Speaker 1Hello and welcome to CoachVox Radio, the async podcast equipping coaches with the tips and tools to be incredibly effective and provide insane value to their clients. I am Jodie Cook, founder of CoachVox, the client management platform for business coaching by VoiceNote, and I am bringing you coaches and mentors at the top of their game with wisdom ready to pass on to you. Let's get started. Holly McHugh is an experienced sales and messaging coach and marketing strategist who helps online entrepreneurs to be seen as a no-brainer choice for their ideal clients and create effortless sales without the need for paid ads or a massive following. Her signature approach shows clients how to monetize their brilliance through powerhouse positioning, unique messaging, and mastering the art and science of magnetic selling. Holly has a decade of experience working as a marketing strategist for global brands at corporations like Unilever and P&G, where she led the strategy for a $200 million portfolio. She is bringing all that experience to this episode of CoachVox Radio, and I'm very happy to have her here. So Holly, a huge welcome and straight in with the first question. What do you mean by magnetic?
Speaker 2So when sales feel effortless, when it feels authentic, and when it feels actually enjoyable, is always down to being able to attract ideal clients into our audience, into our offers, into our sales calls, who first and foremost are ready. They're ready to change. They're ready to do the work. They're ready to invest. But secondly, they have already decided, that they want to work with us. And when we're able to achieve that, that is when it truly feels magnetic, because what we've been able to do is actually magnetize the right people towards us. And this means that we can step away from what can sometimes really feel like that pushy, icky, awkward sales trap. I mean, honestly, there's just still so much BS that is taught online around sales. And it's no wonder that so many people struggle with it or don't enjoy it. And it can feel like hard work and, quite frankly, exhausting when we're stuck in that cycle of feeling we need to chase and just constantly follow up with people. Whereas if we know instead how to attract them to us and they are ready to go, then that's when everything just slots into place. So that's what we mean first and foremost by magnetic selling. Now, there is an art and a science to that, of course. That doesn't just happen because we decide it or because we want it to be the case. So what I mean first and foremost by the art, when we think about what it takes to get that no-brainer yes to be seen as the go-to choice for our ideal clients, first and foremost, it comes down to a connection to us. So when we're working in a service-based business, that partnership, that relationship, that trusted connection is absolutely everything. People can have access to equally qualified, equally expert mentors, coaches, healers, practitioners, consultants. And the decision in terms of who they decide to move forward with, of course, will come down to which of those people they truly feel really understand their specific set of circumstances, which of those people really get it and get them when they feel that connection, when they feel that someone's on their wavelength. So the art side of things is really how you are packaging up your unique, unique brilliance. No one else can replicate your exact blend of experience, values, philosophy, personality, sense of humor, weird and wonderful collections of things or obsessions with things or your quirks, how you express yourself, your unique voice, how you teach your own style, how you deliver to your audience. You know, all of that is what we encompass in your personal brand, and there's a real art to that, you know, that is ultimately you and your essence. And it's what people connect to first and foremost is really the energy that people feel drawn towards that gravitational pull. We typically know instantly whether or not someone is or is not for us where we have that intuitive nudge. So that's what I mean by the art. But secondly, it really does come down to the science as well, because it's not enough to just really gel with someone and to feel like we could hang out in a company and have a great time when it comes to investing in support. So I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. And I think that's really important. 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And I think that's really important. connection when the messaging around something resonates whether that's in how someone's describing you know what it is they do that aka elevator pitch and their niche and we know in a heartbeat okay i'm in the right place or i'm not in the right place and instantly it's those opening lines on your sales page or the opening lines of a video or a social media post and when we don't know how to really do that well we can often fall into the trap of being too vague too generic too broad stroke you know we're wondering well who might i attract i don't want to pigeonhole myself i don't want to exclude anyone i know that can help but really all we're doing is making a little bit more confusing and a confused mind ultimately says no so the more specific we can get in our messaging the more magnetic it is because someone instantly knows oh my goodness they are speaking my language how did they know uh that's in my head i was just mentioning that yesterday to a partner or a friend you know it's almost uncanny but it really gets our attention so you know a lot of people just to give a couple of examples are talking about you know i i help with people's mindset or i help empower women um to achieve their full potential and that's all great but it's not really getting to the granular level of detail that sparks that oh my gosh tell me more response which is ultimately what we want and is what creates that magnetism so you know instead that might be if you were targeting corporate professionals you know how to negotiate a promotion and how to do that in a way that's built your reputation and influence instead of it feeling like a career limiting move you know that is empowerment that's empowering women but that's a specific context it's a specific niche it has a specific beneficial outcome and the people that that is going to resonate with they're going to ask you for more details right they're going to say well how how do i do that how do i have that conversation right another one another example is you know women's health and well-being a lot of people are talking about you know helping women get back into shape for example post-pregnancy that might be the niche in the context but when we start talking about you know i'm going to show you how to jump on a trampoline without worrying about your pelvic floor so you can actually enjoy time with your kids then suddenly is resonating at a deeper level it's going to get a response we're going to get an emotional response it's going to spark humor here's the thing if we're not sparking emotional response then we're not going deeply enough and we as human beings are emotional creatures we make our decisions based on emotions and if we and as marketers and as business owners are not activating those emotions then we are missing the mark
Speaker 1got you holly thank you so much for those super specific pointers in helping coaches avoid the pitfalls that i'm sure you will have seen time and time again so just to go over those again we've got not having question marks in yourself so being clear on your offering who it's for why it's for them so that you are conveying the right information to the right people at the right time in the right way secondly sharing more about yourself so your struggles your trials and tribulations so that people can see that there is a human behind it and so they can resonate with the things that you've been through and feel like you will get them and you will understand where they are and then finally being specific in the value you offer and getting into really granular detail to resonate better with your audience and i love those specific examples that you shared there so next question is can you share some simple ways that coaches can become
Speaker 2magnetic to their audience so some simple ways that you can become more magnetic to your audience is first and foremost showing more of you people want to know who you are as much as they want to know about how amazing you are at what you teach so really having the confidence to kind of lift the veil and show those sneak peeks behind the scenes of you in your daily life like what are you what are you up to when you're not working what does your daily routine look like what are your biggest hopes and fears um what's the you know the personal story that perhaps you haven't shared enough of what is the vulnerability that you can share where's the sense of humor that you can showcase more of you know this was a real learning lesson for me because i spent a long time really focused just on being very professional because i thought that was the way to be seen as credible and to be able to tell my personal story when actually it was a really powerful one so just for background context you know when i started my business it was one day a week around a four day nine to five as a senior marketer in a fortune 500 so i negotiated a part-time nine to five when i moved from london to sydney because i needed one day to just explore why i was feeling such a calling towards doing coaching work and i didn't know what i was doing i was clueless i had zero i had little savings so this just allowed me to do that in a way that it didn't feel you know really stressful and as that built i was able to negotiate that down to three days in my corporate role and two days in my business and i had a job share the first person in my whole organization to have a job share for reasons other than having children because i didn't have my daughter until a few years after that and then when i went on maternity leave in 2018 i never went back and i used to hide this story because i worried oh you know it's not credible that i have only ever been part-time in my business and people won't take me seriously and then one day it just ended up being the thing that i just said as a passing comment and someone was like oh my gosh how did you do that and they were so in awe and so interested and so engaged and asking me how they could do it and that really sparked you know a whole shift in my niche actually a whole change in my business and made me realize that people want to hear my story and it is not only inspiring to them it gives them a permission slip it gives them that seed of possibility that this could happen for them as well and you know so now i just don't hesitate in sharing that and you know me just talking about being a mum of two in a part-time business that has crossed the seven figures in total sales mark that has attracted a lot of other mums to my audience to my world because in the day a lot of our reasons for doing this work is to spend more time with our families you know spend more time on the things that really give us joy and have the freedom and flexibility to do that so you know it's not just talking about the things that we know from a tips and tricks point of view it's really what's the heart behind that what's the reason behind that what's your why what gets you up in the morning why do you do this work what are the hard lessons you've learned along the way so just uh recently i shared the eight biggest business lessons i've learned to date in being able to create a part-time business that has reached that level of success with an overall small following without a podcast without paid advertising etc etc and you know that is a massive point of difference as it turns out so don't hide the gold and show more of you that is always going to be more magnetic this is so good and i can see it
Speaker 1being so powerful that having the confidence to share the behind the scenes who you are what you're about what lights you up that would open the door for people to talk to you about it and ultimately if you are a service-based business they're going to be working with you so they might as well get to know you and i love that about you as well thank you so much and i'm looking forward to talking to you about that i love what you said about the fact that it empowers other people to share their story as well and to think that they could have the confidence to show up as you are so you almost become a role model for them as well as their coach and mentor and partner for navigating their business with so thank you for that one and what are some other ways that coaches can become more magnetic to their audience
Speaker 2the other really simple but so powerful way to become more magnetic is to ensure that you're messaging and your copy is conversational a lot of people are just too many steps ahead of whether ideal clients actually are and it doesn't resonate that way or they're using language that's just so formal and this is something we all kind of have to unlearn if we've come from a professional background or you know our education even where we've always learned to speak and write in a very formal way but that's it's not what really connects with people because when our copy can instead reflect the exact words and phrases that we're using and the way that we're communicating with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're talking with each other and the way that we're talking to each other and the way that we're communicating with each other and the way that we're engaging with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're communicating with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting
Speaker 1with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting with each other and the way that we're interacting when do we ever use that? When's the last time you wrote a letter? When's the last time you ever had to use one of those greetings? And then all the formal lingo that we learned. And yeah, you're right. It just does not resonate because no one wants to be spoken to like you're a lawyer. So I love that what we need to do is meet people where they're at, talk to them how they want to be spoken to, talk to them using the words and phrases and colloquialisms that they are already using so that we get on a level with them. Magic. So there's a topic from my notes that I really want to get onto with you, Holly, and that is powerhouse positioning. So can you tell me more about
Speaker 2powerhouse positioning? So when we think about powerhouse positioning, it's really what do we stand for? What do we want to stand for in the hearts and minds of our ideal customers? And the brands that have done that really well are the ones that literally stand. The test of time. We can look to, you know, the big iconic global brands that have withstood recession after recession, who have withstood wars in some cases, and are still standing, are still strong and have so much loyalty and advocacy. And it really does come down to standing for something meaningful. So if we think of brands like Disney, if we think of brands like Gucci, if we think of brands like Ben and Jerry's ice cream, you know, we instantly have an association. We instantly could describe the brand. We instantly could describe the brand. We instantly could describe what they're all about and what they offer to anyone who asked us, right? And be on the tip of our tongue in a heartbeat. And that's really what we should all be aspiring towards that anyone else in our audience can also describe to other people behind closed doors that we are the go-to expert for what we do. And if they can't, then there's a disconnect in our online presence right now and in the positioning of our brand. And we're not clearly enough standing for something that's meaningful to them. In a way that's simple enough for them to articulate as well. So powerhouse positioning, first and foremost, is about what are you the specialist of? Everyone talks about wanting to be seen as the go-to expert, but that first and foremost comes down to being willing and prepared to specialize and carve out a space within your niche that you are going to be the absolute no-brainer choice around. You know, I could have called myself a business coach when I used to. I actually used to call myself a career and business coach because I was straddling corporate people and I was straddling side hustle people. And it was all very confusing. And I stood for nothing really. You know, it was too broad, too vague. Since I niched down as a sales and messaging coach, my business doubled and then it doubled again. Now I am seen as a go-to expert. Now I get tagged in those posts where people are looking for recommendations and referrals for someone who specializes in niching, positioning, messaging, sales. You know, I'm a business coach, I'm a sales coach, I'm a business coach, I'm a business coach. You know, it's easy for people to recommend me because this is what I consistently talk about. It's what I consistently show up around. It's what I teach is what I own. I'm not trying to own every single aspect of either business or marketing, which is a lot. And we can't possibly be the expert of all of the different facets of that. And it's so much easier for ourselves and for others when we choose a space. That doesn't mean it has to be limiting. You know, I've worked with over 50 different niches since I, I specialized as a sales and messaging coach. And the variety I have of my clients is huge because I work with service-based entrepreneurs and there are lots and lots and lots of different service-based entrepreneurs. So we can still have breadth as well as depth. But when we specialize, that's the easiest way to become known for something. So first and foremost, powerhouse positioning is absolutely deciding what I want to be known for, what I want to be seen as the expert of. And then secondly, it definitely, of course, incorporates your personal brand, as we touched on before, your messaging around all of that. And, you know, what makes you unique? I'm not worrying too much about feeling that we have to have something that is completely original because don't forget that your most powerful asset is your personal brand and your most powerful asset is you and your story and all of those beautiful things we talked about previously as to how you package up your brilliance. So remembering that first and yourself and your own style and your own personality and your story and your expertise and those things combined can really help you be seen as someone who has a powerhouse presence, who has an incredible reputation in the industry and definitely be seen as that go-to expert.
Speaker 1Nice. So I love that this has come full circle and it's right background to you showing up as you and not anyone else because your authentic message is what will resonate with people and make you magnetic. And I really loved what you said about intentionally choosing what you want to stand for in the hearts and minds of your target customers. Because I think you're right. So many companies don't actually do that. And then what happens is they don't choose how they are seen because they haven't planted the seed of the words and phrases that they want their clients to use. So their clients just use any words and they might not be the ones that the It's almost like zooming out and looking at your business and what you offer from afar and then pretending you are someone else talking about it and deciding what you would want them to say and having that on your website and everywhere that your brand is mentioned and using those kind of words to talk about yourself and talk about what you offer. So I absolutely love this. Holly, thank you so much for coming on Coachbox Radio and sharing all of your wisdom. You can find Holly at hollymacu.com. So that is H-O-L-L-Y-M-A-C-U dot com. H-O-L-L-Y-M-A-C-U-E dot com. And we're going to link the website in the show notes. And Holly has very kindly put us together a free PDF on how she banked over $300,000 of sales without a sales page. So we will make sure that that is linked too. As always, this episode was recorded completely asynchronously. No alignment of our schedules was required whatsoever, which is really good because we're on completely different time zones. So I really hope that you enjoy the episode and I look forward to seeing you again in the next one. You have been listening to Coachbox Radio with me, Jodie Cook, founder of Coachbox. If you are a coach with wisdom to share, get in touch via coachbox.com to feature in an episode of your very own. Sign up at coachbox.com to start coaching by voice note today. Thank you.
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