A smarter way to build your client pipeline without burn out

Hello and welcome to the Business of Executive Coaching podcast. So I'm your host, Ellie Scarf, a senior executive Coach with over 17 years experience coaching, which I now bring to my role as a mentor and business coach for other executive coaches. Now, when it comes to coaching business, I have done it all. I've grown coaching businesses solo and in partnership. I've been an in house coach and have been an associate coach. So when I talk about selling coaching to corporate clients, you know that I'm sharing from a place of experience and empathy. I work with coaches now through my group coaching program, the Corporate to Coach accelerator, where executive and leadership coaches grow their businesses with more corporate clients. Listen in for lots of practical tips, inspiring stories and prompts to grow your business your way. Okay, so the problem I see is that if you are a coaching business owner, a lot of this probably rings true. Okay, so think about how much of this applies to you. Firstly, I feel like it's a given that you want more corporate clients now. I hope so. Otherwise you might be listening to the wrong podcast. The additional part is, right, you might feel like you have this goal and the goal might be, you know, I want to hit my revenue target with say 10, 10, 15 corporate coaching engagements or facilitation days or strategy days, team coaching engagements, consulting gigs, whatever your particular combo is, right? So you know you want to hit that. But there is this gap between the target goal and where you are now. And it feels like it's very difficult to bridge. And it is very murky how you get across that gap. And it isn't just a case that you need to knuckle down and do the work, because if that was is what it was going to take, you would already have done that. And so the issue is that you aren't really sure what the best path is in order to bridge that gap, right? So there's probably part of it is a knowledge gap, right? You don't know what to do or what to prioritize. There's probably also a systems gap, right? So you aren't sure like how to have the right habits or routines or accountability to make it happen. There's probably mindset gaps and you can probably see a lot of these things and you kind of know what's going on, but it is quite opaque, quite blurry, quite unclear to you either where to start or precisely what you need to learn or where to go. And so as a result, you might be doing one of two things. You might be really overworking, right? Working hard, but on things that you can see are not having the impact that you want them to. Or the other alternative is that you might be procrastinating because it all feels quite scary, right? It feels heavy, it feels high stakes. So your perfectionism kicks in, your. Your overthinking kicks in. And so you're paralyzed and you're not even doing the things that you know you need to do. So, so these two alternatives of overwork versus procrastinating, but the procrastinating is generally accompanied by a lot of emotional work, right? So we're doing. There's a lot of stress entailed with both of these options. And most likely you have a combination of two and you swing from the overwork to the procrastination to catching up. And so all of it is, you know, this is a pattern that I see on top of that, like this heaviness, right, that comes from either the overworking or the. Or the procrastination because you're not really sure what to do that can translate to making a lot of those business activities feel very hard, right? So posting on LinkedIn can feel very stressful. Connecting with potential clients feels full of anxiety. Thinking about sales and marketing might bring up a whole lot of stuff for you. Hopefully the actual coaching and the delivery is like the bright spot. That's what I hear, is that people just wish if I could only I could just do coaching, everything would be fine. But the truth is we have to do that other stuff, the angst and the anxiety and the stress that is entailed in that. I call this the pool of emotional labor that is associated with business building. And it is no joke, right? It is a serious weight. And so now, you know, just a quick pause because, you know, I realize that I'm making this sound a bit grim in case you are really relating to this a bit too hard. I just wanna flag up that I do have a masterclass that I'm running in a few weeks that you might want to sign up for. And the class is all about. It's called the Business Growth Playbook for Executive Coaches. And it's specifically about how executive coaches can build a pipeline to consistent client generation. So, you know, I don't want to bury the lead that's there to help. If you think it might help, you check it out@elliscarf.com forward slash pipeline. But anyway, getting back into this emotional labor that we're doing in our business building and you know, the fact that it is impacting on our outcomes, of course. And before you start thinking, oh, God, I need to go back to a full time role or I'm never going to make it in business. I want to reassure you of a few things and hopefully normalize a little bit. So firstly, you are not alone. The reason it resonates is because so many of us go through it, right? I see it with my clients all the time. And even when I started my business, for me, I had no idea what I was doing. Right. In so many ways, I always say that I learned what I know now and what I teach now through mistakes and mentors and, you know, so I can say that there is light at the end of the tunnel, right? So when it comes to my clients and the work I do as a mentor to executive coaches, this is a huge part of why I do what I do. Because I had this experience, I did have the benefit of having a wonderful mentor. And I want to do two things. I want to pay it forward, right? I want to make sure that what I learned isn't this, you know, this well kept secret. And I just want you to know that you, you are, you know, all of us go through it. So if you're feeling that, know that it is not just you. And secondly, I want to reassure you that you haven't missed out on some big secret, right? And I know a lot of coaches, they're like, I feel like I should know something that I don't. And the truth is that you are not the only one who didn't get the memo on this stuff. It is not something that comes naturally to us as coaches. Generally we have to learn it, right? It is a skill. There is no memo, no one has been taught this. And it also runs a little counter to our instincts as coaches in many ways, right? So there is also a bit of a mindset gap. And in reality, only people who've successfully bridged this gap from coach to coach and business owner, only people who've done that themselves successfully really know how it works in this context because it is not the same as selling a lot of other services or products. And so, you know, unfortunately most of the people who've done it successfully are, you know, off coaching, so they aren't sharing. Thirdly, it's also hard to know where to get your advice from. So if you are finding it confusing, I don't blame you. There are, you know, LinkedIn coaches who have one particular lens. There are the business coaches who, who don't really understand the executive coaching space particularly. And then there are the, the marketing gurus who are really only Talking about selling to individuals and like in this landscape of business, coaches and training and all of that, it is really hard to know who to trust, right? And there, there are some shady individuals out there, but all of these things, these three things combine to make it very understandable if that gap between goal and present state is not clear and if you don't have a clear blueprint to consistently bring new clients in. So you might say, well, you know, what is the solution? Ellie? Well, firstly I want to say what is not the solution? And the solution is absolutely not beating yourself up about where you're at. You are where you are because of your passion, your entrepreneurial spirit, even if you wouldn't identify as such just yet, because of your desire to make a positive difference in the world and to build a business that is profitable and sustainable. Those are incredible things. You are a wonderful coach and person. And so I want you to remember that being very critical of yourself is firstly, absolutely not warranted. We need more people like you in the world, but it also won't take you where you want to go, right? So that self critical cycle we can get in doesn't help us to take action. We need to do that work on Mindset and I'll talk more about the solution in a moment. The solution is also not to work harder and harder so that you have no time for the life that this business business was meant to provide. You know, if you are just as burnt out in business as you were in the job that you left, this is a flag that you likely need a better strategy. The solution is not, and I'm, I'm very sorry to say this because I know for a lot of people this is very appealing. It's not investing in like a, a miracle solution that someone has shared with you that is like complicated marketing funnels and automations and coaches selling you strategies that may work to some degree, selling to individuals or for selling different types of products, right? Usually commoditized products like digital courses and even those, I haven't seen many of those be too legitimate and convincing you to apply them to the corporate coaching context. It's not the solution because it doesn't really work and I don't want you throwing your money away. And I've seen it, right. I've seen a lot of people that coaches, I speak to coaches in my program who have gone down these paths of investing in, you know, complex funnels and automations and doesn't work, right? Not to say that I have any problem with funnels and pipeline thinking. And automations. But I don't want you doing it without thinking through the strategy of it in the context of executive coaching with corporate clients first. So those things aren't the solution. So what is the solution? Well, I would say there are three places you need to turn first when you are experiencing these challenges. And those three places are your mindset, the right learning, right? So learning the right skills and systems that take you from overthinking into action. So firstly, mindset, of course, I'm a coach. You need to tune in to your mindset. It is vitally important that if you are really sort of loitering, marinating in self doubt and self criticism, that we shift you from that place. Now, I'm not saying, you know, let's embrace our inner Pollyanna and tell ourselves that everything is all sunshine and rainbows, because it probably isn't, but what we can do, and this is always my preferred approach when things are feeling crappy. What we can do is lean into the neutral emotional space of curiosity. Because curiosity allows us to hold those, you know, the fears, the doubt, the sadness, the shame, the guilt, hold it lightly and hold it at arm's length while exploring, right, exploring what some alternatives might be. And it allows us to embrace an approach of experimentation and learning which is vital and it lets us be in our growth mindset, right? Where we allow ourselves to see business building as a skill to learn rather than a set of attributes that we either do and don't have. Like, not good at sales, not good at business development, don't want to do marketing, right? So it allows us to take ourselves out of those automatic negative assumptions and beliefs into not, oh, I'm the best at sales, I'm the best at marketing, but into curiosity, right? What can I learn? How can I be better at that? What do I need from a mindset perspective to show up the best I can in these tasks that are required of me as a business owner, you know, so I know that all of you, everyone you, if you're listening, have the capacity to grow an incredible, sustainable, sustainable, profitable business. But it absolutely requires a willingness to try new things, to be open, to invest in yourself, to learn. And I can say that confidently because like I would say I was the prototypical, selling is the worst. I went to marketing kind of business owner and now I look at it and, you know, I live and breathe it, right? I love it. So the first place to go is mindset. The second thing you need to do is learn some skills, but you need to learn the right skills and you need to learn those skills from the right people. So firstly, you need to ask yourself, like, what is this gap? Right? Let's put some color to the gap. Is there a gap in my knowledge? Is the gap in understanding how to apply my knowledge in this context? The context being, you know, executive coaching with corporate clients in the particular sector where I have unfair advantages, like, do I even know what my unfair advantages are? Do I even know who my ideal client should be? Rather than, you know, either being everyone or too narrow a niche? Or is my gap a lack of accountability and support to apply my knowledge? Right? And so if you ask yourself those questions to sort of bring a little color to your gap, that is going to guide you as to whether you need more training, whether you need coaching and mentoring, whether you need community, whether you need accountability. Now, not to brag, I'm totally bragging, but inside the accelerator, which is my group program for executive coaches, we do all of these things, right? So we have the training and the coaching and the community and the accountability. But regardless of how you choose to get the skills and the support that you need, you need to understand what it is that you need, right? And then the other part of this is making sure that you're getting these things from the right people. So when you are looking to learn or get some support, you have to ask yourself if this training or this coaching is coming from, from someone who has walked this path successfully before you and who can speak from a place of knowledge and execution and apply it very specifically to your context, Right? And, you know, like, I consider part of my job is taking a lot of learning that's out there in terms of business growth and marketing and business building and translating it for the executive coaching context. And some of the things I've learned, I'm like, it's, you know, it's great, it's fantastic learning, but how do I actually apply that? And, you know, some of it doesn't apply at all. Some of it we can take something from, and some of it is like, you know, the next phase, right? So business 2.0, that it might become relevant down the track, but if we focus on those things too soon, we don't put in place the foundations we need. So, yeah, so you need to learn the skills, and you need to learn the skills, get the support you need from the right people. And then finally, you need to build a system, and you need a system that is customized for your business and that allows you to get out of your head and into action. Now, firstly, I Just want to share a little personal anecdote that if you had spoken to me even, I want to say five years ago, I was very entrenched in a story that I really hate systems and detail and process and that that was like something that would really, you know, kill my motivation, kill my creativity. And if you are by any chance, you know, interested in Hogan, you know, I'm like a single digits, I think I'm third percentile on prudence and, you know, 99 on inquisitive. And then if you are into, you know, Myers Briggs, I'm like an enfp, right? So detail process systems, not my natural place. But I have come to realize that having good systems customized for your business are absolutely vital. Right? And they're vital because they allow us, as I said, to get out of our heads and get into action. And so what I mean is that I don't mean a one size fits all system. I mean that you need to have a playbook or a blueprint or a checklist or a system or, or whatever you want to call it that lets you put together all of the components of the executive coaching business puzzle and allows you to create rituals and processes to bring it to life for you while minimizing overthinking and inaction. So that means things like understanding exactly what assets you need to have in place and build and, you know, things like your coaching bios, your terms and conditions, your legals, your services guides, your LinkedIn profiles, all of that we've got. It's quite comprehensive. And you also need to understand how the sales pipeline of a coaching business flows. Right? So how do you get that pipeline flowing from leads and things like, what warm leads do you have in your existing network? How do you generate more warm leads? What is the role of LinkedIn? How much content do you need to be putting out there? How do you minimize the time that you spend creating content or get the most out of it? Should you be using AI? How could you do it without making it seem very mechanical or robotic? And so all of these things, you need to answer those questions in your systems and the right systems will help you to do it in a manageable amount of time. So you know you can build these systems yourself, right? So just knowing that you need them, you can build them. And in previous episodes of the podcast, you. I have shared so much about the systems that I teach inside the corporate to coach accelerator. So, you know, you can take that. And just thinking in a systems oriented way is going to transform the way you build your business. And I also have some help, as I mentioned at the start of the episode, if you would like some help to map out this system and to understand a system that is tailored for executive coaches selling to corporate clients. I have got a masterclass that is coming up and it's going to be live. We're going to run it at two time zones to capture wherever you are in the world. There will be, you know, some bonuses if you attend. And that's coming up. And so the masterclass is all about the business growth playbook for executive coaches, how to build your pipeline of consistent clients. So if you would like to prioritize building your systems, making sure that business growth is at the core of your focus, come along. It will be very practical. It'll hopefully inspire you to know that you can absolutely do it, even if it isn't immediately apparent to you now how you will do that. So to sign up, just head over to elliscarf.com pipeline or check out the link in the show notes. I'm really looking forward to seeing you at that masterclass. And in the meantime, I will be back with more next.