5 Steps to Ditch your Corporate Job & Repackage Your Genius Into a 6-Figure Coaching Business

I had just gotten laid off from my shiny, 6-figure corporate job.

And I never felt so free.

Sure, it felt scary.

But, why did I feel so relieved?

Kind of like being in a bad relationship and sticking around for the perceived “security” or hoping “they’ll change.”

And then breaking free.

That was my relationship with my corporate J.O.B.

Truth be told, the only part of my corporate job that I actually liked, was the part where I got to COACH my direct reports.

As I walked out of that high-rise building with my little box of stuff, it dawned on me.

Now that’s ALL I’m going to do.

COACH.

No more back-to-back meetings.

No more late nights at the office.

No more corporate politics.

No more toxic corporate culture.

No more people micromanaging me.

FREEDOM.

My job as a COACH would be BIGGER than me.??

I was destined to serve.??

To help OTHERS achieve their dreams and goals.

But to build a sustainable business to support my family, I had to find a way to REPLACE my 6-figure corporate income.

The first year as an entrepreneur wasn’t easy.

But my passion for coaching combined with my corporate communication expertise and strategy… took me on a path to achieving 6-figures my first year in business.

This is how I did it.

This is how I teach my clients to do it.

And this is how you can do it too.

5 STEPS TO REPACKAGE YOUR GENIUS INTO A 6-FIGURE COACHING BUSINESS

Step 1: Choose The Right Niche

First you have to determine your coaching focus, your specialty, or your area of expertise.

Create your “I help WHO with WHAT” selling statement.

WHO = Demographic you serve

WHAT = Goal or outcome you help them achieve

It’s incredibly important to get this messaging right, so that your prospects understand what you do, how you can help them, and who you are talking to.

If you confuse them, you lose them.

Your “I help WHO with WHAT” should align with your coaching title.

What kind of a coach are you??Career coach??Relationship coach??Health coach? Leadership Coach?

Why Choose A Niche?

1. It’s easier to MARKET and attract clients this way.?Choosing a niche is the FOUNDATION for how you will build your coaching package, how you will write website copy, improve website SEO, and build a content marketing strategy, (to name a few.)
2. Clients hire experts and specialists, not generalists.?People don’t pop out of bed in the morning exclaiming… “I want to hire a life coach.”?They seek out someone who can solve their specific problem.?That thing that keeps them up at night.?When you speak to everyone, you are speaking to no one.??

How To Choose A Niche?

Look at your life from a 30,000-foot view.?Create a timeline of your life with all the major milestones (personal & professional).

1. Where have you gone through a personal transformation?

Many of us coach versions of our former selves.

2. Where do you already have expertise???

Many of my clients coming from corporate jobs have tons of corporate expertise they can leverage.

3. What brings you joy?

My client Linda, was a Corporate Director of Customer Service.?She became a health coach!?Nothing to do with her corporate job, but in looking at her life she realized her passion lied with health.

Once you have an IDEA of your niche…. It’s time to put your marketing hat on.

1. Validate the market.?Is there actually a need for this problem to be solved in the marketplace??Are people already seeking help for this?
2. Research your competitors.?I use a tool called a “Competition Matrix” detailed spreadsheet where my clients and I uncover who the competitors are in their space.??
3. Identify the GAP in the market.?What are your competitors lacking??Guess what... YOU will offer that one thing that clients are asking for in the market, but no one is offering.?That’s how you will position yourself and disrupt the market.
4. Speak to actual humans you’d like to serve.?Ask them… What are their pains??What are their dreams??What urgent problem do they want solved??Look for trends.?Use this data to tighten up your niche messaging.

Step 2: Create a Killer Coaching Package

Create a package.?Don’t sell hourly.

Selling hourly is not a sustainable business model.

Selling hourly will not create transformational change for the client.

Take it a step further than selling a “10-session bundle.”

Create a framework to get your clients from pain to dream.

Show your clients that you have a plan.

The cool thing is that this framework will be MORE than just a coaching package.

It can become a book you author.?A Ted Talk you give.?The basis of all your content marketing.?

No more reinventing the wheel.

A unique framework will also allow you to sell at a higher price point.

And this will allow you to sell one or two packages per month to hit your 6-figure goal.

Here is my package: The "Corporate to 6-Figure Coach" Academy.

It’s important for you to create tons of VALUE within your coaching package.

Think of yourself as the “Sherpa” helping your client climb “Mount Everest” (their goal.)

Even the best Sherpa needs to make sure their client climbing Mount Everest has hiking boots, a pick, a tent, a harness.

What tools do your clients need to get up their Mount Everest?

Include those tools in your coaching package.

Now it’s up to YOU as the coach to make sure your prospects understand the VALUE of what you are offering.??

This stuff works.??

My client Krista, a former Director of Global Talent Development, left her corporate job of 23 years to build her own Leadership Coaching practice.

She created a killer coaching package and sold her first major package for $13,900.

Step 3: Curtains Up! Launch Your Brand

Woo hoo!?Now it’s time to LAUNCH.

Just like a pilot getting ready for take-off, you have a “Curtain’s Up Checklist” to make sure that when your website goes live, you aren't hearing crickets.??

But instead get people as excited about your brand launch as you are!

Curtain’s Up Checklist

• BRANDING:?Are you branded as a high-end coach so that you attract the right types of clients???
• WEBSITE COPY & LAYOUT:?Is your website copy compelling??Your ideal client avatar will make a snap decision about whether or not she wants to stick around on your website within 7 seconds of arriving.?So you copy better be clear and grab her attention.
• SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE OPTIMIZATION:?Are you branding yourself on your social media profile to attract clients? Sometimes clients will ONLY check your social media profile before deciding whether or not to hop on a discovery call with you.
• LEAD MAGNET:?Do you have an irresistible opt-in to collect emails??Email lists are where the money is at.?(PS: No one wants to join your newsletter list.?Create something so valuable for the client to download that they are shocked it is free.)
• EMAIL NURTURE SEQUENCE:?Once someone downloads your lead magnet, set up an email nurture sequence to bring them closer into your world.?These emails are highly important. You'll never have a more engaged reader than when they are first reading an email from you.?Consider over 30% email open-rates versus 10% visibility on social media thanks to algorithms.?
• BUSINESS LAUNCH COMMUNICATION STRATEGY:?Create a launch communication strategy to get people excited about your website launch.?Create a buzz to drive discovery calls.

Bottom line, in order to get to 6-figures, you need to attract clients.

But attracting clients will not work unless you’ve first laid the foundations with Steps 1-3 (Choose the right niche, Create a killer package, Curtain’s up - launch your brand.)

My client Vanessa got this right.

After 17 years in the corporate world, Vanessa transitioned from Vice President of Brand Strategy to building her own thriving Executive Career Coaching Practice.

When Vanessa came to me, we immediately got to work on a successful launch of her brand.

Vanessa killed it!?She was able to reach her goal of achieving 6-figures within our first year of initially working together.

Step 4: Client Attraction System

Let’s be honest.?There are a million ways to attract clients.?That’s what makes it so overwhelming right?

I found one of the most challenging parts of building my coaching business was that every other business expert was telling me their way was the right way.??

Well, we can’t do it all.?

Nor do we need to do it all to attract clients and get to 6-figures.

The key with client attraction is to lock in to a formula that works for YOU.??

BUT, you do have to pick one person’s “kool-aid” and drink that kool aid.??

Find someone who has already achieved what you’re looking to achieve and learn their business strategy.

If you try a sip of every business expert's kool-aid (especially the free samples) and expect that to work, you’ll fall flat because that’s not a strategy.?

Here’s my former client Jen's take on the “kool-aid” strategy.

When it comes to client attraction, we never want to feel like we are hunting down clients and twisting their arms to get on a discovery call.??

We want to position ourselves as niche thought-leaders in the marketplace so we attract clients to us like bees to a honey jar.

CLIENT ATTRACTION STRATEGIES

#1) Free weekly training content

In order to attract clients, you need to be seen as a thought-leader in your particular niche.?When someone thinks of your niche, you should be the first?coach who comes to mind.

In order for you to be seen as a thought-leader, you want to be creating CONSISTENT free training content: blog, video, or podcast.

When you do this, your ideal client avatars will start to expect AND look forward to this.

Eventually, they’ll consume enough free content that they will realize, I want that coach to help me achieve my goal, to help me apply the information I learned.?They’ll come to know, like, and trust you.

You can’t just tell someone you are knowledgeable.?You have to show them.

#2) Social Media Strategy

You need an effective social media strategy because your ideal client avatar may not be ready to purchase from you the first time they find out about you.?

It may take them 5, 7, 16 times of seeing your stuff until they are ready to book a call with you.??

So your goal is to stay in front of your ideal client so that when they ARE ready for help, you are the FIRST person they think of.

Pick the one social media platform where your ideal client avatar hangs out and dominate it.??

Social Media Time Saving Tips:

• Build out a content marketing calendar.?
• Repurpose content.??
• Batch content creation.?Create all your weekly or even monthly content in one fail swoop.?
• Automate or delegate your social media postings

#3) Outreach

It’s important to outreach to your target market.??

Outreach is not about selling, being slimy, or pressuring people to get on the phone.

Outreach is about building relationships, nurturing relationships, and providing value.

Learn how to do this and you are golden.

Bottom line with client attraction:?

This is a SYSTEM.??

We aren’t throwing spaghetti at the wall.??

There are some client attraction elements that you as the CEO of your company need to be doing each day, each week, month, and quarter.

There are other elements of client attraction strategy you need to delegate, automate, or streamline.

Step 5: Close the Deal

Once you’ve done the work to get your ideal client on the phone, now it’s time to transition them to becoming a client!

There are a couple different ways you can transition a prospect into becoming a client.

Option #1:?Carrot Dangle Method

Create a mini coaching session which moves your client towards ONE specific mini outcome.

At the end of your mini coaching session, pitch the bigger package.

Option #2:?Discovery Call

There are various elements to the Discovery Call which will ensure it runs smoothly.

1. Prequalify.?Be sure you are getting on the phone with people who have an established need and budget for what you offer.?And that the timing is right.??
2. Educate.?If you are doing the heavy lifting on just the discovery call, you’re doing it wrong.?Educate your prospects AHEAD of the call on who you are, what your method is, your expertise, etc.?By the time they hop on the call, they should already know, like, and trust you.
3. Flow.?Don’t “wing” a discovery call.?You should be well versed in the flow of a Discovery Call ahead of time.?During the call dig into your prospect's pains and dreams.?Share your solution.?Ensure they understand the VALUE of your solution and the COST of not moving forward with you.?Coach them to a yes or no decision.?Your job isn’t to “convince” them.?It’s to get them out of the grey maybe zone, which isn’t a good place for anyone - you or the client.??
4. Sweeten the Deal.?Give them reason to move forward now with exciting bonuses.??

My client Rhys landed a $6K client in Paris after working through this process with me.?Here is Rhys’ story.

The good news is, when you are ready to fly the corporate coop & start your dream coaching business, know that there IS a strategy to repackage your genius into a 6-figure coaching business.

Take one step at a time.

Anchor to your WHY.

And don’t go it alone.

READY TO DITCH THE CORPORATE 9-5 & REPACKAGE YOUR GENIUS INTO A 6-FIGURE COACHING BUSINESS?

CLICK HERE to apply for a Discovery Call.

If approved, I’ll take a deeper dive into understanding your business needs, allow you time to ask questions and we’ll map out a strategy to create your 6-figure coaching business.

Can't wait to meet you!

Betty Kempa is a business coach who helps corporate professionals ditch the corporate 9-5 & repackage their genius into a 6-figure coaching business.