The #1 Secret to Building a Successful Coaching Business

OK, you call yourself a coach. And while that may be the title that graces your business cards and LinkedIn profile it’s not your topmost role. That honor goes to another title you own — chief marketing officer.

In order to be successful as an executive, leadership, or career coach, chief marketing officer is a title you have to embrace. Businesses do not become household names without marketing their product and as a coach, that product is you; your ideas, your expertise, your coaching.

“Failing to understand this concept is a major factor in the turnover rate in the executive coach profession,” writes Kevin Leonard, an award-winning advisor and member of Forbes Coaches Council.

But how do you market a product that’s a person? Your new haircut is as close as you’ll get to shiny packaging and even though you sometimes might feel like you need restocking, you’re not available on any shelf.

The answer and the number one secret to your success as a coach is thought leadership.

What is Thought Leadership?

Thought leadership is the process of becoming the go-to expert in a particular subject. It’s achieved through crafting and sharing high-quality content about that subject online. You can probably think of various thought leaders you follow for their insights on politics, entertainment, technology, or another topic. When you have a question related to that subject, you turn to the thought leader for the answer.

Thought leadership works as a marketing tool because consumers don’t shop for products, they shop to solve to a problem . Whether that problem is a lack of well-fitting jeans or a stagnating career, their hunt for the solution starts online.

“More than 80% of shoppers say they research online before they buy,” writes John Bertino, founder of The Agency Guy, Inc. and member of Forbes Coaches Council. “If you provide the answers readers are looking for with content, you elevate the audience’s perception of you from peddler of goods and services, to authority site and influencer.”

In other words, it’s about trust. By giving your ideas away for free, you begin to build a relationship so that eventually your readers will trust you enough to invest.

“Influential leaders never focus on what they can get,” writes Stacey Hanke, author, TED speaker, and Forbes Coaches Council member. “They focus on what they can give.”

How to Become a Thought Leader

The digital world is full of noisy content. Every 60 seconds, 452,000 tweets and 156 million emails are sent. Anyone with access to the internet can be a publisher of content whether it’s on a personal blog or a Facebook page. Amongst all that competition for attention, how do you stand out enough to build a following? It all comes down to two things — what you write about and where you write it.

Owning the Narrative

Critical to becoming a thought leader is honing in on a single area of expertise around which to build your reputation. You may know a lot of things about a lot of things, but a scattered approach will get you nowhere. Rather, owning the narrative on a single subject will help you with everything from standing out in search results to landing speaking gigs.

“With the vast array of products and services executive coaches offer nowadays, it’s imperative that you become a known subject matter expert on a specific discipline within the craft,” writes Leonard.

Take Carol Sankar, for example. As the founder of The Confidence Factor For Women and a Forbes Coaches Council member, Sankar writes about female leadership. Consistency, she reports, has allowed her to stand out to event organizers and producers seeking experts on that subject. It’s earned her speaking opportunities that include TED and The Steve Harvey Show.

 

“Create a theme that you will be known for, not just random content to gain popularity,” she writes.

Credibility is Contagious

The second component to building a reputation as a thought leader is where you publish. Because anyone can write content on a personal blog or social media, you have to align yourself with credible outlets in order to prove to readers that your ideas are worth their time.

“As they say, you’re known by the company you keep,” writes Mike Saunders, The Authority Positioning Coach, and a Forbes Coaches Council member. “If you guest blog for the Times, Forbes or Harvard Business Review, industry leaders are naturally going to take you a lot more seriously.”

Publishing on trusted platforms gives you credibility and expands your content’s reach. Sankar credits writing for reputable platforms as equally important to building her speaking career as subject-matter consistency.

“Publishing your content on your personal blog is wonderful, but well-paid speakers are expected to be contributors and content writers for larger platforms,” writes Sankar. “Remember, reputable platforms matter.”

Practice What You Teach

Executive, leadership, and career coaches are skilled motivators who encourage their clients to take leaps and try new approaches. But oftentimes, it’s not following that exact advice that can hold coaches back from a more successful career.

Building a thought leadership reputation can seem like an intimidating task to embark upon. However, it’s not as hard as you think — getting started is often the biggest hurdle. Hone in on your area of expertise, look for opportunities with reputable platforms, and start writing.

“The words of NIKE are apropos: Just do it!,” writes leadership expert and Forbes Coaches Council member Eddie Turner. “[Some coaches] are actually fearful what they post will be read and they don’t feel their ideas will hold up under scrutiny. Disregard negative thoughts and fears! Just do it.”