Increase Client Enrollment by Focusing on this One Thing
If you want more coaching clients, focusing on this one thing will make a huge difference. It’s about being clear on the benefits people will get by working with you.
It’s easy to focus more on the features or the ‘stuff’ your clients will receive vs the benefits they get by working with you. When you want people to take action, having a strong focus on the outcome and result (the benefits) is how to do it.
On this episode of The Wellness Business Podcast, we are sharing:
- What are features vs benefits of your program and why is it more important to focus on the benefits
- Examples of features and benefits of some coaching programs that you can model for your business
- 5 easy ways to research your ideal client’s problems, challenges and desired results, so your messaging stands out
Let’s talk about the difference between features and benefits, so you know exactly what we mean, and then we’ll give examples of how to use them in your copy. Your copy is used in places such as your website, sales pages, social media posts, emails and even in the words you use on your discovery calls and in your videos.
What are Features?
The features of your program are simply what your offer IS and what it includes. It’s essentially the program or coaching that helps your clients. The features are HOW people get the program, but the benefits are the desired result and WHY they buy.
Here is one example. If you are offering a 90-day hormone balancing program, the features of your offer convey what it IS:
- A 90-day online group program
- A 90-day meal plan
- A list of hormone-supportive foods
- A private Facebook group
As you can tell, features are pretty neutral and don’t evoke emotion or excitement. Think of it as the “stuff” they get and how they consume the content or program.
What are Benefits:
Benefits are where the magic happens in your copy AND it’s what gets people to take action (or not). Benefits are the outcome or results that your audience will experience by working with you. It’s what your ideal clients want, need or desire. Your audience is asking, “What’s in it for me?” and “Are you the one who can help me?” The benefits address these questions. The benefits of your offer are why your audience decides to take the next step with you. It’s what you use to lead them from audience members to client, and the reason why they choose your offer over others.
Going back to the example of the 90-day hormone balancing protocol, the benefits of this program may look something like this.
“After completing this 90-day hormone-balancing program, you’ll experience:
- Improved mood with less anxiety
- Fewer PMS symptoms and fewer cramps
- Reduced stress and better sleep
- Better blood sugar control, which leads to fewer cravings for sweets
- More energy and less mid-day fatigue.”
The benefits of your offer should solve your audience’s pain points and problems. And when it comes to copywriting, your offer’s BENEFITS are what you will use to elicit that emotional response that leads your audience to make a purchase.
People pay for results, and benefits are the results and outcome they get by working with you.
To dive into this a little bit deeper, we’re going to list 5 features and 5 benefits as examples that you can use for your offer or program:
Five possible feature examples for your program:
- 3-month coaching program
- Bi-weekly Zoom calls
- Weekly email check-ins
- One weekly S.O.S. text
- Access to a private Facebook group
Now, let’s look at BENEFITS.
Five possible benefits of your program could be:
- Sustainable weight loss, so you can finally stop yo-yo dieting
- More confidence, so you feel great in your swimsuit
- Fewer cravings, so you don’t feel hungry all-day
- Reduced hot flash symptoms, so you sleep through the night
- Clearer skin, so you can go make-up free with confidence
What specific problems do you know your ideal clients have that you help solve through your program? Make a list of 3-10 of them and if you aren’t sure, we have some ideas for that as well.
It’s all about the Research:
If you’re still wondering what the features and benefits of your offer are, the best way to figure it out is by doing some research into what your audience wants.
Without researching your audience, you end up making guesses as to what they desire, and it’s easy to miss the mark. If you aren’t using the same words, phrases and lingo as your audience, it’s not going to connect or resonate with them, and that means they scroll on by.
Your own experience is great initial market research but gathering information from a larger collective will help to fill in the gaps and create a clearer picture of how your audience would like their problems solved.
There are a few techniques that we use to gather research or insights about our target demographic, and you can do the same.
Here are 5 examples to help you gather information about your ideal clients:
- Look at Facebook pages and Instagram accounts (or any social media platform) that are in a similar niche and look at posts and questions from people to see what they are asking and saying about their problem.
- If you have a FB group, use one of the 3 screening questions to ask something like “What is your biggest challenge with _________ (your area of expertise?”. This will give you some very interesting insights into the struggles your audience is having. You can also ask this question or a variation of it in posts in your group from time to time.
- Have conversations with people to find out what their biggest challenges and goals are as it relates to your niche. This will happen even on your discovery calls, so take good notes to see what stands out about what they want and WHY they want it.
- Send your email subscribers surveys using a survey platform like SurveyMonkey (they have a free version). Offer a prize to get the most responses (a $25 or $50 Amazon card is one option).
- Set up polls on your Facebook page (or in your group) and use the poll or question stickers on Instagram stories.
This is all a process, and it takes some time, so be patient and keep a list of the data you are collecting. Using a Google doc or Google sheet can be helpful.
Now you can take some of the research and implement it into your copywriting, the features and benefits of your offer and ultimately, your entire sales strategy.
We have an ACTION ITEM for you today:
List 3-10 features of your program
List 3-10 benefits of your program
Look at the benefits you are currently using and see where you where you may want to update the copy to convey a more compelling message. Look at your website, any sales pages you have and even maybe in your social media bios. Your copy applies to any landing pages you have for your free offers too. Also, revisit how you are doing your discovery calls, so when you start to explain what you do, you are focusing more on the outcome your clients want and go light on the ‘how’ and the stuff they get. You can share more details once they decide to become a client.
You’re invited!
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