Why Use Samcart If You Are a Coach or Consultant?
I am sure you want to succeed as an online coach. The thing is that there are many people who don’t have the clue about how to sell coaching services online. This problem should not stop you, however, and I am here to help you.
The best way to sell coaching services online is by building your web pages. To do this, you need a tool called Samcart.
But why Samcart? In this article, I will show you how you can leverage Samcart to jumpstart your coaching or consulting career. On top of that, I will be showing you how to succeed and how to sell your coaching services the right way.
SamCart For Coaches and Consultants: Why Use Samcart?
1. Drag and Drop Page Builder
The beauty of software programs today is that we no longer need to learn how to code to build a website. We just need to choose a theme, change the texts and images, and the website is up and running.
What Samcart did is way much better. It has a drag and drop page and builder, which allows you to pick website elements and pull them to your canvass. It is literal drag and drop functionality as if you are just moving photos from one folder to another.
Samcart also has templates that you can use. A template is like a pre-designed website. It has sections, elements, videos, photos, and links. If you do not want to build your coaching site from scratch, you can choose a template and change the content.
Here are the benefits of using a builder like this for your online courses:
- Easy to make
- No coding knowledge required
- Pick a template and change it little by little later on
- Add customizations
With a drag and drop builder for landing pages, you can turn your website into something personal. You can make it unique, not something that looks like a cookie-cutter website.
By creating the landing pages using the drag and drop builder, you can immediately see the result of your actions. For example, let us say that you added an image section in the middle of the landing page, and you do not like it.
What you can do is remove it immediately. You can even test how the website looks and how it works before releasing it for public consumption.
Now, if you do not want to do this on your own, you can always hire somebody to do it for you. There are many website builders in online marketplaces like Fiverr. You just have to give them your access, and they will work things out for you.
2. Easy Billing and Payment Processes
Surely, you will need to charge your customers money. The one problem that many coaches with an online business face are the transactions.
Although there are many payment gateways that you can choose from, integrating them into your website is difficult.
With Samcart, charging money for your coaching and consulting service is never easier. There are several payment options that you can choose from.
In addition to this, you have the flexibility to charge in several ways. For example, you can charge your new clients a one-time fee or break it down into payment plans. You also have the option to charge subscriptions, which means that you will earn monthly from a client.
You can also do that if you want to offer your coaching services for free before selling digital products. There is a “free trial” option where you can give your leads a “taste” of how your service feels.
As a small business owner, you might be too focused on optimizing your sales process, but you also need to have a smooth and convenient billing process. Samcart is easy to set up for payments. The checkout page is ready, and you just need to change the content.
It does not stop there. The Samcart page builder for coaches and consultants has sales funnels. In the order process, you can offer an upgrade or order bumps. In the checkout pages, the customer has the option to take the upgrade or ignore it.
Upsells or order bumps are a great way to boost conversions without alienating the client. For example, you can add more hours for coaching at a lower price and show these options on the checkout pages.
Selling digital products online is a tough thing to do. It is expensive, too. Many website builders out there only allow you to offer one type of payment plan. If you want a subscription-based billing system, you need to upgrade your account. But not with Samcart. One plan is all you need.
3. Third-Party integrations
No website builder is ever complete. For example, not all website builders have an email marketing software or system. Samcart integrations are the answer to this. It means that you can connect other platforms to Samcart.
Here are some examples of third-party software you can integrate:
- Keap
- Stripe
- MailChimp
- HubSpot
- Zapier
- Constant Contact
Why are integrations necessary?
Let me give you an example. Let us say that you want to capture email addresses and then send marketing messages to these leads later on. The software you must use for this purpose is an autoresponder or email marketing software. In this case, you can choose the email marketing program that you like and then make it work with Samcart.
Let us say that you selected GetResponse. From here, you will set your automation processes in the GetResponse application. Then, you integrate that app with Samcart.
Your potential customers will give you their email addresses in exchange for a lead magnet on your website. They are still on your landing pages as they signed up for your email subscription.
GetResponse will be notified whenever someone provides their email address. The system will save the email and then send responses to these leads as you programmed it to do.
Since you are using third-party software, all the emails and contacts belong to you. Even if you decide to move your coaching service to another platform, which I hope you don’t, Samcart will not keep the email addresses of your leads.
Third-party integrations are excellent for marketing. Essentially, your landing page is like your storefront, and then the third-party software programs are your marketing engines.
4. Subscription Saver
The subscription saver is a special feature that allows you to make sales and make more money around the clock. As the term implies, it is only applicable to digital products or services where customers pay a subscription.
With it, you can charge clients a limited recurring payment. For example, you can charge only three times for $25 per month.
Integration is not just about marketing. You can also integrate other programs like PayPal and Stripe, both of which are commonly used payment systems.
Now, there are times when the subscription charge gets declined by the credit card company. In this case, you will not get paid. Sometimes, the customer has an expired credit card.
Once a credit card gets declined, that supposed revenue is gone. If this happens, your recurring income will shrink.
With Samcart, this problem will never happen to you. They implemented a process that they call “Dunning.” It means that Samcart does something to help you recover payments.
In this process, Samcart will send an email to the customer, letting him know that his subscription was declined. The email contains a secure link where the customer can update his credit card information.
After the customer does that, Samcart will attempt to recover the lost payment from the old card. As this is happening, Samcart will charge the new card. As such, you will not lose revenue!
The good news is that Subscription Saver is, by default, active in your Samcart account. There is no need to activate it or upgrade to get the service running.
5. A/B Testing
AB testing is a process where you test two versions of the same thing. A/B testing is also called split testing. For example, let us say that you have two versions of your landing pages. What you want to know is which of these landing pages convert more.
Many website builders do not have this. Samcart, however, made it available to all its users. But why even bother using it?
Here are some benefits of A/B testing:
- Data collection – you can gather information about how your site visitors behave based on two versions of the same landing pages or checkout pages
- Generate hypothesis – let us say that for Version A, people leave the page. For Version B, people subscribe. From here, you know that there is something about Version B that makes people more receptive to subscribing to your site.
- Create Variations – with A/B testing, you can create small variations on your pages and then see the impact of these changes.
A/B testing allows you to essentially conduct experiments for your business. These experiments, however, do not require a major change. As such, no hard work is necessary to do these things.
So, what do you do with the data? Let us say you change color from green to red. You found out now that a red-themed landing page generated more enrollments. From here, you can tell that people are most likely to respond positively to your coaching or consultancy offer if your theme is red, not green.
6. Core Commerce
Core Commerce is a suite of tools. These are all important aspects of building, operating, and managing an eCommerce website. To an online coach like you, it is important.
Here are the features of the Core Commerce suite:
- Advanced subscriptions – create free trials, monthly subscriptions, payment tiers, and other plans. It is up to you to decide how you want to charge your customers.
- Integration Engine – this is the platform of Samcart for adding third-party software programs to your website. You can connect marketing and other tools to streamline your business.
- Taxes and VAT – with Samcart, you can charge taxes from customers if you want to. To do this, you need to set up a percentage or flat value from your settings. Samcart will add the tax value during checkout.
- Partial Refunds – sometimes, clients pay and then change their minds. Most eCommerce sites only allow you to pay full refunds. Samcart gives you the opportunity to issue atrial refunds. This process is crucial because you do not want to lose money for services you already provided.
- Payment Processor – if you do not like Samcart’s payment processor, you can add your own. For example, you may have been using PayPal for a long while now, and you do not want to shift to another company. In this case, you can integrate PayPal with Samcart. Samcart will send all payments to your PayPal account.
Overall, everything you need to run a website where you can post digital products and charge money is in Samcart. You can choose payment processors, adjust billing times, integrate with other programs, and so much more.
How To Succeed As a Coach or Consultant
Now that you know why you should use Samcart as a coach or consultant, there are some helpful tips I want to share with you to help you succeed.
1. Have a Credible Landing Page
No one will believe you if you do not have a credible landing page. The landing page is the only place where you can convince a lead to take your services.
Here are some of the things you must do to make your landing page as a coach:
- Image – you are a coach, so your image is important. You cannot expect people to pay you if they cannot see you.
- Social Proof – you must have testimonials from your previous customers. If you do not have any, my suggestion is for you to give your services for free and get the feedback of other people.
- Simplicity – do not crowd your landing page with useless stuff. Make it easy to the eye, and make sure that the message is clear.
Of course, you cannot build a landing page without a software program. It is why Samcart is vital to your career as a coach or consultant.
2. Get Credentials
The default mode of people is to validate whether or not you are a qualified coach. To become a coach, you must, at the very least, get a degree in a relevant field. More importantly, you need to prove that you’re qualified to coach about your specialization.
For example, it is just hard to imagine how you can be an effective coach for health when you have no degree in nutrition. In the same light, how will you become an effective career coach if you have never had experience working?
A credential does not have to be a formal educational title. It merely has to be evidence that will support your claims as a coach—that you have either the experience or the academic background to make you credible.
3. Learn Marketing Skills
I believe that you have the skill as a coach. However, it is not enough. As a coach, you want clients. The thing is, nobody will come to your landing page unless you know how to market yourself.
Here are some ways you can market your online courses or digital products and services:
- YouTube
- Podcast
- Blog
The goal here is to get footing as an expert. You want to have an audience and lots of followers. These people who subscribe will eventually become your customers.
For all these three, you must regularly upload new content. The best method, if you ask me, is YouTube. Why? Because videos have much more audience. In addition to that, the people watching you can actually see you, and this adds better credibility.
4. Communicate With People
My last advice on how to succeed as a coach is to communicate with people. You must ask them questions, and ask how they feel. Find out what makes them tick.
My take is that people are generally more receptive to public speakers if they are involved. As such, it would do you well if you ask them what they want to learn or what challenges they have.
You can ask people to send you questions or letters on your YouTube channel and then “coach” that person, even if it is not live or recorded. This way, people can see that you are a genuine person who loves to help others in need.
Use comments on your YouTube program, podcast, Twitter, or other channels. Respond to comments and thank your audiences for taking the time to watch you or listen to you.
Summary: SamCart For Coaches and Consultants
If you want to have more paying customers instead of giving your content for free on YouTube, use Samcart. It has everything you need to start, manage, and grow your online business as a coach or consultant.
Samcart is by far the best platform where you can sell your services as a coach or consultant without having to break an arm and a leg. It is affordable, and the most basic plan already includes all core features.
Get Samcart now and test the system. The company offers a free trial that allows you to use it for 30 days!
Test Drive SamCart For 30 Days Free Today
Calvin Lim is a professional blogger and founder of TheCalvinLim.
He enjoys helping others learn about various internet marketing tools and dedicated to helping people achieve success online.