Brand Clarity for Coaches

We work with a lot of coaches. Coaching (life coaching, leadership coaching, wellness coaching… the list goes on) is only picking up speed, and that’s why it’s more important than ever that—as a coach—you are able to clearly articulate what you want to be known for, who you best serve, and what your dream clients can expect when working with you.

One of the first life coaches we branded over five years ago had to spend a lot of her brand footprint on educating her potential clients on what a life coach even is. Now that the industry is a little more mainstream, we think it’s really important that a coach is not only able to explain their expertise, but they’re able to confidently and authentically differentiate themselves in a crowded market.

We’re typically branding coaches at two different stages of business:

1. The “newbie” coaches: These are coaches who are just starting out and need their brand to help clearly articulate and share what they do. These might be professionals who have a lot of experience and have been natural helpers their whole lives—the person their co-workers, peers, and friends always turn to when they need solid insights or a non-judgmental sounding board.
2. The coaches who are ready to scale or narrow in: These are coaches who have been doing this for a while. They know what they’re doing, and now they are ready to have a brand that not only matches their experience and what they’ve been able to create, but they could also use some help in better framing up their approach, process, or content they are ready to share on a whole new level. Or perhaps they’ve been coaching enough to really know where they best help their dream customer – they want to narrow in on their speciality, niche, or dream client so they’re not spreading themselves so thin.

Our goal when branding a coach is always to help them get clear and get authentic. That means we are going to help them say what they mean without confusing their customer and do it in a way that feels wholly integrated with their values and personality. Because we get it – it can be hard to grow a career around something like coaching when the results are powerful yet sometimes intangible. When you’re not selling a product that you can see and touch you might run the risk of coming across as vague. Or if you’re using the same fluffy jargon that seems to be working for that other six-figure coach you’ve been following, you may come across as disingenuous.

Today I’m going to share one of my favorite branding exercises that we guide our one-on-one clients through for getting more clear and for putting more of who you are into the work you do:

BEFORE AND AFTER

With a service like coaching, it can be difficult to really explain how you help your clients. The deliverables aren’t always obvious, which can make your offering a hard-sell for customers who are on the fence. So this exercise will help you better describe the shifts, transformations, and evolutions you help guide your client through.

First, draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the left side write “BEFORE” and on the right “AFTER”.

Now describe your dream client before they work with you:

 

• What is their biggest challenge?
• What kinds of thoughts are holding them back?
• Describe their behavior.
• Where are they most stuck? Why?
• What are they not seeing clearly?
• What do they desire or want most?

 

 

Now describe your dream client after they work with you:

 

• What kinds of goals do they have?
• What is their attitude like?
• Describe their behavior.
• What kind of changes are they gaining momentum on?
• What are some small (or large) successes they’re seeing?
• How are they overcoming their hurdles?
• What do they desire or want most?

 

 

Extra credit: Now that you’ve mapped out their before and after how would you describe your coaching process and how it helped them bridge the gap?

Want more branding exercises? Download our free eBook: 7 Ways to Brand You and What You Do.