Small-to-medium businesses that are on a fast-growth path face a range of significant challenges which include both internal and external forces.
When the coronavirus spread throughout the globe in February 2020, the world altered forever. In the weeks leading up to the virus’s grasp on the United States, we watched the devastation in China and then Italy, where the economy grinds to a halt, state by state, economy by the economy, and business by business.
Technologies have to evolve and address what would become imminent issues then.
With these considerations in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the best coaching platforms based on reliable sources and other complementary coaching tools and technologies we’ve come across in the market.
Remember that coaching management software may be more geared toward nutritionally focused mentoring, holistic commitment, personal accountability, and so on. It is best to find the right tools suited in your own context of a mentoring program, coaching philosophy, and other specific needs.
This guide looks at online business coaching resources that can help you along the route if you’ve pondered aiding business owners or seeking a little additional support for yourself.
Online Appointment System
Using an online appointment scheduling system is one way to improve your business bookings.
Customers can use online appointment scheduling to secure their reservations or bookings without having to wait in long lines. Online schedulers or online appointment systems have the following benefits.
Boundless Access
Oftentimes clients have limited time to make appointments, especially during office hours. In today’s digitally connected and fast-phased world, research shows that 35% of clients prefer scheduling appointments during non-business hours, and 40% of online bookings occur after hours. These are truly substantial figures.
An appointment scheduler can provide your clients with 24/7 access to your appointment system at a much lower cost than hiring a few extra employees to respond to queries after hours.
Boost Employee Efficiency
Using online scheduling software can help your employees save time.
When you think about the customer service team’s workflow, it’s clear that a significant amount of time is spent answering phone calls from people trying to book, describing clients’ options, and dealing with schedules.
A phone-based registration system requires the presence of a team member at all times in order to secure reservations. You may not consider this an alarming issue if you have customer service representatives on-site, but consider how many person-hours will be saved by using an online booking network.
Increased Sales Revenue
When selling any services or products, it is best practice to consistently attract the customers with one or two extra options by informing them about the available promos or beneficial offers to strive to upsell or cross-sell. While this can be done in person or by phone, your online scheduling platform is equipped to accomplish upselling.
This easy-to-use appointment portal that lists all of your customers’ options may encourage them to add more services to their appointment. This is through your booking page which flaunts your company’s offerings which allows your customers to learn more about new services or products that they can purchase.
Here are the best online appointment system suited for your business
WhenAvailable
WhenAvailable is an easy-to-use scheduling application for booking group meetings. It’s our on-the-go option for virtual coaches looking to arrange virtual and on-site events like board meetings or pick up any ball games, sports, and play.
Doodle
This is a prominent appointment booking app that syncs with your calendar. This feature will enable you to run poll clients that will provide you with valuable information about the things that are important and desirable to them. It’s the ideal tool for online trainers who want to set up group meetings.
Calendly
Calendly is among the most popular planning applications that enable you to arrange a schedule based on your online appointment and availability for your customers. It may be readily connected to your working calendar and configured according to your own schedule and requirements.
Email Marketing Software
Email marketing is gathering email addresses from online customers who have purchased products, services or indicated an interest in your company. The email addresses are then classified depending on each consumer’s position in the sales funnel.
You may then send emails to each list separately based on the type of material they want to receive. You may use email marketing to inform, entertain, and motivate your audience. It also allows you to market both your free and paid content to your leads.
One of the most significant aspects of online marketing is personalization. Your target customer will feel more loved if you personalize a piece of material, such as an email. There are a lot more options for personalizing an email than just putting your name in the subject line.
Perhaps, the location of your online courses and other digital products is crucial. If that’s the case, you can segment your email list by geographic location and include that information in the email’s body. Other personalization options include noting the recipient’s job title, company name, most recent purchase, or most recent connection with your company.
Leverage email integration opportunities. You may also enjoy e-mail marketing by including it in your marketing toolbox alongside other technologies.
These are the top email marketing software for virtual business coaches:
ActiveCampaign
The ActiveCampaign email marketing software is, and for good reason, one of the best among the choices. It’s cost-effective, simple to use, and includes all the rings and whistles.
The program can send custom emails, produce newsletters, and, most especially, automate your marketing and sales funnels. It can be integrated with WordPress, Paypal, and many popular apps, like Twitter, Salesforce, and Facebook.
SendX
SendX is software for intuitive email marketing to optimize your email campaigns in accordance with 30+ parameters. So you don’t have to be concerned about SendX’s delivery component.
As an expert, a well-planned budget is needed and costly marketing equipment can’t be used. This device is the ideal match as it is extremely economical. In addition, SendX does not limit the sending of emails. In other words, you can send your opted-in subscribers a number of emails.
Sendinblue
Sendinblue is an e-mail marketing tool combined with SMS services is primarily known for its convenience and generosity. In their early days, they concentrated mainly on delivering transactional email services, but nowadays they have improved to be a great tool for email marketing.
Sendinblue will deal with it quite nicely if you are going to send mass emails to your potential customers. In addition, they provide a never-ending free plan with a daily restriction of 300 e-mails. You don’t have any restrictions on your contact list. In other words, on your email basis, you can add as many contacts as you need to.
Virtual Platform
A smart digital coaching platform combines artificial intelligence (AI) with digital learning to provide a transformative experience that helps individuals attain their maximum potential.
The technology enables more precise intervention targeting, which makes treatments more effective and allows them to reach more individuals than they could in the analog environment.
Over the last decade, online coaching has made great development in terms of delivery modalities. The goal is to use an online coaching platform that has the features and functionality that your practice and clients require. Here are some of the notable virtual platforms that will totally transform your online coaching experience.
Vcita
This is a business programming tool for all of your activities from one single platform to manage your coaching practice. Whether you are a separate coach of lifestyle or hire many company coaches to assist your successful business, Vcita covers you.
The online planning function allows you to include or communicate an appointment schedule on your website and social media accounts. When customers reserve a time slot, it will be unavailable for everyone else instantly and your Google calendar will be done automatically to avoid double-book problems.
CoachAccountable
CoachAccountable is a cloud-based coaching management platform that assists coaches of all levels in managing their practices online.
From professional trainers and nutritional counselors to lifestyle and business coaches, its features hold you accountable to your clients and keep your practice in top shape both online and off.
Nudge Coach
Nudge Coach, a fully customizable online coaching platform. It is designed first and foremost to assist coaches in acquiring clients and keeping them on track through remote monitoring. Since it began as a consumer-facing personal habit tracking app, this coaching app has always had the most user-friendly client experience on the market.
Social Media Tools
You may utilize social media to interact with your clients and find out what others are saying about your business. Social media can also be used for advertising, promotional freebies, and mobile apps.
Not every social media site is appropriate for your company. Consider employing social media technologies that your customers utilize to save time and effort. Below is a quick guide to help you understand some of your possibilities.
You can build your own profile or page on social networking sites, network with others, and share information (including promotions, images, and video). Creating a business profile can assist you in gaining followers, acquiring new clients, and growing your brand. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are examples of social networking platforms.
Blogs are online journals where people can write about their views, observations, promotions, links, photographs, and videos. The majority of blogs are open to the public. They allow readers to communicate with you by leaving comments on your content. You may either host them yourself or utilize a blogging platform that includes both software and hosting. Blogger and WordPress are two examples of free blogging tools.
Podcasts are audio files that contain content that is similar to a blog post or a lecture. Vodcasts are video-based podcasts. They are often accessible for download to a computer or portable device (so that they can be played offline) or for live streaming.
Members of social-news communities post interesting news or links to other members of the community on websites called social-news communities. The purpose of social news websites is not to sell your products and services. Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit are just a few examples.
Customer Relationship Management System
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process by which a company or other organization manages its interactions with customers, typically by analyzing large amounts of data.
According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the coaching business will expand to $20 billion USD by 2022 due to increased demand for coaching services. The fundamental reason for this increase is a shift in global perceptions of coaching, as various groups of the global population begin to see coaching as a useful tool for them.
Coaches can utilize Quenza to generate activities for their clients to do in between sessions. Value-mining exercises, meditation exercises, and simple check-ins are examples of activities. Because most clients’ email inboxes are overflowing, you can use the mobile app to send activity notifications. Below are the best CRM tools worthy of your investment.
Satori enables you to start, expand, and even simplify your business by allowing you to create multiple packages and use them in your marketing campaigns. Your clients and prospects may be tracked and followed up on, and your auto-email campaigns can be incorporated into the system. The cost of this plan starts at $33 per month, however, you can try it out for free before investing any money.
Coach Logix is a web-based platform designed for independent coaches or coaching firms. You may use the CRM to book coaching sessions, set coaching goals with your customers, track their progress, and manage billing and invoicing, among other things. When you contact the seller to use the product, they will provide you the starting rates.
Another software called 10to8 is used to test the CRM waters. The CRM can be used to make appointments and send out automated reminders. The branding and customization possibilities supplied by the CRM can also be used to improve the professionalism of your website’s booking page. You may sync your appointments with your mobile device and access the platform on the go.
Payment Processor
A payment processor is a financial calculator and a transactor. Technically, this is an invertible currency exchange appointed by a merchant to handle transactions for merchant acquiring banks via various channels such as credit cards and debit cards.
The following are a few of the considerable digital payment systems.
Venmo began as a simple-to-use social payments network that alleviated the pain of sending money to friends, and it’s easy to understand why the site could be a good place for coaches to start collecting their first earnings.
A user can connect their bank account or credit/debit card, depending on their preference, which will have an impact on any potential fees incurred throughout the encounter.
Zelle, a competitor to Venmo, was introduced in 2017 by some of the industry’s largest banks. The system functions similarly, but instead of having a standalone app, the platform is already integrated into the majority of banking systems.
Zelle can be accessed via your client’s bank account or via the Zelle app. To receive money, your client must simply enter your email or phone number and the amount to send.
Most people are familiar with the process of creating and sending money through PayPal accounts, but they may be less familiar with Paypal’s business solutions.
As one of the payment pioneers, they have been able to iterate and improve their offering to include some of the functionality found in some of these newer, innovative systems.
