What successful coaches do to stand out
Over 10,000 new coaches qualify every year according to the ICF (and that’s not including the ones who call themselves a coach after completing a weekend course!).
That’s a LOT of coaches to compete with for business.
So, how do you stand out from the sea of other people who do what you do?
How do you differentiate yourself as a coach from your competitors?
Well, what if I told you it wasn’t about shouting louder? What if I told you it wasn’t about spending oodles of time on social media, posting endless reels about your morning routine or shouting about yourself in a way that makes you feel self-conscious and inauthentic (which everyone ignores anyway)?
Instead, standing out is about knowing what makes you special and packaging up that uniqueness.
Understanding your uniqueness
Your business and services don’t need to be like everyone else's.
Nor should they be.
Your coaching or consulting business won’t work if you try to implement someone else’s model or strategy in a cookie-cutter style. You are not them. You are YOU.
And YOU are your business’s most important asset.
Literally, no one will have the exact same approach as you. No one has your precise lived or professional experience, personality, strengths, values, skills, expertise and knowledge.
You are your own niche.
What successful coaches do well is the way they convey this uniqueness in their offers and marketing.
If you’re trotting out the same kind of content and offers like I did for years, sounding like all the other career and leadership coaches with “Uncover your values! Identify your strengths! Find more clarity and confidence on your best next steps for you!… Stop feeling overwhelmed and prevent burnout!….” I hate to break it to you, but your marketing is probably creating just as much demand for their services as it is for yours.
So what’s the alternative?
You need to learn how to talk about it in a way that shows people why your way is different!
Sharing your unique approach
The key is in how you talk about the unique system, solution or approach ONLY you use which solves the very specific, urgent problems your dream clients have.
You need to be able to explain how your approach differs from that of your peers. You need to be able to articulate passionately why you think your way is the best way.
You might also want to reference your own story, personal and professional experience, skills, knowledge and expertise that has informed your unique approach. Show people why you're qualified to help them in this very particular way. Why they should trust you with their hard-earned cash.
My experience of running my own successful career and leadership coaching and consulting business for 5 years before becoming a biz mentor really helps me empathise with and support my clients better.
And before that, my 15+ year career as a senior leader in organisational and people development coupled with my qualifications in strengths and performance coaching and mental health first aid, also means I am uniquely positioned to help my clients create and position their B2B offers. I know exactly how an HR Director thinks and what they want.
This will allow you to craft mind-reader messaging that subconsciously connects with your perfect people, plays to your strengths, allows your personality to shine through and gently nurtures those just-right clients until they’re ready to work with you.
You might have noticed by now that my own approach to business coaching is NOT all about selling you the dream of hitting 6-figures in the first year all while working from your beach hammock in Bali! It’s more important to me that I come across as being relatable, authentic and down-to-earth than that.
Applying this theory to my business
There are gazillions (approx!) of business coaches online who can show you how to create offers that sell, nail your messaging and marketing and teach you the art of effective selling.
And I am one of them.
But I really wanted to stand out from all the other business coaches; many of whom I felt were peddling those sneaky snake oil tactics, making flashy promises or using their ‘Secret-6-Step-Formula’ to lure people in; implying that growing your business is going to be a walk in the park. I know when I started my biz, I longed to find a business mentor who could show me practically and intuitively how to grow a purpose-led business that would make me happy (but also make me a decent income, so I wouldn’t have to go back to my soul-sapping 9-5).
I wanted less confusion and hype and more connection and humility.
I wanted someone who put people before profits. I wanted someone who wouldn’t make me feel like I had to become someone else in order to succeed.
So I've evolved my biz, pivoted my niche and started to offer effective business coaching that was also down-to-earth, friendly and relatable. It’s also science-backed and grounded in positive psychology and psychological safety because these are the topics I am most passionate about.
I’m the person I needed (but couldn’t find!) back in 2018 when I first started.
It means that:
I approach the boggy topic of niching through the lens of your purpose (as well as your income goals). To do this we look at your story, lived experience, strengths, superpowers, personality, values and personal definition of success.
I help you create life-changing, profitable coaching packages and offers in such a way that will bring you joy, optimise your performance and deliver great results for your clients. To do this we look at your strengths, flow state, personality preferences, unique skills and experience, passions, and income and lifestyle goals.
I only teach marketing and sales strategies that feel good and actually work. To do this I teach effective but ethical marketing and sunny, soulful sales approaches that will align with your big-hearted values. I’ll help you implement the approaches that’ll play to your natural strengths and personality preferences so that they’ll bring you joy (and make you good money.)
In other words, you get to ditch doing anything that doesn’t feel good to grow your business such as working with bad-fit clients, doing soul-sapping work, trading time for money, working all hours, dancing and pointing at things on social media, resorting to icky marketing and sales tactics and riding the nerve-wracking feast and famine rollercoaster.
Because I assure you none of these things will ever make you happy or decent money in the long run.
I wholeheartedly believe the more YOU-shaped every element of your business is, the happier you’ll be, the more impact (and income) you’ll make and the more you’ll stand out as the brilliant and successful coach you are.
Feeling lost about what makes you YOU and how to use it to stand out?
Let me help you find your path - to identify your purpose-aligned and profitable niche AND articulate it passionately.
So you can FINALLY find the missing piece of the puzzle you’ve been looking for.
Join me on my Fruitful Founder™️ programme for talented, purpose-led coaches and consultants who are ready to shape and grow a coaching or consulting biz that works for them (not the other way around).
“My ‘business’ wasn’t really a business before we worked together, it was just a confused version of me. The changes were within me, I changed a lot. I realised that I DO have something valuable to offer the world. I rediscovered who I am, I rediscovered my self-confidence, and I rediscovered my spark. That feels huge. I feel calmer about my personal and business life after the coaching. I feel like I have a clearer direction. There are still many days where I lose sight of this, but the anxiety, panic and fear don’t grip me for long and, in general, the baseline of my mood, emotions, and confidence is much higher now.”
Not sure if it’s right for you? Apply for a strategy call with me here.
