TL;DR
Most coaches are bleeding money because they’re missing the three critical stages between “Hi, I exist” and “Here’s my credit card.”
– Stage 1: Get people to know you exist (lead magnet + opt-in).
– Stage 2: Build trust so they actually want to work with you (email nurture + content).
– Stage 3: Close the deal without being pushy (discovery calls + clear offer).
Skip any stage? Your conversion rate tanks.
Do all three? You can hit the 41.67% average conversion rate for coaching services or better according to Jobera.
Takes 30–90 days for high-ticket coaching.
No shortcuts, but it works.
Table of Contents
Here’s something nobody tells you when you start a coaching business: getting leads is actually the easy part. The hard part? Getting those leads to pay you.
I know coaches who have 50 people on their email list, 500 Instagram followers, even run some ads that bring in traffic. But those people aren’t becoming clients. They’re just collecting names.
That’s where your funnel comes in
The average client conversion rate for coaching services is 41.67% Business Coaching Industry Statistics and Trends . That means more than half your leads walk away without buying.
And honestly? Most coaches do way worse than that.
The reality is – they’re missing the critical stages between “Hi, I exist” and “Take my money”
Think of it like dating. You don’t propose on the first date, right? There’s a process. Stages. Trust that needs building.
Your coaching funnel works the same way.
In this guide, I’m breaking down the three stages every coaching funnel needs. Practical and easy steps that works.
Ready? Let’s get into it.
Understanding the Coaching Client Journey (And Why Most Coaches Get It Wrong)
*Before diving into the three stages, make sure you understand the basics of how funnels actually work for coaches. I covered that in Sales Funnels for Business Coaches: Everything You Should Know.
Look, nobody wakes up one morning and decide “Today’s the day I hire a business coach!”
That’s not how it works. Not even close.
Your potential clients are on a journey. They’ve got a problem – maybe they’re stagnant at $3k months and can’t break through. Maybe they launched something that fell flat.
Whatever it is, they’re searching for answers. And that search takes time.
The psychology behind coaching sales is different from selling a $27 ebook. The average hourly rate for business coaches is $244 Business Coaching Industry Statistics: Market Size | ProfileTree. That’s a serious financial commitment. They need to trust you first.
This is where things got interesting:
- Awareness Stage: They just found out you exist. They’re thinking “Who is this person and can they help me?”
- Consideration Stage: Now they’re on your list. Reading your emails. Watching your content. Thinking “Okay, this person knows their stuff. But is this right for me?”
- Decision Stage: They’re actively looking at your offer. They’ve booked a call or they’re reading your sales page. Thinking “Is this worth the investment?”
Many coaches skip straight from awareness to trying to close the deal.
That’s like proposing when you just met someone at a party. Weird, right?
The biggest mistake?
Treating everyone the same regardless of where they are. Someone who just found you yesterday needs different content than someone who’s been on your list for three months.
The average conversion rate across industries stands between 4% and 8% (according to Unbounce). But here’s the kicker – if you rush people through these stages, your conversion rate tanks.
Slow down and actually nurture them. It eventually goes up.
Stop thinking about your funnel as this complicated, techy thing.
It’s a journey. You’re leading someone from “I don’t know you” to “Take my money.”
The three stages aren’t complicated. But you gotta do all three. That’s where most coaches fall short.
Don’t Miss a Step in Your Funnel
Curious about the stages your coaching funnel must go through?
Start with the free “7-Step Funnel Fix Guide” to make sure you don’t skip any.
Stage 1 – Awareness: Attracting Your Ideal Coaching Clients
Alright, so you need people to actually know you exist.
Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many coaches are basically invisible online. They’ve got a website that nobody visits and an Instagram account with less than 50 followers.
The awareness stage is all about getting in front of the right people. Not just any people – the ones who actually need what you’re selling.
For business coaches specifically? LinkedIn and Google are usually your best bets. That’s where people with money to spend on coaching hang out.
Let’s talk lead magnets.
Your lead magnet is how you turn a stranger into someone on your email list. And this is where coaches get creative in all the wrong ways.
Don’t create 50-page PDFs nobody will read. Don’t make “free trainings” that are just sales pitches.
Your lead magnet should solve one specific problem your ideal client has right now. Not eventually. But right now.
If you’re ready to plan your funnel visuals or organize each step properly, check out my list of Funnel Mapping Tools for Coaches. It’ll help you see where every page and email fits in your client journey.
Some lead magnets that work:
- A simple framework or checklist they can use today
- A mini-course (like 3 emails) that teaches one thing
- A calculator or tool that gives them a specific result
- A free assessment that provides actual insights
Now, about that opt-in page.
Keep it simple. I’m serious.
You don’t need a video of yourself talking for 10 minutes. You don’t need testimonials. You don’t need a countdown timer.
You need:
- A headline that speaks to their pain.
- 3-5 bullet points about what they’ll get.
- One simple form (name and email, that’s it).
- A clear CTA button (Call-To-Action Button).
When Unbounce analyzed over 74 million visitors across lead generation landing pages, they found the average conversion rate was 4.02%.
But you can do way better if you’re specific about who this is for.
Once someone opts in, they get your lead magnet immediately. Then they get a welcome email sequence.
Not one email. A sequence.
Five emails over five days works well. Each one builds on the last. By the end, they should know who you are, what you stand for, and how you can help them.
But you’re not selling yet. Just building that relationship.
Once you’ve got your lead magnet ready, you need people to actually see it. Pinterest can be a goldmine for coaches – learn how to turn your blog content into Pinterest pins that actually drive traffic.
Common mistakes at this stage
Trying to appeal to everyone instead of speaking to one specific type of person. “I help entrepreneurs grow their business” is too vague.
“I help course creators hit their first $10k month” is way better.
Also, not tracking your numbers. You need to know your opt-in rate.
If 100 people visit your landing page and only 2 opt in, something needs fixing. Could be your headline. Could be your landing page not being mobile optimized. Could be your traffic targeted audience is wrong.
A study found that landing page conversion rates vary widely between industries, with vocational studies and job training hitting 6.1% (data here). As a business coach, you should be able to hit at least 5% if your messaging is tight.
The goal of Stage 1 isn’t to make sales. It’s to start the conversation.
Get them to raise their hand and say “Yeah, I’m interested in learning more about this.”
That’s it. Then you move them to Stage 2.
Stage 2 – Consideration: Nurturing Leads and Building Trust
This is where coaches lose the most money.
I’m not kidding. This stage – the consideration stage – is where your leads are deciding whether they trust you enough to actually work with you.
And most coaches? They send like three emails and then wonder why nobody’s buying.
The point is – consideration stage content needs to show people you actually know what you’re talking about and that you understand their specific struggles.
According to data from Klipfolio, a good MQL to SQL conversion rate is 13% on average but could go up to 31% if your marketing and sales efforts are well aligned.
That gap between 13% and 31%? That’s the nurture stage doing its job.
So what does good nurturing look like?
First, you gotta email consistently.
I’m talking 2-3 emails a week minimum.
Some people say that’s too much. Those people are wrong.
The coaches who make the most money? They email their list every single day.
Why? Because people forget about you fast. If you only email once a week, you’re basically starting from scratch every time.
Your emails should:
- Tell stories (real ones from your life or client work)
- Share wins and struggles
- Teach something specific and actionable
- Show your personality
- Build that “know, like, trust” factor
Other nurture content that works:
Case studies – Show specific results. Not just “increased revenue” but “helped Jane go from $3k months to $12k months in 90 days by fixing her offer positioning.”
Video content – Seeing your face helps people connect with you. Production quality doesn’t matter as much as authenticity.
Webinars or workshops – These are huge for coaches. A well-done webinar can move someone from “maybe someday” to “I need this right now.”
Just make sure you’re actually teaching something valuable, not doing a 90-minute sales pitch.
Testimonials and social proof – Once people are considering working with you, they want to know others have succeeded.
Here’s something most coaches don’t do: segment your list.
Not everyone on your list is at the same place. Some people just joined yesterday. Others have been following you for months.
Treat them differently.
Different sequences for:
- New subscribers (first 30 days)
- Engaged subscribers who haven’t booked a call yet
- People who booked a call but didn’t buy
- Past clients (for referrals and upsells)
The timeline for nurturing varies. Some people will be ready to buy after two days. Others need two months.
That doesn’t mean you wait two months to make an offer. It means you keep showing up and providing value until they’re ready.
The goal of Stage 2 is simple: build enough trust that when you do present your offer, it feels like a natural next step instead of a random sales pitch.
If you do this stage right, selling becomes way easier. Because you’re not convincing someone to buy. You’re showing them the step forward in this journey working with you.
So, once you’ve built trust, it’s time to help them take the next step.
Stage 3 – Decision: Converting Qualified Leads Into Paying Clients
Stage 3 is where you make your offer. But there’s a right way to do it that doesn’t make people feel pressured or manipulated. These 3 coaching funnel secrets help you sell while keeping it genuine and trust-building.
Okay, so someone’s been on your list for a while. They’ve been reading your emails. They trust you.
Now they’re actively considering hiring you.
This is where you close the deal. And this is where coaches get weird.
Don’t apologize for charging money. Don’t offer discount after discount because you’re afraid of losing the sale. Don’t spend 2 hours on a “discovery call” that’s basically free coaching with no ask at the end.
The decision stage is about helping qualified people say yes to working with you. Notice I said “qualified.” Not everyone who books a call should become a client.
Let’s talk about discovery calls.
Stop calling them “sales calls.” People hate sales calls. They don’t hate discovery calls where you’re genuinely trying to figure out if you can help them.
Simple structure:
- Small talk (2-3 minutes) – Just be a human
- Understand their situation (10-15 minutes) – What’s their current reality? What have they tried?
- Explore their goals (5-10 minutes) – Where do they want to be?
- Present your solution (10-15 minutes) – Here’s how your coaching would help them
- Handle objections (5-10 minutes) – They voice concerns, you address them honestly
- Ask for the sale (2-3 minutes) – “Does this feel like the right fit for you?”
Total time: 45-60 minutes max.
Before the call even happens, set yourself up for success by pre-framing your clients properly. Send them a strategic email 24 hours before, share a relevant case study, or record a quick personalized video. When prospects show up already mentally prepared and excited, your conversion rate jumps significantly.
Here’s what I’ve learned: the better your nurture stage, the easier your discovery calls become.
The average client conversion rate for coaching services is 41.67% (according to Jobera). That means if you’re booking calls with qualified leads, you should be closing roughly 4 out of every 10 people.
If your conversion rate is way lower than that, it doesn’t quite add up. Could be you’re not pre-qualifying leads before they book. Could be your nurture content isn’t doing its job. Could be you’re not confident enough on the call. There are many moving parts to analyze.
Common objections and how to handle them:
“I need to think about it” – This usually means one of three things: they don’t have the money, they don’t trust you yet, or they’re not actually serious. Ask follow-up questions to figure out which one it is.
“It’s too expensive” – Price is rarely the real objection. It’s about whether they see the value.
“I need to talk to my spouse” – Totally fair. But suggest they have that conversation within 24 hours and follow up. Don’t let it drag out for weeks.
Pricing and packages.
Don’t compete on price. If you’re trying to be the cheapest option, you’ve already lost.
Price based on the value you provide, not the time you spend. If your coaching helps someone go from $50k a year to $100k a year, charging $10k for that transformation is more than fair.
Offer payment plans because it removes a barrier for people who don’t have the full amount upfront. But don’t discount just because someone asks.
Following up after the call.
If someone says yes – great! Send them the contract and payment link immediately. Don’t wait.
If someone says “I need to think about it,” follow up within 24 hours. Then again in 3 days. Then again in a week.
Your goal at this stage isn’t to convince someone who’s a bad fit to work with you. It’s to make it easy for someone who IS a good fit to say yes.
If you’ve already built your funnel but it’s not bringing in results, it’s worth checking where it might be leaking.
Start with 3 Proven Reasons Why Your Funnel Isn’t Converting (You Can Fix Them in 30 Minutes). And if you want to go deeper, I show you exactly where most funnels break (and how to fix them fast) in 3 Funnel Bottlenecks That Are Killing Your Conversions.
Putting It All Together
Alright, so now you know the three stages. Let’s put them together so you can actually see what this looks like.
Here’s the full path from stranger to paying client:
Stage 1 – Awareness
Stage 2 – Consideration
Stage 3 – Decision
Timeline: For high-ticket coaching (let’s say $3,000+), the full cycle usually takes 30-90 days. Could be shorter if they’re a hot lead. Could be longer if they need more time.
Track your numbers:
You need to know your numbers at each stage.
- Traffic to your opt-in page
- Opt-in conversion rate
- Email open rates and click rates
- Discovery call booking rate
- Show-up rate
- Close rate
If you track these numbers, you can see exactly where your funnel needs fixing.
For example, if you’re getting tons of traffic but nobody’s opting in, your lead magnet or opt-in page needs work. If people are opting in but not booking calls, your nurture content isn’t building enough trust.
Don’t just guess. Read and understand the data.
This isn’t as complicated as it sounds. You can track all of this with basic tools or via your funnel building platform. A simple spreadsheet works.
Conclusion
Look, I’m not gonna lie to you – building a coaching funnel takes work.
It’s not a “set it and forget it” thing. It’s not some magic pill that’s gonna flood your calendar with dream clients overnight.
But here’s what it is: a reliable system for turning strangers into clients. And once you’ve got that system working, everything changes.
You can’t skip any of these stages.
You can’t just run ads to a sales page and expect high-ticket sales. You need Stage 1 to get attention, Stage 2 to build trust, and Stage 3 to close the deal.
They work together. All three.
If you’re sitting here thinking “Okay, but where do I even start?” – start with Stage 1.
Get your lead magnet created. Set up your opt-in page. Start driving traffic to it.
Once you’ve got people opting in consistently, then focus on Stage 2. Build out that nurture sequence. Start emailing your list regularly.
And once you’ve got engaged subscribers, add Stage 3. Create your discovery call process. Start booking calls.
Don’t try to build the perfect funnel all at once. Build it in pieces and improve as you go.
The biggest mistake you can make?
Doing nothing because you’re waiting for it to be perfect.
Your first funnel is gonna have problems. Your emails might be kinda boring at first. Your discovery calls might feel awkward. Your lead magnet might not convert as well as you hoped.
That’s all fine. You’ll improve as you go.
But you can’t grow better if you do not start at all.
One more thing:
Pay attention to your numbers. The average conversion rate across industries stands between 4% and 8%, but you won’t know if you’re hitting that unless you’re actually tracking your metrics.
Those numbers tell you where to focus your energy.
Your action steps right now:
- Audit your current funnel (if you have one). Which stage is weakest?
- If you don’t have a funnel yet, create your lead magnet this week. Not next month. This week.
- Set up a simple welcome sequence. Even just 3 emails is better than nothing.
- Start emailing your list consistently. Pick a schedule and stick to it.
- Create a way for people to book discovery calls with you.
Before you can execute steps 3-4, you need an email platform that actually works. I’ve tested the top options and found three that don’t require a tech degree to figure out. Check out my guide to the best email sequence tools for coaches to see which one fits your budget and stage – whether you’re starting free or ready to invest in serious automation.
One question I get all the time: “Which platform should I use to build this?
Honestly? It depends on where you are right now. If you’re just starting out, you don’t need to spend money on fancy software. If you’re already making consistent revenue, investing in better automation pays off fast. I tested half a dozen platforms and broke down exactly which one makes sense at each stage in my guide on the best funnel templates for coaches
That’s it. Those five things will give you a working funnel.
Will it be perfect? Nope.
Will it make you money? Yep.
Give yourself 30 days to build a basic version of all three stages. Not perfect. Just functional.
Then spend the next 90 days running it and improving it based on real data from real people.
Moral of the story here: You don’t need a complicated, expensive funnel. You need a funnel that helps guide your people from “I just found you” to “Take my money.”
Three stages. Awareness, consideration, decision. Build them, test them, improve them.
And stop waiting for perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist. Done is better than perfect.
Now that you know the stages, it’s time to put them into action.
Head over to my full guide – How to Create a Converting Business Coaching Funnel in 5 Easy Steps (2025 Guide) – and see exactly how to turn your strategy into a working funnel that brings in clients.
Takeaways:
Each stage works better when you know what’s actually going on in your audience’s head. Read more about that in my 5 Funnel Psychology Secrets Every Coach Should Know.
Don’t overthink it – just start with the basics.
Download my free 7-Step Funnel Fix Checklist and
I’ll walk you through how to find what’s slowing your funnel down (and what to fix first).
FAQ
What are the 3 coaching funnel stages?
The three stages are Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.
In plain words:
Awareness is when someone first finds you.
Consideration is when they start trusting you.
Decision is when they finally say “yes” and become a client.
Each stage builds on the one before it -skip one, and your funnel breaks.
Why do these stages matter for coaches?
Because coaching is personal – people need time to know, like, and trust you before they pay.
If you jump straight to selling, you’ll scare them off.
These three stages help you guide your audience step by step, without pressure or awkward sales tactics.
How long does it take for someone to move through all three stages?
For most coaches, it takes 30 to 90 days.
That’s how long people need to go from “just found you” to “ready to invest.”
High-ticket coaching (above $2,000) usually takes closer to 90 days, ideally. (according to Dan Lok)
How do I spot when someone’s not ready to move on yet?
Simple -watch their behavior.
If they never download your freebie, they’re still at Awareness.
If they open emails but don’t book calls, they’re still at Consideration.
If they book calls but never pay, they’re still at Decision.
Your job is to spot where they stop and fix that stage.
Can I skip a stage to speed things up?
You can, but you’ll lose clients.
It’s like skipping the middle of a story – the ending won’t make sense.
The trust you build in the middle is what makes people say yes in the end.
What’s the best next step after learning these stages?
Now that you understand how each stage works, fix the weak spots in your own funnel.
You can use my free 7-Step Funnel Fix Checklist– it walks you through what to check, what to tweak, and how to make your funnel start converting again with easy prompts within minutes.
