Cake, Coffee — and Clients! By Sue Leslie

If you're like me, you have prospects on your list whom you have never met—they signed up for your freebie, they get your newsletters and emails, but haven't yet bought any of your offerings, and so you can't put a face to the name. And neither can they with you! You can change all that by hosting a complimentary Coffee Morning for them.

Invite your prospects to come for coffee—and offer some home baking to seal the deal! Give them a coaching exercise to try, plus a creative activity to really engage them.

Apart from prospects on your list, you can also invite past clients, as well as other professionals in complementary fields (such as EFT practitioners). Let them know that they are welcome to bring along a friend or family member who might be interested in coaching too. I chose a weekend morning from 10:00-noon and had eleven people sign up.

First we completed a written coaching activity on the theme of gratitude to encourage a positive mindset. Then we made colourful Affirmation Cards using stamping, collage, and watercolour pencils. Everyone had such a great morning that they didn't want to leave—we ran 45 minutes over time! And I've had lots of positive feedback.

A Coffee Morning gives your prospects a chance to see how you work, and to see the value and benefits of coaching first-hand. They will also have some take-home reminders of the day—their Affirmation Cards and activity worksheets, plus I made them each a marketing pack including a Special Offer.

Afterwards, keep in touch with those who attended—they are much more likely to engage with you now that they have seen you in action! And remember to include those who were invited but unable to come, so they can see what they missed and will want to attend next time.

Some ideas for follow-up emails are: thank them for coming to your Coffee Morning; suggest uses for their Affirmation Cards; give them one of your recipes from the morning; remind them of their Special Offer and when it expires; and to let them know when you have posted pics of their cards (anonymously of course) on your social media.

So a Coffee Morning is a lovely event for you to offer because it will empower all those who attend.

An increase in self-esteem is virtually automatic just from completing the creative activity! You're sharing your valuable coaching expertise, and that's an amazing gift you can always feel good about giving.

You also get to practice your group coaching skills in a relaxed setting, and it gets your coaching message out there into the world. An all round win-win!

Contributing Author: Sue Leslie is the creator of Another You Life Coaching – Conversations that Change Your Life. She helps people who are ready for positive change to create the life they want - a life of choice not chance. She has a Level 5 Diploma in Performance Coaching with NLP and enjoys helping people to reconnect with their creativity, get past whatever is blocking them, and make positive changes in any area of their life using expressive tools such as art journaling. Visit her website for workshops and coaching programmes,.

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