{Part 3} How to Fill Your Client Roster in 2026: Your 90-Day Roadmap to a Full Client Roster in 2026
You’ve audited your business and identified your five focus areas for 2026. But if you’re like most coaches, you’ll stop right there. You’ll have a beautiful strategy document sitting on your desktop while your client roster stays empty.
I’ve been having the same conversation on repeat inside my inbox: “Amanda, I need a clear plan for 2026.” “I’m exhausted by the inconsistency.” “My inquiries and sales calls have slowed down.”
If you’re nodding along, this episode is going to change everything. Because today, we’re fixing the number one reason coaches fail. It’s not that you don’t know what to do. It’s that you don’t have an implementation plan that actually gets executed.
Welcome to Part 3 of my series on how to fill your coaching client roster in 2026. This is where the rubber meets the road.
Why Most Coaching Businesses Stall (And Mine Doesn’t)
My clients are having some of their best years ever. We’re crushing it. And it’s not because we’re smarter or work harder than everyone else.
It’s because I refuse to be what I call a “filing cabinet teacher.” You know the type. They did a launch last October. Same strategy. Same tactics. Same disappointing results.
I’m constantly looking at what’s working, watching patterns, thinking about the industry. I’ve talked relentlessly this year about the “trust recession” in coaching. The market is saturated, yes. But that’s actually a good thing.
Think about it like this: Justin and I go to SHOT Show every January. It’s a massive industry convention for law enforcement and military gear. Three floors. Thousands of vendors. All selling essentially the same stuff. And they’re all doing well.
That’s us in the coaching industry. There’s a lot of us. But there’s enough difference between each of us that we all have room to thrive.
You are a unique butterfly. You bring an experience to the table that is unlike anybody else’s. The question is: are you showing up for it?
The Real Reason You’re Not Fully Booked
If things are slow, it’s usually one of two problems:
First, you’re putting your energy into the wrong places. Posting on social media, hoping someone will magically buy. Creating content that doesn’t connect to your offers. Staying busy without doing actual revenue-generating activities.
Second, you don’t know what’s working because you’ve never deep-dived into your data. You’re guessing. And guessing is expensive.
I had a successful business owner friend reach out recently. She had tears in her eyes after a launch flopped. “I don’t know why,” she said. “I just did the same thing I’ve always done and expected the same outcome.”
We can’t do things just because we’ve always done them. We have to be ahead of the curve.
Why AI Won’t Replace You (But You Need to Understand This)
AI can give you a 90-day action plan. Claude can be your best friend and tell you everything you want to hear and everything you don’t want to hear.
But at the end of the day, it can’t make you execute. And most of you won’t.
That’s why we, as coaches, have job security. There are three critical areas where AI falls short, and humans excel:
- Accountability. Making sure your client gets things done. Holding them to their commitments when motivation fades.
- Proximity. Being able to ask questions in real time. Not wasting time trying to figure things out alone. Getting answers when you need them.
- Implementation. This is the most challenging part. Whether you’re a health coach, business coach, Enneagram coach, or nervous system regulation coach, it’s about taking the tools you teach and helping people incorporate them into their everyday lives.
You can give someone the best strategy in the world. But if they can’t implement it, it’s worthless.
Your 90-Day Roadmap to Fill Your Coaching Client Roster
I’m breaking this down by months. If you start on January 1st, three months later, you’ll have a completely different business. Not because you’re doing more. Because you’re doing the right things in the right order.
A goal without action remains a goal forever. So let’s fix that right now.
Month 1 (January): Foundation and Refinement
These first 30 days are where you lay the groundwork that makes everything else possible. Remember those five focus areas from Part 2 of this series? We’re pulling them into action.
Week 1-2: Lock In Your Premium Client Profile
Go back to your premium client profile and work with more diligence. Really identify the person who will pay you for your highest ticket offer. What are their unique characteristics? What’s keeping them up at night? Which transformation do they desperately seek?
This is the red ribbon that runs through your entire business. It dictates how you create social content, how you build your lead magnet, and how you talk about your offers. Everything connects back to this person.
Inside the Best Damn Coach community, this is the first thing I have my clients do. You can’t unlock the rest of the content until you nail this part. It’s that important.
Week 2-3: Finalize Your Offers and Pricing
Simplify. Most coaches overcomplicate their offers. You need one clear path for someone to work with you at your premium level.
Once you know your premium client and have a clear offer, you have a place to put leads when they come in, which brings us to the next phase.
Week 3-4: Create or Optimize Your Lead Magnet
Your lead magnet is your digital front door. It’s how people get into your world and onto your email list.
Look at creating or optimizing your lead magnet and the email sequence that goes behind it. This doesn’t have to take 30 days. If you carve out specific time, you can knock this out in a week or two.
The key is making sure your lead magnet speaks directly to your premium client profile and naturally leads them toward your offer.
Month 2 (February): Visibility and Lead Generation
Now we’re getting eyeballs on your business. More visibility equals more service equals more revenue.
Launch Your Visibility Strategy
Decide on one primary visibility channel. For many coaches, that’s podcast guesting. Others might choose speaking at events, hosting workshops, or strategic partnerships.
If you choose podcasts, spend time:
- Coming up with your topics (what unique perspective can you share?)
- Collecting a list of shows to pitch
- Dedicating one hour per week to pitching
Make it systematic. Don’t just pitch when you feel like it. Build it into your weekly rhythm.
Launch Your Lead Magnet
Put that lead magnet out into the world. Promote it everywhere. Watch your nurture sequences and see how people respond.
What you’ve created now is what I call the “V Squared Method.” You have:
- Value (your lead magnet gives incredible free content)
- Visibility (your strategy to get more eyeballs on your business)
Both of these are revenue-generating activities. This is how you should be spending your week.
Month 3 (March): Conversion and Momentum
You’ve laid the foundation. You’ve started bringing in leads. Now it’s time to convert.
Focus on Your Warm Leads
People are getting into your email list. What are they doing? Are they responding to your emails? Engaging with your content? Why or why not?
Start focusing on a specific coaching offer and invite people to book discovery calls. Make it easy for them to say yes.
Analyze What’s Working
By month three, you’ll start seeing patterns. You’ll notice things like:
- “For every 10 podcast pitches, I land one interview.”
- “My lead magnet converts at 40% when I promote it on Instagram Stories.”
- “Discovery calls booked on Thursdays convert better than Mondays.”
This data is gold. It tells you where to double down.
Build Systems Around What Works
Don’t keep reinventing the wheel. If podcast guesting is working, create a system. If your lead magnet is converting, focus on getting more people into it.
This forecasts how you spend the rest of your year. The first 60-90 days are about testing and learning. The rest of the year is about optimizing what works.
Creating Your Weekly CEO Rhythm
Once you have your 90-day roadmap, you need a weekly rhythm so you’re not fumbling around every morning wondering what to do.
I’m a huge fan of themed days. It keeps me in my zone of genius and eliminates decision fatigue.
Here’s what a week might look like:
Monday: Planning and strategy. Look at your week ahead. Review your goals. Decide what needs to happen.
Tuesday-Thursday: Revenue-generating activities. Sales calls. Follow-ups. Outreach. Client delivery. This is where money gets made.
Friday: CEO tasks. Review metrics and KPIs. Look at what’s working. Do your money management. Plan for next week.
You might create different themed days. Maybe Tuesday is your content creation day. Wednesday and Thursday are coaching days. Find what works for your brain and your business.
One of my mentors said something that changed my life: “I don’t open my laptop if I don’t know how I’m going to spend my time.”
Your time is too precious to fumble around. Create the structure that supports your success.
The Power of Human Touch in an Automated World
There’s a perception that successful coaches just set up automations and people magically show up and buy. I thought that too.
But what I’ve learned, especially in today’s market, is that people crave human touch.
I teach my clients something called HOT (High Organic Touch). Yes, there are automations. But when you add humanness to those automations, magic happens.
Example: If someone downloaded your free resource 10 days ago, send them a personal message. “Hey Susie, I love that you grabbed my Three Steps to a Morning Routine That Doesn’t Suck guide. Have you started it? Tell me about it.”
They’re like, “Whoa, that’s a real human.”
Don’t lose the human touch. Don’t be so robotic. This is going to make you look way different than everyone else in 2026.
What’s Working vs. What You Think Should Work
I want to address something important. If things feel hard right now, if your inquiries have slowed down, it’s not because coaching is dying. It’s not because there are too many coaches.
It’s likely because you’re doing what you think should work instead of what actually works.
You’re posting quotes on Instagram because that’s what everyone does. Hoping people will DM you. Waiting for someone to magically find you and beg to work with you.
Meanwhile, the coaches who are fully booked are:
- Building email lists consistently
- Having real conversations with potential clients
- Making offers regularly
- Following up with warm leads
- Tracking their numbers and optimizing based on data
They’re not doing more. Just the right things.
Final Thoughts
This three-part series was designed to help you audit your business, identify your focus areas, and create a 90-day implementation plan that actually gets executed.
If you haven’t listened to Parts 1 and 2 yet, go back and listen. This series builds on itself.
And if this has been valuable for you, I’d be so grateful if you’d share it with a coaching colleague or friend. Or leave a review telling potential listeners how this series is firing you up for 2026.
I’m here in the DMs too if you want to talk about the Best Damn Coach community or just share what landed for you in this series.
Thank you for being an amazing listener. I created this series just for you. Now go take action and fill that coaching client roster in 2026.
Until next time, go coach ’em up.
