Transcription
I just helped one of my friends close his first high-ticket coaching client for $3,000, and we did it in 8 days flat. He did it without a website, without really a personal brand, and nobody really knew who he was. So, in this video, I'm going to show you exactly what I told him in order for him to get his first clients, so you can take some inspiration for yourself to sign your own high-ticket clients.
Now, as we begin, I want to share with you some context. I have a program called Founder X, where I essentially help people go from their 9-to-5 job into starting their own coaching, consulting, or service type of business. So, my friend that I'm talking about is actually a client that I met online.
And how it actually worked is, for me in my business, you know, I create a lot of YouTube videos, I do LinkedIn content, and essentially I sell through the DMs. I connect with a lot of people, and if it makes sense, I talk to them over a call. So this particular person was exactly through that process; they see my YouTube videos, we connected on LinkedIn, I sent them a DM, and then I got him on a call.
And on the call, what I've realized is that he's been paying for coaching and trying to figure out this whole coaching business for months now. And for him, he's actually an expert salesperson who has, I think, more than 20 years of sales experience. So he actually has more sales experience than I do, actually.
Now, the challenge for him is that although he knew how to sell a product at the company, he didn't know how to take that skill set to start his own type of coaching or consulting type of business. And he didn't always want to be a sales rep for the rest of his life; he wanted to do his own thing, naturally.
So a lot of you guys watching this, probably you guys have a skill and you want to do your own thing, but the challenge is, well, how do you get clients? How do you get people to pay for your services? And that was exactly his problem. Now, he was trying Instagram for the longest time, and it just wasn't hitting. And I was like, "Well, why would you do Instagram when you could—I mean, there's something wrong with that"—but it seems like your ideal customer, you're—you're trying to be a sales trainer, and there's a ton of salespeople on LinkedIn. Why not do LinkedIn? And I know from personal experience that there are a lot of these people, salespeople or people that want to break into sales, on LinkedIn. So I was like, "Look, man, I'm sure there's benefits to your coaching and everything, but I really feel like you should just focus on LinkedIn, get meetings, and close deals, and just cut out all the BS. Let's focus on getting clients."
So after a conversation over the phone, he's like, "Yep, Patrick, you're right. Let's do it." The first thing I had him do when it comes to starting his own business was that I asked him like, "Do you have an offer?" He's like, "Uh, what do you mean?" I'm like, "Well, what are you selling, and who are you selling it to?" That's essentially what an offer is. He's like, "Yeah, I kind of have one, but I feel like it's just not that good. And the program I went through, I feel like I don't really know who I should be talking to." I'm like, "All right, bet. Like, let's just start over from scratch. And I know you've been trying this for months, but let's just start from the very, very beginning so that we do this right the first time."
So the first thing we have to identify is like, who exactly are you selling to, and what exactly are you selling? And in the beginning, he's like, "Oh, like I help salespeople. So I'm helping every salesperson on the planet." I'm like, "Well, there's many different types of salespeople. There are people that sell, you know, info products; there are people that sell tech; there's people that sell insurance. And each one, you have to talk to your, you know, ideal customer in a different way. So how about we take a step back and let's get a little bit more specific on the type of people we want to help."
So he was like, "Okay, let's—let's be more specific." And so the advantage he found was that in his country—and I'm not going to give away the country just so he can keep his competitive advantage—in his country, there's just not that many people doing sales training, and the ones that are are kind of like scammy a little bit, you know, they're not—they don't feel very authentic. They're flashing a lot, but are they really helping you? And he was like, he had a perspective of, if he was just really honest and actually help people how to sell, he can carve his own niche. And so I was like, "Yeah, that sounds really good. If there's nobody doing that in your country, be the number one guy teaching sales in an authentic way. That is a niche in itself."
So we started with that: salespeople in this particular country. And then from there we're like, "Okay, um…" So he was like, "Okay, how should I help them? Should I help B2B companies? Should I help individuals? Right? B2C? Should I help people break into sales?" Because when you have a skill set, there's many ways you can monetize it. You can help people get a job; you can help people who have a job do better at their job; you can help a company owner train their sales to make more money. At the end of the day, it's the same skill set; it's sales, but it's how you package it that will determine how you create content, who you should reach out to, and all these kinds of things.
So I'm like, "All right, look, man, I'm in sales; I kind of understand the game, but I need you to understand the game too." Just from my personal knowledge of people who are doing something kind of similar to what he's doing in English, I'm like, "All right, check out these guys. Check out their program. Learn everything about their program to understand why people are buying, because these are, you know, pretty big brands. Take what they have and get inspiration from it, and think about how you can apply a similar offer to your particular market."
And the thing is, there's no original offer; everybody kind of takes and borrows from everybody else. That's how the game goes. And so he looked at my examples; he took what he liked the best, and he created a brand new offer specifically to solve the problems of his ideal customer in his country. So it's like you're borrowing a lot from inspirations from things at work, but you're reimagining them to create something brand new to apply it to a market that is underserved.
And so from there, he's like, "Okay, we got the offer." Really only took one call to figure that out. And then I was like, "Okay, now that you have the offer, the key here is to attract the type of people you want to work with." Because when it comes to starting a coaching or consulting business, the hard part I've realized is when you're selling to like B2C, sometimes it's kind of hard to find the people you want to work with. Like, do you—you can go in a group, maybe everyone who's looking to break in the sales, and you could DM every single person, send 50 to 100 DMs a day. Yeah, you'll get very far, but it's much easier if you had people coming to you.
So for my business, for example, for the Patrick D brand and Founder X, you know, we don't do a lot of outreach, to be honest. It's like we just create a lot of content, and people come to me, and then I basically sell them in the DMs, have conversations, and then get them on the phone, and then see if they are a good fit to work together. You know, it's a very different feeling when everyone has watched your content for months or years; you already built so much goodwill, and it's just so much more easier to get someone to enroll in your program if they already trust you.
So for, you know, this particular person, I was like, "Okay, if you want to do what I'm doing, you have to create content. And it's simple; it's really just creating one piece of content on LinkedIn every single day." That's what I told him: just create one piece of content. He's like, "Okay, well, what kind of content do I create?" I'm like, "Look at what I'm creating."
So what I do right now is like I basically have two types of content I create on, let's say, LinkedIn specifically for him. You know, the LinkedIn was the platform that we decided to do. I think in the future he might do YouTube, but I was like, "Just stick with one first." Now, in LinkedIn, I was—I told him, "All you need to do is understand there's two types of content: there's how-to content, how to do something, and there's paradigm-shifting content. If you just stick to these two, you'll get extremely far." So let's go into it. How-to content is essentially how to do something, right? So it's how to write a cold email, how to get a high-paying tech sales job, how to nail your sales interview. Right? So these are very how-to. Now, when people are searching for this kind of content, and also the algorithm knows they're searching for it, so they'll, you know, recommend your content to that person. It's—it's like tutorial videos, how-to videos work like in terms of, you know, getting the algorithm to support you.
But the challenge here is that if you're too much of a how-to person, people will only watch for these specific tutorials, but they're not invested in you as a person, and you're not building a personal brand where no matter what kind of product or service you launch, you know, people will buy it. That's the ultimate goal for most brands. Like if you think of like Elon Musk, right, whether he's, you know, buying X and Twitter, whether he's doing SpaceX, whether he's doing any type of business, Starlink, right, there will always be a core supporters or die-hard fans of him that will support anything that he does. So that's what you want to do with your personal brand. So you don't want to get stuck in the "how to get a tech sales job" kind of vibe, right? Because if you decided to switch products or create something new, you have to bring your audience with you. You know, so that's the importance of building a personal brand.
So how do you do that? The easiest way to do it is to create paradigm-shifting content. So paradigm-shifting content is from how-to where you're changing someone's mindset to show them a new opportunity. For example, if I did a video about how to get a tech sales job, it's very how-to; it only appeals to people who are looking for that job. Now, if I said, "How you can make six figures in tech sales," it's very different. Similar topic, but there's a different nuance when I say, "How to make six figures in tech sales." That means it's going to attract all the people who are curious about tech sales, of course, but it's also going to attract people who are lost in life, and they're like, they need a career switch, or they need a new opportunity, and it just so happens that they found your video, and they're convinced that tech sales is the way to go. So it shifts their paradigm in what's possible.
So a lot of the content I'm making on my YouTube channel and even on my LinkedIn is very aspirational; it's very paradigm-shifting. So I'll say something like, "Why I left my six-figure tech sales job to travel to Thailand to start my own business." Right? So it's going to attract a lot of people who are thinking—thinking the same thing of like, "I have skills; I believe in myself; I want to start my own business, but I just don't know how to get out of my 9-to-5 job." You know, and because it's shifting their paradigm to show them what's possible, suddenly it's very different because I'm not showing them how to do something; I'm showing them that they can do it. I'm showing them that they have more potential on the inside than they have ever known. And when you bring that out of somebody, you bring out that dog inside of them, you know, it's just like that inspiration is the thing that creates trust. And so if you have something to sell, like some kind of program that helps them get to where they already want to go, then they're just going to like—like your content so much more.
So when it comes to the content, you know, basically I told my friend like, "Look, you can create how-to content; you can create paradigm-shifting content. All you have to do, if you want to just start out, is write the post, a long-form post giving some inspiration, some life experience of things that you've went through. And then for the pictures, here's the hack: if you want to do like very low-effort but like high-reward content on LinkedIn, all you have to do is take pictures like at a cafe when you're out and about in the motion of doing something, a picture if you at your desk working. Like these are pictures that really work. And if you look at my LinkedIn, I've been doing this all day. So what I do is I actually just get my girlfriend to, you know, we go out to cafes, eat lunch, things like that, things that we already do in our normal everyday basis, and she just helps me takes pictures, and the ones that are good I just end up posting them as content. And we just combined it with an aspirational post about how to quit your 9-to-5, and it's me working, you know, on my laptop at a cafe, and that works extremely well. Or it could be me walking down the street, you know, and that's it; it's really as simple as that. So if you just keep doing that every single day, people will like it; people will follow you."
And here's the key: the challenge that my friend had was that people would DM him, but he wasn't getting enough DMs, and also he wasn't converting these DMs into sales. So I was like, "Okay, let's—let's break it down. Why is that?" And then I said, "Okay, well, are you getting these people on calls?" He's like, "No, I'm just trying to sell them on a DM." I'm like, "Your offer is not good enough yet, right? We have a base, and you've never sold it before, so it's going to be very difficult for you to sell it in a DM if you never sold it on the phone, right? Because it's easier to sell over the phone, and you're a sales guy, so you definitely can sell them on the phone." So I said, "Okay, the people that DM you, instead of trying to sell them on the DM itself, only talk, you know, say two to five messages to them to understand their problems, and then say, 'Hey, I think I might be able to help you. If it makes sense, how about booking a time to talk on my calendar?' And send them your calendar link."
And so he started doing that, and he started booking meetings. And as he started booking meetings, you know, because they liked his content, they liked his vibe, and when they actually spoke with him over the phone, they're like, "Yep, that's it!" And then he got his first client just like that.
For this particular person, he had all the ingredients he needed to start his own coaching business. The only problem is he lacked the process to convert. Well, first of all, to create content for people to be aware of who he even is; second, to get them to DM him and convert them to a call and talk to them and close them.
So if you're trying to start your own coaching or consulting business, you probably have one of these problems: number one is nobody knows who you are; number two, you're probably not getting them on the phone, so not enough meetings; and number three, you probably lack the skills of closing. For this guy, he already knew how to close, 'cause he's been doing it for 20 years, but if you don't know how to close, let me give you the breakdown right now. It's really just two things, or three things: really, where are they at now, and where do they want to go, and what's stopping them from getting from point A to point B? From there, all you have to do is make them realize that you are the best solution to get them from point A to point B.
So I'll give you an example. You know, my friend that I'm talking about in this video, you know, he started out as a prospect, someone that met me online; they enjoyed my content; we got on the phone. How did I sell him? And it's the—the way he sells his clients is the way I sold him. So I understood that he was experienced in sales, and I understood that he didn't really understand—or really, he just knew—the whole internet marketing game, and I've been doing it for, at this point, six or seven years. So he had the skills; he just lacked the internet marketing ability. So he was here; he was pretty much stuck in like a 9-to-5 kind of deal, right? And he wanted to create his own business, his own coaching business, where it's more scalable, and his potential was not capped, but he was stuck because he wasn't able to get meetings. At the end of the day, he couldn't build his personal brand; he couldn't generate the meetings, so that means he cannot make revenue.
So when I—I sold him, I basically said, "Look, like I've been doing sales content for years now. You see my YouTube channel; we have over 250,000 subscribers at this point. So I pretty much did what you want to do. So if you enroll in Founder X, I'm going to just show you behind the scenes exactly what I did to get there, and all the new things I'm doing now to get new clients." And he was sold on that idea because he's like, "All right, Patrick already did what I wanted to do; he's coming up with new stuff every week, and I really believe that he can help me get my first client."
If they believe in this and they know that you're the best vehicle to get them to where they already want to go, it's not even like you're selling; you're just having a conversation, a very, you know, logical but very emotional conversation as well, and eventually they're going to come to the conclusion on their own that they want to buy your services. The thing is, people love to buy, but they don't like to be sold. So if you show them your credibility, your authenticity—like authenticity, I'll tell you, is at a premium right now. If you're just who you are, and you are who you say you are, and you can actually deliver results, it's going to be so easy for you to sell because you actually have skills people want to buy.
Now we're going to take these lessons, and I will show you how you can apply it to yourself. There's really only three things you need to know when it comes to starting your own coaching, consulting, service type of business, and especially when it comes to using your personal brand to do this: number one, you need an offer. Okay, you guys need an offer, and usually you want to go something high-ticket, so you want to sell something between $2,000 to $5,000.
For a lot of beginners out there, you're probably thinking that's crazy; who would pay me $2,000 to do some work for them when they don't even know who I am? I understand, but you have to also understand that everybody starts from zero. When I started my YouTube channel, I was only getting like 30 views a video. So if I started from zero and I was able to make it, and at the time the only experience I had was being a tech sales rep, right, then I don't see why you can't use your skills, your knowledge, your experiences, even new skills that you want to learn, and you share your journey, why not put it online and see what type of people you attract?
And the key here, when it comes to attracting others, you just have to be the best version of yourself on the camera, and people will gravitate to you. In order to get more views, you just actually have to become a better person; that's the way it goes. And if you're not getting any views, you have to ask yourself, "Are you even that good? Do you command the respect or authority to attract the high-quality clients you want?" And if not, you have a lot of work to do, and that's okay. But anyways, the key here is to have a killer offer, something you know people want.
Like for me, for Founder X, I've realized that this day and age everybody wants to start a personal brand; more and more people want to start their own business; they're completely lost on what they should be doing; they're trying dropshipping, Amazon, and this and that, but then in reality the easiest type of business to start is actually just using the skills that you already getting paid for at your job and just selling it into the market as like a contractor, freelancer, agency to start, and then grow the business from there, because there's always different ways to scale an agency, a coaching business, right? Online courses, but you have to start with that one-on-one first to—in order to get your first client, right? That's normal; I've done that; other people have done that as well. So that I realize that's the easiest business to start.
So if you're like a sales rep, you can teach other people sales. If you're a project manager, there's a—there's literally millions of people that want to become a project manager; you can teach them and sell the information that's in your head. Basically, any occupation, any industry where it actually makes money, if you have that skill, you can repackage it into a coaching, consulting, an info product, whatever it is, and you can sell it online. So having an offer of knowing who you want to work with and what you're doing for them is the first step.
The second step is LinkedIn—it's just creating a personal brand, creating content, and then finding ways to have a conversation with these people. And I highly recommend using DMs; it's one of the best ways to do it. And then just getting them on the call and just having a conversation if—to see if they want to buy. And that's—that's really all it is. A lot of people that I work with and I talk with, even though it sounds so simple, they always get stuck. They'll be like spending two weeks trying to learn how to use salesforce CRM, and I'm like, "You can run your whole business on a Google Doc; you have no clients; what do you—why are you wasting your time trying to like do these automations and CRM? It's like it doesn't do anything."
So the way I kind of go about it is just go directly—whatever it is you need to do to get eyeballs and get people on a call, that's the only thing you need to do. And if you focus on that, that's how people are able to—to get their first clients in like 8 days after working with me. Because what actually happens before they start working with me is they're running around like a headless chicken, and they're just trying all these things, and this coach told them this, this guy said this, they watched this YouTube video, now they want to, you know, run a video sales letter and run ads, and I'm like, "Bro, just focus on one thing, and that's getting meetings, getting clients, signing them, closing them, and you are done. It's that simple."
And the benefit to actually creating this type of business is that you get to work from anywhere you want in the world; you get to command your own income; you could work with whoever you want; in charge the prices you want, assuming you have the skills to deliver. And most importantly, I feel like for these type of people and businesses, the key here is freedom. It's freedom to do what you want, when you want, wherever you want. For me, a lot of people think I actually make these videos from LA; that's where I'm originally from, but for the last five plus years I've actually been living in Vietnam. So this is here, actually; if you look in the background is Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. And for me, you know, I was able to figure out how to make money online, how to create content, how to build a personal brand, how to monetize that and get clients and help them get results, and you basically do whatever you want. If I want to go to Japan tomorrow, I can. If I want to go to, you know, any country I want on the—like without even any planning, without anything, I can just go tomorrow. And that freedom, you cannot buy; it's just something you have to figure out for yourself and earn, right? You have to earn this to set your life up in this way, but I would say that is the definitely the most rewarding part of starting this type of business.
So if that's something you're interested in, all make sure you follow me on LinkedIn, because that's where I'm going to be dropping a lot of game. And if you want to connect directly with me, send me a direct message, and I'll talk with you, and we'll see if there's an opportunity for us to work together. And if I can help you get your first clients, you know, in eight days, that would be amazing too. So that said, I'll see you guys in the next video.