When speaking with coaches, questions about referrals come up often.

How do I set up a referral network? Should I purchase referral softwares? Should I pay directly for referrals?

Overall, setting up a referral (or an “affiliate network”, to use a marketing term) can feel quite strange. It’s tricky to strike a balance between expanding your reach, while keeping your message genuine and less “sales-y”.

But here’s something I’ve found to be true: a formal referral program isn’t necessary to grow your coaching business.

Let’s get one thing clear: for referrals to be successful, you need to start with a killer coaching offer. Your first job is to provide value to your athletes.

This is worth repeating because I’ve found that most of the time the coaches asking me about referrals are getting ahead of themselves. They often are still using outdated coaching models (e.g. selling “lessons”).

To increase your value as a coach, you should leverage technology, document your athlete’s progress, and make yourself accessible via asynchronous communication.

I maintain that if you do these things, word-of-mouth referrals happen naturally. No software, coupon codes, or contracts are needed.

Here’s an example from a coach I know personally.

He had just landed a new job as the Director of Instruction at a very prestigious club and after his very first day of coaching sessions he’s been booked solid ever since.

After each session the student would head to members grill all fired up not only about their swing but more importantly about their Golf Space - a direct connection to their coach, something they never had before.

They opened up their phones and started scrolling through their Space while sitting with their buddies.

They were able to show, not just tell. “Look what Coach did!” “Look what I did!” “Check out how much I improved”, etc.

From that day on,as I said that coach’s schedule was booked. In this instance, using CoachNow helped him deliver tangible value. As a result, his clients spread the word.

I like this story because it illustrates the downstream effect technology can have on your business.

Think about it. Normally, an athlete will receive a great coaching session but doesn’t have anything to tangibly show their friends.

Sure, they can talk about how much they love their coach, but it doesn’t hold the same weight.

But, by giving the athletes the ability to review their practice, they were also able to share that same coaching insight they just received. In other words, they were able to show, not just tell.

This is also super applicable to larger coaching organizations, academies, etc.

Using CoachNow can help you demonstrate value during conversations with prospective clients.

Some academies actually show clients CoachNow Spaces when they are offering tours. Again, this is a super visual way to demonstrate how you stand out from the competition - e.g. “This is how we coach all of our kids. Would you like something like this?”

This leads to higher demand because it increases the quality of your coaching. You can immediately demonstrate what they can expect by working with you.

Taking the guesswork out of your coaching styles and practice sessions make it just that much easier for people to make a decision.

Basically, if you’re able to showcase progress and your relationships to prospective clients, they'll be eager to become your next client.

Don’t believe me? Give it a try!

Whether you’re a power user or just started your free CoachNow trial, you have the opportunity to build your business just by helping people SEE how you coach (and why it’s different than just sending emails or texts here and there).

Not only does CoachNow help you save time while upleveling your coaching, it also makes it irresistible for your current clients to show you off and talk you up to others. Now that’s a referral game plan made easy!