Make The First Move
You can have the best content strategy in the world.
You can have your DCP nailed.
Your positioning can be clear.
Your bio can speak directly to the right person.
Your Stories can be active every day.
And you can still sit there wondering why you're not getting enough clients.
Because eventually, you have to make the first move.
This is the bit a lot of coaches dont want to hear.
They want inbound.
They want someone to watch a reel, visit their profile, follow them for three days and suddenly send:
"Hi mate, love your content. Where can I pay you £200 a month?"
Lovely when it happens.
I wouldn't build my entire business around waiting for it.
Rip the plaster off with cold DMs
Cold outreach has somehow become this horrible phrase in online coaching.
Mention cold DMs and people immediately imagine:
"Hi mate, hope you dont mind me reaching out. I help busy professionals lose 10kg in 12 weeks. Would you be interested in hearing more?"
I wouldn't reply to that either 😂
But thats not what I'm telling you to do.
Making the first move doesnt mean making the first pitch.
Theres a massive difference.
You're starting a conversation.
Thats it.
Think about it from their side
Imagine I post a really good video about growing a coaching business.
You watch it.
You think its useful.
Maybe you even follow me.
Does that suddenly mean you're going to DM me and start explaining every problem inside your business?
Probably not.
You dont know me.
You might not even fully understand what I do yet.
And even if you are struggling, theres still a pretty big social barrier between watching someone's content and randomly messaging them about your problems.
Now imagine I reach out to you.
Not with a pitch.
I ask you a genuine question.
You answer.
I ask something else based on what you've told me.
Suddenly we're talking.
Maybe you tell me you're struggling to get online clients.
Maybe I ask where most of your current clients are coming from.
Maybe you tell me they're mainly referrals and you're trying to get Instagram working.
Now you've naturally started telling me about the business.
I haven't forced you into a sales conversation.
I've created an environment where you can open up.
Good outreach should feel like a conversation
This is where coaches get it wrong.
They treat every new person like a lead before they've even treated them like a person.
You follow them.
They follow back.
And immediately:
"Are you looking for online coaching?"
Relax 😂
You dont know anything about them yet.
They might already have a coach.
They might not want coaching.
They might be struggling with something completely different.
They might actually be a perfect fit, but you've just made the entire interaction feel transactional before they've had a chance to speak.
Get curious first.
Ask questions.
Actually read their answers.
Respond to what they're telling you instead of waiting for your opportunity to send the next part of your script.
You aren't trying to sell everyone
This is another important distinction.
The goal of starting conversations isnt to somehow manipulate every person into becoming a client.
You're trying to understand people.
Some conversations will go nowhere.
Good.
Some people wont reply.
Fine.
Some people will tell you they're already working with somebody.
No problem.
Some conversations will just be genuinely nice conversations with people who follow your page.
And some will uncover somebody who has a problem that you can genuinely help solve.
Thats the person we're looking for.
You dont need everyone.
You need to find the people where theres actually a fit.
Your content makes cold outreach warmer
This is why everything inside Foundations links together.
We're not doing outreach in isolation.
Think about the journey.
Someone sees your content.
They visit your profile.
Your bio clearly explains who you help.
They follow you.
They start seeing your Stories.
They see you coaching.
They hear your opinions.
They learn something from you.
Then one day you message them.
Thats a completely different conversation from some random account appearing in their inbox trying to sell them something.
Your content builds familiarity.
Your profile builds relevance.
Your Stories build trust.
Your outreach starts the conversation.
They all work together.
Cover all the variables
This is how I want you thinking about lead generation.
Dont rely on one thing.
If you're only posting content and hoping for inbound enquiries, you're leaving too much to chance.
If you're only sending cold DMs with a terrible profile and no content, you're making your life unnecessarily difficult.
If you're creating loads of attention but never speaking to anybody, you're wasting opportunities.
We want to cover the variables.
Create content.
Get discovered.
Have a clear profile.
Use your Stories.
Engage with people.
Follow the right people.
Respond to interactions.
Start conversations yourself.
Now we're giving the business multiple opportunities to generate a lead.
Use the information Instagram already gives you
You dont always have to pick completely random strangers either.
Look at the signals around you.
Who keeps watching your Stories?
Who voted on your poll?
Who followed you after a reel?
Who regularly likes your content?
Who replied to something you posted?
Who is clearly part of your DCP?
There are potential conversation starters everywhere.
A poll response is an opening.
A Story reply is an opening.
A new follow is an opening.
Someone engaging repeatedly is an opening.
You still dont need to sell them.
Just make the first move.
Stop being scared of conversations
This is probably the biggest thing I want you to take away from this.
You're running a coaching business.
Your entire service is based around talking to people, understanding their problems and helping them move forward.
So why does that suddenly disappear when it comes to getting clients?
Speak to people.
Learn about them.
Ask better questions.
Understand what they're struggling with.
And when you find somebody you genuinely think you can help, then you can talk about your service.
Not before you've even learned their name.
Your next paying client might already follow you
I've said this loads and I'll keep saying it.
Whether you've got 50 followers, 500 or 5,000...
Theres a very good chance somebody already following you could become a client.
But they might never make the first move.
So stop obsessing over getting another 1,000 followers while ignoring the people already paying attention.
Go through your followers.
Look at your Story viewers.
Look at who's interacting.
Start some conversations.
Dont pitch.
Dont send an essay about your coaching.
Dont try to close someone in three messages.
Just talk to people.
You can have the best strategy, content and service in the world.
Eventually somebody has to start the conversation.
Sometimes...
thats going to have to be you.