Client Case Study
Therapeutic Coach in the UK
From spinning her wheels on the shaky ground of strategies that worked for other people to building her business on solid, built-to-last foundations that work for HER. Here’s the story ⬇️
This therapeutic coach had, prior to the pandemic, been running her business largely in person in the UK. For over two decades, she delivered hypnotherapy, shadow work, and more on an hourly rate. When the pandemic hit, she brought her business online, and joined EXPAND a few years later in 2023.
She stepped into EXPAND because she was tired of spinning her wheels and trying all sorts of things to make her business ‘work’ online, including a lot of ‘tried and true’ strategies that made her tune out of her own inner wisdom, but they either weren’t working or weren’t aligned. She wanted to turn her business into one that truly suited her life and values while supporting her and her children. Throughout her time in this comprehensive business training program, she built out each of the six elements of her Sustainable Success System: Audience, Offers, Messaging, Marketing, Lead Generation, and Sales.
By the end of the program, she had differentiated between a true Right Fit client and someone who was not physiologically ready to transform, crafted repeatable messaging that both calls in Right Fit clients and makes it simple for her to talk about her work wherever and whenever she wants to, built a personalized system for her marketing that allows her to capture ideas and create them when she’s ready to, begun showing up more authoritatively in her content while retaining her authenticity and deep care for her community, and more.
First, a bit of context…
Before joining EXPAND, this Therapeutic Coach was, in her words, “still confused about my mission and how everything fit together, and was spinning my wheels, not wanting to commit to any strategies.” She was “just keeping busy” but really, “not doing anything.” And ultimately was feeling a lack of clarity, overwhelm, and “fear of wasting time on the wrong activities and then getting analysis paralysis.” She also had quite a lot of outside responsibilities, including single parenting, caring for her elderly father, and running her home after a recent separation.
It didn’t help that she was in two different memberships at the time, one which was saying that you NEED to use multiple social media platforms for your business and another that said social media was a poor use of her time and you NEED to be searchable with things like blogging. She had also invested $5,000 in a 6-month coaching program where the two coaches told her ‘the’ way to do things (aka how they had built their success in their business). Fast forward a couple months in, she realized: doing things how they said she ‘had to’ didn’t, and wouldn’t, work for her.
All of this together made her decide: “I’m not going to defer to other people anymore. I cannot keep going down this path of not listening to myself.” Which is great, but left her with another realization: “I’m not really sure what I need to be doing (and so I’m not using my time well).”
She stepped into EXPAND ready to:
Gain “clarity on my audience, offer and message, how I deliver, plus how to articulate everything, what to say to get leads and sales, and choose strategies that wouldn’t lead to burnout. I need to know it is going to suit me and my life and values.”
Most importantly, she wanted to “feel like the last 20 years have been in service to this moment, supporting my children and myself [through my business] in ways none of the other women in my family have managed for 3 generations.”
How we supported this Therapeutic Coach to build Sustainable Success in her business
When this Therapeutic Coach learnt about the Sustainable Success System™, including the differences between foundations and strategies, through our course The Aligned Niche™ (previously Niche Unleashed) she saw that the previous coaches and memberships she had invested in were teaching her strategies. While strategies are helpful, they can only be effective when the foundations are in place to empower them to be so. She now knew that she “needed something more complete, more foundational,” and the Sustainable Success System provided that missing roadmap.
The foundations-focused approach we take here at WholeCo “filled [her] with confidence,” and helped her to make the decision to invest. Right before she stepped into EXPAND, a part of her was still questioning whether she was ready for it or if it was the right thing, and she even found herself asking, “can I justify the expense?” What ultimately sealed the deal for her was when she realized “This is my baby and I want to make it work. I don’t want to look back in 6 months time and think, ‘did I really put everything into it?’ I need something thorough.”
And EXPAND is just that.
Throughout her time in the program, she built out each of the six elements of her Sustainable Success System: Audience, Offers, Messaging, Marketing, Lead Generation, and Sales. She particularly “loved the intimacy of [the program],” saying,
“Even though I had these 1:1 coaches before, they were the opposite. [EXPAND] was warm and welcoming, I felt like I could share anything, be myself. I felt like the other [EXPANDers] were amazing as well. It feels like we really were on the same journey even though we have different businesses. It’s not just me, this oddball trying to figure this out. We’re learning from each other in a container that just felt so safe, unhurried, there was enough time to express what I needed, I felt seen and heard, and held.”
Here’s a closer look at what she accomplished with the support of EXPAND and Team WholeCo:
Nuancing her understanding of her Audience (for even more effective work elsewhere in her business!)
This Therapeutic Coach knew that she needed to make adjustments to her messaging and the way that she was marketing to more effectively attract prospects into her work, but what was most surprising once inside of EXPAND was that before she could make those adjustments, she needed to clarify her Right Fit client even more than she already had.
While she had heard of the customer journey before, it felt incomplete until she learned about the Transformational Journey. In her words: “The idea of the [Solution-Oriented Client] and [Transformation-Ready Client] being the right ones to buy, and especially trying not to attract [those who are looking for a savior] was revolutionary.” Not only that, but going beyond a traditional ideal client persona and actually identifying each of the four foundations of a Right Fit client helped her to put into words things that she had intuitively known, but never actually stated (which meant that she wasn’t consciously communicating them anywhere). They also helped her realize why she was sometimes drained by her clients: she had attracted many who were ‘looking for a savior’ in her, rather than people who were truly physiologically ready to transform.
The Audience module in EXPAND also brought to light a fear of working with people who are already “successful” as they felt more intimidating and/or like they would expect more from her. From this, she was able to tap into her own tools as well as support in EXPAND to work through this fear and integrate its lessons. Ultimately she came to the conclusion that,
“It's okay that they are successful in other areas of their life whilst still recognising they need my guidance in my zone of genius. And if they already have extensive experience of my kind of work (inner child, shadows, etc), they may still be grateful for the relationship and container I provide, and my unique style of delivery and engagement, so there's nothing to fear, especially if I nail the messaging and offer. I was surprised to uncover this wisdom so clearly.”
The work she did on uncovering her true Right Fit audience set her up to be able to build a truly Sustainably Successful business, as it’s a Right Fit client that is both a dream to work with for her and someone who will reliably see results.
Formalizing and strengthening her offers (as well as fleshing out a full offer suite!)
When this Therapeutic Coach first joined EXPAND, she had already made sales of her signature 1:1 coaching offer and was beta testing a shadow work Power Hour. Through delivering her 1:1 coaching offer to clients, it was becoming more defined and easier to explain to people, though she did wonder if she needed to add more to it in terms of evergreen assets (e.g. trainings, workbooks, etc.) to make it more sustainable to deliver. She was also successfully selling smaller 6-session packages that didn’t have a defined process and were bespoke to the clients’ needs. However, she was still charging according to an hourly rate and her packages were too client led in terms of scope. The Power Hour was also proving to be quite difficult to sell because what she was “describing was not something anyone could even understand, let alone see they needed it.”
Discovering the four offer foundations inside of the Offer module of EXPAND made everything clearer, helping her to “feel more competent in my craft, and I can see myself happily exploring more [types of offers] in the future.” The biggest shift she made was turning her signature 1:1 offer into a 6-month program instead of a 3-month program, both as a way of giving her clients integration time between sessions but also to increase the perceived value of the program. (Here at WholeCo, we love when things are mutually in-service of your clients and your business!) She also increased the price point to be more sustainable to deliver, from £1,341 for 3 months to £1,950.
Additionally, she decided to drop the Power Hour, for a bit anyway, allowing herself to come back to it later when she was ready to rework it so that it could reliably facilitate results and be more effectively communicated. She also pressed ‘pause’ on making evergreen assets for her signature 1:1 program, realizing that that didn’t actually need to be her priority right now—getting more clients was!—plus she’d have more clarity on exactly what assets to create the more clients she worked with in the program. About 6 months after ‘graduating’ EXPAND, we heard that she’s now beginning to build a smaller offer (Single Solution Offer) to strengthen her customer journey. “I am planning to plug all my ideas into the Expand modules workbooks so it's less daunting and more thorough and intentional (no more spaghetti throwing).”
Even in only the second core module of EXPAND, she was already seeing how strengthening her offers and fleshing out her offer suite would help her more effectively market her business.
“I can relax about the social media hamster wheel because I have something I'll be proud of soon, and this will naturally give me plenty to write about. Before, my content was loose conversations about random ideas, and it's no wonder they didn't lead to a useful CTA. Having the offers in mind when I create marketing content will allow people to know my work and encourage referrals. Also, optimising my offers will just make the deliverability easier and hopefully improve the outcomes, feedback and testimonials.”
Inside EXPAND, everything we do and teach builds on itself, making each next step simpler because you’re truly prepared for it, which she was already seeing!
Creating repeatable messages that center and resonate with her Right Fit client
Finally this Therapeutic Coach found herself facing the topic she came into EXPAND knowing was going to be a big focus for her: messaging. “This was where I struggled - I would have bursts of inspiration in wildly different areas, but nothing cohesive and repeatable that I loved.” In order to come up with messaging, she had largely relied on the ‘spaghetti throwing’ method, “spiritual download type moments,” or occasionally would use templates (and later “regret” it). All of this led to an “inconsistent and less-than-compelling core message.”
Through the Messaging work she completed in EXPAND, including the in-depth review Carly did of the messaging for this coach’s signature 1:1 offer, she came up with core messages that speak directly to the type of client she is intending to attract into each of her offers. “I feel a lot more confident now, and I'm excited to see how it works into the daily(ish) content I create and the sale pages, offer materials etc. I want to feel like I've mastered the language and the order in which I say things so they unfold in a way that takes the potential client on a journey that's compelling and hopeful.” Having these core messages continues to save her so much time that would have otherwise been spent second guessing whether she was saying the right thing, in the right way. Now, whenever she needs to come up with messaging for any of her new offers or services, she “goes through the workbook sections and makes sure everything follows on from the previous point, so it’s cohesive and thorough.”
Marketing with intentionality, authenticity, and consistency
Marketing was another area that this Therapeutic Coach came into EXPAND knowing that she needed support with. She had tried other coaches' marketing methods with partial success, though had spent 9 months spreading herself too thinly between Facebook, LinkedIn, email, and more. Occasionally her long, thoughtful posts on Facebook would be shared and lead to clients she didn’t personally know showing up, but mostly: her audience saw her either as a friend, or sometimes even as someone who, herself, needed to be coached (especially with her more personal/storytelling-type shares). “I really needed to show up more as the authority and make each story in service to my Right Fit ideal client instead, and [the marketing work in EXPAND] has helped enormously here.”
Pretty soon after beginning the marketing modules in EXPAND, she saw just how much of the content she had been creating was ineffective, which she was only creating because she had watched others do similarly or because she was trying to satisfy obscure requirements for ‘Know, Like, Trust.’ She had also been creating content “the intuitive way,” telling herself that that’s what appealed to her ideal client. All of that meant that sometimes she didn’t have the inspiration required to talk about her work, which left her unable to do what she knew she needed to do to reach more prospective clients.
“I’ve always been so haphazard about marketing, I need a system so that I give ideas enough time to test whether they work or not before I succumb to shiny objects due to fear or confusion. I have been so lost in the past, not knowing the purpose behind my actions and just following others’ examples. So I want this to be built for me personally.”
That personalized system is exactly what she was able to create through the Marketing modules in EXPAND.
“I now can think of content ideas in one of 4 powerful ways and see which would be most appropriate. And then I have a structure to help me outline it. Having the outline done first is new to me - I used to write in full when the muse struck, or make notes on an idea but then fail to remember why it was worth writing. Now I can capture and organise ideas successfully, which gives me confidence. I also signed up a lovely new client and was grateful to be able to frame my work so nicely and believe in the value and potential outcomes.”
Six months later, she’s still using what she learnt in EXPAND to inform her marketing. “I regularly refer to the 4 types of content and the templates when I feel stuck or have veered off course, and this reduces my resistance to getting started because the support is waiting for me.”
Learning to attract Right Fit leads
This Therapeutic Coach is a creator by nature, which meant that prior to EXPAND, she had already created many lead magnets and free resources. Some of them were of interest when she’d mention them to her audience, but all of them were “amateurish and didn’t take advantage of the warm lead with strong CTAs.” (A lot of this came from feeling “icky” about following up with people, not wanting to annoy or pressure them!) Plus, many were “too generic or led to freebie seekers who didn’t really value it.” While these lead magnets and such were helping to grow her email list to an extent, she didn’t have a sustainable, repeatable system for generating leads.
That’s exactly what she set out to build in the Lead Generation module as well as Challenge #3 - Generate Ready-to-Buy Leads. However, in her first iteration of her lead generation system, she found herself going a bit overboard, turning what was meant to be a simple 7-day email series that she had been thinking about for months into a video series with feedback forms and personalized support. She also executed it during “the busiest and most stressful month of the year” for both her and her audience: December.
She didn’t get any new paying clients directly from this challenge, and even though she bit off more than she could chew, she says:
“I don’t regret it because it stretched me and I learned a lot. Plus I have faith that with the changes I will make, it can be more successful when I relaunch. I learned a lot from implementing and seeing how the elements fit together, and I am keen to try again but simplifying and choosing my timing better.” She was also surprised and grateful to find out that she really enjoyed “communicating about the topic [of the HRO]” as well as “the pitching emails,” especially as she “didn’t get overwhelmed because of all the key points I had listed to cover (FAQs, objections, case studies, etc.) which made it simpler and more focused.” (We teach exactly what to cover in your sales emails inside of EXPAND.)
Her biggest realization about lead generation? “That it’s systematic. It involves the work already done, having the offer ready and the pitch, as well as making sure I identify and diarise the steps I need to take.”
Making sales calls more sustainable and in-service
Selling, itself, wasn’t so much of a problem for this Therapeutic Coach, as when she’d get a lead who’d book a sales call, the prospect would almost always become a paying client. However, the actual process of running the sales call was previously filled with far too many ‘shoulds.’ As just one example, while her sales calls had previously been 60 minutes, she changed them to 30 minutes due to “other coaches [who] told me to get it down to 20 or even 15 minutes, to test the waters, and offer a follow up session if it's a right fit. Obviously this doesn't feel supportive or sustainable to me, and so I compromised with a 30 minute option.” Through the work she did in the Sales module, she decided to increase the length of time for her sales calls to allow up to 60 minutes and to add a questionnaire to be completed prior to booking so that she could better qualify the prospect prior to the call and get an initial sense of what offer would be best for them.
“The sales call process [in EXPAND] has helped me to filter the enquiries so I am not signing up people who would detract from my goals and deplete my energy, as well as knowing I am helping them only within the scope of my best work.”
She also wasn’t clear on how she was meant to lead the calls or what factors she should take into account in deciding what to offer the prospect. Learning the four foundations of sales helped her to really step into her role as the guide and facilitator of the call. In fact, she was pleasantly surprised to realize that her role essentially looks like “helping them realise their own clarifying answers to their needs, so that they are basically pre-qualifying themselves before you even get to the pitch.” As a bonus, “This is also easier than trying to demonstrate my expertise and/or risk falling into a coaching pattern on the call, which would be a boundary violation and not a great start to the relationship.”
One thing about WholeCo’s approach to sales and selling that specifically stuck out to her was “the positive, compassionate transitions between the phases in the sales call, which help us both stay focused and on track, as well as the client feeling seen, which removes any awkwardness and makes everything more efficient and effective.” She completed this module knowing that she’s “fully prepared for any sales conversation” and even more excited to facilitate more of them.
“I was building on shaky ground before, now I have greater stability and faith in what lies ahead.” — Therapeutic Coach in the UK
“I was always building on shaky ground before, and now I have a greater feeling of stability and faith in what lies ahead for my business. I have such a deep and long-lasting relationship with my business (over 20 years on and off), and now more than ever, it needs to serve and support me. I love what I learned, and how I can use it for new offers and tactics again and again.
There is so much in EXPAND and I will return again and again to benefit from the many layers and nuances it offers. The way it takes you on a path where you just need to trust the process and take a step at a time was so helpful in keeping overwhelm at bay. It makes so much sense that you can’t do your offers until you do audience, marketing until you do messaging. It felt like you were offering a path in a maze; you’ve taken a pen and drawn the path saying, ‘This is how you go through this.’ The monthly support and video feedback were probably what kept me going, as it reinforced everything, was motivating, clarifying and rewarding. I also loved having the trainings and workbook to guide me, and the Facebook group felt so nurturing. Seeing everything come together in the Graduation module and workbook gave me a sense of pride at what I’d accomplished and gave me a sense of ‘I’ve got this.’
I’m both a therapist/coach and leader of myself and others, and I am no longer prepared to hide away and let people find me. I can now see how my business can become a well-oiled machine with a huge beating heart, and I’m grateful I took the opportunity [to join EXPAND].”
- Anonymous, Therapeutic Coach in the UK
Case Study: Therapeutic Coach in the UK
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