I was recently invited to speak at a marketing event for coaches. While preparing my talk, I realized the message was one I wanted my podcast audience to hear too, so this episode shares that talk in full.

The talk opens with a question many coaches quietly carry: they are trained, smart, and capable, so why is the calendar still so empty? I explain how I decided to stop guessing and find out what was actually going on by surveying 115 coaches across 10 countries.

The findings were striking. 69% of respondents had fewer than five paying clients. 85% had ten or fewer. Nearly 90% wanted more clients and more income. These were not beginners. They were educated, credentialed, committed coaches.

What I didn't expect was what happened to my own business while I ran the survey. The project itself generated conversations, relationships, and clients, adding more than 350 people to my email community and leading to 57 booked calls in just 46 days.

I shares the story of my client Kirsten, a dog behaviour coach, who sent 250 invitations, received 76 responses, and booked 13 genuine conversations in four weeks, without a single sales pitch.

The episode closes with my 7core reframe: coaches do not need to become louder or someone they are not. They need to get curious, ask, listen, learn, and let real conversations create the opportunities. Stop guessing. Start asking.

Mentioned in this episode: the 2026 Coaching Business Growth Report, available at candymotzek.lpages.co/business-growth-survey/