4 Strategies to Take your Sports Coaching Business to the Next Level

You invest hours each day into getting your athletes to the next level.

You write workouts. Research new training methods. Provide feedback to athletes. Give them an edge.

Investing in your athletes is great. I mean, if I had to guess, it’s why you do what you do. But, how are you investing in your business to continue to grow up and to the right?

Investing in your business is not selfish – in fact, it will help you deliver an even more positive client experience. Here are 4 strategies to add to your game plan (I mean, business plan) to give your sports coaching business a competitive advantage.

Strategy #1: Make it easy to purchase your offerings.

A good first step to boost your sports coaching business is to evaluate your current buying process. Do you make it easy for clients to purchase a lesson, register for a camp, or rent out a cage? A recent study by Gartner found that 72% of buyers prefer a self-service experience. So, how can you deliver?

As the saying goes, “there’s an app for that.”

One way to improve the user experience is to use a sports management software. This will eliminate the back-and-forth scheduling communications by taking your purchasing process online. A poor scheduling experience leads to clients taking their business elsewhere. Implementing an easy, self-service scheduling process allows you to retain clients, grow your revenue, and also stay more organized when it comes to filling your books.

It’s important to note that giving your clients the autonomy to book a session at their convenience doesn’t have to come at the expense of losing control over your calendar. The best scheduling app for coaches will allow you to retain full control over your availability, while empowering clients to book sessions within those parameters you have set.

Strategy #2: Spend time on marketing.

They say that “if you build it, they will come.” While that’s true to a certain extent, just because you open a sports coaching business doesn’t mean that athletes will be flocking there to train.

You must also invest in a marketing strategy that gets your programs into the hands of the right people.

Social media is a great and inexpensive way to connect with your target demographic, share information, and build a community. If you’re looking for a few tips to build your brand on social media, check out this article here.

Another inexpensive way to market your programs is via email. If you are hosting a high school pitching clinic, for example, send out an email with all of the event details to all of your high school athletes. Using a sports software can help you manage your contacts and segment them into groups, making this process even easier.

Another marketing idea is to invest in branded gear and merchandise with your business logo. Adding a retail/ pro shop will help you promote your brand, and boost word of mouth. For example, if you include a t-shirt with a camp registration, not only can that athlete wear the shirt on event day; they’ll also continue to wear it into the future.

No matter what channels you want to invest in, stay creative with your marketing strategy. This will help you keep your brand top of mind, grow your reach, and expand your impact.

Strategy #3: Reduce the administrative burden with sports software.

To move your business up and to the right, you want to be doing what you’re good at and what you want to be doing. You may feel like you’re doing everything but coaching athletes. So, how can you put more time back in your day to train your athletes and expand your impact?

We’ve already touched on a couple of ways sports software can help you give your business an upper hand. But, one of the most impactful reasons for investing in a software for sports coaches is to reduce the time you’re spending on all of the not-so-fun administrative tasks like keeping your calendar full or collecting payments.

Eliminating workflows that burden you, your staff, and your clients will improve your productivity, business health, and long-term success.

Strategy #4: Use data to better understand your clients.

Data can be an intimidating thing. But, it’s one of the most critical tools you can leverage to give your sports coaching business a competitive edge.

Historically, it was believed that in order to benefit from data, you had to have a background knowledge of data analytics or machine learning. However, you don’t have to be a data scientist to understand data analysis for your sports coaching business. Data analysis can be simple and still be effective. But, data is useless unless it is used.

So, the only stipulation is that you get started.

By diving deeper into your client data, you can make decisions that power the next phase of growth for your business. Louis Whitlow, Owner of The Compound 256, often looks at his athletes’ demographics to make decisions about upcoming programs. “If I look to run camps at high schools, I know where to pilot those programs. If I see that most of our kids are coming from a particular area, I can plan programs in their backyard.”

Likewise, let’s say you work with athletes ages 13-18. Of that age range, 70% of your clients are between the ages of 13-15, and only 30% of your clientele are athletes ages 16-18. This can prompt you to look into why athletes tend to drop off after they turn 16.

Without data, these issues may continue to go undetected. By using data to your advantage, you can better understand your athletes and their needs, and make business decisions that fill those needs. This gives you a leg up on your competition, while also helping you provide higher quality training to your clients.

Putting it all together

By implementing these 4 strategies, not only can you continue to give your athletes an edge, but you can also continue to grow your business. From expanding your social media presence to using data you already have access to, you can take both your athletes and your business to the next level.

Looking for an easier way to manage your sports coaching business? Upper Hand can help. Schedule a demo today to see how you can grow your business with lesson scheduling software.