How to Land Your First Coaching Client (When You Have No Idea What You're Doing)

He had no coaching packages. No clients. No idea how to run a sales call. And then, in week 5 of his BAE cohort, he signed his first client to a 6-month coaching contract. 🥳In this episode, I'm walking you through one BAE student's journey—from "I have no idea what I'm doing" to landing a real, paying coaching client faster than he ever thought possible.I'm calling him Michael to protect his privacy, but his story is real, and it's one that I know you'll find instructive.Here's what you'll hear in this episode:🎧 How Michael went from joining BAE to having a website, a LinkedIn profile, and a niche—all within the first month of his cohort🎧 Why a referral from a former colleague turned into his first real client inquiry (and how he almost let fear talk him out of it)🎧 What a discovery call looks like, and how it's different from a sales call🎧 Why I pushed Michael to raise his prices—and why he was glad I did🎧 How to handle the nerve-wracking gap between your client saying "I need to think about it" and "I'm in"🎧 The mindset shift that separates academics who stay stuck from those who actually launchI also share what's been happening in the current cohort with other BAE students—including someone who landed TWO dissertation editing clients in a single day, and two MORE just a few weeks later. 🤯The big lesson running through all of this: you are never going to feel ready. The fear doesn't go away. But you CAN (and should!) do it scared—and that's exactly what growth looks like.🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss future episodes on life beyond academia, freelance editing and academic coaching, and building a business that brings you joy.Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor2:30 - Define Your Niche & Build Your Website5:15 - How To Land Your First Coaching Client8:00 - Master Discovery Calls For Clients11:45 - Price Your Packages With Confidence15:00 - How To Nail Your Sales Call19:30 - Key Takeaways For Business Growth23:00 - Join BAE Core Or Accelerator30:00 - Why You Have To Do It Scared Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.