Do you need help marketing your coaching business? If your response is yes answer these five questions to begin to design the core of your practice, identify your niche and create a marketing program.

The questions are appropriate for solo entrepreneurs, small business owners or other independent professionals.

In the tradition of the best marketers, the five questions start with defining your best assets and help you connect them to the felt needs of potential customers. Each question includes an action step to get you moving.

1.  THE PRODUCTS:  What do you have to offer?

• “What do you excel at? What are your best skills?”
• “What is your niche? Where do you want to focus?”
• “What do you do that people are eager to pay for?”
  • Action Step: Create a list of the specific products you’ll offer, including features and pricing for each one. Try to create a range of price points people can start at, and chart the ways you could upsell your customers to other related services.

2.  THE TARGET AUDIENCE:  Who will you serve?

• “Who is already attracted to you and sees you as a resource?”
• “Who are you drawn to and want to coach?”
• “Who needs the services you have to offer?”
  • Action Step: Create a profile of your ideal client: age, needs, life stage, gender, profession, and whatever else is relevant. Then list five places where your target audience congregates where you could connect with them.

3.  THE KEY DISTINCTIVES:  Why would they want your services? What do they need?

• “What are their felt needs?”
• “What distinguishes you or makes you credible in their eyes in that area?”
• “How does what you do meet those needs? How will your service benefit them?”
  • Action Step: Make a list of the top five reasons your target audience would buy from you. Then find a way to test your thinking with some representative individuals to make sure it is valid.

4.  THE PITCH: How will you get your message across?

• “How will people find out about you?”
• “How will they learn enough about you to want to hire/buy from you?”
• “How will you follow up? What will you say to prospects to turn them into customers?”
  • Action Step: Create a basic strategy for getting your message to your target audience (i.e. advertising, networking, referrals, speaking, etc). Write out in detail how it will work.

5. THE PLAN: When will you start?

• “What is your plan of action?”
• “What do you need to do first?”
• “When will you start designing your practice? By when will you have launched it?”
  • Action Step: Rough out a plan of action that takes you from designing your practice through actually launching it. Note key steps and put dates by the phases of your launch process.

If you answer the questions outlines above and follow through with the action steps, you will be positioned to grow your business by better connecting the service you provide: coaching to your target audience.

Tony Stoltzfus is an author, leadership coach and master coach trainer. For more information on this subject check out Tony’s best-selling coaching book, Coaching Questions.