Becoming a coach is supposed to mean the good part: remote work, flexible hours, choosing your own location. The hard part comes after — growing a practice, reaching clients, and finding them online.
Ideally, you’ve already hiked up that first mountain. You’re out there connecting, posting content, engaging socially. New clients discover you, fall in love with your website, and get in touch — for coaching, a program, or a group.
The Thing Is, It’s Hard to Show the Value of Coaching
To do that, you have to talk about the benefits to the client, which is more about results. And you also need to present the experience, talents, and credibility of the coach. This is part of the value of coaching, even though it isn’t the actual session itself.
So many coach websites are weak, unengaging, and don’t present well enough to get visitors to contact the coach or book a call. They don’t convert.
There Are Lots of Things You Can Do, But I’ve Found These Three to Be Must-Haves
1. Client Success Stories — Use BDA Form
Unless done well, testimonials often sound airy or made up.
Tell real, specific stories about the engagement — especially the struggles before the coaching sessions, and the impact and results after the coaching arrangement.
BDA means Before, During, After. The “during” is mentioning some amazing part of the process the client found impactful — the ability to ask the right question, or the way you patiently helped them deal with difficult emotions.
2. Show “Relevant” Unique Value About You
An experience, skill, or ability that’s unique to you as a coach, and valuable to the client.
It could be a special training that’s immediately recognizable, like the Master Certified Coach credential from the ICF — the highest credential, earned only after extensive training and thousands of hours of professional coaching experience.
Your bonsai tree designs might be special. But they’re not going to move clients the way reversing your husband’s type-1 diabetes through diet would, if you’re a nutrition coach. Remember: both unique and valuable.
Kenn writes regularly about credibility, authenticity, and attracting clients on his blog for coaches,
CoachingSitesThatWork.com.
3. Present a Special Approach, Even If You Don’t Think You Have One
Clients love to know — their logical side of the brain — that you’ve got a well-honed method that works. It brings trust, and gives what you do some depth, which feels more tangible than simply “I coach you.”
Even if you don’t have a formal method, you still have some innate ability, well-honed intuition, or set of questions you find invaluable. Those are your approach. Point them out.
It can be as simple as: A) Discover What’s Possible, B) Remove Hidden Obstacles, C) Take Confident Action.
You could also talk about a known process, like Performance Coaching or Imago Therapy. Just try to avoid overly technical, complicated explanations — they lose people.
If You Want a Unique, Credible, Authentic Website That Makes You Valuable to Clients
It takes more than a good-looking site.
Nice graphics, slick tech, and client-focused copy are definite musts. Add success stories, unique value, and a special approach, and you complete the picture that makes clients eager to reach out to you.
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About the author Kenn Schroder Kenn Schroder is a website designer for coaches at CoachingSitesThatWork.com. Over 20 years helping coaches create websites, get traffic, and attract new clients online. |

This is nice!. True to the matter is that before, during and after are not just a good order for testimonials but also a good framework for raising awareness during coaching sessions, it can be expanded to what has “worked in the past” (before), what is your “reality or obstacles” (present) and what are you “willing to commit” (after). One thing clients like, is to have clarity about what is coming next, which is a question in essense interestingly enough when you think that coaching is about clients’ agenda not ours so the discovery and clarity come from the client, but I get it, it is human nature and we support the process.
I love the BDA format for acquiring client testimonials. Many clients are willing to write one after completing a successful engagement but don’t know what to include. By providing a little structure, the process is easier & I have valuable information regarding my unique value.
Loving the new website, Recipro team! Well done. Logo is top notch. Clean! I even ordered the mug. Celebrating our mutual support of coaches, skills, professionalism, and all those clients out there who benefit (the real gold!).