The ads make it look easy. Get certified and the clients will naturally flock to you. Unfortunately, the “Build it, and they will come” theory doesn’t always work in real life. And in a virtual world where the market is flooded with coaches vying for clients, how do you stand out? It starts with the Know, Like, Trust Factor.

“To me, Know, Like, Trust is built inside community, not just through content,” says Michelle Tufford, founder of No More Dry Ground. “People don’t hire coaches because they saw one good post. They hire coaches because they feel seen, understood and supported. That happens through consistent presence and relational proximity.”

Being a part of a community brings a sense of belonging—a foundational human need. When you feel like you belong to a community, you feel accepted, respected and valued. You feel connected, and building supportive connections is one of the ACE 7 Core Drivers of Healthy Living.

Creating a sense of community around your business can provide support and encouragement for everyone involved, says Devin Schubert, founder of Influence Academy and a social media expert.

“If you can help someone feel like they belong, they are much more likely to know, like and trust you,” agrees Kevin Weis, founder of The Contrarian Strategy. “The easiest way I’ve found to build belonging is through vulnerability, transparency and storytelling.” In other words, your credentials and success stories, while important, aren’t necessarily the things that will build the most trust with prospective clients.

Building brand trust is integral. As a coach, your brand is you. Research suggests that 82% of U.S. shoppers are willing to pay more for brands they trust. And it’s up to you to ignite and nurture that trust.

This means sharing your story, including the painful parts that others might be able to relate to. “Before they ever open their ears up to hear about how you can help them, they need to know that you’re for them,” says Weis. “Start by sharing about who you are—not just the surface level stuff, like where you’re from, but who you are deep down, your core beliefs. Tell stories about your life and what brought you to where you are. The goal is to help your audience build a connection with you as a person.”

By allowing yourself to be vulnerable and transparent, your true, authentic voice can shine. “With the rise of AI-generated content, people are more guarded,” says Tufford. “They can feel when something is polished but impersonal. That makes authentic connection even more valuable.”

Schubert agrees and says that it’s exhausting trying to copy everyone else’s vibe. “Authenticity is the only strategy that does not create exhaustion,” says Schubert. “For a long time, I thought the answer was to get sharper, louder, more polished. I studied what worked for other people. I adjusted my tone. I cleaned up my personality. I tried to look the part. But the more I tried to copy someone else’s rhythm, the more tired I became. Imitation burns you out. It is heavy. It does not fit.”

Starting Conversations

Just posting information also doesn’t cut it anymore. Connection comes from conversations. “A coach can start implementing Know, Like, Trust by creating spaces for conversation,” says Tufford, who has grown her Facebook group, Christian Women in Business Networking Group, to 64,000 members and counting in just a few short years. “Go live. Share stories. Respond personally to comments. Send voice messages. Host small group calls. Let people experience you, not just read from you.”

And be consistent, adds Tufford. “Trust is built through repeated, real interaction over time.”

Schubert encourages students in his academy to post consistently and develop social media posts that spark conversation, rather than just sharing information. “Engagement now has to happen before the teaching,” says Schubert. “Facebook doesn’t reward effort the way it used to. It rewards interaction. The posts getting visibility today don’t start with lessons. They start with engagement. Those early interactions trigger reach. Reach opens conversations. And conversations lead to clients.”

To be clear, marketing yourself shouldn’t be limited to social media or online interactions. For new coaches who may not yet have a large online following, some of the most meaningful connections begin in person. Striking up a conversation at a local gym, a running club, a community yoga class or a neighborhood health food store can open the door to relationships that eventually lead to clients. The key is the same whether the interaction happens online or face to face: listen more than you talk, show genuine curiosity about the other person’s goals and challenges, and let the relationship develop naturally over time.

That said, social media remains one of the most immediate and effective low-cost ways to reach your target audience. Both Tufford and Schubert use Facebook as their primary social media platform to reach people. “I’ve personally built multiple six-figures organically off Facebook,” says Schubert. “It has the biggest variety of ideal people and the ways to nurture them through groups or direct messages.”

“The best platform is the one that allows for conversation and community, not just broadcasting,” says Tufford. “For many coaches, that is Facebook, because it allows you to build groups and host live conversations. A private group can become a powerful community hub where people gather, engage and connect not only with you, but with each other.”

“Personally, I would use two platforms,” says Weiss. “One platform that focuses on short-form content—like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok—and another that focuses on long-form content—like YouTube, podcasts and Substack.”

Weiss says that short-form platforms are best for building the initial connection, and long-form platforms help them get to know you at a deeper level. “The key in choosing your short- and long-form platforms is that you enjoy using them, and that your potential clients spend time on them. The way you build your business has to serve them while also sustaining you.”

Knowing where your ideal audience is hanging out comes from being clear on who you’re trying to serve. “You have to have clarity as to who you are reaching in order to do this correctly,” says Schubert.

Schubert breaks it down into who, how and what. Who do you help, how do you help them and what are you offering them? Being authentic allows them to know who you are and who your target audience is. “If you don’t know who you are, no one else can know who you are or what you do.”

And optimize your social media pages, says Schubert, so that it’s clear who you are and who you serve. “You literally have a billboard for people to see.”

Strategies for Connection

Your own social media pages aren’t the only way to build connections and get the word out about what you do. You can also borrow other people’s “stages.” This is part of Weiss’ build-borrow-buy strategy.

“Building your own field would be creating an audience of your own,” says Weiss. “This might be creating a social media presence speaking to your dream client, an email community of people who want to learn more about what you do and how you do it, a Facebook or Skool group to create a community of like-minded people. It takes time and energy to build but usually provides a warmer audience that is easier to build a relationship with.”

Weiss explains that “borrowing” someone else’s audience entails collaborating with other professionals in your field who offer complementary services to yours without being in direct competition with you. Maybe they’ve got a podcast you could be a guest on. Or you’ve got a podcast and could invite them on as a guest; in turn, they could share the podcast episode with their audience. Or maybe there’s someone in need of a speaker for an event they’re organizing, and you’d be a perfect fit. Perhaps you could collaborate with another professional on a course. Either way, there’s reciprocation, and you both benefit.

“It takes time and energy to build these relationships, but it can lead to a warmer audience who trusts you because they trust the person who is introducing you to them,” says Weiss.

The third option is to buy an audience with ads, which can get costly and is often not advised until you’ve built up trust with your own tribe. “Buying ads is a quick way to gain exposure but comes at a financial cost and is usually a colder audience, which can take more time to build a relationship with,” says Weiss.

Another common strategy is to join Facebook groups and become active in commenting on people’s posts in them. This might be a local Facebook group, like your community’s Chamber of Commerce, or a larger group that aligns with your mission. Many Facebook groups do not allow solicitation, so while you cannot directly promote your business, you can offer members in the group advice, which helps them get to know who you are. And when you’re consistent with doing so, and they start connecting with you, they’ll want to check out your personal page and find out more about you. This can lead to getting clients.

While online groups and social media platforms can be valuable, don’t underestimate the power of showing up in person. One of the most effective offline strategies is offering free or low-cost workshops in your local community. Libraries, community centers, houses of worship and recreation departments often welcome outside presenters who can provide health and wellness programming to their members at no cost to the organization. A 30- or 45-minute workshop on a topic within your area of expertise, whether that is stress-management techniques or building a sustainable exercise habit, positions you as a knowledgeable resource and gives attendees a firsthand sample of what working with you might be like.

Partnering with complementary local businesses can be another powerful strategy. A gym owner, yoga studio, physical therapist, chiropractor or registered dietitian nutritionist may serve the same population you want to reach without competing with your services directly. Introduce yourself, explain what you do and explore whether there is an opportunity to cross-refer clients, co-host an event or leave business cards or flyers in their space. These relationships take time to cultivate, but they can become a reliable and ongoing source of warm referrals.

Health fairs, farmers markets and community wellness events provide another low-cost opportunity to meet potential clients face to face. Setting up a simple table with a sign explaining your services, along with a free resource such as a printed tip sheet or a sign-up form for a complimentary consultation, can generate conversations with people who are already interested in health and wellness. Even if they do not become clients immediately, collecting their contact information with permission allows you to follow up and continue building the relationship.

If you’re a new coach, consider tapping into the networks you already have. Friends, family members, former colleagues and acquaintances already know and trust you, which means the Know, Like, Trust factor is at least partially established. Letting people in your existing circle know that you have started a health-coaching practice, and asking them to spread the word, can yield surprisingly quick results. Offering a discounted introductory session or a free initial consultation to the first few people who express interest can help you gain experience, collect testimonials and generate word-of-mouth referrals, all of which are invaluable when you are just starting out.

Finally, volunteering is another often-overlooked path to new clients. Offering your time at a local charity run, a community health screening event or a wellness fair at a nearby school allows potential clients to see you in action without any sales pressure. It also demonstrates that your motivation extends beyond earning a fee. People are more inclined to hire a coach they have seen genuinely giving back to the community, and the relationships built through volunteer work can lead to some of the most loyal clients a new coach will ever have.

Service Over Selling

None of us likes to be contacted out of the blue by someone trying to sell us something. Your potential clients are no different. Instead of going through your friends and followers list to pitch your products or services, look for the people who are commenting and liking your posts. Are they your ideal client? If so, reach out to them in a direct message, thanking them for liking or commenting and asking more about them. What about the post did they like? How did it resonate with them? What are their biggest struggles right now? Take some time to get to know them and tell them how you relate to their story before you offer them your solution. If you have a Facebook group, invite them into it, where they can be served even more.

In other words, serve them before selling to them. “Service is helping someone get clarity and momentum, whether or not they buy from you,” says Tufford. “Selling, at its best, is an extension of service. It is offering someone structured support when you see that they would benefit from it. When you build community first, selling becomes natural. You are not convincing strangers. You are inviting people who already trust you to go deeper.”

“When done right, sales and service go hand-in-hand,” says Weiss. “When selling is decoupled from service, it’s about ‘me over them,’ but when it’s connected to service, it’s ‘both of us benefit.’”

A word of caution—be careful about over-serving to the point where you miss out on sales because you’ve given away all your solutions, or what the potential client thinks is a solution. “Selling is a service because you are providing the solution and asking for an investment, so they get the fullness of what service they are looking for,” says Schubert. “When you get this right, selling becomes easy, fluent, and fun, not to mention much more rewarding for both sides. If I were to give you quick-fix solutions during a sales call, I’d be doing you a disservice because I’d be giving you a ‘fix’ to just keep you broken in the spot where you are—because I’m not helping you implement the solutions, which is the part of the process you are actually selling.”

While many “heart-centered” practitioners, including coaches, may feel bad about charging for their services, resulting in undercutting their rates, this may be doing both the coach and their clients a disservice. Evidence suggests that when people pay for a service, they’re more likely to be engaged and follow through on their commitment. But it all starts with building their trust in you.

One practical way to demonstrate that value in person is to offer a free introductory session or discovery call. This gives potential clients a risk-free opportunity to experience your coaching style and see whether it is a good fit before committing financially. It also gives you the chance to practice your skills, refine your messaging and learn what resonates most with the people you want to serve. Many successful coaches trace their first paying clients back to these initial no-cost conversations, which is why building trust through direct, personal interaction remains one of the most reliable paths to growing a coaching practice from the ground up.

“In today’s environment, community is the differentiator,” concludes Tufford. “Information is everywhere. Belonging is not. When someone feels like they belong in your space, they are far more likely to become a client.”