Starting a coaching practice is an exciting venture, but finding the right clients can be a challenge when you’re still establishing yourself in the market. The key lies in aligning your message, niche and outreach with the people you’re best equipped to help.
There are many ways to do this, from refining your personal brand to creating content that speaks directly to the needs of your target audience. Below, 20 members of Forbes Coaches Council explore how new coaches can best attract their ideal clients and build meaningful, lasting relationships.
1. Tap Into Your Individual Expertise
When I started my coaching practice, I wanted to share my experience and help others avoid the same mistakes I made as an entrepreneur. I quickly realized that my ideal clients are the ones who genuinely value my expertise and can apply what they’ve learned in their day-to-day business. Tapping into my deep knowledge of the travel industry has helped me attract clients who are the right fit. – Veranda Adkins, Travel Legacy, Inc.
2. Do Your Own Work
My tip is simple: Do your own work, consistently and honestly. Stop trying to attract anyone at all; instead, focus on becoming someone trustworthy to walk beside. When a coach does their own work of radical self-inquiry—getting clear on their own patterns, wounds and values—they become a tuning fork for resonance. – Jerry Colonna, Reboot
3. Build Relationships With HR Partners
A smart tip for a new coach to attract the right-fit clients is to build relationships with HR partners in your industry or niche. The best HR partners know their people. If you can demonstrate your value proposition, they will find the right clients for you to coach. This eliminates the challenge of making sure the chemistry is right, because HR is familiar with both variables in the equation. – Jill Helmer, Jill Helmer Consulting
4. Explore Who Your Ideal Client Is
Take time to get clear on who the right client is for you, and continue to iterate as you build your coaching experience. Don’t try to be the right coach for every client; consider your experience and interests. Don’t narrow too soon: Try out coaching a client from a demographic or on a coaching topic you don’t think is a fit for you to test who your ideal client really is. – Kelly Ross, Ross Associates
5. Include A ‘Fit Filter’ On Your Pages
Publish a “fit filter” statement on your website and social media, clearly defining the traits, goals and growth stage of your ideal clients, while also specifying who you’re not for. Share authentic stories showcasing your coaching style. This strategy attracts “right-fit” clients who align with your approach, repels mismatches and builds trust, positioning you as a confident coach. – Farshad Asl, Top Leaders, Inc.
6. Price Yourself In Accordance With Your Value
Set your prices right. Price yourself like the genuine expert you are, not the beginner you feel like. Don’t commoditize yourself or your expertise. When you charge properly, you attract clients who value results. Cheap coaches get cheap problems. Remember, “You’re expensive, and you’re worth it.” Your price points attract the right clients. – Antonio Garrido, My Daily Leadership
7. Cast A Wide Net, Then Narrow It Down
As a new coach, what’s needed is practice and experience. Initially, the right fit is anyone who wants to be coached! Once you’ve coached a wide range of people, you can then begin to home in on that right fit. How else would you have an idea of who the right fit is if you haven’t coached a variety of people? – Laura Vanderberg, Newton Services
8. Get Clear On The Problems Clients Are Facing
Get crystal clear on who you want to coach and the specific problems they’re facing. When you deeply understand your ideal client, your messaging becomes more focused and magnetic, making it easier to attract the right-fit people to your practice. – Diana Lowe, Blue Light Leadership
9. Define Your Dream Client
One tip for new coaches is to start by defining your dream client, then build your business around them. Reflect on the kind of people who feel like a natural fit. Ask yourself: “What mindsets, roles or situations bring out my best work? What are they navigating? What do they value?” Then, you can tailor your messaging and services to attract the clients you’re meant to serve. – Kathleen Shanley, Statice
10. Clarify And Define Your Coaching Niche
Clarify your coaching niche, then define who it helps most. Use tools like ChatGPT to identify and clarify your details about your ideal client, then create content that speaks directly to their needs and goals. Focused messaging attracts the right-fit clients who see themselves in your work. – Kelly Stine, The Leading Light Coach
11. Regularly Publish Insight-Rich Posts
Define a micro-niche and publish a weekly, insight-rich post—like a blog, LinkedIn article or short video—that tackles one burning problem your ideal client faces. By showing your distinct perspective, tools and values, you pull in prospects who resonate and quietly filter out those who don’t, saving you discovery-call time and creating warmer, pre-qualified leads. Regular visibility builds trust. – Peter Boolkah, The Transition Guy
12. Identify Short-Term Versus Long-Term Activities
Identify your short-term “impact” activities versus your long-term “leverage” activities. Many new coaches spend too long perfecting projects like websites and business cards, but that first “right-fit” client is going to come from high-impact, daily activities like reaching out to your network, following up with previous leads and making offers to help. – Tanya Edgar, Tanya Edgar Coaching and Consulting
13. Determine What Types Of Problems You Can Solve
In establishing your new coaching practice, I would suggest taking the following approach and strategy. Know yourself and your skill sets and expertise well. Then, figure out who has problems in the area(s) of your expertise. Find out what types of problems you can solve for them. Finally, network like crazy to find your most suitable clients. – Ash Varma, Varma & Associates
14. Show Up As Your Authentic Self
Show up publicly as your authentic self, clearly articulating your core values and unique approach. Resonance, not reach, attracts aligned clients. Trust that clarity magnetizes more powerfully than marketing tactics alone. – Rachel Weissman, Congruence
15. Speak Directly To Your Ideal Client, Not To Everyone
Don’t chase clients—create something worth being found for. Speak directly to the tension your ideal client feels, not to everyone. Share insights that resonate so deeply they say, “This is for me.” The smartest way to attract right-fit clients isn’t by promising transformation—it’s by demonstrating it, consistently and generously. It’s more personal, therefore more unique, and not for everyone. – Julien Fortuit, Julien Fortuit Agency
16. Share Your Signature ‘Transformation Stories’
Share your “transformation stories”—specific client challenges you loved solving the most. Instead of broad marketing, spotlight the exact problems that energize you. I coach new practitioners to create content around their three to five signature breakthroughs. Right-fit clients self-select when they recognize their struggle in your expertise spotlight. – Nirmal Chhabria
17. Be Specific, Consistent And Rooted In Results
Right-fit clients come when your message is specific, consistent and rooted in results, not fluff. Get clear on who you help, how you help and why it matters. Then, speak directly to their pain points and goals—online and in person. Clarity attracts. Confusion repels. – Tinna Jackson, Jackson Consulting Group, LLC
18. Offer Free Introductory Calls
A new coach can offer a free 15-minute intro call to get a feel for the fit. Pay attention to personality dynamics: Some clients will feel like a natural match, while others may challenge you more—which may be okay, depending on what you’re looking for as a coach! When you know yourself and how you do your best coaching work, it’s easier to find clients who are a natural fit. – Megan Malone, Truity
19. Offer ‘Reverse Coaching’ Sessions
Host a reverse coaching session and invite prospects to “coach” you for five minutes on a playful topic. It reveals their vibe, lets you model their idea of coachability and flips the dynamic to spark trust. The right-fit clients will lean in with curiosity, not just seek credentials. It is matchmaking with insight, allowing you to achieve resonance at a purely human level. – Thomas Lim, Centre for Systems Leadership (SIM Academy)
20. Fully Own Your Voice
Own your voice—and speak directly to the people you’re meant to serve. The “right-fit” clients don’t just want credentials; they want to feel seen, heard and safe in your energy. Don’t water yourself down to appeal to everyone. Instead, show up fully in your color—your quirks, values and lived experience—and speak to the exact moment your ideal client is in now. That’s how trust happens. – Shikha Bajaj, Own Your Color