As a Christian coach, speaking engagements offer an incredible opportunity to connect with potential coaching clients, share your message, and grow your business.
Public speaking allows you to build trust, establish authority, and communicate your values and expertise in ways that resonate deeply with your audience.
This article focuses on coaches speaking to a Christian faith audience. However, the principles apply to all audiences.
Below are three effective strategies for using speaking engagements to attract coaching clients as a Christian coach:
1. Share Your Personal Story and Testimony
One of the most powerful ways to connect with potential clients is by sharing your personal testimony or journey.
As a Christian coach, your story can serve as a bridge to your audience’s hearts, offering them hope and inspiration.
By sharing your story, you not only build emotional connections but also position yourself as someone who understands the challenges your audience may be facing.
When they see you as a relatable figure who has overcome difficulties through faith, they’ll be more likely to trust you as their coach.
- Be authentic and transparent: Speak from the heart about your experiences, struggles, and the ways faith has shaped your coaching journey.
- Relate your story to your coaching: Help the audience see how your personal growth, guided by Christian principles, led you to become a coach and how those same principles can be applied in their lives.
- Talk about a coaching tool or technique that God used to help transform your journey: While sharing your journey builds a deeper connection with the audience, highlighting a coaching tool or technique that helped you grow will help connect your audience to understand what coaching is and why it might serve them.
By sharing your story, you not only build emotional connections but also position yourself as someone who understands the challenges your audience may be facing.
When they see you as a relatable figure who has overcome difficulties through faith, they’ll be more likely to trust you as their coach.
2. Offer Practical, Faith-Based Solutions
When speaking at events, whether in-person or virtually, focus on providing practical, actionable insights that reflect both your Christian faith and felt pain points in your audience’s lives. Your audience will be looking for connection to areas of their life with your topic presented.
- Teach Biblical principles with real-life applications: For example, you could speak about how specific Bible verses guide decision-making, goal setting, or managing stress.
- Provide tools and frameworks: Share coaching exercises or strategies that integrate Christian teachings. For example, how prayer and reflection can enhance clarity during a coaching session.
- Provide a resource they can take with them and use in the future.
Providing a resource they can take with them equips them with a tool that lasts beyond the event and also opens the door to extending the relationship with them, the focus of the third point below. Use QR codes, website links or other simple ways to get the resource in their hands.
3. Invite Interaction and Follow-Up
Engagement doesn’t stop at the end of your speech. Giving your audience a chance to interact with you during or after the event opens the door for more personal connections and potential clients.
- Encourage Q&A sessions: Let people ask questions, whether about your journey, coaching process, or faith-based strategies. This shows that you’re open and approachable, which builds trust.
- Call-to-action: At the end of your speech, provide a clear and inviting call-to-action (CTA). Whether it’s a free consultation, a downloadable resource, or an invitation to join a program, make sure your audience knows how to connect with you further.
- Follow-up: After the event, send follow-up emails or messages to thank attendees for their time and provide additional resources or an invitation to a group opportunity or to schedule a one-on-one session.
This interaction makes your speech not just a one-time event but the beginning of an ongoing relationship.
When your audience feels seen and heard, they’ll be more likely to reach out for coaching services.
Intentional Speaking as Loving God and Neighbor, a Final Thought
Public speaking is an invaluable tool for Christian coaches to share their message, connect with potential clients, and make a lasting impact.
By sharing your personal story, offering practical faith-based solutions, and inviting continued interaction, you can build trust and grow your coaching practice.
Remember, each speaking opportunity is a chance to plant seeds of transformation and help others discover how their faith can guide their personal and professional growth.
Adding value and focusing on serving your audience well, whether everyone or no converts to being a client, is the generosity mindset that exemplifies loving God and our neighbor (Mark 12:30-31).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, BRIAN BENNETT: Currently serving as President of Christian Coaches Network International, Brian seeks to be a blessing in the world by empowering leaders to bring their best self to their life and work. He brings management and executive perspective from his experience as the Director of the KCLI Leadership Institute, Executive Coach, & Executive Pastor. He has the privilege of coaching leaders across the sectors of business, non-profit, and church ministry. He holds an MBA, an M.A. in Organizational Leadership, and an M.A. in Christian Ministry and Leadership. He is a Korn Ferry certified Leadership Architect, a Certified Behavioral Analyst by TTI Success Insights, and a certified Professional Leadership & Life Coach by Professional Christian Coaching Institute. Brian resides in Missouri with his wife and two sons.
