In my last post, I talked about techniques you can use to design marketing messages to attract your ideal client. I even gave you a Google Sheet that you can use to think through the broad challenges and opportunities that are influencing them. Since I presented that post, a reader wrote me to talk about a technique they use called the Empathy Map that I thought was a great idea.
Coaching Isn't Your Product
One of the biggest problems coaches deal with is the misconception that "coaching" is their product. “Don't be silly, Geoff, that's not a misconception”, you might say. I beg to differ. Even though it's what you may do, it's generally not what your clients want to buy. Some clients might be experienced enough to understand the benefits of your work (and can therefore ask for it by name). Most, however, aren't going to be able to articulate that, especially if it's their first time considering a coach. Instead, they're more likely to be staring down a problem and would be prepared to pay for someone to help them remove it.
But solving problems generally isn't enough to motivate people to open their wallets for coaching services. What does excite clients is the potential that lies on the other side of the resolution. In other words, coaches will be more likely to attract coaching clients if they:
a) correctly identify the problems those coaching clients are facing; and
b) show those clients where they could be once those problems were solved.
Enter the Empathy Map
The idea behind this technique is to really get into the headspace of your coaching client. When followed properly, you will be able to identify the influences that affect your client's inward desires as well as their outward behaviours. Not only will this picture help you craft the right marketing messages, it will also help you plan strategies around likely objections and potential barriers.
I have thought through an empathy map for a client I might like to work with and filled out a template below (click for a larger version in a new window). Note that I've answered all of the questions with a quotation written in the first person. Doing so makes me feel that I've temporarily become my client and am seeing the world through their eyes.
Thinking / Feeling
Given my interest in Personal Intelligence, I'm not a proponent of lumping these two things together. However, I'm just splitting hairs. The truth is, it is important to think about your client from their deepest perspectives. What really matters to them? What do they hope for? What do they worry about? Concrete answers to these questions will help you identify what your client really wants for themselves. While we covered this off to an extent in last week's post, there are other points to consider when crafting a good marketing message.
Hearing
This is very important. Your client will hear things from other people all the time. In particular, other people might be filling their heads with ideas about coaching that may or may not be accurate. What do your clients' friends, boss or family members say? What does society in general say? What kinds of approval or disapproval messages is your client hearing about coaching specifically or their problems in general? Note that certain industries are more likely to have preconceptions than others. Think this through.
Seeing
Again, your client is going to be observing other people in their world for cues on how to behave. They are going to see precedents within their organization - what happened to other people who tried to get coaching for example. They may have witnessed funding cuts reorganizations that had threatening consequences. At the same time, they may also have observed changes in their own job that have made it harder and harder for them to cope. Their environment is a constantly changing sea that you may want to appreciate and try to define.
Saying and Doing
Ultimately, of course, all of the above feeds your client's outward behaviour. As a result of these other influences, how does your client show up in public? How to they treat the other people in their world? Do they treat everyone the same, or are there differences based on rank or position? What behaviours led them to their current state and how are they maintaining it? Which of these behaviours might be contributing to the challenges they've identified above?
Pain and Gain
When you've identified all of the above, you'll be in a much better position to answer two questions. 1) What are the biggest pain points your client is experiencing that they might be afraid to speak about? and 2) If those pain points were removed, what could your client hope to achieve? These are the things your client is going to pay you for.
Now you try! Click the blank empathy map template below and print out your very own copy. The nice thing about the empathy map is that it works for both hypothetical and actual clients. While I used it here to think through my ideal client (who may or may not exist), I could also use it after I start working with a client to get clarity on their very real challenges. Even better? Use it together with your existing clients to identify barriers that they may not even have known existed.
