Here's a question that trips up almost every new coach:

"Who should I reach out to?"

The good news? You can help almost any business owner. The COACH Method and POWER Framework you learned in Step 1 work across industries.

But here's the reality: Some people are way easier to sign as clients than others.

Remember the Outreach-to-Client Ratio (OCR) from the previous page? Your OCR can be 5:1 or 500:1 depending on who you target.

This page helps you figure out who to target first to get the lowest OCR possible.

The One Principle to Remember

Every time you're thinking about who to reach out to next, ask yourself:

"Who is most likely to become a client?"

That's it. That's the entire strategy.

The people most likely to become clients are:

1. People who already know and trust you

2. People who can clearly see you understand their problems

3. People who have the money to pay you

Let's work through this in order.

Step 1: Start With People You Already Know

The lowest OCR possible is reaching out to people who already know, like, and trust you.

Ask yourself:

Who do I know who runs a business that could use my help?

Make a list:

• Former colleagues who started businesses

• Friends who run companies

• Family members in business

• People you've worked with in the past

• LinkedIn connections who are business owners

These are your warmest leads. Your OCR here is probably 5:1 to 25:1.

Action: Write down 10-20 names of people you know who run businesses.

Step 2: Think About Referrals

The second-lowest OCR is reaching out to people who were referred to you.

Ask yourself:

Who do I know who could introduce me to business owners?

Think about:

• Business centers (accountants, recruiters, lawyers)

• Industry associations you're part of

• Other business owners who know you

• Professional networks you're in

Why this works: When someone introduces you, trust transfers. You're not a stranger anymore.

Your OCR here: Probably 10:1 to 50:1.

Action: Write down 5-10 people who could introduce you to business owners. Reach out and ask.

Step 3: Businesses You Come Across

The third-lowest OCR is businesses you interact with regularly.

Ask yourself:

What businesses do I come across in my day-to-day life that could use help?

Think about:

• The restaurant you visit that's always empty

• The gym you go to that could be busier

• The local shop struggling with operations

• The supplier you work with who's disorganized

Why this works: You already have a relationship. You're not cold outreach. You're a customer or contact offering to help.

Your OCR here: Probably 25:1 to 100:1.

Action: Write down 5-10 businesses you interact with that could use coaching.

Step 4: Choose Your "Core Client" for Cold Outreach

Once you've exhausted your network, referrals, and businesses you come across, now you start thinking about cold outreach.

This is where you need to pick a Core Client.

Your Core Client is: The specific type of business you'll target with cold outreach (personalized or automated).

Why you need this:

• It makes your messaging more relevant

• It improves your OCR (because they see you understand them)

• It makes finding prospects easier

Important: This doesn't limit who you can work with. You can still coach any business owner. This just focuses your cold outreach.

The 5 Criteria for Picking Your Core Client

When choosing your Core Client, evaluate them against these 5 criteria:

1. Most Value

(This is #1 for a reason)

Who can you provide and demonstrate the most value to given your skillset and experience?

You know their pains. You know what it feels like. You'll empathize with them and create better coaching that provides more value.

2. Pain

Is the market in pain? Do they have a desperate need for closing the gap?

A "nice to have" is not something people will pay £2,000/month for. Most businesses always have issues they need to solve. Are they starving for what you offer?

3. Growing

Is the industry growing? Otherwise you're always fighting the trend.

4. Easy to Find

Can you easily locate them on LinkedIn Sales Navigator or in associations, groups, etc.?

If you can't find your prospects, you can't get your offer in front of them. They must be congregated in one place.

5. Purchasing Power

Do they have the money?

This is why you want to avoid startups (unless well-funded) and charities.

Ideal size: £1-£20 million revenue and 11-50 employees.

(But this isn't set in stone. Companies below £1 million will still pay coaches £2,000-£3,000/month. Ask Pam how she knows.)

The Simple Rule: Pick Where You Have the Most Proof

Who can you provide the most value to based on your experience?

Fill in this sentence:

"My Core Client is [industry/business type] with 10-50 employees doing £1-£20 million revenue."

Don't overthink this. Pick the industry where you have the most experience and credibility.

Action: Write down your Core Client industry based on your experience.

How Many Potential Clients Are There?

Once you know your Core Client, let's see how many exist.

Basic Search on LinkedIn Sales Navigator:

Location: UK, USA, Canada (or wherever you want to target)

Company Size:

• 11-50 employees (for newer coaches)

• 51-200 employees (for more experienced coaches)

Revenue:

• £1-£5 million (for newer coaches)

• £5-£50 million (for experienced coaches)

Job Title: Owner, Founder, CEO, Managing Director

Industry: [Your Core Client industry]

How Many Are There?

Here's a rough idea of how many prospects exist:

Location

UK

USA

Canada

Total

1-10

460,000

2,000,000

210,000

2,670,000

11-50 Employees

220,000

1,000,000

100,000

1,320,000

51-200 Employees

110,000

740,000

60,000

910,000

201-500

47,000

330,000

29,000

406,000

Total

837,000

4,070,000

399,000

5,306,000

Out of all these people, you don't think you can find 5 that you could help?

You only need 5-10 clients to hit £10,000/month. That's 0.0001% of the available prospects or in other words an OCR of 1 million:1…so you may as well prioritize the most likely first!

Filter down even further

Within those millions of businesses there are ones much more likely to become your clients than others which is why the next step is to narrow it down to where you have the most proof. You can use thinks like company names keyword search to create a list of a few thousand people (for automated) or a few hundreds for personalised. 

The opportunity is massive.

Action: Go to LinkedIn Sales Navigator and run a basic search with your Core Client criteria. See how many results you get.

The Priority Order (Summary)

Here's the order you should reach out in to get the lowest OCR:

1. People you already know (OCR 5-25:1)
2. Referrals from people you know (OCR 10-50:1)
3. Businesses you come across (OCR 25-100:1)
4. Core Client cold outreach (personalized) (OCR 100-250:1)
5. Core Client cold outreach (automated) (OCR 500-1,000:1)

Remember the principle: Who is most likely to become a client? Start there.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Overthinking Your Core Client

Don't spend weeks deciding. Pick the industry where you have the most proof and move on. You can always change it later.

Mistake 2: Fear of Missing Out

"But what if I exclude businesses I could help?" You're not excluding anyone. You're just focusing your cold outreach. You can still work with anyone who comes to you.

Mistake 3: Picking Based on Money

Don't pick an industry because you think it's profitable if you have no experience in it. They won't trust you.

Mistake 4: Not Starting With Your Network

Don't jump straight to cold outreach. Start with people you know. It's 10x easier.

Then start with personalised messages to your most likely people, i.e. the businesses you really think you could help. You will learn a lot.

Do this before you even think about automating.

Business Coaching is the short cut, don't short cut the short cut. 

A Final Note

You don't need a perfect Core Client. You don't need a massive list. You don't need to find every possible prospect.

You just need 5-10 clients.

Start with your network. Reach out to people you know. Ask for referrals. Talk to businesses you come across.

Then, if you need more, use your Core Client for cold outreach.

Ready to learn what to say? Continue to "Your Offer & Messaging" and discover how to position yourself.