Attracting Coaching Clients Using Social Proof

Social proof is the concept of showing how others have benefited from your service, building trust and credibility. It's about demonstrating that people like your potential clients—those with similar goals, challenges, or demographics—have achieved success through your coaching.

Showcasing client success stories builds trust which will help win new clients. Social proof is powerful because it provides potential clients with real-world evidence that your coaching works. Importantly, the success stories should come from clients who reflect the target audience you are aiming to reach.

When potential clients see people like themselves—similar backgrounds, challenges, or goals—achieving success through your coaching, they are more likely to relate and feel that you understand their needs. For instance, a testimonial from a first-time marathon runner will resonate most with individuals who are aspiring to complete their first marathon. Similarly, a case study detailing how you helped a busy working parent balance training can be highly persuasive for prospects in a similar life situation. This targeted social proof helps build credibility and fosters a personal connection, making individuals more likely to reach out to you.

Continue reading or listen to the audio version on the podcast or watch the video version on Youtube.Both also embedded below. 

The Psychology of Social Proof

We are all interested in what others like us are doing. It's just human nature! When people see success stories from others who share their background and goals, they're way more likely to believe "hey, I could do that too!" That's why sharing testimonials and case studies from clients who are similar to your target audience is so powerful. When potential clients see others like them crushing their goals through your coaching, it makes your services feel both doable and relatable. By highlighting these real, relatable success stories, you make a strong case for why someone should work with you - they can clearly see how your coaching could work for them too!

Selecting and Approaching Clients for Testimonials

Finding the right clients to showcase in testimonials is key to demonstrating the real-world value of your coaching to your target audience. It’s about identifying stories that resonate with the people you aim to attract.

Identifying Ideal Clients for Testimonials

Active Participants: Look for clients who are consistently engaged and have shown tangible progress. Their stories will highlight the long-term benefits of your coaching.

Significant Achievements: Target clients who have reached milestones that align with the goals of your target market. Whether it’s their first marathon or a personal best, these successes are most impactful to similar prospects.

Recent Successes: Clients who have recently achieved a breakthrough or completed a significant challenge often exude enthusiasm that makes their testimonials compelling and genuine.

Aligned Goals: Choose clients whose objectives and backgrounds match those of your prospective clients. This ensures that the testimonials are relevant and appealing to your intended audience.

How to Ask for Testimonials

Personal Connection: Reach out with a personal touch, either through a direct call or a tailored email. Appreciate their efforts and achievements, and explain how sharing their story could inspire others on similar paths.

Make it Easy: Offer a simple template or guiding questions to help them articulate their testimonial. For those who prefer speaking, suggest a short video testimonial as an alternative.

Appreciation: Show gratitude for their willingness to share their journey. Share how their input could help your business, and other clients.

Follow-Up: If there’s no initial response, a polite follow-up can be effective. Reiterate the potential impact of their testimonial and offer assistance if they need help crafting their message.

This approach ensures a professional yet warm interaction that not only brings out the best in client testimonials but also aligns perfectly with the expectations and interests of your target audience.

Where to Share Client Testimonials

Once you've gathered powerful testimonials, the next step is to make sure they're seen by the right people at the right time. Here’s how to strategically place your client testimonials to maximize their impact and reach your target audience effectively.

On Your Website

Homepage: Testimonials on the homepage can immediately engage visitors by highlighting successful stories as soon as they land on your site. Dedicated Testimonials Page: A specific page for testimonials gives potential clients a comprehensive look at what others have achieved through your coaching, enhancing credibility. Service or Product Pages: Placing relevant testimonials directly on specific service pages can help reinforce the benefits of a particular coaching program right where prospects are making their decisions.

Social Media

Regular Posts: Share testimonials periodically as part of your regular content strategy to keep engagement high and stories fresh in the minds of your followers. Stories and Highlights: Use Instagram Stories or Facebook Stories to share testimonials temporarily, and save them to your Highlights so new followers can view them anytime. Ads: Testimonials can be powerful in ads, providing social proof right where you're trying to convert interest into action.

Email Marketing

Newsletters: Include a section in your newsletters for testimonials to remind your subscribers of the success others are finding with your services. Onboarding Emails: For new clients, seeing testimonials in onboarding emails can reinforce their decision to join and set a positive tone for what they can achieve.

In-Person or Virtual Meetings

Consultations: Share testimonials during initial consultations to help build trust and set expectations with potential clients. Webinars and Workshops: When hosting webinars or workshops, presenting testimonials can illustrate the practical benefits of your coaching and encourage sign-ups or further inquiries.

Promotional Materials

Brochures and Flyers: If you are active at in person events or races, incorporating testimonials in printed or digital brochures and flyers gives them a tangible form. Videos: Create video compilations of client testimonials to share as part of your video marketing efforts on platforms like YouTube or embedded in your website.

Strategically sharing testimonials across these various channels ensures that your potential clients see real, relatable success stories at every touchpoint. This not only helps in building trust but also significantly boosts the perceived value of your coaching services.

Key Takeaways

• Social proof builds trust by showcasing real-world results achieved by your clients.
• Success stories from clients who represent your target audience will be the most impactful.
• Use various mediums—videos, written testimonials, and case studies—to share these success stories.
• Focus on client achievements that align with the goals and challenges of your ideal clients.
• Make it easy for your clients to respond
• Always follow up

Next Steps

• Craft a template to send to your clients
• Collect and share testimonials.
• Develop case studies demonstrating your coaching impact.
• Use different mediums to share these success stories, such as video testimonials, written testimonials on your website, blog, podcast, and social media posts.
• Feature client interviews on your blog or podcast to give a more in-depth look into their journey and the results they achieved.

Tools

• Social media platforms
• website testimonial section
• Canva for visuals, video editing software
• podcast hosting platforms
• Purpose built testimonial collection tools like VideoAsk

Related Blog Articles

This guide from VideoAsk covers how to use their platform but also general tips and advice about how to collect testimonials and feedback from your customers.

Template for Asking For Testimonials

Here is a basic template for asking your clients for a testimonial. These are just ideas but feel free to use as is or adjust with your own tone and language.

Subject: Share Your Journey?

Hi [Client’s Name],

I hope you’re feeling great about what you’ve achieved with us—I sure am!

[Insert paragraph about clients specific challenges and results]

Every journey is unique and sharing yours could really help someone else who’s in a similar spot. Would you be up for sending over a testimonial? You can write a bit or record a quick video—whatever feels easiest for you.

If you prefer writing, here’s a quick template:

"I started [program] with [Your Name] feeling [initial feeling], and just [time period] later, I’ve managed to [achievement]. What I really valued was [specific aspect of the coaching], and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to [intended audience]."

If you’d rather record a video, just talk about the parts of your journey that stand out the most and what you’ve learned along the way.

And if you could include a recent photo of yourself, that’d be awesome to put a face to your story!

Thanks a bunch for considering this, [Client’s Name]. Your story could be the nudge someone needs to take their first step.

Best, [Your Name]

More in this series

1. Finding Coaching Clients Through Partnerships
2. Social Proof and Testimonials (This post)
3. Content Marketing
4. Challenges ... Coming Soon
5. Free Consultations ... Coming Soon
6. Email Marketing .. Coming soon
7. Webinars and Q and A Sessions ... Coming Soon
8. Community Networking ... Coming Soon
9. Paid Advertising ... Coming Soon