I started my interview coaching business 10 years ago with a free Wix website and a $40/month Google ad. At the time, there was not much competition in the interview coaching space, and my ad got great results. I also worked on my SEO - and by that I mean I hired someone from the teaching platform Wyzant to teach me what SEO was and how to maximize it for my website. Within a year, I was getting clients regularly. Of course, none of that would work today. There is too much competition in the interview coaching arena now. My first step if I were starting now would be to join a professional organization like the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches, and go to all their online networking events to learn how to build a business from seasoned entrpreneur coaches, and build my brand professionally to position myself for referrals. And I would probably hire someone from Wyzant to teach me how to maximize my AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
Most of my early clients came from within my network of Life Sciences professionals. As I pivoted from corporate leadership to leadership coaching, I found that those who knew me in that realm knew and trusted my approach. I was so thankful for this starting point! As a scientist, I was not trained in marketing, so sharing my coaching practice felt a little inauthentic at first. Looking back, I would trust myself more and have many more exploratory conversations with many more people to learn. I would lean more into relationships over social posts (or have a much better balance of both).
I've been coaching for over 23 years. When I first started, there was no Facebook, Instagram or social media to help me grow my business. I started simple and local. I went to one networking group a week to ask for referrals from other wellness professionals (Not to get clients but referrals), I relied heavily on search engine optimization for my website so I came up in searches locally. I got on the local news and talked about what I did and was asked back every month for over 2 years which gave me a steady flow of clients. The most important thing I did was hire a coach. Without accountability, someone to help me focus my mind and efforts I probably would have gone in circles. So many coaches are afraid to invest in themselves which makes selling coaching even harder psychologically. If you don't believe it is worth it, why would your prospects. If I could do anything differently, I would spent less time worried about the future as it all worked out in the end. I tried many things that didn't work but kept going. If you are just starting out, don't lose faith you can do this. What a ride it has been and looking forward to another 20 years!
I landed my first coaching client by connecting with people in online groups. In my case, those were Facebook groups, but the same principles I used apply to any groups, like Reddit or Slack groups. I spent my lunch breaks in these groups, answering questions and providing value without selling or pitching. Eventually, someone asked to hire me. If I started again today, I'd start by choosing an existing skill I already have and apply it to an industry I find interesting. For me, that was helping business owners with digital advertising, a skill I'd already mastered at my day job. It doesn't have to be your life's passion; it just needs to be something you enjoy and that people will pay for.
Hello there! My first few coaching clients came from relationships that I developed on the job as a COO. The CEO of our IT partner happened to be in the office chatting one day and saw the book Traction on my shelf and said, "we have tried for years to get that rolled out into our company." That comment started my coaching career. I told him that I'd love to help him and his team out, as I had implemented EOS into my own business and a few companies as a COO since. That success led to referrals and recommendations, which led to more opportunities and additional sales, all of which allowed me to bet on myself and begin my own coaching practice. Since, I've helped over fifty businesses and 100 CEOs with their businesses, through a variety of challenges, opportunity, and complexity. If I could start everything again, I would have crafted a vision of where I wanted to go, a unified brand guideline, and a structured marketing approach, so I wouldn't have wasted so much time and effort with inconsistent testing. Happy to discuss further if it could provide any assistance! Thanks, Pete Srodoski www.rollwithpunch.com
Hey there! Moritz here - from smartmined. I hope everything is well on your end :) Here is my answer to the above question: "I got my first clients through blogging. Instead of trying to reach out to people, I focused on pull marketing and published in-depth content. Over time, those articles started ranking in Google and my first clients reached out to me after reading multiple posts. That's how I got my first clients. If I had to start again today, I would do the same but with video content - creating blog content isn't as promising as it used to be due all the AI features that came up in recent years. However, what still works is utilizing pull marketing to win clients." Hope this helps! Best, Moritz