How do you automate coaching?

The ultimate step-by-step guide for beginners

Introduction

Automating business coaching allows you to leverage technology to streamline and systematize your business. With the right tools, you can automate to save time, reach more clients, and provide personalized support—all while focusing on what you do best: coaching.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn:

• The benefits of automating your coaching business
• A step-by-step process for choosing the right tools to automate anything
• Detailed instructions for automating scheduling, onboarding, content delivery, progress tracking, and payments
• Tips to ensure you automate to support the human side of coaching
• Additional strategies to maximize the impact of automation

With the strategies in this guide, you’ll be able to transform your coaching business and serve more clients with less effort. Let’s get started.

The Benefits of Automating Your Coaching Business

Automating administrative tasks allows you to focus on high-value activities like engaging with clients. Additional benefits include:

• Increased efficiency – Automate to eliminate tedious manual processes, freeing up hours each week.
• Improved consistency – Standardized automations ensure each client receives a similar onboarding experience.
• Enhanced personalization – Segmented automations deliver tailored content matched to each client’s needs.
• Expanded capacity – By streamlining operations, you can take on more clients without getting overwhelmed.
• Detailed analytics – Automate platforms to provide insights into what’s working so you can optimize.

With the right automations in place, you can grow your business exponentially while maintaining quality.

How to Choose the Right Business coaching Automation Tools

Not all automation platforms are right for a particular use case. My favorite tools are Zapier, Pabbly and Jotform. (Full disclosure: I have an affiliate relationship with Pabbly and Jotform). These three tools solve about 99% of my clients’ needs. Consider the following factors when evaluating options before you automate:

• Features – Ensure core features like scheduling, email, and assessments are included.
• Integrations – Choose a platform that syncs with tools you already use like Calendly or Salesforce.
• Ease of use – The system should be simple enough for you and clients to use with minimal training.
• Customization – Look for robust customization to tailor the platform to your processes.
• Security – Client data should be encrypted and access tightly controlled.
• Support – Make sure responsive technical support is available if issues arise.
• Budget – Select a solution that fits your budget but has room to scale.

Taking the time to thoroughly evaluate platforms against your needs will ensure you choose the right solution.

Step-by-Step: How to Automate Key Business coaching Workflows

Once you’ve selected a platform, it’s time to start automating workflows. Follow these steps to systematize core business functions:

Automate Scheduling and Reminders

You can automate to eliminate scheduling headaches. Follow these steps:

• Activate calendaring functionality and sync with your calendar app like Google or Outlook.
• Create scheduling links clients can use to self-book appointments.
• Set up automated reminders that go out 24-48 hours before each session.
• Customize reminders with session details, links to video calls, and questionnaires.

This will save hours each week while minimizing no-shows.

Streamline Onboarding with Sequences

Deliver a stellar first impression by automating onboarding:

• Automate an onboarding sequence with 4-5 emails sent over the client’s first 2 weeks.
• Send a personalized welcome email when they sign up along with links to get started.
• Share assessments, workbooks, or videos to complete before your first session.
• Send reminder emails when action is required on their end to keep momentum.
• Consider including training on your client portal and other platform features.

Automated onboarding establishes expectations and engagement early on.

Leverage Content Delivery for Ongoing Support

Automating content delivery encourages habit formation outside of sessions:

• Create sequences that email helpful coaching materials on a set schedule, like weekly or bi-weekly.
• Tailor content based on client goals, personalities, and progress tracked within your platform.
• Incorporate different media like text tips, coaching videos, worksheets, or even live webinars.
• Send follow-up emails to recap key takeaways and encourage application of skills discussed.
• Change up sequence timing and content to keep it fresh.

This level of consistent support through automation increases results without demanding more of your time.

Track Progress and Milestones

Gamify the coaching journey by using automation to track growth:

• Have clients complete assessments at signup, at regular intervals throughout your engagement, and upon completion.
• Build custom goal-tracking functionality clients can update themselves as they progress.
• Segment clients automatically based on goals met and trigger appropriate content.
• Use milestone completion to unlock special rewards like discount codes or bonus materials.
• Send scheduled recap emails highlighting accomplishments and growth.

Automated tracking enhances accountability while celebrating wins.

Streamline Billing and Payments

Leverage automation to simplify billing administration:

• Configure your system to align with your payment model, whether one-time fee, installment, or subscription.
• Automate payment reminders and overdue notices to be sent out on a schedule.
• Integrate with a payment processor like Stripe to enable seamless online payments.
• Use email receipts to confirm payment and surface billing details.
• Automate receipt delivery for recurring payments.

Handling payments through automation reduces effort while preventing missed invoices.

Maintain the Human Touch in Automation

While automation delivers efficiency, don’t forget the human element of coaching:

• Establish an initial connection before turning on too much automation – get acquainted via a welcome call.
• Put your personality into automated messaging with emojis, gifs, or even short video messages.
• Share real examples and stories from your own life in automated content.
• Proactively seek feedback from clients about your automated coaching experience.
• Provide multiple channels for communication like phone, text, messaging, or video chat.
• If clients receive too many automations, they may disengage – find the right balance.

Automate with authentic connection results to achieve the best outcomes.

Additional Tips for Maximizing Automation Success

Follow these best practices to get the most out of your new automated systems:

• Start small and build gradually – don’t automate everything at once.
• Use consistent branding and messaging across touchpoints.
• Test automations extensively before deploying to clients.
• Monitor analytics to identify poorly performing automations.
• Create automation templates you can easily reuse and tweak.
• Review automations regularly and optimize based on feedback and data.

Invest the time up front to ensure your automations align closely with your ideal workflows.

Conclusion

Automating administrative tasks allows executive coaches to focus on delivering personalized transformation to more clients. With the right platform, you can systemize onboarding, content delivery, progress tracking, payments, and more.

The key is choosing a solution matched to your business needs and processes. Start slowly, solicit client feedback, and continually optimize your automations.

Used strategically, coaching automation enables you to grow your impact while staying connected to the individual needs of each client you serve.

Of course, I’d love to create any of these automations (and a lot more) for you, allowing you to focus on what you do best: Changing lives through professional coaching.