RADIO INTERVIEW 101 Getting Telephone Coaching Clients From Radio Interviews

Note: There are three types of telephone calls being discussed here:

1. Calls from radio listeners to a radio show.
2. Calls directly to your cell phone to ask about your coaching fees.
3. The coaching calls themselves between you and your new coaching clients.

The recent low cost of long distance telephone service is giving rise to a growth in telephone coaching, i.e., consulting one person (or a group) over the phone, on either business or personal topics. Besides low telephone costs, there are no travel costs, no hotels, no restaurants, and no wasted days. The only trick is, getting the coaching clients in the first place, since they are spread out all over the country.

Enter radio. After all, what are you doing when you are coaching over the phone? You are having an audio-only conversation. And that's exactly what radio is, audio-only. So when radio listeners hear your on-air interview, they are hearing exactly what they'd be buying if they hired you. So they know, already, if you are someone they want coaching them, and they therefore only call you if they like you. This eliminates sending demo CD's, etc. The only thing remaining is your price.

Another aspect of radio that lends itself directly to showcasing your coaching ability is when radio takes live callers while you are interviewing on a station; the callers call the radio show and present their questions to you one-by-one, and you tackle them one-by-one. So radio listeners get a good variety of examples of how you give feedback to people one at a time.

Since over half of radio listeners are in their cars, and all of them have cell phones, they are right there to call your cell phone when you announce your number (after all, what else are they going to do while they are driving?) So you start getting calls before you are even done with your interview. They go to your voicemail, and you just go through them when your interview is done (all modern voicemails can handle multiple calls at once.)

And about the money: "Personal" coaches, who handle topics like motivation, weight loss, dating, family life, etc, tend to charge $50 to $300 per hour; "Business" coaches, who handle topics like investing, finance, marketing, sales, etc, tend to charge $250 to $500 per hour, although there is no real limit if the coach is highly specialized and experienced. Most coaches also offer monthly packages, with a discount, when purchased upfront. This especially makes sense to people who are looking for a coach, since these people understand that the first hour (or two) of their coaching is going to be just them telling you what their problems are. So a package of 5 or 10 hours, where the first one or two are "intake" (learning their problems, history, desires), makes for a good offering.

Who makes a good coach? Speakers (clear and easy to understand), Consultants (knowledgeable, detailed), Therapists (good understanding of people), and others too if they have these skills. If you can listen to people telling you their problems, sometimes for an hour at a time, then you have coaching potential. If you can explain things in an easy to understand way, then you have great coaching potential. And even if you have never even heard of "coaching" before and have no idea what it is, you may nevertheless be suitable for it if you often have people asking you how to fix things in their personal or business life. (You'll have to start out at the bottom of the pay scale, however.)

Building a coaching client base is very similar to a doctor who is building a patient base; it's all about the first group of clients liking your personality. If they like you, they will refer you to their friends/associates EVEN IF you can't immediately solve their problems. And it's this "personality identification" that allows radio to work so well in getting new coaching clients, since the radio listeners will know if they like you before they ever pick up the phone to call you.  

Next topic: Getting Radio Interviews in the U.S. for Indie Films, part 1 of 3