The Business of Executive Coaching

Here at Corporate to Coach central we are in Q4 planning mode! I am doing it for my business, and within the Impact Coach Collective our monthly masterclass was our group planning session. When it comes to planning - I have OPINIONS. In this episode I am sharing 3 questions you must ask yourself as part of your planning.  You won’t regret it! Resources + Links: Lets chat! Book a call here to find out how I can help, and if you’d be a good fit for the Impact Coach Collective. Sign up now for instant access to my pricing masterclass! 5 Ways to Increase Your Prices as an Executive Coach If you have a question or topic you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Connect with me on LinkedIn here!

I wanted to challenge myself in this episode to come up with a comprehensive list of where your potential coaching clients are going to come from. These are the individuals that might go on to become clients and go through your sales funnel - hence ‘top of funnel’. It is not enough to know where to get these leads from of course, then you need commitment and strategy to choose your preferred avenues and get enough volume into your funnel. Listen in for the full list! Resources + Links: Check out episode 23 on the importance of adding LinkedIn connections. Learn more about Connectively  Sign up now for instant access to my pricing masterclass! 5 Ways to Increase Your Prices as an Executive Coach Lets chat! Book a call here  to find out how I can help, and if you’d be a good fit for the Impact Coach Collective! If you have a question or topic you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Add me on LinkedIn here.

In this episode I really wanted to be very clear. Your credibility as a coach is about so much more than your number of coaching hours. In fact, you will be surprised by how many people will hire you as a coach, not because of your coaching experience, but because of your professional background.  We need to get comfortable and confident selling our coaching services based on both our coaching experience and also our professional experience. Listen on to learn why and how to do this! Resources + Links: Sign up now for my pricing masterclass! 5 Ways to Increase Your Prices as an Executive Coach Lets chat! Book a call here  to find out how I can help, and if you’d be a good fit for the Impact Coach Collective! If you have a question or topic you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Add me on LinkedIn here.

You might be surprised at how early in your coaching business the question of whether you should build a team of associates comes up. If you want to offer a choice of coaches to a great client, you are overwhelmed with work, or you are interested in scaling, this could be something you are thinking about. In this episode I am taking you through practical things to think about before you start hiring. Keen to be an associate coach? I think there could be a few gems in here about what coaching companies are looking for too. Sign up now for the pricing masterclass! 5 Ways to Increase Your Prices as an Executive Coach Lets chat! Book a call here! If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find me on LinkedIn here.  

This episode is all about financial success and the goals and metrics we choose to judge our success by. I share what matters when you assess your financial performance, what doesn’t, and I also touch on why you should apply a cynical filter to numbers shared by coaches and consultants to convince you to buy their services! Sign up now for the pricing masterclass! 5 Ways to Increase Your Prices as an Executive Coach Lets chat! Book a call here! If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find me on LinkedIn here.  

For this episode I am so fortunate to be speaking with Nathan Blair. Nathan is a coach and entrepreneur who discovered somatic approaches during his search for ways to manage ADHD as a young person. I’ve heard a lot about somatic approaches in executive coaching and truly my understanding is patchy. I’ve probably avoided it because it felt a little too ‘woo woo’ for me, but I think the evidence has caught up and I’m behind the 8 ball. In this episode I got to ask Nathan my most uninformed questions, which he answered with grace and humour. We discuss: what exactly ‘a somatic approach’ means the evidence base using these approaches in corporate environments how you might use these approaches to help in your own business the Embodied Business Symposium and who its for. You should sign up for the Embodied Business Symposium here. Check out Nathan and The Somatic School. Pricing as an executive coach is tough. Learn my top 5 strategies to increase your prices! Access the Pricing Masterclass now! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.  

Today I am pleased to share a conversation with Han Ee Lim. Han Ee and I roam far and wide, and touch on: His journey from the Navy to being a coach How his professional athletic endeavours prompted a passion for performance that lead into coaching How almost nothing about how we approach our business is black and white The interaction between our pricing and engagement in coaching So much more! Connect with Han Ee on LinkedIn here. You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.

The terminology ‘executive coach’ can be tricky, and I have met a number of coaches who aren’t sure if that is what they really are.  In this episode I want to share what an executive coach actually is, and – spoiler alert – it doesn’t require coaching people at the C-Suite level. In my opinion the real differentiator of an executive coach is that we are coaching people in an organisational context – regardless of their place in the hierarchy. Let me know if you agree! Lets chat! Book a call here! If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find me on LinkedIn here.

Coaches, I know it’s hard out there sometimes. And I know sometimes we can feel like we have to put on our ‘game face’ and not show that it is hard or that we are struggling.   This episode is a love letter of sorts (or maybe a pep talk?) to executive and leadership coaches who are out there doing the work. If you have been feeling the ups and downs, this is for you. Need a pep talk? Just want to chat about your business? Book a call here! If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Ask here! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find me on LinkedIn here.  

Come to my free Masterclass this week! Learn 5 Ways to Increase Your Prices as an Executive Coach. Sign up at www.elliescarf.com/pricingclass-og Today’s episode is a personal one because I’ve had lots of my community talking about the pain they’ve experienced through making the wrong investments in coaches and mentoring programmes. Firstly – I’ve been there! I invest a lot in coaching and mentoring, and generally I feel like I get an excellent ROI on my investments. BUT! I’ve made some big mistakes too so I want to share my thoughts on when it makes sense to invest in coaching, and when it doesn’t. I’d love to hear your stories so if you have a success story or a story of regret, hit me up on LinkedIn, FB, Instagram on email. If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Submit your question here! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find me on LinkedIn here.      

Ever wondered about the difference between group and team coaching? If you have you are in good company as many of my community members have wondered the same thing. I had the pleasure of a conversation with Dr Louise Kovacs about this very topic. We covered: The difference between group and team coaching. What development you might need to consider before you deliver group coaching. How to think about pricing group and team coaching. The difference between team development and team coaching. Much more! You can connect with Louise on LinkedIn . Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective here. Connect with Ellie on LinkedIn here. Download my guide to the Top 5 Mistakes of New Executive Coaches (and what to do instead).

This episode is a short and sharp one covering one thing that I have discovered is missing from many executive coaches LinkedIn strategies – proactively building your network with your ideal clients. In this episode I share why you should do this, the mechanics to make it happen, and a few FYIs to make sure you build the habit for long term success. If you have a question you’d like me to cover in a future podcast episode, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! Ask me a question! You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.

I get a lot of questions from members of my programmes, coaches in my community on LinkedIn, and coaches-to-be who are building a plan of attack. So periodically I like to do an  ‘ask me anything’ episode where I answer a few. In this episode I answer 3 questions So many coaching platforms require coaching experience to get a role, but I can’t get the hours easily. I’m so well trained and good at what I do! Help! How can I increase prices when my new clients know what others are paying? How to deal with clients or coaching companies who are ghosting me? If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please fill out this very simple form and send it through! [form link] You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.  

I talk very frequently to people who are considering taking the next step and setting up their executive coaching business. Based on my experience I am summarising today what signs I think indicate that you should start your executive coaching business, and also what signs indicate that you shouldn’t jump in and should reconsider whether this path is for you. Would you like to have a chat about whether you should start a coaching business? Book a call with me and I’d be happy to help you think it through. Book here! Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.

This episode is all about a tool I’ve implemented recently in my business – the hour of power. Sounds cool right? I think so, and I think it has almost limitless potential to be adapted for your business and your life as a tool to keep you focussed and consistent over time. In this episode I touch on: What an hour of power is How I have implemented it Benefits I’ve seen and challenges I’ve experienced Steps to implement your own hour of power If you want a tool to help you track your hour of power – consider using Monday.com – we love it! Here is our affiliate link if you want to give it a try! You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.

This episode is all about how our business can fuel our personal growth. I share 5 key ways that I’ve experienced personal growth, and how you might also. Do any of these sound like growth areas for you? Take a listen and let me know what your growth edge is! Fighting perfectionism Taking things less personally Getting things done Self belief Growth mindset If you want a tool to help you structure your tasks and priorities – consider using Monday.com – we love it! Here is our affiliate link if you want to give it a try!  You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.  

Today I am pleased to share a conversation with Imogen Maresch. Imogen and I roam far and wide, and touch on: Her corporate to coach journey Normalising the ups and downs of being in business as an executive coach How it helps to differentiate between confidence and courage How getting paid well for our work lets us support causes that are important to us The interaction between our pricing and value The role of play in helping us build resilience – for coaches and clients Connect with Imogen on LinkedIn here.  You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.

SHOW NOTES Despite my voice starting to peter out by the end of this episode, I shared 3 ideas that I think could take your marketing to the next level if you already have the basics in place. I shared the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of 3 strategies: Creating an email list and newsletter Using Lead Magnets to grow your list Content batching Take a listen and I’d love you to share which of these you think these could work for you! I mentioned a few tools and resources in this episode: If you want to learn how to download your LinkedIn data into a spreadsheet I have a webinar recording that explains how! Check it out here - https://www.elliescarf.com/newclients Interested in a free trial of Kajabi? Check it out here - https://app.kajabi.com/r/mXxDkdMT I love Monday.com for our task and project management, it works really well for content planning. You can get a free trial here also! You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.        

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing coach and business person extraordinaire – Jean Balfour. We explored Jean’s own Corporate to Coach Story including lots of juicy details about her coaching business. We talked about when she says no to work, how she is working on her own money stories, what famous figure she would like to coach and more. Jean has also undergone a second transition as she also now runs Bailey Balfour – and ICF accredited coach training company. I get to ask lots of questions about why and how she grew this business, what is important to her when it comes to coach training, and when she thinks it is important to do advanced PCC level training. You can find Jean in lots of places: Bailey Balfour  Podcast – Making Sense of Work with Jean Balfour  LinkedIn  Jean also mentioned a few books: Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferrazzi The Happiness Trap, Dr Russ Harris The Way of Integrity, Martha Beck I love the work of Russ Harris but the other 2 are new to me so I’ll be diving in!   You can learn my top 5 mindset shifts for coaches who want to grow their business in this free resource: Mindset Tips Learn more about the Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.

I am pleased to share with you today, the masterclass that I ran last week called The 8 Foundations of a Thriving Executive Coaching Business. This session is jam packed with ideas, tips, and tools to help guide your thinking when it comes to setting up, or growing your executive coaching business. The 8 foundations we cover are: - The importance of your business owner mindset - Building a compelling offer suite - Getting known (marketing!) - Getting clients (sales!) - Managing your business finances - Strategic professional development - Systems, tools and processes - Building your support team. You can get access to the video recording along with the slides and assessment document here: www.elliescarf.com/8foundations You have a few more days to join the Impact Coach Collective so check it out here -  Impact Coach Collective. Find Ellie on LinkedIn here.