Every week, we get hundreds of questions from around the world about how to use the platform effectively.
In our new "Ask Me Anything" series, we will be compiling these most common questions and posing them to Spencer Dennis, the founder of CoachNow.
In our new "Ask Me Anything" series, we will be compiling these most common questions and posing them to Spencer Dennis, the founder of CoachNow.
This week's AMA covers a range of topics, from whether coaches should add parents to their spaces, to what role CoachNow should play when marketing your coaching offers to potential clients.
Watch the full video above or read the full transcript below.
See you next week!
Do you recommend that coaches add their athletes parents to their space?
Absolutely, I highly recommend coaches add their athlete's parents to their CoachNow Space. I understand that the relationship between coaches, parents, and athletes can be a bit complicated at times. However, after being a coach for ten years prior to creating CoachNow and working with it for another ten years, we've found that the more you involve parents, the better the outcome.
As coaches, we've all experienced helicopter parents who disrupt coaching sessions and offer conflicting advice to their children. The reason they do this is because they don't have access to the information. With a unified space like CoachNow, everyone can collaborate, and coaches who use this tool effectively can build healthy relationships. Transparency is key, and CoachNow provides an extra layer of it that can promote healthy relationships.
As coaches, we've all experienced helicopter parents who disrupt coaching sessions and offer conflicting advice to their children. The reason they do this is because they don't have access to the information. With a unified space like CoachNow, everyone can collaborate, and coaches who use this tool effectively can build healthy relationships. Transparency is key, and CoachNow provides an extra layer of it that can promote healthy relationships.
Do you recommend coaches introduce Coach now to all their clients at once? Do you recommend a slower approach?
Based on our experience, if you're a coach who is not using any communication tool other than email or text, I would recommend starting with two to three clients. You can create a space for them and gradually get used to using technology to communicate with your clients.
Ideally, your business model should also reflect the use of technology, but that's a conversation for another time. If you're transitioning from a collaborative tool like Slack or Discord, we have coaches who have done that and are now using CoachNow.
You can invite all your clients at once by creating a template and applying it to multiple spaces. Our support team can help you with this process if you reach out to us at support@coachnow.io. We'll guide you through the entire process and provide you with the necessary assistance.
Based on our experience, if you're a coach who is not using any communication tool other than email or text, I would recommend starting with two to three clients. You can create a space for them and gradually get used to using technology to communicate with your clients.
Ideally, your business model should also reflect the use of technology, but that's a conversation for another time. If you're transitioning from a collaborative tool like Slack or Discord, we have coaches who have done that and are now using CoachNow.
You can invite all your clients at once by creating a template and applying it to multiple spaces. Our support team can help you with this process if you reach out to us at support@coachnow.io. We'll guide you through the entire process and provide you with the necessary assistance.
Should CoachNow Play a Role in my Marketing?
The answer to whether CoachNow should play a role in your marketing depends on what you mean by marketing. We don't generate leads, and we're not a marketplace.
However, if you bring your clients into CoachNow and use it as your communication platform, you can send bulk messages promoting upcoming clinics, academies, educational opportunities, and even products. You can send a quick video to everyone on your list, and it will go directly into their individual spaces, without any competition from other messages.
For instance, Martin Chuck, a CoachNow user, has 4,000 spaces and can send one message to all of them. This feature is much more effective than sending the same message on Instagram or TikTok, where the message can easily go unnoticed.
In summary, if you have existing clientele in CoachNow, you can maintain that relationship and use lists to bulk message them. Additionally, you can use groups for community management, similar to what you would do on Facebook, but with more features available in CoachNow.
The answer to whether CoachNow should play a role in your marketing depends on what you mean by marketing. We don't generate leads, and we're not a marketplace.
However, if you bring your clients into CoachNow and use it as your communication platform, you can send bulk messages promoting upcoming clinics, academies, educational opportunities, and even products. You can send a quick video to everyone on your list, and it will go directly into their individual spaces, without any competition from other messages.
For instance, Martin Chuck, a CoachNow user, has 4,000 spaces and can send one message to all of them. This feature is much more effective than sending the same message on Instagram or TikTok, where the message can easily go unnoticed.
In summary, if you have existing clientele in CoachNow, you can maintain that relationship and use lists to bulk message them. Additionally, you can use groups for community management, similar to what you would do on Facebook, but with more features available in CoachNow.
What will my clients see when they sign up? What should they expect when being onboarded into CoachNow?
When your clients sign up, it's important to create a template to make sure they don't land in an empty environment.
You can record a quick 30-second video introducing yourself and welcoming them to CoachNow. When you create spaces, you can apply that template so your clients can see something in their environment right away. This is similar to Facebook, which can be empty if you have no friends or connections.
However, there are no other distractions in CoachNow. So, make sure there is at least something, such as a video or a quick note welcoming them. You can create a template ahead of time or do it on the fly during your one-to-one session with them.
To learn more about what athletes see when they are onboarded, you can check out this website, where we describe the entire process in detail.
When your clients sign up, it's important to create a template to make sure they don't land in an empty environment.
You can record a quick 30-second video introducing yourself and welcoming them to CoachNow. When you create spaces, you can apply that template so your clients can see something in their environment right away. This is similar to Facebook, which can be empty if you have no friends or connections.
However, there are no other distractions in CoachNow. So, make sure there is at least something, such as a video or a quick note welcoming them. You can create a template ahead of time or do it on the fly during your one-to-one session with them.
To learn more about what athletes see when they are onboarded, you can check out this website, where we describe the entire process in detail.
Can I acquire new customers directly in CoachNow?
As I mentioned earlier, CoachNow is not a marketplace. Although I have talked a lot about this, you as coaches may still wonder why we are not one. Let me explain it simply without calling out specific companies.
When a marketplace is connected to the coaching and communication platform you use, it's a problem because it cannibalizes either of those opportunities. If I invite all of my existing clients, who I worked hard to build relationships with, to CoachNow for communication and coaching, it becomes problematic if CoachNow suggests other coaches to my clients. This is not something we want to do because we don't want to sell something else to your existing clients.
In marketplace scenarios, coaches are not the customer. The objective is matchmaking, and if there's not much activity in the platform, these marketplaces will suggest other coaches to the athlete. This is because the majority of these platforms take a commission off every transaction.
To recap, in marketplace scenarios, especially if there's a coaching platform associated with it, the customer is actually the athlete, not you as the coach. It's not something I would recommend, especially if you're bringing in existing clientele. It can be dangerous. In fact, we've talked to thousands of coaches about this, and I cannot name one coach for whom being on a marketplace made a significant difference in their business.
As I mentioned earlier, CoachNow is not a marketplace. Although I have talked a lot about this, you as coaches may still wonder why we are not one. Let me explain it simply without calling out specific companies.
When a marketplace is connected to the coaching and communication platform you use, it's a problem because it cannibalizes either of those opportunities. If I invite all of my existing clients, who I worked hard to build relationships with, to CoachNow for communication and coaching, it becomes problematic if CoachNow suggests other coaches to my clients. This is not something we want to do because we don't want to sell something else to your existing clients.
In marketplace scenarios, coaches are not the customer. The objective is matchmaking, and if there's not much activity in the platform, these marketplaces will suggest other coaches to the athlete. This is because the majority of these platforms take a commission off every transaction.
To recap, in marketplace scenarios, especially if there's a coaching platform associated with it, the customer is actually the athlete, not you as the coach. It's not something I would recommend, especially if you're bringing in existing clientele. It can be dangerous. In fact, we've talked to thousands of coaches about this, and I cannot name one coach for whom being on a marketplace made a significant difference in their business.
For more on this topic, check out the popular blog we wrote on the topic: Athlete's Can't Search for Your Profile on CoachNow. Here's Why.
Should I Charge Extra for CoachNow?
That's a great question. My hope is that CoachNow is included in your overall coaching offering. You shouldn't break it out as a separate item that clients can choose to pay extra for. I don't recommend saying "I'll coach you, and for an additional $100, you can access CoachNow."
If you're still selling lesson packages, I encourage you to transition to a different model. At a minimum, include CoachNow as part of your offering. It will ensure that clients have what they need when they leave, including notes and a continued relationship with you. They can review their notes before each practice and message you for further coaching.
Ideally, you'll move toward longer-term coaching programs where CoachNow is the primary communication tool. It should be part of your overall coaching subscription plans, rather than a separate add-on.
That's a great question. My hope is that CoachNow is included in your overall coaching offering. You shouldn't break it out as a separate item that clients can choose to pay extra for. I don't recommend saying "I'll coach you, and for an additional $100, you can access CoachNow."
If you're still selling lesson packages, I encourage you to transition to a different model. At a minimum, include CoachNow as part of your offering. It will ensure that clients have what they need when they leave, including notes and a continued relationship with you. They can review their notes before each practice and message you for further coaching.
Ideally, you'll move toward longer-term coaching programs where CoachNow is the primary communication tool. It should be part of your overall coaching subscription plans, rather than a separate add-on.
Can I collaborate with other coaches in CoachNow? Should I add additional coaches to my CoachNow account?
CoachNow was built more than 10 years ago to solve my frustration of not being able to actively collaborate with athletes, their parents, and other coaches. As a high-performance golf coach, I was great at swing and practice coaching, but I wasn't their fitness or mental trainer, and I definitely wasn't their parent or college recruiter. It was hard to keep everyone in sync if we were using email, text, or some other social app.
So, absolutely, I recommend collaborating with other coaches on CoachNow. I think it's the best and probably one of the only few platforms that allow that kind of collaboration. Moreover, if you're coaching remotely and looking to build a team of complementary coaches, you can do that on our platform as well. They don't even have to live near you. We have golf coaches working with fitness trainers in different states and different parts of the world. You can do the same no matter what sport or activity you're training.
The other benefit of collaborating with other coaches is that if you start building more holistic offers, you can start charging more and tapping into both Rolodexes or both lists to grow your business and share clients.
So, absolutely, I recommend collaborating with other coaches on CoachNow. I think it's the best and probably one of the only few platforms that allow that kind of collaboration. Moreover, if you're coaching remotely and looking to build a team of complementary coaches, you can do that on our platform as well. They don't even have to live near you. We have golf coaches working with fitness trainers in different states and different parts of the world. You can do the same no matter what sport or activity you're training.
The other benefit of collaborating with other coaches is that if you start building more holistic offers, you can start charging more and tapping into both Rolodexes or both lists to grow your business and share clients.