Dan King, Co-Founder & B2B Growth Strategist + Executive Coach at Fireside Strategic
Bring your coaching to more organizations
Why coach in organizations? Coaches want to make an impact in the world. Bringing your coaching to organizations is one of the most powerful ways to do that since you’ll be working with large teams and influential senior leaders. But most coaches never get the chance to use their gifts with the companies and leaders that are shaping our world.
You believe in the power of conversation to create change, but are you regularly in conversation with the changemakers? Most coaches don’t know how to even begin the conversation with companies. Organizations are complex and it’s hard to know how to approach them. Our view is that you should have conversations with the decisionmakers at the very top. That drastically shortens the time it takes to sell your coaching. This article is all about how to do that.
How would your business improve if you could reliably have conversations with leaders at the very top of organizations? Imagine if you could learn from them, get connected to their network, and work with them as their coach.
Here are three steps to grow your coaching practice:
Step One: Create a simple podcast or videocast and invite a senior leader to participate in a mission-driven interview
An interview is great way to begin a business relationship with even very senior people. Why? Unless someone is a celebrity, odds are they’re almost never asked to be interviewed. An interview is flattering and fun. If done authentically, you can celebrate their greatest achievements. And what feels better than being celebrated?
This works effectively if you ask people, who know senior leaders, to refer them to you for an interview. Most people think about a podcast or a videocast mostly as a way to gradually build an audience and get their ideas out into the world. That’s great! But it’s a long game and in the short-term, if you’re not a celebrity, a podcast is much more powerful if you think of it primarily as a relationship-building tool.
Step Two: Uncover leaders’ challenges by inviting them to a virtual event where they meet peers
If you enjoyed the interview with a leader and think you might be able to work with him or her or their company, invite them to a networking or mastermind event. It’ll be by Zoom so it’s easy to organize. If you schedule 4 leaders at a time, they’ll want to come to meet each other. Plus, it’s a great opportunity for them to get feedback from other smart people. It’s also a chance to understand how they view their challenges. Use this knowledge to determine if you can help them.
Our experience is that this works most effectively if the organizers do very little talking. If you get smart, kind people together, they will want to help each other. Even if you say nothing, you’ll still get credit for organizing it. In doing so from a place of genuine helpfulness, the participants will feel that energy and appreciate you for it.
Step Three: Ask if they want some help
Tell leaders you’ve a few thoughts about the challenges they raised and would like to have a quick conversation to share them. Offer to help. Now, you have permission to sell. If you can close the deal, you’ve got a new corporate client. Go use this to change the world with your coaching magic!
If someone doesn’t feel like a client, that’s ok. You can ask them for referrals to other senior-level leaders since they tend to know one another. There may be other ways to collaborate.
Of course, there are all kinds of details to figure out and you can put your own spin on this process. This model isn’t a good fit for everyone. You’ll need a mindset of abundance and courage to build relationships with impressive people. But it is a good fit for very verbal, conversational, ambitious, and connection-oriented people who want to grow their coaching practice. If you’d like to learn how to implement it, apply to work with us here. Whether or not you work with us, we wish you the absolute best and hope you’ll coach boldly and have a big impact.
Growing your practice in breadth and depth
Another way to grow your coaching practice in breadth and depth is through Grand Heron International’s company-wide on-demand coaching program, allowing you to scale your coaching within an organization with the support of a team of vetted, experienced coaches. Learn more on how to become a partner.
About Dan King
Dan is a tennis and meditation-loving lawyer turned executive coach and business growth strategist. Dan has helped leaders understand and realize their potential, successfully transition careers, and augment their sales capabilities. He has worked with a Shark on the Shark Tank TV show, senior politicians, US and Canadian army officers, and CEOs. Previously, Dan was a corporate lawyer. He realized he cared more about his clients’ leadership and human challenges than their legal challenges, so he entered the coaching industry. He failed at his first attempt at entrepreneurship but then he built and sold a coaching company serving the legal industry. He studied Psychology at Columbia University and Law at McGill University. He is a world traveler and veteran of 2 extreme auto races, driving a Fiat from London to Mongolia and a rickshaw the length of India. He can be reached at dan@firesidestrategic.com.
Learn more about Dan at www.firesidestrategic.com or apply to work with the Fireside team here.
