Choose the Right Client

Time-Stamped Key Points

0:00 – Opening and Real Client Fit Challenge
Zoe opens by sharing that she had a difficult situation where she had to say no to someone.

0:45 – Workshop Wednesday Reminder
She references the previous Workshop Wednesday on ROI, closing clients, and the importance of client assessment and fit.

1:20 – Saying No Is Hard
Zoe explains that coaches often want clients badly, but sometimes the best decision is to say no when the client is not the right fit.

2:00 – Clean Break Question
Gary asks whether Zoe made a clean break or left the door open if the person later became ready to do the work.

2:30 – Friend Line Warning
Zoe explains that this was someone she had known for 20 years and warns coaches to be careful when crossing the friendship line into business.

3:00 – Failure Is Not the Goal
Zoe says she values helping people succeed, but if someone will not put in the work, she cannot produce failure.

3:45 – Emotional Fit and Energy
Zoe explains that she reads energy and needs a common working energy with the client.

4:30 – Mental Sanity Matters
She says sometimes the question is whether taking on the client will cause 30 hours of mental pain.

5:00 – Referral Option Raised
Melanie suggests that another option can be referring the person to a different coach or support person.

5:45 – Ty’s Win: Three PAS Calls
Ty shares that he has three PAS calls scheduled, two today and one tomorrow.

6:15 – Pre-Qualification With the Questionnaire
Ty rescheduled one PAS because the prospect had not completed the questionnaire.

6:45 – Commitment Signal
Zoe agrees that if someone will not complete the pre-work, that may signal how engaged they will be during coaching.

7:15 – The Way You Do One Thing
Zoe shares her belief that the way someone does one thing is often the way they do everything.

7:45 – Small Business PAS Opportunity
Ty explains that one prospect is a small early-stage business and may be a better fit for a step-ladder offer.

8:15 – Spouse Objection
Ty shares that the prospect did not commit and wanted to make sure his wife was okay with it.

8:45 – Get Both Decision Makers Present
Zoe says she often uses “I need to talk to my husband” when she is not sold, so coaches should work to get both decision makers involved.

9:50 – Bigger Landscaping Opportunity
Ty shares that his stronger prospect is a lawn and landscaping company doing $4 million in revenue with less than 10% net profit.

10:53 – Benchmark the Industry
Bill recommends researching average revenue and net profit for landscaping businesses in the prospect’s area before the meeting.

11:38 – Questionnaire Gives Financial Insight
Ty says the pre-call questionnaire gave him revenue, profit, and marketing spend information.

12:00 – $50K+ Marketing Spend
The landscaping prospect spends more than $50,000 per year on marketing, creating a useful diagnostic point.

12:30 – Already Paying for Coaching
Ty says the prospect is already paying for a group-style coaching service with other landscapers but is still underperforming.

13:00 – Need for One-on-One Attention
The group identifies that the prospect may need the deeper attention of one-on-one coaching.

13:30 – Use AI Coaching Dojo for Prep
Zoe recommends using AI Coaching Dojo to brainstorm upsells, cross-sells, pricing, and margin questions before the PAS.

14:00 – Start With Margins and Costs
For a landscaping business with low profit, Zoe suggests looking at margins, equipment, payroll, fuel, and pricing.

14:45 – Group Coaching Expansion Opportunity
Zoe points out that if Ty converts this landscaping client, the broader network of landscapers may become future coaching opportunities.

15:01 – Jacob’s Update
Jacob shares that he is new, excited, restructuring an existing advisory/accounting business, and already has clients in the pipeline.

15:54 – Revenue Share Client Opportunity
Jacob discusses a cannabis industry client that is deeply negative financially and may become a revenue-share or profit-share opportunity.

16:30 – Focused Arrived at the Right Time
Jacob explains that the tools, structure, dashboard, and overlap with his advisory business landed at the right moment.

17:30 – Moving Beyond Commodity Services
Jacob explains that bookkeeping became commoditized, so they moved toward cash flow, CFO, controller, and advisory services.

18:26 – Coaching for Practice
Zoe says taking on an early client for little or no upfront money can be valuable because it gives the coach reps using the tools.

18:45 – Thinking Beyond One-on-One
Zoe encourages coaches to think beyond one-on-one delivery because one-on-one eventually caps out.

19:00 – High-Ticket Mastermind Idea
Zoe shares that she is considering launching a high-ticket mastermind or accelerator.

19:27 – 12-Week Accelerator Structure
The idea is a 12-week accelerator where business owners are led through the PAS strategies in a group format.

20:00 – Use FBS and Existing Assets
Zoe explains that the tools are already there: PowerPoints, automation, FBS, landing pages, and group coaching infrastructure.

21:00 – Same Industry Group Coaching
Jacob shares that he is putting similar clients into a group coaching structure so they can learn from each other.

21:45 – Efficiency Through Group Delivery
The group discusses that coaching multiple clients through the same material can reduce repetition and improve efficiency.

22:25 – Team Building Needed
Jacob notes that he will need a team because he will not be able to do everything himself.

23:16 – Remove Problem Clients
Jacob explains that part of the restructure was removing problem clients and focusing on the clients they actually want.

24:00 – MDP as More Than a Statement
Jacob connects the work to Market Dominating Position, saying they had a statement but not the positioning to support it.

24:30 – Digital Acceleration Client Example
Zoe shares a client whose website, branding, positioning, and outbound strategy were not working.

25:23 – Rebuilding the Brand and Website
Zoe rebuilt the client’s brand, colors, content, website, and positioning.

26:00 – Digital Acceleration Results
After going live, the client received 2,500 website hits in six weeks, closed three large deals, and turned LinkedIn into an attraction engine.

27:08 – Mastermind Structure Question
Bill asks Zoe to restate the structure of the mastermind or accelerator she wants to build.

28:02 – Group Coaching Tool Walkthrough
Zoe shows the group coaching area and explains how to create groups, use templates, and set up custom content.

28:45 – DFY Group Coaching as a Downsell
Zoe explains that she uses DFY Group Coaching as a downsell for prospects who are not ready for one-on-one coaching.

29:30 – Use Branded PowerPoints and Assets
She recommends downloading the PowerPoints, meeting plans, and worksheets, then rebranding them in your own voice.

30:30 – Build the PAS 12 as a Group Program
Zoe is considering building a group program around the 12 PAS strategies, starting with MDP, offers, and other key areas.

31:31 – High-Ticket Accelerator Funnel
Zoe explains that bigger accelerator programs often sell through a workshop that explains the accelerator.

32:00 – Six-Week Promotion Window
She suggests giving herself at least six weeks to fill a 10-person cohort at $5,000 each.

32:30 – Landing Page and Event Funnel
The plan includes building a landing page and running an event to explain what the accelerator is about.

34:01 – Jacob Predicts Larger Potential
Jacob says the accelerator could become bigger than Zoe expects, especially on social platforms.

34:46 – Workshops Help More People
Zoe explains that workshops can help more people than one-on-one coaching and can create more referrals over time.

35:35 – Better Than Spreadsheet Accelerators
Zoe compares the Focused.com toolset to other accelerators that rely on basic spreadsheets and weaker materials.

36:09 – PAS Before the Workshop
She suggests doing a PAS with participants before the workshop starts so tasks can be assigned and tracked.

37:25 – Rick’s Update
Rick shares that his father passed away recently, which paused his prospecting for a time.

37:45 – BNI Micro Clients
Rick picked up a couple of small clients from BNI and is offering 15 minutes a week plus university access for $397/month.

38:30 – Easy Downsell
Rick says this downsell gives people a way to start when they are not ready for one-on-one coaching.

39:31 – Digital Acceleration Question
Rick asks whether there are training videos for Digital Acceleration and how the tool should be used.

40:01 – DAS Overview
Zoe explains that Digital Acceleration is more focused on the digital side, including website, content, advertising, and lead generation.

40:45 – Digital Acceleration Questions
The tool includes questions around content marketing, website optimization, conversion paths, email marketing, campaigns, popups, list building, and digital costs.

42:00 – Use With Designers or Agencies
Zoe says DAS can be handed to a website designer, marketing agency, or JV partner to implement.

43:00 – When to Use DAS vs. PAS
Zoe explains that DAS is a better fit when the client’s main need is digital marketing, branding, content, website, or online lead generation.

44:00 – Replacing Weak Marketing Agencies
Zoe says coaches may be able to replace a weak marketing agency if they can deliver stronger strategy and execution.

45:39 – Need a JV if You Cannot Do It
If the coach cannot implement digital assets personally, they need a trusted JV partner.

46:45 – Website Hosting Example
Rick shares a micro client paying $120/month for basic website hosting.

47:33 – Better Website Value Stack
Zoe points out that a stronger offer could include SEO, AEO, lists, blogs, and more for a better value.

48:01 – Digital Acceleration as Low-Hanging Fruit
Zoe says many websites are weak, making digital acceleration a strong opportunity.

48:30 – Ask the Simple Website Question
A simple opening question is: “How many leads do you get from your website each month?”

48:45 – Offshore JV Question
Rick asks whether it makes sense to find a cheaper JV partner from another country.

49:00 – Be Careful With Offshore Execution
Zoe and Jacob warn that cheap offshore support can create problems if the person does not understand the business, market, or strategy.

50:30 – Vet JV Partners Carefully
Zoe recommends asking potential digital partners to show Google Analytics metrics from websites they have built.

51:12 – Social Media Execution With AI
Zoe says some social content can be created using AI tools without necessarily needing a JV partner.

52:00 – LinkedIn and AI Slop Warning
Zoe warns that AI-generated content without quality control may underperform, especially on platforms like LinkedIn.

52:45 – Coaching Dojo and SoundScribe
The group mentions Coaching Dojo and SoundScribe as tools that can help create social content ideas.

53:32 – Social Content as a Value Add
Zoe suggests adding social content ideas as an extra service, such as eight post ideas per month.

54:00 – The Cap-Out Problem
The group notes that the more services you embed yourself into, the more likely you are to cap out.

54:26 – Client Portal Tool Idea
Rick suggests that if clients had access to these tools inside the portal, it would increase value and make them less likely to leave.

55:00 – Future Tool Possibility
Zoe says something like that may be coming later, but for now the priority is to get clients.

Five Key Takeaways

• Saying no to a bad-fit client protects your time, confidence, and sanity.
• Pre-qualification matters. If someone will not complete the questionnaire, that may tell you how they will behave as a client.
• Group coaching, downsells, accelerators, and masterminds can help coaches serve more people without relying only on one-on-one work.
• Digital Acceleration can be a strong opportunity when a client has weak branding, poor website strategy, low lead flow, or unclear offers.
• Cheap execution partners can create problems. JV partners need to understand strategy, not just complete tasks.

Notable Quotes

“Sometimes it’s hard to say no.”

“When you know it’s the wrong client, saying no is very hard.”

“If they’re not going to put the work in, I can’t produce failure.”

“The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.”

“Present with the software in his eyes and not my words in his ears.”

“Service-based businesses sit in the operational world. They don’t sit in the growth world.”

“You’re not there to pat him on the back. You’re there to help him move his mindset into what’s possible.”

“I don’t want to be a commodity.”

“It all revolves around a market dominating position.”

“How many leads do you get from your website each month?”

“You’re going to cap out at some point unless you build a team.”

“Get clients.”

Action Steps from the Call

1. Watch for bad-fit clients before saying yes.
2. Be willing to say no when a client is not coachable.
3. Protect your mental bandwidth.
4. Be careful when turning long-term friendships into coaching relationships.
5. Use pre-work and questionnaires as commitment filters.
6. Reschedule if the prospect does not complete the questionnaire.
7. Try to get both decision makers involved before closing.
8. Research industry benchmarks before a PAS.
9. Compare the prospect’s profit margin to industry norms.
10. Review marketing spend before the assessment.
11. Use AI Coaching Dojo to prepare for client-specific strategies.
12. For low-margin service businesses, inspect pricing, margins, fuel, equipment, payroll, and costs.
13. Let the PAS visuals do the heavy lifting.
14. Consider revenue share only when tracking and trust are clear.
15. Use early clients to practice using the tools.
16. Think beyond one-on-one delivery.
17. Use group coaching to avoid repeating the same training over and over.
18. Build a downsell for clients who cannot afford one-on-one.
19. Consider a 12-week accelerator or mastermind when you have enough structure and demand.
20. Use existing PowerPoints, worksheets, meeting plans, and automations as the foundation.
21. Rebrand materials into your own voice when needed.
22. Give yourself a runway to fill a cohort.
23. Use a workshop to sell the accelerator.
24. Do a PAS before the workshop or accelerator begins.
25. Use DFY Group Coaching as a low-ticket or downsell option.
26. Use Digital Acceleration when the main issue is website, content, branding, social, SEO, AEO, or online lead generation.
27. Vet JV partners carefully.
28. Ask digital partners for proof, including analytics and website results.
29. Use AI tools to create social content ideas when appropriate.
30. Do not overload yourself with execution work without a plan to scale.

Resources & Tools Mentioned

• Advanced Strategy Mastermind
• Profit Acceleration Software / PAS
• PAS Questionnaire
• ROI and Closing Workshop
• AI Coaching Dojo
• Digital Acceleration Software / DAS
• FBS
• DFY Group Coaching
• Group Coaching
• Business Academy
• Coaching Portal
• Landing Pages
• Automations
• PowerPoints
• Meeting Plans
• Worksheets
• Mastermind
• Accelerator
• 12-Week Accelerator
• High-Ticket Mastermind
• BNI
• Valpak
• LinkedIn
• Google Analytics
• SEO
• AEO
• Popups
• List Building
• Drip Campaigns
• Email Marketing
• Website Optimization
• Content Marketing
• Advertising Campaigns
• Social Media Content
• Coaching Dojo
• SoundScribe
• Canva
• AI Tools
• JV Partners
• Website Designer
• Marketing Agency
• Cannabis Industry
• Landscaping Business
• Lawn Care Business
• DogWatch Business
• Accounting Firm
• CFO / Controller Advisory
• Market Dominating Position / MDP