting a similar audience. Developing partnerships with these similar or complementary companies increases the value you offer. It also allows you to tap into their existing customer base. 

According to this Business Performance Innovation report, 57% of companies use partnerships as a client acquisition strategy. High-growth brands are more likely to use partnerships than their counterparts.

For instance, suppose you're targeting corporate clients. Then, you can partner with a CRM provider. Through this partnership, you can recommend them to your clients, and they'll do the same for you. 

2. Create Entire Client Experiences with the Retreat Business Model

If you coach clients in groups — perhaps leaders, specific roles or employees in an organization — the routine can be a bit monotonous. This is because sessions mainly occur in their homes via virtual video meetings or in corporate halls.

Remember, your clients also have sessions with other motivational speakers and coaches in these same old worn out spaces. So, while you may be offering unique value as a coach, the environment you’re coaching from may dull their experience of your offering. 

Monotony doesn’t sell.

Instead, organize your coaching sessions into courses, packages, tours around retreats at exciting locations a few times a year. The place creates the excitement, and your clients will be ready to engagement with you and really learn before you even begin the session.

And they're more likely to find value in your coaching and book follow-up experiences. 

3. Tap into Networks Using the Mastermind Coaching Model & Community Business Model

As a business coach, you must set clear goals to get a consistent flow of clients. First, you'll want a sizable share of the $14.2 billion clients to spend each year. 

But what's in it for your clients? 

You’ve got to offer tangible value if you want clients to compete to book time with you. It's not just about speaking eloquently, connecting with clients deeply or entertaining them. They need to see a meaningful return on their investment.

Good business coaches set goals to help clients improve collaboration, customer acquisition, and employee engagement, for example. These client goals should directly translate into positive and tangible business outcomes for those clients.

However, top-notch business coaches go a step further. They understand that they can offer more value with the help of their network or their clients’ networks. 

However, top-notch business coaches go a step further. They understand that they can offer more value with the help of their network or their clients’ networks. 

Your clients are an invaluable asset. Since they have diverse skill sets, you can use a mastermind business model (like this well-done example) to help them help each other.  

You'll need to be strategic with this approach. First, identify the strengths and possible areas of improvement for your clients. Then, align and coordinate sessions so that those who can benefit most from each other are grouped together. 

Pro Tip: This network effect gets exponential when you lean into a community-building business model. The community-based business model (like our customer, Innovation Experts uses) — while not easy to execute — can be extremely rewarding when well executed. 

4. The Online Coaching Business Model is Made Simple & Secure with the Right Technology

You've probably encountered one or two people using their phones during client sessions. While it may feel annoying as a coach, it also presents a big coaching opportunity. 

Data suggests that 63% of the global population uses the internet. (That means 5 billion people use the internet.) The easiest way to penetrate the coaching industry is by showing up online an dopening yourself and your business up to attract even a tiny percentage of this market using an online coaching business model.

Position your services correctly for your market’s culture, needs and language. And get creative about what you can package, productize or sell as a course as the market’s depth is as endless as your creativity with your service offering. 

You can use simple, secure, holistic online coaching platforms and tools like Zoom and Skype to expand your reach from local to global! The online coaching business model offers so many benefits that we highly recommend it for every coach as a foundational model. The key is to position your services correctly for your market’s culture, needs and language. And get creative about what you can package, productize or sell as a course as the market’s depth is as endless as your creativity with your service offering. 

5. Turn Anything into a Product with the Digital Product Business Model

Customer churn is normal in business. Nonetheless, each time it happens, it's gut-wrenching. In many cases, it's not because clients don’t want your services. Instead, it may be something as simple as scheduling, pricing or value-add issues.

Create digital products to complement your services and deepen your value to clients and customers.

If you choose an online coaching business model, you can create digital products to complement your services and deepen your value to clients and customers. And here’s where you can get really creative! Products are simply packaged knowledge, so they can include courses, e-books or even packaged services.

Digital products allow you to target a broader audience at different price points. More importantly, they allow clients to tap into your knowledge at their convenience. You can also use digital products in your sales funnel to get clients to book sessions. 

6. Take Productization to the Next Level with a Software as a Service (SaaS) Business Model

One of the biggest challenges you'll face, regardless of your coaching business model, is having stable revenue. For example, you may be overbooked in some months while clients are hard to come by in others. Summertime, for example, is often a time when clients take vacation, travel and feel generally better about their lives and work. So, summertime clients can be harder to come by.

All of these new business planning models can help you diversify your business income stream. But one that stands out when creating a stable revenue stream is using a software and SaaS approach as your coaching business model. 

Think about it: coaching requires a high degree of personal connection. Developing software for your business allows you to strengthen and maintain that connection by engaging with your client throughout their entire business workflow or a specific part of their business. 

A few quick starter questions to ask yourself to know if the SaaS business model is right for you:

• Do you have a problem you can solve with technology? 
• Do you have access to designers and creative technologists who might feel passionate about solving this problem with you? 
• And, do you believe you can help people solve this problem for themselves online in a scalable way?

If you’ve found that a SaaS business model is right for you, your software can double as an excellent platform to offer critical insights to your users and promote your services and events.

Once you build a loyal client following, consider incorporating a SaaS offering where users subscribe to specific services. This will create a constant revenue stream that you can keep growing. 

7. Try the Affiliate Coaching Model as a Behind-the-Scenes Approach

Business coaching is a booming sector with numerous entry points. You do not need to become a business coach to make money in this industry.

Consider an affiliate model if you love imparting business knowledge but do not want the publicity of being a coach. This involves promoting other business coaches' content for a commission. 

Depending on the product you promote, you can earn between 5% and 50% for each sale or referral. There are different affiliate methods you can use, like:

• Publishing YouTube videos 
• Creating social media posts
• Publishing blog articles
• Growing your coaching subscribers through platform-focused coaching and training affiliate programs

Try combining different models and offering value beyond the product or service for the best results. 

Let’s assume you're writing or creating a video about the ten best business coaching programs. You can come up with a list and give a basic description of what each course offers. But this won't make your audience feel like they don't want to miss a particular course.

Instead, go into detail about each coaching program. Highlight its focus area and who it best serves. This approach is not about which course is better than the rest. It's about which course best suits who. 

Pro Tip: Heck, even take it one step further and choose an affiliate coaching platform where you can build your own free course to drive new client subscriptions while also getting anywhere from 20 - 40% commission on the number of referrals you make.

Get Off on the Right Foot

As the coaching industry grows, business coaches will have enormous opportunities. However, your success as a business coach doesn’t solely depend on your coaching skills. You need the right coaching business model and the right technology to attract and retain clients. 

No matter which coaching business model you choose from our list above, know that the right tech can make it happen with way less effort. Holistic coaching platforms like Profi are the ideal solution for implementing any of these business models as part of your online coaching business.

So, book a demo with one of our product coaches today to learn how Profi can help you boost customer acquisition and retention… and even transform your business model in the process!