The Client Leak Coaches Miss
This one insight makes the difference between losing clients and gaining them
Has this ever happened to you?
You’re reading something and after a few minutes, you realize you don’t remember a single word of it.
I used to blame myself when that happened to me. I’d think I had a concentration problem. So I’d go back and reread the text, forcing myself to focus harder.
It felt like a personal flaw — like I just wasn’t paying attention. But then my copywriting mentor said something that completely reframed why that happens…
“If someone’s mind wanders while they’re reading, it’s not their fault. It’s the writer’s fault.”
Mic drop.
The problem wasn’t me. The problem was the writing. It didn’t keep my attention. So while my eyes kept reading the words, my brain had moved on to something more pressing (like that errand I need to run before the end of the day) or interesting (like when the next season of The Bachelor is starting).
That insight changed the way I read and, more importantly, the way I write.
Because it’s simply not good enough to grab people’s attention… you need to keep it, too.
My mentor taught me this is true for every paragraph, sentence, and even every word.
I remember debating for 20 minutes whether a client should say their program helps people “achieve lasting energy” or “unlock lasting energy.” Same outcome, completely different psychology.
“Achieve” implies hard work and willpower. “Unlock” implies the energy is already there and you just need the right key.
The point is, attention is fragile. You need to earn it every step of the way.
Once I understood this, I started seeing all the places where my health and wellness clients were losing people’s attention in their webinars.
At the time, I was helping my clients create webinars to book more calls with potential coaching clients. And while I was reviewing their slides, there was one moment when my brain almost always wandered off.
It was the part of the webinar where they introduced their Signature System (or their roadmap, blueprint, proprietary process… it goes by different names).
They were proud of their Signature System, and for good reason. Their Signature System represents how they get clients results.
But when I’d get to that part of their webinar, whatever energy and momentum I’d been experiencing until then deflated like a punctured balloon. And I’d have to work hard to keep my brain engaged.
Of course, I found a way to do it because they were coming to me for help. But the likelihood of someone else doing that out in the internet wild was very slim.
And here’s the sneaky part…
There wasn’t anything “wrong” with what they wrote. There just wasn’t anything about it to keep my interest. And I knew if my brain was drifting, the audience’s would, too.
Keep in mind this wasn’t just about the ocassional webinar I’d see here and there. It was a pattern I kept seeing over and over. And I knew every time a coach lost attention at this crucial moment, they lost a potential client who might have said yes.
That’s so important, I want to say it again…
The moment a person’s brain drifts off is the moment you lose a potential client.
That was the moment I realized what a major “client leak” a person’s Signature System could be. And once I saw that, I wanted to find a way to plug it.
So I went back to what I learned during my apprenticeship — the idea that attention is earned, line by line, idea by idea, and even word by word. And I started helping people reshape their Signature Systems. I wanted them to become something that was more likely to get people leaning in instead of tuning out.
That meant creating a “roadmap” wasn’t good enough. I wanted to help my clients create something that seemed like a magic wand. I wanted people to see it as a breakthrough, not a list of instructions.
That shift completely transformed how I now build webinars and teach Signature Systems. Instead of creating generic roadmaps, I help coaches build breakthrough moments that make potential clients lean in and think, ‘This is exactly what I need.’
If you’d like to learn how to create a Signature System that holds attention and converts more prospects into clients, let me know in the comments. If there’s enough interest, I’ll create a workshop walking you through the exact process.
Be well…
Nicole
P.S. If you want to know the specific problems I see with coaches’ Signature Systems, and what to do instead, check out this article I published earlier this week where I break it all down.