This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
All right. All right. What's up? Welcome back to Side Hustle School. This is day three of a brand new year. And all year long on the podcast, among other things, we're going
to be taking listener questions. If you have a question, you can just go to sidehustleschool.com/questions. Got a whole bunch of stuff to share with you through this series. We've also got some new elements coming up, some new segments you'll hear about in a couple of days. But for now, today's question, because we do like to just jump in, I want to respect your time. Today's question, how can I stand out in the coaching industry? We've got a
lot of coaches out there and aspiring coaches, people who hope to share their expertise, create transformation in others' lives, and also get paid along the way. That's a good thing. Nothing wrong with that. Today's question comes from Darnell in Savannah. He recently started a leadership coaching business working with mid-level managers aiming for executive roles. I do love the targeting. Targeting is really important in the world of coaching.
We'll talk about that. But he's also concerned about standing out in a crowded and competitive coaching space. So what can we do? How can we showcase what makes him unique and attract the right clients? How might we do that for some of our listeners as well? How might we
do that for you in case you have some kind of skill or resource you hope to share with others? What are some specific ways you can apply that and hopefully see some results? That's what it's all about. Detailed question from our listener and my answer coming up after this short break. Hey, this is Darnell from Savannah. I just started a leadership coaching
business and I work with mid-level managers who want to grow into executive roles. I actually found your show through a friend who's also an entrepreneur and it's been helpful. My question is, how do I stand out? It feels like the coaching industry is totally oversaturated. I know I have something different to offer, but what's the best way to showcase that and actually get noticed? Shout out to all the coaches out there. Coaching is indeed
a crowded field. A lot of people try to get into this industry and they don't succeed. They end up moving on to something else or they just feel discouraged. If you're going to go in this industry, you do really want to think about what is my uniqueness as a coach? That is going to be your biggest strength more than anything else. How do you stand
out and get noticed? Define that unique value proposition. Unique value proposition is just a fancy term for what is setting you apart. This could be your background, your approach, even your personality. In this case for Darnell, think about what mid-level managers need most when transitioning into executive roles and how your experience directly aligns with solving that problem. Now, I said that your unique value proposition could be your background,
your approach, your personality, but ultimately the reason why people sign up for coaching services is because they believe it's going to make their life better. You really need to follow this model of thinking about your customer, your client, what do they need and how are you the unique solution to that problem? The more you can be customer-centric as opposed to look at me centric, the easier it's going to be for you. Let's give an example here. Darnell, instead of saying I'm a leadership coach, maybe it's like I help mid-level managers navigate the challenges of executive leadership based on my 10 plus years as a VP, for example.
We could even make that more concise and help them rise to executive leadership. That's the goal. The mid-level managers he is serving, they want to advance. He can help them do that. That is unique and specific. Number two, niche down even further. This is why
coaching feels oversaturated because so many people offer general services. For Darnell, perhaps instead of targeting all mid-level managers, specializing in tech companies or healthcare, for example, or it could be another industry, but choosing an industry. If he's like I'm helping mid-level managers in healthcare advance based on my specific experience in this industry, that is going to be much more effective than I'm just a leadership coach helping mid-level managers. Number three, the more you can showcase client results, the easier it will be for you. Social proof is critical. Share testimonials, case studies,
success stories. Even if you're just starting out, showcase results that you have achieved for yourself. Work with someone for free and get some results. You need to have that social proof. It's going to help you much more than simply stating your expertise.
Then my last tip here is to offer a signature framework or program. You want to create the five step executive ascension blueprint, for example. Maybe it's not called that. Maybe it's more or less than five steps. I don't know because I'm not Darnell. The point is
creating some signature framework or program gives clients confidence in your approach. It demonstrates that you've thought this through. You're not just giving generic general advice. You have created, in fact, a systematic approach. Just to kind of restate here, standing out in an oversaturated market, especially coaching, narrow your niche, highlight what makes you unique, be client centric as opposed to me centric, and showcase your expertise by creating this signature process. I think those are your steps. I think it's going to make a big
difference and take you from the world of aspirational coaches to the world of thriving coaches. Good luck to Darnell. Good luck to all of our listeners who are starting projects this year in any field. I'd love to know what you're up to. I hope that the show can be of service to you. It does come out every day. It's always completely free. It's less than 10 minutes
long. We want to give you something that gets you going with your day and helps you take the next step, whatever that is. With that in mind, I hope you'll join in again tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School.
the Onward Project.
