As a health and fitness coach, whether you’re working in-person or online, a crucial aspects of your work is understanding the client journey. Coaching isn’t just about what happens during your sessions; it’s about the entire experience your client goes through, before, during, and after working with you.
Let’s break this journey down, so you can build stronger connections, deliver better results, and position yourself as a true professional in the industry.
Why Understanding the Client Journey is Essential
Grasping the full scope of your client’s journey is not just about being a better coach, it’s also about building a thriving business. Here’s why it’s so critical:
- Attract the Right Clients: When you understand your ideal client’s challenges, motivations, and goals, you can tailor your messaging and services to resonate deeply. For example, if you specialise in helping busy professionals, you can create marketing and programs that specifically address their time constraints and stress levels. This ensures that you’re not just attracting clients but attracting the ones who genuinely align with your expertise and approach, leading to more satisfying and effective coaching relationships.
- Build Trust Faster: A clear understanding of the client journey allows you to meet potential clients where they are emotionally and mentally, making them feel seen and understood before they even book with you. For instance, if your content or consultations address their specific fears or misconceptions (like “I’m too out of shape to start”), they’ll feel a stronger connection and trust your ability to help them.
- Improve Client Retention: By delivering personalised and seamless experiences, you create long-term value for clients, increasing the likelihood they’ll stick with you longer and refer others to your services. Understanding their journey enables you to anticipate when they might face challenges or lose motivation and intervene proactively with encouragement, solutions, or plan adjustments.
- Achieve Better Results: A comprehensive approach ensures you address the root causes of their struggles, not just surface-level symptoms. When you deeply understand the journey, you can provide tailored strategies that lead to sustainable change, whether it’s through behavioural coaching, mindset shifts, or habit-building techniques. This leads to happier clients who reach their goals more effectively, which in turn enhances your reputation as a results-driven coach.
- Grow Your Revenue: Satisfied clients not only return for additional services but also become advocates for your brand. By mastering the client journey, you can foster lasting relationships that lead to more referrals, testimonials, and upsells. Whether it’s introducing advanced coaching programs, group sessions, or supplementary products, a clear understanding of what clients need at every stage allows you to expand your offerings and increase your profitability.
Ultimately, understanding the client journey has major benefits for both your clients and you. For you clients, it means you can provide a much more personalised experience, and get faster and better results with them. For you, it means you attract the right kind of clients that fit your expertise, you have better client retention, get more referrals and see better business growth over time.
Ok, so you are sold on the importance of understanding the client journey, but what exactly is the client journey and how do you actually map it out?
Understanding The Client Journey
The client journey refers to the complete experience a client has with you as their coach, from the moment they first become aware of your services (and to some extent even before this) to the time they conclude their engagement with you, and beyond. It’s not limited to the sessions you provide but includes every interaction, touchpoint, and emotional response they have along the way.
At its core, the client journey is about understanding your client’s perspective: their needs, challenges, motivations, and expectations at every stage of their relationship with you. By mapping this journey, you can identify opportunities to enhance their experience, address pain points, and ultimately guide them toward their goals more effectively.
This journey typically includes several key stages:
- Awareness: When potential clients first learn about you and consider whether your services align with their goals.
- Consideration: When they actively evaluate whether to work with you, comparing your offerings to their needs.
- Onboarding: When they decide to hire you and take their first steps in the coaching process.
- Active Coaching: When they engage with your programs and work toward their goals under your guidance.
- Post-Coaching: After completing your program, when they continue to apply what they’ve learned and maintain their progress.
By understanding these stages, you can proactively create a seamless, supportive experience that helps clients achieve their goals and fosters long-term relationships.
Before They Come to You
The journey starts long before a client books their first session or clicks “Sign Up” on your website. For them, it often begins with a problem or a goal. Something they feel needs to change in their life. They may already be carrying a mix of hope and doubt, which is why your approach at this stage is crucial.
What’s Going On in Their Mind?
Your potential clients might be feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or even embarrassed. Perhaps they’ve tried other programs or coaches and didn’t get the results they wanted. They could feel as though they’ve failed in the past or lack confidence in their ability to succeed now. Others might be completely new to fitness and feel intimidated by the idea of starting something unknown.
By the time someone reaches out to you, they’ve often already been through a mental tug-of-war about their health and fitness. Understanding this internal dialogue allows you to frame your messaging and interactions with empathy and encouragement.
Your Role Before You Meet Them
- Create Awareness: You need to be visible where your ideal clients are looking. This could mean building an engaging social media presence that shares relatable content, offering free resources like articles, videos, or downloadable guides, or simply cultivating a strong reputation in your local community. These efforts ensure your potential clients can find you when they’re actively searching for help (and even when they’re not).
- Build Trust: Trust starts before they even meet you. Share success stories that highlight transformations similar to the ones they’re seeking, offer genuine advice that showcases your expertise, and communicate your unique philosophy clearly. Be authentic and approachable in all your public interactions, whether online or in person.
- Set the Right Expectations: Be clear about what you offer and who you’re best equipped to help. This not only attracts the right clients but also avoids future misalignment. For example, if you specialise in a more holistic, long term approach to health and fitness, emphasise that in your materials so clients who value quick fixes won’t expect a different type of coaching.
Understanding Barriers and Motivations
It’s essential to recognise the barriers that prevent people from seeking help sooner. These might include:
- Fear of Judgment: Many clients worry they’ll be criticised for their current fitness level or habits.
- Financial Constraints: Cost is a major concern, especially if they’re unsure about the value they’ll receive.
- Lack of Time: Busy schedules can make them feel they don’t have the capacity to commit.
At the same time, understand what motivates them. It could be a desire to feel more confident, improve their health, achieve a lifelong dream, or even be a role model for their family. Addressing both barriers and motivations in your messaging (acknowledging their struggles while highlighting the possibility of success) makes their decision to reach out easier and more confident.
When They Are Considering You
This often-overlooked stage is critical. After discovering you, potential clients will assess whether you’re the right fit. This phase might involve visiting your website, reading reviews, following you on social media, or even reaching out with initial questions.
Every interaction at this stage is an opportunity to influence their decision-making process positively. This stage represents a “make or break” moment, and it’s your chance to either build confidence and excitement or inadvertently push them away due to unclear messaging or lack of engagement.
How to Make an Impact
- Showcase Results: Potential clients want to know that you’ve successfully helped others like them. Highlight testimonials, before-and-after photos, or case studies that align with the type of goals your ideal clients are seeking. Be specific about the outcomes you’ve helped others achieve and the approach you took. For example, instead of just stating “I helped Jane lose weight,” elaborate: “Jane lost 20 pounds in 3 months while gaining energy and confidence, all without restrictive dieting.” Show variety in your successes that reflect the goals of the clients you enjoy working with. Some clients might want fat loss, while others might be seeking increased strength, energy, or improved mental health, and your portfolio of results should showcase this.
- Provide Clarity: Uncertainty often deters clients from taking action. Make your offerings, processes, and pricing straightforward and transparent. Use simple language to explain exactly what they’ll get from your services and how the process works. For example, include FAQs that address common concerns like “What does a typical session look like?” “Will this program work for beginners?” and “How do I know if I’m a good fit?” Consider creating a detailed “What to Expect” page or video walkthrough to reduce any lingering hesitations. Clients who understand the value and process are more likely to commit with confidence.
- Engage Personally: A prompt, professional, and warm approach can make all the difference in this stage. Respond quickly and thoroughly to inquiries, whether via email, direct messages, or phone calls. Tailor your responses to show that you’ve listened to their specific concerns and needs. For example, instead of replying with “Sure, I can help,” write, “Thanks for reaching out! Based on what you’ve shared, I think our program that focuses on building sustainable habits and energy might be a great fit for you. Here’s how it works…”
- Offer Discovery Opportunities: Consider providing free consultations, assessments, or discovery calls where potential clients can interact with you directly. Use these opportunities to understand their goals and challenges while clearly outlining how you can help. By the end of the conversation, they should feel supported and inspired to move forward.
- Leverage Value-Packed Content: Sharing helpful, actionable content positions you as an expert and builds trust over time. This could include Q&A sessions, downloadable guides, social media posts with actionable tips, or short videos addressing common challenges. For instance, a quick social media post on “3 Myths About Starting Fitness After 40” or a downloadable “Beginner’s Guide to Sustainable Nutrition” can help prospective clients see your value before they’ve even hired you. This positions you as their go-to source for answers and solutions.
- Highlight Your Unique Edge: What sets you apart from other coaches? Whether it’s a specialised certification, a unique methodology, or your ability to connect on a personal level, make sure prospective clients understand why they should choose you specifically. Use consistent messaging across your website, social media, and conversations to emphasise these differentiators.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll not only make a strong first impression but also build a foundation of trust and excitement that converts potential clients into loyal ones. Remember, this stage is where they decide if you’re the coach who can help them transform, so every detail matters.
When They Are With You
Once they’ve made the leap and hired you, the real work begins. This phase of the journey is about delivering on your promises and guiding them toward their goals. This is where you transition from being a potential solution to an active partner in their success.
Creating a Safe and Supportive Environment
Clients come to you with hopes and vulnerabilities. Your first priority should be to establish a relationship of trust and mutual respect. This means creating an environment where clients feel comfortable sharing their fears and challenges without judgment. Listen actively to their stories, validate their concerns, and celebrate their courage for taking the first step.
Let them know you’re invested in their success and that this is a collaborative journey.
Individualised Coaching
- Assessment and Goal Setting: Begin with a thorough assessment to understand their unique starting point. This includes evaluating their current fitness level, daily habits, lifestyle constraints, and the deeper “why” behind their goals. Ask open-ended questions like, “What does success look like for you?” or “What obstacles have held you back in the past?” This allows you to create goals that are realistic, meaningful, and aligned with their values.
- Tailored Plans: Avoid the trap of one-size-fits-all programs. Each client is unique, so design exercise routines, nutrition plans, and lifestyle strategies that suit their specific needs and preferences. Whether it’s adjusting for injuries, dietary restrictions, or time limitations, your tailored approach will show clients you genuinely understand them.
- Adaptability: Life is unpredictable, and your clients’ circumstances will inevitably change. Maybe they’ll face work stress, family obligations, or even health setbacks. Be prepared to adjust their plans dynamically, whether that means shifting workout intensity, reworking meal strategies, or simply providing emotional support. Adaptability reassures clients that setbacks aren’t failures, but part of the process.
Fostering Accountability and Motivation
Accountability is one of the most powerful tools you can offer as a coach. For some clients, this might mean regular check-ins or progress tracking, while others may need motivational pep talks or reminders of their “why.” Understand what drives each individual and tailor your approach accordingly. Celebrate every milestone, no matter how small, and use them to build momentum. When offering constructive feedback, focus on solutions rather than shortcomings to keep them engaged and optimistic.
Teaching, Not Just Telling
Your ultimate goal is to empower your clients with the tools and knowledge to sustain their progress independently. This involves educating them about the “why” behind every action. For example, explain the benefits of resistance training for muscle mass or how balanced meals support energy levels. When clients understand the purpose of their actions, they become more invested and capable of maintaining these habits long-term. Encourage questions and create opportunities for them to reflect on their progress and decisions.
Handling Setbacks
Progress is rarely a straight line. Clients will face setbacks, whether due to injuries, life stressors, or lapses in motivation. Normalise these challenges by reframing them as opportunities to learn and grow. For example, if a client misses a week of workouts, discuss what got in the way and brainstorm strategies to prevent it from happening again. Show empathy, offer actionable solutions, and remind them of their resilience and progress. This approach keeps clients focused on the bigger picture and reinforces the importance of perseverance.
By mastering these aspects, you create an experience that not only delivers results but also builds lasting trust and loyalty. Your ability to adapt, motivate, and educate will leave clients feeling empowered and excited about their journey, ensuring their success during and after your time together.
After They Finish With You
All coaching relationships come to an end, whether it’s after a single session, a 12-week program, or years of working together. What happens next is just as important as the time they spent with you. This phase is where you solidify your impact and create long-term value, for both the client and your business.
Ensuring Lasting Results
- Equipping Them for Independence: By the time your coaching ends, your clients should feel confident managing their own health and fitness. This means they’ve developed sustainable habits, understand key principles, and have the tools they need to stay on track. Empower them to troubleshoot challenges on their own by teaching self-assessment techniques and creating a clear framework for maintaining progress.
- Providing Resources: Consider giving them a “graduation package” that includes practical tools such as workout plans, meal prep guides, or whatever tools they need. If you really want to continue supporting them, consider creating some sort of ongoing educational program delivered online. You might also provide links to recommended apps, books, or other online communities that align with their goals. These resources serve as a safety net to keep them aligned with the habits and strategies you’ve built together.
- Encouraging Reflection: Help them reflect on how far they’ve come. Consider a wrap-up session where you review their progress, celebrate their achievements, and identify the specific habits or strategies that led to their success. This not only boosts their confidence but also reinforces the value of your coaching.
Staying in Touch
Your relationship doesn’t have to end completely. Stay connected by:
- Checking in occasionally with personalised messages to see how they’re doing.
- Inviting them to special events like webinars, workshops, or community challenges.
- Sending helpful content tailored to their needs, such as updates on new fitness trends, tips for staying consistent, or seasonal based advice.
Happy clients are often your best source of referrals and testimonials. Staying in touch reminds them of their positive experience with you and keeps you top of mind for future needs or recommendations.
Learning from Their Journey
Every client you work with is an opportunity to grow as a coach. Reflect on their experience:
- What strategies worked well, and what didn’t?
- Were there moments where they struggled or disengaged? How could you address these more effectively in the future?
- What feedback did they provide about your coaching style, tools, or communication?
Use this insight to refine your methods, improve client satisfaction, and elevate your overall effectiveness.
Encouraging Referrals
Satisfied clients can become your biggest advocates. Encourage them to share their success with friends, family, or colleagues by:
- Offering referral incentives, such as discounts on future services or free resources.
- Asking for testimonials that highlight their transformation and experience working with you.
- Creating opportunities for them to share their story, such as featuring them in a case study or a social media post (with their permission).
Referrals not only bring in new clients but also strengthen your credibility and reputation in your niche.
By focusing on these elements after your formal relationship ends, you build a foundation for long-term success, for your clients and your business. This phase is just as much about empowering them as it is about solidifying your value as a coach who delivers lasting change.
Common Challenges and Problems Coaches Face When Mapping the Client Journey
Understanding and optimising the client journey is critical, but it comes with its challenges. Recognising these hurdles and proactively addressing them is key to creating an impactful and seamless experience for your clients.
1. Misaligned Expectations
One common challenge is when a coach’s vision for the process doesn’t align with the client’s expectations. For instance, clients may expect rapid results without understanding the time and effort required for sustainable change. Conversely, a coach may underestimate a client’s readiness or overestimate their ability to stick to a plan.
Solution: Set clear, realistic expectations from the beginning. Use intake forms, consultation calls, or goal-setting sessions to understand the client’s needs and communicate what they can realistically achieve. Provide a roadmap outlining short-term wins and long-term goals to keep everyone aligned.
2. Lack of Personalisation
Some coaches fall into the trap of using one-size-fits-all programs, which fail to address individual client needs, preferences, or constraints. This lack of personalisation can lead to disengagement and frustration.
Solution: Tailor your coaching strategies to each client. Conduct thorough assessments to understand their starting point, lifestyle, and preferences. Use this information to create custom plans that adapt as they progress.
3. Ineffective Communication
Poor communication can derail even the best coaching plans. This includes inconsistent check-ins, unclear instructions, or failure to address client concerns in a timely manner.
Solution: Prioritise active listening during every interaction. Establish clear communication channels, such as weekly check-ins or progress reports, to ensure clients feel supported and informed. Provide actionable and easy-to-understand guidance and ask for feedback to refine your approach.
4. Limited Feedback Loops
Coaches who don’t regularly solicit feedback risk missing out on valuable insights into their clients’ experiences. Without this input, it’s harder to identify what’s working and what isn’t.
Solution: Create continuous feedback loops. Encourage clients to share their thoughts during sessions, through surveys, or via post-program evaluations. Use this feedback to adjust their plans in real-time and improve your overall coaching process.
Strategies for Mapping the Client Journey
Mapping the client journey is a proactive approach to understanding your clients’ needs, experiences, and decision-making processes at every stage. But I know if you haven’t actually done it before, it can be hard to even visualise what to. doand how it should look. Here are some effective techniques to help with mapping out the journey, along with an example:
Techniques for Mapping the Journey
- Surveys: Regularly send out surveys to both current and former clients. Ask about their goals, challenges, and what they valued most about your services. Include questions like, “What made you decide to work with a coach?” and “What hesitations did you have before starting?”
- One-on-One Interviews: Conduct in-depth interviews with a select group of clients to gather detailed insights about their journey. These conversations can help uncover emotional drivers, barriers, and specific touchpoints that influenced their decisions.
- Feedback Forms: Use feedback forms after each session or at program milestones to learn about your clients’ immediate experiences and overall satisfaction.
- Observation: Pay close attention to common themes in client behaviour or questions during sessions. This qualitative data can provide insight into areas where they might need more support.
- Client Personas: Create detailed profiles of your ideal clients, including their demographics, goals, pain points, and motivations. Use these personas as a reference when designing your programs and marketing.
Effectively, to really map out the journey, you have to get into the mind of your client. To do this, you need to really understand your client. The best way to do this is to actually have conversations with them, and explore the blind spots you have in the coaching journey.
Example Client Journey Map
Here’s a simplified example of a client journey map for a hypothetical client, Sarah:
- Awareness Stage:
- Touchpoints: Sees a social media post about overcoming fitness plateaus, and downloads a free “5 Tips to Break Through” guide.
- Needs/Concerns: Struggling to see progress; unsure if coaching is worth the investment.
- Consideration Stage:
- Touchpoints: Attends a free webinar on “Strength Training for Beginners” and books a “discovery” call.
- Needs/Concerns: Wants to understand how a program could work for her; feels intimidated by gym environments.
- Onboarding Stage:
- Touchpoints: Fills out an intake form, and receives a personalised welcome email with a starter pack of all the information she needs to get started.
- Needs/Concerns: Excited to start but nervous about sticking to a routine.
- Active Coaching Stage:
- Touchpoints: Attends weekly sessions, receives progress updates via a fitness app, and participates in more in depth monthly check-ins.
- Needs/Concerns: Needs consistent encouragement and guidance to adjust her plan as needed.
- Post-Coaching Stage:
- Touchpoints: Receives a graduation package with maintenance tips and a progress review, and is invited to join a private “graduate” group.
- Needs/Concerns: Wants to stay on track and maintain the results she achieved.
Now, this would really just be the bones of the client journey and you would start to flesh this out in more depth. But hopefully, you get the idea of what a client journey looks like.
What I personally like to do to really make this helpful to both you and your client, is to map out a typical journey someone goes through when working with you, broken down week by week. For example, you may use the first two weeks to really just start getting the wheels on the wagon with basic diet practices and to build consistency and familiarity with the gym. Then you begin to focus more on getting sleep dialled in for the next 2 weeks. And so on.
You basically just map out what a very typical journey looks like broken down week by week. Not every week is going to have something, but you can still map out the broad strokes of what to expect. I also like to layer on relatively realistic expectations for results on this map too.
For example, let’s say you work with clients looking for fat loss. Well, you would simply map out a typical rate of weight loss week by week for a typical client.
With all of this, you create a diagram with the stages (Awareness, Consideration, Onboarding, Active Coaching, Post-Coaching) along a timeline. On the diagram you add notes about key touchpoints and client needs at each stage. Tools like Canva or even a simple flowchart tool can help you visually represent this journey.
Visualising it makes it easier to identify gaps or areas for improvement in your coaching, but it also serves as a really helpful sales tool. If you can show a potential client the outline of the journey they are about to go on, they are much more likely to work with you. You just showed them the map of how to go from where they are now to where they want to be. This showcases that you clearly know what you are doing and have done it many times before.
Imagine you were about to go on a journey. Would you rather pay for a guide who says “yeah, I can help” with no clear signs that they can, or pay for the guide who takes out a map and clearly shows you the route and the things you can expect along the route and how the service they provide helps to overcome the most common issues?
I am sure, like any rational person, you would choose the second option.
Your potential clients are also rational people who are starting a journey…
Understanding Your Ideal Customer
When you begin coaching, you are likely going to work with a wide variety of clients. This is good, as it will give you a lot of experience. But you will quickly realise that there are a handful of clients that you really feel you can help a lot and who you really enjoy coaching. You may also realise that there are certain clients that are extremely profitable for you (i.e. they stay with you for longer, they are always on time with their payments etc.).
Now, hopefully, these two groups overlap, but either way, after a while, you will better understand what kinds of clients you want to work with. It is vital that you really deeply understand the client journey of these people. You will get more enjoyment and make more money by actively working to help these people.
By understanding the client journey of your ideal customer, you can create a much, much more tailored coaching service that attracts these clients and provides a phenomenal service to them.
Trying to coach everyone generally means you end up providing a mediocre service and you will more than likely struggle to actually get enough clients.
Final Thoughts On The Client Journey
Understanding the client journey isn’t just about delivering great sessions. It’s about seeing the whole arc of their experience, from the moment they first think about hiring a coach to years after they’ve finished working with you.
When you approach your coaching practice with this perspective, you’re not just helping people achieve short-term goals. You’re transforming lives and building a reputation as the coach that helps this population of people.
So, take the time to map out your client’s journey. Anticipate their needs, exceed their expectations, and give them an experience they’ll rave about for years to come. By mastering this process, you’ll not only get better results for your clients but also attract more of the right clients, grow your income, and create a sustainable and rewarding business.
We have a lot of free content available in our content hub, if you want to learn more. If you want even more free information, you can follow us on Instagram, YouTube or listen to the podcast. You can always stay up to date with our latest content by subscribing to our newsletter.
Finally, if you want to learn how to coach nutrition, then consider our Nutrition Coach Certification course, and if you want to learn to get better at exercise program design, then consider our course on exercise program design. We do have other courses available too. If you don’t understand something, or you just need clarification, you can always reach out to us on Instagram or via email.
Paddy Farrell
Hey, I'm Paddy!
I am a coach who loves to help people master their health and fitness. I am a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and I have a degree in Biochemistry and Biomolecular Science. I have been coaching people for over 10 years now.
When I grew up, you couldn't find great health and fitness information, and you still can't really. So my content aims to solve that!
I enjoy training in the gym, doing martial arts and hiking in the mountains (around Europe, mainly). I am also an avid reader of history, politics and science. When I am not in the mountains, exercising or reading, you will likely find me in a museum.