A great niche to explore in the coaching business is being a sales and marketing consultant. Almost every self-employed professional is looking for new clients.
In an exclusive interview, James Pollard, a sales and marketing consultant for financial advisors tells us how he helps financial advisors find new clients.
Why did you start coaching, as opposed to being a financial consultant yourself?
I started coaching because I saw a need in the marketplace. A lot of financial advisors were getting the same old advice, yet the industry as a whole kept churning through advisors like there was no tomorrow.
Not many financial advisors experience real success, so I wanted to change that.
How did you choose your niche?
I chose my niche based on need and my personal experience. I have years of experience in the financial services industry, so I am intimately familiar with the marketing processes and how they can be improved.
How did you get your first client?
My first client actually came to me. That’s when I discovered that I enjoyed doing this and wanted to scale it out.
Tell us about your marketing strategy.
I have several marketing channels running at any given time; but email, direct mail, and social media tend to get me the most business.
Word of mouth works too. People tell their friends about how I helped them and they ask to be put on my short list.
What is your pricing methodology?
I charge my clients based on the percentage of value I know I can give them.
With that being said, I don’t take on clients who I can’t confidently help. But if I can give someone $50,000 worth of value, paying me $10,000 is nothing.
What are your revenue streams, as a coach?
My primary revenue streams are coaching, products, speaking, advertising, and affiliate partnerships.
If you had to start all over again, what would you do differently?
I would allow a short list to be created.
Whenever I got fully booked I would turn people away and never hear from them again. Since I’ve created a short list, I can reach out to people who were interested months ago and see if they still want to work with me.
What tools do you use to manage your coaching business?
My favorite tool is Drip’s email marketing automation software. It allows me to manage my email list and send out beautiful emails.
Your advice for new coaches?
Don’t get discouraged if things start out slowly. Coaching is like a compound effect. It all builds on top of itself. Give yourself enough time to see the benefit of this compounding.
Check out James’ book “The Ultimate Financial Advisor’s Guide To Getting More Clients.”
A short list is a bright idea in almost any service type job. It is great that he has a job that he actually likes doing as apposed to having a job he has to work at.
These are very good advices …for small business I think word of mouth is very effective. I have got a totally different business from yours but I think I could actually use dome of your tips, thanks for sharing!
we all should have a list to rely on one that we can always feel reassured about.
What a great informative post. I love that he has a job that he actually likes doing as apposed to having a job he has to work at. That is awesome!
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It’s great to be advised by you. If I had a chance, I would company with you.
Wow, I think the idea of creating a short list is brilliant in many ways – I experienced turning people down when my list was full before and it wasn’t pleased at all. It’s nice to see you starting your job to meet the needs of the marketplace. Keep doing well like this in the future!
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Coaching is such a challenging job! You have to preach what you teach. So I really admire coaches who can be objective to their clients and diligently practice what they advise. In this kind of job, word of mouth is really important to build credibility and attract more clients. Thanks for sharing!
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Coaching is something that a financial advisor should use. This is a great interview and great advise from a coach to financial advisors. It sounds like it can be a great way to make money and be your own boss. Thanks for sharing the information.