EP 358 - Can't Find Coaching Clients? This Is the Fastest Way in 2026

MarketingCoaching Lifestyle
Written By Debbie Shadid
 

If you're a coach who's tired of waiting for clients to magically find you, this one's for you. The fastest, simplest path to your next client isn't a funnel or paid ads. It's a conversation.

If you're new to my channel, my name is Debbie Shadid. I'm a Business Growth and Life Coach and the founder of the Business Building Boutique. For over two decades, I've helped women learn how to become coaches, get clients, grow their businesses, and create meaningful income doing work they love.

When you get comfortable telling people what you do everywhere you go, you stop being the best kept secret and start filling your business with clients who were closer than you think.

In this episode, we'll walk through:

  • Why networking is really just having a normal conversation, not “getting ready” for anything

  • How to get comfortable talking about your coaching business before you ever walk into a room

  • What to say when someone asks what you do, without sounding like a canned “I help” speech

  • Why the people who aren't your ideal clients still matter, and how referrals actually happen

  • How to follow up so a new connection turns into a real relationship over time

  • The simple weekly habit that adds up to 52 new people in your corner this year

  • How to turn one conversation into an offer, a collaboration, or a client on the spot

Imagine never wondering where your next client is coming from, because you've built real relationships everywhere you go. The women who need your coaching are out there right now, and the world needs what you have to offer. All you have to do is start talking to them.

Ready to map out the fastest path to clients in your own business? Book your free Business Blueprint Call and let's talk through your next step: https://debbieshadid.com/schedule

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Transcript

You might be one person away from your next client. One person. Can you imagine that? But here's the deal. Are you talking to people? Are you meeting people? Are you telling people what you do? We're gonna dive into that right now. I'm gonna talk to you about the fastest way to get a client, the simplest way that requires no preparation. I'm Debbie Shadid. I help women over 50 build beautiful boutique-style coaching businesses without spending money on paid ads, and we're gonna talk about the simplest, easiest way to get clients. Now, it might be the most uncomfortable for some of you introverts, but it honestly is something that should not be that hard. So when we think about networking, what most of you think about is getting ready to network. There is no getting ready to network. Networking is simply having a conversation. It is the idea of you talking like a human to another human. It is happening everywhere you go all week long. Yes, there are networking events that you can attend, and you should attend, but I want you to think of yourself as somebody who networks everywhere you go. So when you go to play pickleball, if you do, you talk about what you do. Now, how does this happen? How do you have these conversations? Well, again, if you're just talking like a human, you're like, "Hey, what's going on? What have you been up to?" And yes, they tell you. And then you're like, "Great. That sounds amazing. Wow, it sounds like you've been busy. I've been busy too working on my coaching business." And if they're a conversationalist, then they're gonna say back to you, "Hey, tell me more. What are you talking about? What do you mean coaching?" And guess what? Then you start talking about it. Now, we don't need to have the perfectly curated I help statement, 'cause honestly, that sounds like a canned speech. Nobody wants to hear that. But what I do recommend that you do is get comfortable talking about your business. Now, here's the deal. You get comfortable talking about your business by talking about your business to people, but in between time, I'm gonna help you get your steps in and get comfortable talking about your business. This is the way that I did it. I used to walk around my neighborhood, and I am talking about for weeks and months, talking about things out loud. As if I was having a conversation with somebody, I was rehearsing what I was saying. I was thinking about how I was gonna introduce myself to somebody. I was practicing saying what it was that I did, and I said that until I could get comfortable with it. I found that I was getting, you know, stuck in some particular sentence, so I would re-say it another way. I made it so that it became so conversational, and it was just a conversation with myself walking down the street, but I made it so that I was comfortable saying what it was that I needed to say about my business. And I want you to continue to remind yourself, networking is meeting people, it's getting to know people, it is not selling people. That's what makes you not like networking,'cause you're thinking like, "I hate that idea of being salesy." Guess what? You don't need to be salesy. Just go talk to people. We have a client recently who was talking about going to networking events, and she was like, "Oh, I was so nervous." And I have to say, I remember what that was like, sitting in the car and wasting time when I could be in talking to people because I built this up that I had to go in and say the right thing, like I only had one chance to say the right thing. Listen, you have plenty of chances to say the right thing, and just go in and be like, "Hey, what's happening?" And also, everyone else in that room is probably nervous, too. So just walk around, "Hi, how are you? What are you doing?" And please do yourself a big favor and say what it is that you do. Yes, you won't say it perfectly sometimes, but that's okay. If you're really having this human conversation, you can go back and forth and be like, "Oh, that didn't sound very good. Like really, here's what I do. Let me explain a little bit more about what I do." When you meet somebody, whether it be at the pool, at pickleball, like I was saying, at the nail shop, at church, walking in your neighborhood. There's people all over walking right now. It's beautiful outside. Introduce yourself to people. Another big issue that we have with networking is we say those people, whoever those people are, are not actually my ideal clients, so I don't have anyone to network with. Those people know people. Yeah, those people know people, and it just continues from there. Nobody can refer you unless you start telling people. So networking is just about connecting with people. Everywhere you go, you're having a conversation about what you do, just like you do with your regular job. If you're not employed currently, when you were employed, you would talk about your job. People would like, "Hey, what's going on?" You're like, "Oh, boy, work's been crazy." At that moment, you never thought anything about it. Why are you being so weird about talking about your coaching? Just imagine that you are having a comfortable conversation. I also want to encourage you to make friends with people. Pick up your phone, connect with people on social media right there, not because you're going to sell them something, because you care about them. If we can just temporarily remove this whole idea of selling people from the equation, then you can remember how to have conversations with people. We've become so isolated. So I want to challenge you that one of the things that you need to do this week is figure out, where can I go and get myself out and talking to people? The dog park, walking trails, coffee shops, like knitting circles. No kidding. You could go to a real bookstore and sit around and look at books. There are so many ways to have normal conversations with people. So when you meet somebody, practice what you're gonna say. Imagine picking up your phone and getting their email address or getting their social media connection, and then if you make a new friend, what do you do? You follow up with them. You're like, "Hey, it was great to connect with you. I'd love to stay connected. Maybe we'll run into each other again." Or, "Hey, it was great connecting with you. I'd love to send you something about my business because maybe you know a mom who's struggling as a single parent and needs some support. You can pass on my information to them." Yeah, that's how easy it can be. I also wanna tell you to go one step further with networking and get online and get social. Now, many of you have Facebook friends, If you are in your 50s or 60s, get social there. Connect with your old high school classmates. Tell them what you're up to. Ask people to refer you. Connect back and ask them what they've been up to. Find something that they posted and engage in it. I'll see something from a high school friend and I'm like, "Oh my goodness, it's so great to see you. What have you been up to? Hey, I sent you a DM." And then connect with them in the DMs. If you just make it your goal to connect with one new person a week, have one real conversation, Meet them, get to know them, remember their name, make notes about their kids, their grandkids, their work, whatever it is they do, and become friends with them. Follow them, like their stuff. Just set aside the selling part still. If you engage with them and you are not worried about selling them, you start following each other on social media, you start making friends, they will start to see your posts. They will begin to get to know what you do. When you have a workshop, then you can personally invite them. That's when you start to connect on an individual basis and say, "Hey, come to my workshop. I'm looking to fill up all the spots. I would love it if you would come and just sit in and give me some feedback." This is how you build relationships. Now, there are networking groups that are formal networking groups that you can go to, and those really serve a purpose, but that's if you want to. I don't actually believe at the beginning of your business that you need to pay for a networking group, because I think there's plenty of ways to network without doing that. So let's think outside the box. This week, where is your person? Where can you go, and where can you talk to people? Think about the person that you once were, the person that you would be coaching. Where do they hang out? What is happening with them so you can have a conversation about where they are? That's challenge number one. The second challenge is talk to one new person this week and make a real connection. The only way this is ever gonna get easier is if you start doing it. And then I want to challenge you, talk to a new person every single week. Tell me in the comments if you are doing that. That would be so fun, and connect with me on social media. Practice introducing me to what it is you do. And then I want to encourage you once a month to go to a real networking event. Once a month, get out of your comfort zone and walk into a room and meet people. Now, when you walk into that networking event and you meet people, I want you to talk about collaborating. How can you work together to get in front of each other's audiences? Like, your friends could be my friends, and my friends could be your friends. How do you do that? Don't just talk about collaborating. Open up your calendar and say,"Okay, when can we make this happen? Here's what I would like to do. Let's do a lunch and learn. I'll do thirty minutes. You do thirty minutes. Let's pick a date and make a plan." Don't just talk about it. Make a plan. That is how easy networking is, and I'm telling you, it is the fastest path to clients. You meet somebody, you tell them what you do. Do you know what can happen? They're like, "Really?" " I know somebody who needs that." You connect with them, and you will learn how to talk with people because you'll read their body language. You will see right then what is going on. You can figure out if what you're saying resonates, and you can offer to coach somebody on the spot. You can make an offer on the spot. Sell them one session, one session for 100 bucks, or four sessions for 100 bucks. Whatever it is, this is the fastest path to clients. It is the biggest opportunity to increase your business, and it is the simplest, the simplest way to grow your business. Tell me in the comments what you're gonna do. I can't wait to hear about how you create success in your business through this very simple step of networking. Okay, I will see you guys next week. Make sure you subscribe for more. Hit the bell for notifications. Have an amazing one. Bye-bye.

Debbie Shadid https://www.DebbieShadid.com
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EP 357 - The Only Tech You Need to Start a Coaching Business in 2026