How to Build a Successful Coaching or Consulting Business

Hi, I'm Jeremy Pollack, and I'll be your instructor for this course. I am the CEO of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, a nationwide consulting firm focused on coaching, training, and consulting for organizations experiencing employee conflicts. I have been a professional coach in private practice since 2010 and launched my consulting firm in 2017. I am a certified coach under the International Coaching Federation and a Certified Business Mentor with SCORE, where I assist new entrepreneurs in launching or growing their small businesses. I have also coached several new coaches and consultants in launching their practices.

In this course, Building Your Coaching or Consulting Practice from Scratch, I am literally going to walk you step-by-step through every element of creating, launching, marketing, and selling your coaching or consulting services.

I’ve learned a lot of lessons over the years by making lots of mistakes, and my intention here is to save you a ton of time, money, and energy by focusing only on what you absolutely need to launch a small business, on the tools and software that have helped me stay organized and prepare for growth, and on the sales and marketing methods that I have found to help build my consulting practice and the practices of entrepreneurs who I coach.

What I can promise you is that by the end of this course, if you follow the steps, you will have a business up and running, ready to take in clients.

Create your Budget/Projections:

• How will your business finances work?

• When will it be profitable?

• What will you need for start-up?

• What are your realistic projections for Year 1?

• Be conservative!

Create Your Business on Paper (in the U.S.)

Trademark

- Search the web (Google) first to see if there is already a clear usage of your name by a company doing something similar

- Then, Search: the Government's trademark website (https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/search)

- Register: on Legal Zoom (https://www.legalzoom.com/business/intellectual-property/trademark-registration-overview.html)

Incorporation (State level)

S-corp (https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-formation/inc-overview.html)

Sole Proprietor DBA (https://www.legalzoom.com/business/business-formation/dba-overview.html)

EIN (National level)

IRS (https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online)

City/County Biz License (Local level)

Search your county and city for business license requirements

Only use the city/county website( usually .gov) - don’t get fooled by external websites charging additional fees

Insurance (General Liability & Professional Liability)

Hiscox (https://www.hiscox.com/small-business-insurance)

Bank account (and accounting setup)

Merchant Services: How will you take in revenue?

- PayPal, Stripe, QuickBooks

- This article might help choose a credit card processor: https://www.usnews.com/360-reviews/business/credit-card-processing/best-small-business-credit-card-processing

Secure capital (credit cards, SMB loans, LOCs)

- See my Small Business Financing Info Sheet (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z625zcW0bhrD7zUPr6ZU-5afBnjQtZCDsZ0J1cOvNhA/edit?usp=sharing)

Logo

To create your own from tons of ideas and templates: Canva

To have one made inexpensively: Fiverr

Your Website Content

Decide whether this will be purely a brochure for you to direct people to OR a lead generation tool. My opinion: it is the most important lead generation tool you will have.

Website Homepage / Landing Page structure:

SECTION 1 (HEADER)

FIRST LINE: Speak directly to your target audience/client and their main pain point or challenges.

"This is who you are (I know you) and this is your problem (be specific)."

• Too many start with the solution (e.g., Build the home of your dreams / I help you manifest your career goals). But you should start with the pain, the challenge they are trying to overcome.

• Put yourself in the shoes of your target customer, and just start talking about your problem(s): talk in first person

• Examples:

  • I’m a mid-level manager, and I’m wondering how to make the move the C-Suite

  • I’m a powerful woman, but I feel stuck in my life

  • I’m a family man, but I feel unfulfilled and I don’t know why

• Now, turn that around into 2nd person, and let that be your opening headline!

SECOND LINE: Now talk about your solution. Write in first person.

• Examples:

  • "This is what I/we help with."

  • "This is my specialty - I help (target audience) (take action)."

THIRD LINE: Call To Action

• Examples:

  • Book a Free Consultation To Learn How I can Help

  • Sign Up for My Newsletter

  • TUTORIAL on Using Calendly Routing Qualify Leads and Book Appointments (https://youtu.be/ynpHrXx1Mi0?si=sB6EMygIw2w1zkqt)

  • TUTORIAL on Using GoHighLevel to Generate Leads on Your Site (https://youtu.be/mcYHo7OsuTA?si=_E8ZgyqCNYe_CtLR)

SECTION 2 (AUTHORITY)

1) See what some of clients are saying! (success stories / testimonials)

• Who would your target audience relate to and who do they trust?

• Other individuals? Other companies? News/press articles?

2) What Makes Me Different. / About Me & My Work.

• High level, concise BIO/background, with link to learn more about you (link to About Me page)

POP-UP / LEAD MAGNET

• Examples:

  • https://www.searchenginejournal.com/lead-magnet-examples/265245/

COACHING DIRECTORIES & LEAD GEN

You might also want to try listing yourself in directories and lead generation platforms for coaches and professional service providers. Having a website first will help, but you could also see if you can get leads without a website. These sites have different fee structures. Some charge a flat fee for a featured listing while others may charge a fee per lead sent to you. These can be worth exploring:

• Noomii

• Thumbtack

• Lifecoach Hub

• Coaching.com

• Bark.com

Digital (online) Marketing

Outbound Marketing

• Lead Gen companies and appointment setters ($$)

• Apollo Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMPN4NOQvvY)

Inbound Marketing

• Important: Speed of response to inquiries!

• Content is KING

  • You want to be an authority in the space, the thought leader.

  • You want to write regular, unique content for your website. Start publishing at least 1-2 articles per week on your site.

  • Generating ideas:

    • What sorts of questions do you think your audience is asking?

    • Quora.com: Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fONo9VHxwd8)

  • Writing Articles - you can write these OR you can get articles written inexpensively at Fiverr or Upwork

    • If you hire writers, check AI and copyright with: https://originality.ai/

  • SEO research first - start local if possible, do topics based on keywords, use Surfer SEO (or Yoast if you build your site in Wordpress)

    • Read my SEO overview in the Resources

    • Surfer SEO Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_RAZpoimAE)

    • Yoast SEO Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k99b0Q2lobU)

    • Keyword Research Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdIlqpo1SsY)

    • SEO Classes:

      • SEO CLASS 1 (https://youtu.be/mvLI96mxx0o?si=k4DA_kj37bsdOzW8)

      • SEO CLASS 2 (https://youtu.be/13LSSmNwp7I?si=JijgcW7cs1omtqvs)

• Google My Business and Directory Listings

  • GMB Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX9qwHTGhME)

  • Directory Listings Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBpAVNQ8hDk)

• Lead Gen Directory Sites

  • Noomii

  • Thumbtack

  • Lifecoach Hub

  • Coaching

  • Bark

• Google Ads

  • Google Ads Tutorial (https://youtu.be/-DJ3DhDzsek?si=Mt0Xu9VVz6tssuea)

• YouTube content

  • SEO For YouTube Videos Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjyqaRRLx_g)

  • YouTube Shorts Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EAus8qZeyM)

  • Create Faceless YouTube videos easily using AI TUTORIAL (https://youtu.be/4Du-ofrqaSk?si=oG3pRToMRzPELGWg)

  • Create 10 shorts from one longer video easily using AI TUTORIAL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEXaoozFRes)

  • See my SAMPLE VIDEO MARKETING PLAN in Resources

• Email Marketing

  • Mailchimp Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUQ28NpKr3A)

• Social Media

  • Creating Social Media Content

    • Tutorial 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bQpsCMgCkA)

    • Tutorial 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyJ4fN-Xh0k)

  • Metricool Social Media Management Tutorial (https://youtu.be/gtd71ITBLps?si=OVEx83ojNB5-8kBw)

  • Facebook Marketing Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ZK1MUnsZw)

  • LinkedIn

    • Getting Clients on LinkedIn Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHbjvhk3jgM)

    • Bulk Messaging Octopus Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/@octopussupport4821)

• Digital Collateral - What will you be sending out to potential clients?

  • IDEAS: proposal template, video bio, video demo, etc.

YOUR HOMEWORK:

Come up with three primary digital marketing efforts that you will commit to for six months.

• Create a weekly schedule

• Be disciplined and consistent

• Create reasonable goals, so you know if these are working

Traditional (offline) Marketing

• Where are your target clients' attention?

  • Examples: associations, partnerships, local chambers of commerce, etc.

• Centers of Influence (COIs) for Referrals: other professional service providers who serve your target audience but do not directly compete with you.

  • Examples: attorneys, accountants, bankers, wealth advisors, etc.

• Marketing Collateral: What do you need to give people when meeting them in the real world?

  • Examples: one-sheets, brochures, flyers, business cards, etc.

Your Sales Process

Think of this as a "Value Process" in which you and a potential client are looking to exchange value.

Basic Outline of a Value Process (Sales Call):

Have a structured process but make it feel like a casual conversation.

• Opening

  • Build rapport with quick, light conversation.

  • Lay out an informal agenda for the call, and while keeping this in mind, make CARE for the client your first priority.

• Pain / Challenges / Reason for Meeting

  • Be there for them, listen to their challenges and pains, and determine if and how you can honestly help them.

  • Make this part all about them, not you.

  • Learn about their concerns, goals, and values (what do they want, what are they afraid of, and what’s important to them (individually and as an organization, if applicable).

  • Find their pain points.

• Articulate your value

  • Here you propose the program or solution you believe will help them.

    • Lay this out in detail for them to understand how it works AND why you believe your solution is the right one for their challenges/pains.

    • Explain how this program has helped previous clients with a similar challenge. You might even give a quick story / case study about the results you achieved with a previous similar client.

  • You can ask clarifying questions to get really detailed and specific about their challenges, and how you can help.

  • You can let them ask questions about your background, experience, and proposed plan.

  • Questions to Ask After Proposing a Solution:

    • "Does this sound like it might be a good fit?"

    • "Do you have any hesitations about this type of program or plan?"

  • Articulate Your Value Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTYUxYydgmY)

• Cost

  • Price your program appropriately for your audience.

  • If you have properly articulated your value (in previous section), then their decision should not be about the price of your service.

  • Be confident in your pricing. Be confident in your value.

    • Perceived value is important. It's okay to be a bit on the expensive side. (NOTE: my sales increased when I increased my fees to appropriate levels.)

• Call To Action

  • Give them an easy way to say yes (easy way in).

  • Give them an easy way to get started: Call-to-Action (CTA)

  • What is the first action you want them to take? How easy can you make it?

  • Closing a Sale Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CojS0DwflXc)

• Follow-ups

  • Schedule your follow-ups (put it in your calendar) and be disciplined.

  • You could use Automation through mailchimp, hubspot, or other Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms

  • Importance of spreadsheet tracking right away, and using a CRM once you get past 10 new prospects per month

Sales Process Tutorials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8d_a9kIWes&t=123s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KQtGeKTVt8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiLNAvLYet0

Mentoring: SCORE - ask for a person who has this experience - https://www.score.org/

Small Business Development Center - https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/small-business-development-centers-sbdc

Congratulations! This is an exciting start to a new career path. If you'd like further support from me, please click the link below to book a coaching session with me. Thanks again and good luck!