How to Position Yourself Successfully in the Coaching Industry

In this episode, Emily Merrell and Lexie Smith break down the different ways to position yourself within the coaching industry.  From messaging to pricing to sales and more, hear the duo talk through various positioning strategies that can make you stand out in the crowded coaching world. 

Here’s what you’ll learn: 

• Different ways you can be perceived in the coaching world
• Different elements that factor into your positioning, such as messaging
• How to position yourself on social media in an authentic way
• Different tiers of offerings you can provide based on how you want your coaching business to be perceived
• How the client experience is affected (or should be altered) by how you decide to position yourself as a coach
• How different levels of exclusivity affect your price point when curating your offering
• The importance of credibility when you are going after the luxury and high-ticket market as a coach
• Tips on positioning yourself as more accessible to a larger client base
• And More!

Transcript

How to Position Yourself Successfully in the Coaching Industry - Podcast Transcript

Lexie Smith  

Hi, Emily.

Emily Merrell  

You look gorgeous, guys, if you're watching this, she looks gorgeous. If you're listening to this, she literally looks like she's going to like a fine dining experience. And I look like I'm about to like clean your workout studio.

Lexie Smith  

You look beautiful no matter what you wear very naturally. Do you ever feel like when someone says you look great. And then on days when they don't say you look great. So my ugly every other day? Like why? Hey, Emily, I thought I looked great yesterday. But so true.

Emily Merrell  

So true. I think someone said that the other day. They're like, Oh, tonight's dinner was great. Or like was was better. And she's like, better than what like better? Was it not good the other nights?

Lexie Smith  

Right? Okay, which is super interesting. There's very much probably psych psychology like an answer to what the brain does there. But my husband calls me out sometimes to hanging on to the negative part of a situation he's like, you know, your brain doesn't clean to the positives or remember the positives here first remember the negatives. It's probably something that this is called.

Emily Merrell  

But I think it's I think it's called crazy.

Lexie Smith  

Well, okay, then

Emily Merrell  

I get I get I get a get but the spiral begins.

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, sorry. I what I wanted to talk about briefly guys, listen to what Emily's doing this weekend.

Emily Merrell  

I'm going to the mountains because you know, we live in Colorado now. With I think about 16 other people. So we rented a very large house. And I'm learning it's funny because I lived on the East Coast and on the East Coast. You went to The Hamptons for the weekend, which I never really protect in that in that world. And my sister coordinated a Mountain House. So we've got like four dogs. 16 people, one baby, and a lot of cars and a partridge in a pear tree. And we're going kind of Skien from today till Saturday.

Lexie Smith  

And is there an event Why are you doing this?

Emily Merrell  

Oh no, it's called Winter I guess people like go to the mountains and they use the snow stuff to slide down it I'm I'm new to this. I will be in Jackson's like teaching school learning how to ski because the last time I went skiing I was 27 years old. My lovely boyfriend at the time was very patient and I cried the entire way down the hill. I was like This is awful.

Lexie Smith  

I want to be there to see that. Just kidding. So Emily shares with me and I'm like, you were like that influencer like the Gigi Hadid of the world who's like going on these big trips that I'm like, is that bougie girl?

Emily Merrell  

You bougie like $100 for per you know, per night.

Lexie Smith  

It's wildly across? Um,

Emily Merrell  

you know, when you live in Denver, we can do it together. Yeah, but

Lexie Smith  

16 people I'm so curious for those listening. Is what Emily doing? Just like another casual winter weekend for you? Or are you on my side? Where if there's 20 people going to a cabin? It's because there's a wedding or a bachelorette party? Or there's like some key event that that made this many adult humans be able to coordinate on this level. So tell us tell us where do you land?

Emily Merrell  

I would be curious Lex how many people were at your bachelorette party?

Lexie Smith  

A lot. Um, I want to say like this Yeah. What were you a bit you had 55

Emily Merrell  

Seemed like 717 1517 Something, something something

Lexie Smith  

like that. But it was to my point, an event and it took like a lot of coordinating and so that's why I was expecting you to tell me like oh, yeah, we're going for someone's insert occasion. But no, just a casual ski trip was winter winter.

Emily Merrell  

People do winter stuff here. It's it's and literally they've been doing it on and off throughout this winter. I've just been like, Thank you, but I'm okay. No, thank you. So it took a lot for me to actually commit to going to this because you're right I do. I had Greg pack jacks and stuff because he always I always pack it. And we're going to take them to bargaining. And I think I'm gonna go cross country skiing. And that feels like about my speed because I don't have a need for speed.

Lexie Smith  

Fun fact, when I think of cross country skiing, I think of what do you think of? I think I'm coming,

Emily Merrell  

I'm coming to you and skied from on my way.

Lexie Smith  

up for a transition, I was gonna say, I think of like, wealth. And I think of like, I don't know, I basically I was trying to lead us up into it has a perception, which is related to positioning, which is what we're talking about today, we're talking about how to position yourself successfully in the coaching industry. But that was an epic. Okay,

Emily Merrell  

let me let me bring it back. So essentially seen, I think of someone who is not good at skiing, but they want to feel wintry. And so their modality is by walking in skis, because they like to play it safe. And then I see videos of people who are going really fast with GoPros down the mountains, and I'm like, wow, those people are scared the bejesus out of me. And they're fast. And so their positioning is very different.

Lexie Smith  

You've flipped, like fully successfully taken over the hat of the transition Queen on this show.

Emily Merrell  

Good. Thank you that feel about

Lexie Smith  

that? I guess I'm proud because I like started it so I can take partial credit. But now I'm just, I'll just let

Emily Merrell  

you stick to singing the jingle. Your voice is not of an angel.

Lexie Smith  

Oh, yes, I know. I know this. Okay. So guys, again, how to position yourself successfully in the coaching industry. So what do we mean here? We mean, first and foremost, are you wanting to be seen as a high ticket coach? Are you wanting to be seen or known as someone that's accessible? Or you basically insert How do you want to be seen or what do you want to be known for?

Emily Merrell  

Blacks? I have a question for you. How do you think we're perceived in the coaching industry? Good, Lord.

Lexie Smith  

That's so that's funny. I think that we are seen as friendly

and funny.

Lexie Smith  

So okay, I can what I can't answer is what I know we want to be positioned as and we want to be positioned as fun but knows our shit. Like, we know how to do crap. But we're also fun and can do it in a friendly, light hearted way. What do you think? What do you think people? Yeah,

Emily Merrell  

I and I was joking about the friendly, I think you're more friendly than I am. If that is possible. She grimaces, as, as I see those words. No, I think I think we're approachable. I think people feel like they can ask us ask us questions without feeling like they're going to be sold to. I feel like this podcast too. I hope. If you're listening to this, you feel like you know us and you get a better sense of like the reality of who we are. We're not. It's not the smoke and mirrors that everything is perfect. We try to be really authentic with like, who, what the behind the scenes look like. And a lot of times it can feel like a hot mess, and we want to share that hot mess with you.

Lexie Smith  

Yes, I think there's a Marilyn Monroe quote, that's probably not who it is. But there's a quote somewhere that's famous by someone famous that says perfectly imperfect. Yeah. And I think of us as that. So here's what we want to chat through guys. First and foremost, question for you to reflect on, is what do you want to be positioned? As, are you wanting to be positioned as someone in the luxury coaching market? Are you really wanting to be seen as someone who impacts the masses, right? This should relate to also who you want to serve. Because your price point, which we'll talk about a little bit more in a bit is going to be a large part of how you're positioning yourself.

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, and it's, it's funny thinking of positioning, I'm going to even take it back to six degrees society. When I first created my logo and six degrees society, there was like a feeling I wanted to evoke when people bought a ticket when they when they came to an event when they saw our logo. And you think about brands to like when you think of remez you it might be very aspirational, it might feel very luxury, it might feel a certain way, but for me, it was six degrees. I remember telling my friends who designed my logo, I want it to feel like a warm hug. And I wanted the positioning to feel like a warm hug throughout the entire experience interacting with us from the emails that we send to the social media posts that we post to walking into an event. So lax, I love that question of like, how do you want to be positioned? Do you want to be in or mez? Or do you want to be a forever 21 of CO Jean, where you are accessible to the masses.

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, and some things to think about guys, when we talk about positioning and teed this up perfectly. To successfully position yourself, you need to pay attention and align your brand image with your brand messaging with your price point, and ultimately how you show up in the world and who you work with. So it really is something that hits across all categories of your business. So when we think about our let's use, I'm really bad at high end stuff. Coach, right, we know, Coach, I know, Coach, you know, Coach, because I don't know a lot of brand names. So when you think of Coach and you go to their website, you're going to see a very specific brand image, you're also going to see the way they word things very specific, when you walk into a Coach store. It's set up very specifically, the way that coach advertises is very exclusive. The price point is very specific. And all these things are aligned with a high end luxury brand. So the reason I bring that up is if for example, you had a $500 bag, and you're trying to say that you're very exclusive that you go and walk into a Coach store and it's laid out like a forever 21 There's going to be misalignment there.

Emily Merrell  

For sure. It's so funny, so I used to work in the luxury industry. So this is very funny. I'm like, I'm but I think coach is also now we're gonna just be talking about fashion y'all. Coaches like an attainable luxury where people? No, no, it's an it's an attainable luxury like I I think a lot of people they have a good price point where it's like maybe $100 things, introductory things, but then you build up and you you save up for a bigger items. So there is a ladder system. So I think that's something also in terms of perception. Or maybe they get you in one door, but they want you to then buy a higher offer when when building your perception. Like are you do you want someone to be able to build with you and build their collection with you so to speak, or do you want them to be saving up for like seven years for that Irma's bag?

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, okay, so clearly I'm not great at fashion, but about food for example. So of a Smart and Final I have no idea if that chain exists outside of California. Smart and Final. Never heard of it. Probably like what would be another branch think of it as like a very thrifty affordable. Winco a Winco. Is that more? No, West Coast Okay, whatever. No, no, so oh and Smart and Final would be below a Ralph's. Okay. So it's like the entry level cost plus style of grocery store. Then tear up you have Ralph's Vons, Safeway, Albertsons rite, those are all kind of at the same line, then here up we go, Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, etc. So here if you can't relate to fashion, and you're like me, I wanted to bring food into the play. When you walk into a Whole Foods or you walk into a Bristol Farms, you're gonna see a very different price point, you're gonna have a different experience than when you walk into a Smart and Final or Winco or insert whatever part of the country chain you're in. Right? So that's another example.

Emily Merrell  

Max, how can people find out how to work with us?

Lexie Smith  

Super simple. Go to ReadySet coach program.com They can show notes.

Emily Merrell  

Okay, so lax, what do you think would make sense? You know, we talked about brands, we talked about grocery stores. What is an example of a perception of a positioning of like a high end, coach?

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, so I think we're going to try to use some really well known names for you guys today. A well known luxury or high end high ticket coach that you might be familiar with would be Brendon Burchard. If I said that wrong, I'm so sorry. I doubt he listens to the show. Know, his clients you also we're going to know they are the Amy Porterfield of the world, the Jenna Kutcher. So first and foremost, let's look at that. Who he works with is of a certain caliber second, Emily and I went to go see what type of offerings Brennan has for coaching and very hard to find. Meaning it's not something that is just out there for the masses to to see you can't just say apply to work with Brennan right. It's super, super exclusive. And just knowing some of his clientele, I know he has a very high price tag as well. So pricing exclusivity and the caliber of clients that he's working with.

Emily Merrell  

And I'll add that he did a really good job or his team has done a really good job of positioning him as, as a leading expert. So you look at his website, and there's Forbes quotes that say the world's leading high performance coach, or Oprah Magazine, saying one of the most influential leaders in the field of personal growth. So he has these testimonials, and also these accredited companies or magazines or places that are trustworthy to his perceived audience, who are like, Oh, my freaking god, I wouldn't be touched by an angel if I had the chance to work with him. And feel so so fortunate. And I don't know about you, Lex. But like, when I read something like this, I start then feeling this pull of like, desire.

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, well, I think what you're highlighting too, is how important credibility is credibility. That's the word. Yeah, credibility and authority. When it when you're going to go after that high ticket, or that luxury, or that top tier market, you need to have the social proof to back it, you need to have the credibility, people are expecting that you can't just pop Hi, my name is Pam Smith. And all of a sudden, I'm going to start charging 100k for a mastermind. And I have no one else that you know, that I've worked with. I have no press. I have no rap sheet of accolades, right. credibility and positioning that credibility goes a long way in that high ticket market.

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, and I mean, even the way that he positioned himself in his bio, his personal bio, is he inserts his authority right off the bat, you know, as one of the world's elite life coaches, personally presented to Oprah to usher Olympians. So he's saying these words, these trigger words that if you were someone that wants to be an Oprah, or an usher, or an Olympian, you might be feeling like he is calling you into work work in his world. Now, the next step would being how do you work with this person?

Lexie Smith  

Right? Excuse me? Right. And so let's make it a little bit more relatable to perhaps those listening. Okay, cool. I'd love to be Brendon Burchard one day, but I'm not. So how can I position myself as a luxury or high ticket coach? Transferable, a transferable thing you can do is just make it harder to be able to work with you. So that might look like having a application that has a bunch of qualifiers in it, right? making it harder for people to get time to speak with you on the phone, right, you have to go through more steps. It's not so so easy to get time on your calendar, you're not so accessible. So that's one, one thing you can play with.

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, the other thing too, that I've seen more and more people do, and you don't have to do this, but as having someone else do the sales call for you. You're You're so protected. You're so guarded, that you're not the one who is picking up the phone and having that one to one. You're not even meeting me until we work together. And I think there's something so desirable and kind of mysterious, if that's what you want. While there's the other people who are like no, I want to talk to do them. Before I work with

Lexie Smith  

Susan. So great examples, Emily, talk us through the other side of the coin, if you're more going after a volume model more accessible, trying to reach more people at a lesser price point.

Emily Merrell  

So the exact set exact opposite of what we just talked about with the high end, that's the that's being able to hit Add to Cart and being able to checkout right then in there that's being able to select a payment plan option or a pay in full option that's being able to not just select it, I accept the terms and agreements, and Bada bing bada boom. And the next thing you know, you're getting on boarded into this program into this course, you're not getting on a call with anyone, you probably have the opportunity to get on a call if you want to, but most likely that decision is made just between you and that website.

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, so think Marie Forleo think Amy Porterfield thinks some of these volume mass coaches that have 1000s of clients. Right? Those are some good examples. Anyone else coming to mind?

Emily Merrell  

My friend Reese has yes supply that similar to it's a coaching program, but what they do, they'll office, they'll introduce office hours and they'll have other coaches and Reese herself shows up maybe once a month or so. So it's not so much about the head coach. She's the face of the operation, but she's not necessarily the person that is teaching all the information. Maybe the modules are recorded by her. But the people actually teaching or showing up for the coaching calls are not led by her. Great and

Lexie Smith  

so let's also address what if someone wants both? What if they want it accessible offer, but also a chance to have high ticket is that something that can coexist in a successful positioning strategy?

Emily Merrell  

I don't think so. In my opinion, I think there is an opportunity of building the like know and trust with more of these accessible low ticket offerings. Back to our coach example, I think of my sweet 16 I got a Coach bag that was like a, it was the special gift, but it was at an age where it had the see letters all over it, I you know, everyone loved the logos back then were now if I was to buy a Coach bag, I would want something on logoed premium leather, really, really beautiful lining. And so similarly thinking about the ladder of your offering, is there something that can bring people in, build that like no interest, make your Make, make yourself a reputable brand. But then, as they get closer and they grow in their business, they get closer to the revenue goals, they might want that one on one support, or that exclusive support of working with you and you are the peak of Everest to them.

Lexie Smith  

So I'm going to use you as a good example. Here you have a an online course a passive online course called organized. Yeah, right. Correct. We get organized. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, right, good. So if you want to learn from Emily, you can go on our website today. And purchase that for a very accessible price point. And you can learn great. However, if you want to work one on one with Emily, that's a very different process. And not everyone gets the opportunity to write. So she's creating something that can become accessible and impact large volumes. But there is positioning that if you want to work with V, Emily, Merrill one on one, right? That's, that's a different ballgame. And that comes with a different process and a different price tag. And also

Emily Merrell  

I'll add to that, too, is my own capacity and bandwidth. So I only take a limited number of clients. And that's something that you know, I've I've had to put clients on a waitlist. And I think putting them on the waitlist also has helped me in terms of building my my pipeline and building my my authority, because I'm not going to take on more than I can chew. And so I have to honor that about myself and also to show up and serve my clients communicate that with them, which I think makes it a little bit more desirable. And I'd say the same thing for you Lex like your capacity, what? What have been some tactics in terms of your positioning that have made you feel more premium?

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, so I will say that my it's been a progression, meaning my premium offerings and price tags have evolved with demand. So first, I think from a brand personality standpoint, I definitely for the PR side of things. Very similar to that really sick coach, right? I aim to be approachable, fun, don't take me too seriously in terms of personality. But I know my shit, right, you get shit done. And I do know, there's credibility to my brands, that allows me to charge the price that I do. So that being said, My I didn't start my coaching business day one and have a waitlist. That's just not that's not how it happened. It's something that through time, evolved in this my brand evolve as well, in this my price evolved. So year, one of my business looked very different, and how I'm positioning myself today, today, now I have really the luxury of being able to say no, a lot more, because there is demand there for my services. And so I'm able to be more selective and exclusive, just due to good old supply and demand.

Emily Merrell  

And I think that's a really good lesson too. And, you know, you might be listening to this and be like, I want to be a coach, but and I want to be exclusive. So out of the gate, there is going to be a little bit more hustle I'm going to say I think is the right word or a little bit more intentionality of you're going to be kind of auditioning and trying out different clients. And you might think this was your ideal client and then realize no, no, I don't ever want to work with this type of person again, and this person who you didn't think was is your client. So give yourself grace, as you figure out what your offers are and know that your offers can can scale and evolve as you evolve as a coach.

Lexie Smith  

Totally. And here's something actionable too. I want to I want to offer to you guys. So step one, kind of in this conversation today was to get clear and understanding how you want to be positioned. Once you identify that and there are strategic and tactical, tactical things you can do. So if you decide you really want to work towards being high ticket and being positioned as high ticket, then you should start thinking about how can you go after things that add credibility. So PR and press might be on your list, right? Going after getting big name logos, like Forbes, for example is something that can go a long way. Going after high visibility opportunities and big stages might be something if you're going after kind of high ticket speaking engagements as another revenue stream that you want, might want to pursue. flipside, if you're looking to be more of an accessible price coach, then what can you do to price yourself accordingly and build an offer suite that supports that? So examples for that would be what am I?

Emily Merrell  

Such great questions Lex? Why don't you answer that?

Lexie Smith  

Can you tell guys, we don't script these are just

Emily Merrell  

like, oh God, now you're giving me the hard questions like, yes, you're doing such a good job, a

Lexie Smith  

lot of roles. So let's think of an example here. Okay, let's think of a client, we have a client who has a community and she has integrated her coaching as part of that community. And that community has the ability to service a lot of people at a very accessible price point. So she has an offering that is in alignment with positioning herself as accessible to many.

Emily Merrell  

Right. And and back to what we talked about earlier, then from there, if people want more or at or in a position where they need more, she has that that that upgrade available to them.

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, exactly. So what are some other things people should think about? Let's talk a little bit we've talked about price point a lot. What about messaging? Are there kind of things to consider with positioning and messaging?

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, I think I mean, I was thinking, My instinct, like Instagram has also come into my brain a lot too, in terms of the word high ticket, I feel like when I see the word high ticket, then it conditions me to think about high ticket for this, for this particular person, where I'm like, Oh, I'm not buying from them until I really need their services. And they use high ticket. Or they use the examples of people who have opted into their high ticket program, or mastermind, or whatever. And they've showed results. And those results might scare me a little bit. I'm like, Oh, I'm not there yet to make multi millions of dollars, oh, they made $700,000 In a week, I'm like, I'm not I haven't done the work enough to get to that place. So they'll use those examples. And I think those are also great qualifiers for people to be to know when they're the right fit, and when they're not the right fit. Similarly, in creating more of like a low ticket ticket offer, talking about the price point of where you are in your business. So you're like, are you making $1,000 months or $5,000 months, so you can see yourself in their offer, or your potential client can see themselves in your offer and benefiting from your offer, and really, really talking to like the pain points that they're experiencing. So they know that they're, they're sitting in the right club, essentially.

Lexie Smith  

So just to paraphrase, are you are you saying to the language of high ticket

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, I'm basically saying that the language of high ticket and being able to, as you're talking on Instagram, as you're talking on emails, sharing examples of these like, multimillion dollar success stories, or these scaling moments, where if I wasn't at a place or at a capacity to be seen myself there, then I'm probably opting myself out of that high ticket person, but then I see someone who's like are you making I don't know whatever the number is up like 5000 or 1000 or 10,000. And I can see myself in it that much more so if you are positioning both like low ticket and or high ticket be cognizant of what what revenue is expected in terms of like what it would be if you're working on a revenue focused and you might be a dating coach, so completely different or relevant messaging here, but speak to my specific challenges. So

Lexie Smith  

I think a simplified way to say that which is all accurate is meet meet your people where they're at. So if you're going after a high ticket, luxury market, then you need to speak to the high ticket luxury market in whatever niche you're in. If you're going to after more accessible maybe entry level then your language needs smear that as well. And that also is the case for the visuals of your brand. If you're trying to tack on a million dollar price tag to your coaching offer and you have an iPhone selfie that's kind of blurry as your picture on your website. We have a mismatch there it just doesn't that doesn't fly.

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, I can. It pains me so many times when people send me their their webs Aiden it's literally selfies or not like cute selfies but like terrible selfies and that sir about page and it feels like they haven't invested in themselves that they haven't taken themselves seriously enough that why would I want to invest my money in you if you haven't done the work on your own?

Lexie Smith  

Exactly. So it's a little bit, a little bit a lot of talking to talk and walking the walk. If you're going to position yourself as luxury, then you need to appear as luxury, right?

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, at 1,000%. It reminds me a lot of my fashion days Lex like when you went to a high luxury event, you got model servers, who had beautifully catered baits that were organized appropriately, versus if you went to a place that just had like, I don't know, a half created cheese board from Safeway that was left out as a free for all. It's like being offered up this exclusive thing versus like, yeah, help yourself. It's a buffet.

Lexie Smith  

Yeah, for sure. So in terms of homework, I think would be helpful for everyone is to do a little bit of an audit. And to do the audit. First and foremost, you have to know what you want to be positioned as or where, where in the market, you want to be positioned. So step one is getting clear on that. Step two, check yourself is your brand is your messaging. Is your price point, aligning with how you're wanting to position yourself? If not, what can you tweak?

Emily Merrell  

Yeah, I think that's such a great point. I will also add to is look at some look at some coaches out there do a little bit of research and competitive analysis, who are the coaches that are offering the high ticket and what are the feelings that you're feeling? Or that you're that are evoked? When you are reading their copy when you are seeing their pictures? And what is it if you can pinpoint specific things that they are doing that is bringing up that sensation? Just take note of it while as you're doing your own audit. That's a great point.

Lexie Smith  

So we will wrap up today's conversation with a fabulous little jingle that goes Thank you for listening to the ready, set coach,

Emily Merrell  

podcast.

Lexie Smith  

Man, okay.

Emily Merrell  

If you're enjoying the ReadySet coach podcast, please leave a review wherever you are listening. For more information about ReadySet coach, visit ReadySet coach program.com