EP 366 - How to Get Coaching Clients: 7 Free Ways That Actually Work in 2026
If you're a coach with no clients, I want to say something honest. It's usually not a skill problem. It's not a certification problem. It's that nobody knows you exist. You've made yourself the best-kept secret, and in this video I'll show you seven free ways to fix that.
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.
Every strategy in this episode costs nothing. No ads, no funnels, no complicated tech. Just the simple, human ways coaches have always found the people who need them.
Imagine never wondering where your next client is coming from, because you finally stopped hiding. The women who need your coaching are already in your life, or one conversation away from it. All you have to do is let them know you exist.
🌟 Ready to stop being the best-kept secret and start filling your business? Book a call with me here: debbieshadid.com/schedule
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Website: https://www.debbieshadid.com
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Life Coach Business Building School Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/life-coach-business-building-school-with-debbie-shadid/id1502118085
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Transcript
If you're a coach and you do not have clients yet, I'm gonna tell you right now, it is not because you don't have your website, and it is definitely not because you need to learn one more thing about social media. You have been keeping yourself a secret. Today, I'm gonna give you seven ways to fix that starting today with zero tech required. And stay with me because the last one I'm gonna tell you, you're gonna be shaking your head going, " Why didn't I think of that one sooner?" So welcome back. I'm Debbie Shadid. So glad you're here. I help women just like you build boutique-style coaching businesses without spending money on paid ads, and today is no different. I'm gonna talk to you about some ways to grow your business and get clients that you are not utilizing that are so easy. So if you're new here, make sure you subscribe. Every week, I share content just like this. All right, let's get going. So I talk to coaches every single day, and the number one thing I hear, " I just don't know how to get clients." And I have to tell you, most of the time it's not a skill problem, it's not a certification problem, it is a visibility problem. You are not letting people know that you exist let's fix that today. All right, here we go. Let's tell people what you do. Number one, I'm gonna be honest with you right now. The most overlooked thing that I see coaches do or do not do, you are not telling people what you do. Are you doing that? You decided to become a coach, and then you have made yourself the best-kept secret. and I know you're like, " Debbie, I don't wanna be salesy. Nobody that I know is gonna buy coaching. All of my friends, they are not my ideal client. I don't get out anymore. I don't go out where there are people." Guess what? You have to tell people what you do. Telling people is not selling people. Let me say that again. Telling people is not selling people. Think about this. If you had a regular nine-to-five job and somebody asked you, "Hey, how's your week?" What would you say? You'd be like, "It was a busy week at work. This happened and that happened." You would answer like a normal human being. So why in the world do you treat your coaching company like it's something that you're not supposed to talk about? Let's imagine for a moment that you have a dress shop. I talk about a boutique style coaching business, and I do this on purpose because if you had a boutique, you would be telling people, " Come in and shop. We have new clothes in for the next season. I want you to see what they are." So I am gonna guess I know why you're not telling people what you do, and I bet it's because you're not fully committed to the idea that you have a real career. Like, coaching is your career. And when you make this mental shift, I just said you have a coaching company a minute ago. I don't know what you thought when I said that, but you do. Doesn't matter if you're a company of one, you have a coaching company. If you will think about that or the boutique, the clothing store, that you have a real business, a brick and mortar business, Everything will change for you. Here's one of my favorite illustrations, and I use this all the time because this is so good. When your kitchen sink breaks down and you need a plumber, what do you do? There are no Yellow Pages anymore. You immediately think, "Who was that plumbing truck down the street from my house?" Or you go to work and you're like,"Hey, who knows a trustworthy, reliable plumber? One that's gonna show up on time, that's not gonna cost too much?" Yes, you ask around. The same thing could be happening for you when you tell people that you're a coach. When you tell your doctor, "Hey, I'm a life coach. I help women with this one specific thing," do you know the likelihood that your doctor or even the nurse that was taking your vitals, the likelihood that they would refer you is so much better because you've told them. Tell people what you do. This is your job. It is your career. This is your life's work. Commit to do this. Commit to the idea that this is nothing weird. You're just having a conversation. All right, the second way that you are gonna get clients is that you are going to email every single person in your contact list. And I know what you're gonna say, " Not every single person, Debbie." And I'm gonna say yes, every single one of them. Just email them. Don't go through and handpick them. When I do this with our clients, they will have two, 300 contacts. And I know you're gonna say you don't, but go look and see how many you have If you think about how long you've been emailing people, look and see in your contacts how many you actually have. I know what you're thinking, Debbie, this sounds so cringey. You're right, it does, but I'm gonna be honest with you. You're gonna feel that way, but if you wanna build a business, then get over it. This is some tough love. You either have a business or you don't. This is exactly how you do this. You open up your email, you go through your contacts, you write a very short message that's like, subject line, I wanna bring you up to date. The email says something like this," Hey, I just wanted to bring you up to date on what I've been up to. I'm a coach now. I specialize in this. I help people with this thing. I would love to connect with anyone that you know who might need support in this area. Would you be willing to forward this to somebody that you can think of or reply back and let me know anyone I should reach out to?" That's it, this is fast, it is free, it involves no tech and hardly any work because those people in your contacts, they know people. This is the idea. You want to spread the word just like the plumber because those people know people. And I want to remind you that when they know you, they can refer you. Here's the third way that you can get clients. Use your personal Facebook page. And I know already some of you are like, Debbie, Debbie, I don't wanna sell to my friends. I don't want things to get weird. Well, here's the deal. You are not gonna sell your friends. Your friends are probably not your clients. I know that's what you're thinking, and I'm gonna tell you that probably some of them actually are your clients. But your friends know people, and they will refer you and only refer you if they really understand what you do. So you have to announce your coaching business. I have a company, a coaching company. You do this on your personal page, and then you remind people. Regularly remind people. Send people DMs, to old friends to reconnect, to let people know what you do, and if this still feels uncomfortable to you, here is a reframe for you. You are not selling those people. You're just talking to people about what you do. I'm just bringing you up to date on what I do. Just imagine that those people know people, and you can tell those people, "Please pass this on. I'm not trying to sell you. I just know that you know people." Okay? Whatever you can do to get the word out, this is the most important piece. Do you know anyone I could have a conversation with? This is the goal. Do you know any women's group or organizations where I could come speak? That is not selling. That is asking for an introduction. This changes the entire energy of the conversation and how you feel when you're sharing it. Am I talking to you right now? I just wanna know, do you hear me? Because I want you to really hear this. The people in your personal Facebook friend list, they know your perfect client. You have to tell them who she is. Number four, this is the long game. If you wanna get clients, this is one of the strategies for doing it, and it's free. You have to commit to showing up because people need time to get to know you before they will invest in working with you. Google did a study this year, the 7-11-4 study. This is about how marketing has changed and trust has changed. In 2026, what Google discovered is people need to engage with you for seven hours. They need 11 touchpoints in four separate locations before they are ready to buy. Seven hours, 11 touchpoints. Let that sink in. Are you providing that for people? So think about what that could look like for you. When you are showing up on YouTube, this is one perfect location. Your Facebook page is another page. Your personal email list is another. you could be talking to people, and that would be another one of the ways that people could get to know you. That's four ways I just shared with you. that alone is a content strategy. And here's the beautiful thing about those seven hours. I'm gonna bet that if this is the first time that you are watching a video of mine, the first one, I'm gonna bet that you're gonna watch another one, and then another one, and another one. This is just the way we do it. if you like what you're hearing here, you're gonna be like,"I'm gonna listen to some more." This is the way that you get seven hours of watch time or seven hours of connection time. So I have a decision for you to make today. This is a long game. Are you in it? You show up with a commitment, and you stay until it works. That's what you do. You're like, " I am gonna be in on this thing, all in until I get the result that I want." That is completely different from the coach who's like, "I'm gonna post three times, get frustrated, and then disappear." So here's what I want you to do. The fifth way to get a client is to collaborate with other coaches. You have your friends, she has friends. Her friends might need your coaching, your friends might need her coaching. This is collaboration. It is free, and there is no tech involved. Here's exactly how you could do it. Just find somebody else with any kind of niche. Honestly, any kind of niche, it doesn't matter. They can be a competitor or not be a competitor, because here's what I think. There's a lot of business coaches out there, but there's only a certain number of people who are like, " I wanna work with Debbie. I like her style, I like what she does, I understand the way she works with people. That person is for me." I believe there's plenty of people for me, and I have evidence that that works. This is the way it works with all of our clients. Every weight loss coach helps a different type of person. So you can collaborate with your competitors, your direct competitors, and it will actually help both of you. So you decide, either collaborate with competitors or collaborate with other coaches, either way. And here's what you can do. The very first thing you can do is set up an interview, a video interview that you can use on YouTube. I'm gonna actually link our beginner's guide to getting started on YouTube right in the show notes. This will tell you everything about setting up your channel, uploading your videos, editing your videos, making your covers, all of it. All of that's in the guide. It is in the show notes. So let me get back to this collaboration. You're gonna get with another coach, and you're gonna let her interview you. She's gonna ask you, " Tell me how you got started. Why do you do what you do? Who do you help? What are the results that people could get when they work with you?" This is going to be a long, very natural conversation about your work, your story, your people, about the transformation you've had, the transformation that you've helped your friends have. And then you flip it, and you do that same interview for her. Now you each have this beautiful long piece of content in your words. It's a real conversation. You can break it up into clips. That's content for you. You can share it on YouTube, you can share it to your Facebook page. Share it on Instagram. Share it to those same friends that you emailed Keep them in the loop on what you're doing. People will start to get to know you, and you don't even have to sit by yourself and figure out what your YouTube script is gonna be. Just let somebody interview you, and it's easy. It's on Zoom. There's super great editing tools. In fact, in the Complete Guide for Beginners on YouTube, I actually talk about the tools that I use and the ones that will be easy for you to use as well. All right, the sixth way to get clients, networking. And I know, hold on, don't click off. You're like, " I don't like networking." I'm gonna tell you about networking. I'm gonna help you see it in a different way. Networking events, and I know what you're thinking. I don't like that. I'm an introvert. Networking is not selling. Let's remove this whole selling thing. Have you noticed a theme here? I'm talking about ways for you to sell clients without tech and without having to really sell, okay? It's about building relationships. I have done over $10 million in business, and the number one way that I've done it is by creating relationships. That's what I'm asking you to do. So when you think about networking, I'm just talking about you going in and meeting people, having conversation. It's the same thing about talking with your coworkers, right? Networking is a place for you to make friends. That is it. Of course, you should be genuinely curious and ask them, "What do you do?" And then if they don't ask you, you say, "Well, here's what I do. I'd love to talk about who you might be able to refer me to, who I might be able to refer you to." That is the reframe that I want you to think about networking. You're nervous about networking because you've made it such a big deal. and you don't wanna do it because you think, "I have to have the perfect 'I help' statement. I have to know my offer." You don't have to know any of that. Just go make friends, and all of the rest through natural conversation will come together. So go to a local chamber event. Don't join any organizations. Don't spend any money. There are plenty of places you can go. Now, I will tell you, you might spend lunch at some Christian women's lunch networking group, and it might be the cost of your lunch, but don't join any groups. You don't need to. There are so many business groups that you can attend. There are so many networking opportunities. Just go. Look in your local market for events. You can do that through Facebook, through Google, lots of ways to connect, okay? That is the whole strategy. Make friends, and then go tell people what you do and ask them, " Do you know anyone that I could help? Can I refer you to somebody? Will you refer me to somebody?" You guys with me? All right, the seventh way. This is the one that I promised you from the very beginning, the one that you're gonna be like, "Why did I not think of this?" In-person meetups. I will tell you, this is the fastest way to grow your business. It is the easiest way to sell your coaching. It's the easiest way for you to learn and understand how to talk about your business. When you are talking to people in person, and it's not networking, it's just your own little event, I will tell you, you will be able to understand how to communicate about your business so much better. You will know what questions people are asking you. Throw a party. You know those Pampered Chef parties? Do that for coaching. No kidding. Invite your friends. Do wine tasting, appetizers. Do a paint party. Whatever you want to do, create an environment where people are comfortable. It's a fun atmosphere. Give them a taste of what coaching feels like. A former client, she did a vision party, like, where they did vision boards. This is an incredible way to have some fun, to let people see the power of coaching, to help you show up as the expert that you are, and you can get clients from it. Here's why in-person events work so well. It's 'cause you're sitting across from them, like you're having a long conversation. it is not you arm twisting. It is you just creating connection. People will see that you are comfortable talking about what you do. You can be more confident because it's a comfortable environment. It will not take you months to build your business if you are willing to do it in person. You can also go to your local gym, to the library. You can host free workshops everywhere locally. just get curious and think,"Where could I go and do this?" Partner with a yoga studio. Get a ladies' night together. Do Bunco, and then talk to them about what you do. 15 minutes you could speak, This is the way that you do it, and while you're there, here's a clue, get their email address and say, "You know what? I've got something I want to send you guys. Let me get your email address." And there you go. You're gonna start building your email list. All right. I'll tell you, this is the fastest way to do it. It's the fastest way to grow your confidence, to understand how to communicate, and to just become the local expert. So there you go, seven different ways to get coaching clients with zero tech. Tell people what you do. Email your contact list. Show up on your personal Facebook page. Commit to this long game on social media. Collaborate with other coaches. Do that YouTube interview and share it, okay? Make friends at networking events and throw a coaching party. None of those require a funnel. None of them require ads. None of them require you to learn one single piece of software. What they do require you to do is to be a person with a business, a real business, to be committed to talking about it, not because you're selling it, but because you're sharing this incredible thing that you're doing. If you want to take the YouTube piece seriously, then start building it. I'm gonna tell you, I love YouTube. Honestly, it's so much fun for me, and the people who are listening to it, they love it. It is actually the number one way that I get calls booked is from YouTube. This is the same opportunity for you. Why does that happen? Because when they come to a call and they've listened to, six other videos, they feel like they know me. They know my no-nonsense style. They know I'm a straight shooter. They understand I make things simple, right? They tell me all of that when they come to the call. So I really recommend that you get started on YouTube, grab the guide. It's just one more free way. YouTube is free, There's no cost involved, okay? So that is it. Take it step by step. Utilize those seven ways to get coaching clients right now. No tech, all free. I cannot wait to hear from you. Tell me in the comments which one you're gonna take advantage of starting today. Have a beautiful week. make sure you check the links in the show notes. Bye-bye.
