Sarah tackles an uncomfortable truth that coaches need to hear: AI tools like ChatGPT can't build your marketing for you—at least not effectively. While AI can generate content, it can't replace the critical thinking required for marketing that actually converts clients.

Key Takeaways:

The Core Problem: If you haven't done the foundational thinking, AI-generated marketing won't achieve your desired outcomes. Coaches are selling a service most people don't understand, which means marketing must educate before it can persuade.

Why Coaches Fail: The 82% global failure rate for coaches isn't due to poor coaching skills—it's because they never learned how to acquire clients. Many mistake marketing for something superficial that can be automated without understanding it first.

The GIGO Principle: Garbage in, garbage out. Vague inputs like "I coach professionals in transition to find clarity and confidence" produce vague, ineffective content that won't resonate with potential clients.

What's Required Instead:

• Select a niche based on both your knowledge and commercial viability
• Define your ideal client from real-world experience, not AI guesswork
• Learn to describe your audience's problems in their own words
• Understand their lived experience through direct observation

AI as a Multiplier, Not a Substitute: Once you've done the foundational work—identified your niche, understood your ideal client, and clarified your marketing message—AI becomes powerful for amplifying reach, saving time, and refining ideas. Use it for the grunt work, not the groundwork.

Bottom Line

Marketing and commercial thinking are professional skills that require learning, just like coaching itself. Master these fundamentals first, then leverage AI to scale your efforts. There are no shortcuts to building a thriving coaching practice.

Want to learn expert-level AI skills after doing the foundational thinking? Connect with Sarah to discover how to use AI effectively in your coaching business.