How to get sponsored coaching clients

I’m a huge proponent of sponsored coaching. There are many reasons why I’d rather have sponsored coaching clients versus direct pay clients. Two of my favorite reasons are steady work and higher rates.

New coaches often are fully bought into my rationale for focusing your energy on sponsored coaching but aren’t sure how to secure them. That is the million-dollar question. It literally could be worth that over the course of your coaching career.

Here are the ways I suggest you go about seeking to secure sponsored clients.

1. Network with executives and HR leaders. You must be known, liked and trusted by people who have budget and authority to hire you as a coach to someone within their organization. I believe in-person networking would be better than virtual. Not aware of any organizations to network with in your area? You might consider going to conferences in other parts of the country then. Which conferences do leaders go to? Do some research. I did a quick Google search and found a few lists of top leadership conferences.

What about HR leaders? One organization that comes to mind is SHRM, the Society of Human Resources Professionals. They have annual and local events. You can learn more about them and how to engage here.

2. Present at conferences and events. It makes sense that you would not just network but would also present to get in front of more people with educational presentations that support effective leadership. I heard from some coaches I was recently speaking to that SHRM chapters are often looking for professional presenters who want to educate. Sounds like a great opportunity for an executive coach!

Consider partnering with a local business newspaper to create an event targeted to leaders. In the past, I’ve partnered with the San Francisco Business Times, Silicon Valley Business Journal and more. You can see if there’s a business newspaper in your market here. I have also presented for a local start-up accelerator and a women’s technology conference. Does this feel overwhelming? You could hire a virtual assistant to help you source speaking opportunities. I’ve secured a good deal of business this way and know it’s an idea worth taking seriously.

3. Look within your LinkedIn network. You can filter searches within your network of connections to search for executives and HR leaders. Reach out to these people and have 1on1 meetings in person or virtually. Explain what you’re doing and what you’d like to do with their help. Don’t be shy. You’re seeking to serve for the betterment of their organization or one they are close to. It’s a good ask. More importantly, if you don’t do it, someone else will.

4. Go back to former employers to see if they hire external coaches. You already have the benefit of understanding their company and having a good reputation with them (hopefully). So why not leverage the opportunity? One day I’m going to go back to Oracle, my last employer, to see if they may have openings on their external coaching bench.

5. Have a great website with numerous resources that reward people who find it. I’ve worked very hard over the past few years to seriously rev up the content on my site. I have way more than a blog and it’s working. I’ve gotten leads through my site for sponsored engagements, and you can too. Just know you’re playing the long game on this one.

6. Get on to social media in some way on a regular basis. My go to platform is YouTube. The second one is LinkedIn. I make sure to share quality videos and posts to stay top of mind with people who might hire me. It’s worth noting that I’ve gotten more business via YouTube than LinkedIn. I’m not a fan of posting every day or even several times a week on LinkedIn, which is probably why I don’t get many business opportunities via the site. Your results may differ if you’re willing to post more frequently and even ask for business.

7. Hire an agency to do cold email campaigns. Believe it or not, I did get a sponsored engagement this way a few years ago. I only broke even on what I paid the agency, so I decided not to do it again. But I can see how it might be possible to get a productive rhythm going with an agency who was willing to keep adjusting their approach to get better results over time.

8. Align with other coaches, trainers, facilitators and consultants who are ahead of you in terms of building a business and support the larger engagements they secure. I’ve gotten business this way.

Does this seem like a lot of work? No doubt, it is. But I think it’s worth it. If you have an idea I haven’t thought of, please share it with me. I’d love to hear it and share it with other coaches.

Hope this is helpful to you! Want to learn more about coaching?

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