Coach, Strategist Or Consultant: Which One Are You?
At first glance, consultant, coach, and strategist roles look very similar.
All involve problem-solving and guidance.
All require excellent communication skills.
All call for creativity without preconceptions and empathy for those we serve.
All need to navigate complex situations effectively.
All do best when they think outside the box and fully grasp what their clients dream of achieving.
The issue gets confusing when positioning your offerings to corporations.
Given the similarities of these competencies, it is easy to see why many professionals use these terms interchangeably– and sometimes struggle to understand the difference.
Becoming crystal clear about the difference between the roles of consultant, coach, and strategist is important if you:
Contract these services – so you know what skills and deliverables to ask for.
Provide these services – so you can help your prospective clients determine what they need (even when they mix up the terms).
Consume these services – so you can anticipate what the consultant/coach/strategist will ask of you.
Let´s start by simplifying the outcomes.
COACHES
Coaches focus on mentoring clients through challenges using questioning and reflective listening to drive their insights and plans. The client sets the agenda, while the coach provides accountability through probing guidance.
Outcomes include enhanced leadership skills, breaking limiting beliefs, making harder decisions and greater ownership.
CONSULTANTS
Consultants are subject matter experts who advise clients on industry best practices, provide specific recommendations, and can be hands-on with implementation.
They offer expertise through training programs, best practice audits, tech stack advice, and hands-on implementation guidance and take an authoritative approach based on proven experience.
Results include improved systems, increased efficiency, and measurable growth.
STRATEGISTS
Strategists also offer expertise but focus more on big-picture visioning and planning. They can map out transformations across operations, systems, and workflows in alignment with growth goals.
They co-architect the roadmap with big-picture visions factoring in new growth channels, updated branding, funnel redesigns, and succession planning.
This leads to focused trajectories, aligned teams, and optimized infrastructure to hit desired goals.
I am a Strategist and Consultant. I map out ideas and help implement and facilitate team training.
In terms of impact, coaches drive more personal/interpersonal enhancements while consultants and strategists enact tangible operational upgrades and profit growth.
But this is also why clearly articulating your niche is so essential, especially when pitching corporations. They crave concrete solutions when struggling with specific business obstacles.
If you vaguely sell yourself as a "coach" when they require restructuring, you have missed the mark completely in diagnosing their needs!
Like a doctor misreading symptoms and prescribing inaccurate treatment, this proves you don't truly understand the corporate landscape and how to translate your value across key decision-makers.
Now What This Means For Corporates…
When pitching your offerings, corporates may think they want one option but actually need another for best results. Your job is to uncover their true needs and map your solutions accordingly.
For example, an organization struggling with communication breakdowns and drifting from initial priorities may first think they require a Management Consultant to overhaul processes.
But in reality, an executive coach who is able to ask powerful questions and improve leadership vision/alignment may address the actual need.
Reframing things this way can elucidate new paths while keeping current systems intact.This allows you to guide clients toward ideal outcomes that stick versus short-term band-aid solutions.
Another example would be a fast-scaling startup seeking aggressive growth planning. Their instinct could be to assume a Coach can help develop expansion plans.
However, an experienced Strategist would far better serve them by lending proven frameworks for doubling revenue and capacity across 12 months.
See how the lines between these three roles can easily blur?
As the expert service provider, part of your duty is guiding clients toward solutions that perfectly match current challenges.
This leads to greater trust in your counsel, increased retention and stronger results. When clients get precisely what they need (even if different than imagined), positive outcomes fuel longer partnerships and referrals.
Adapting Your Core Offer For Corporates
Now when it comes to pitching your own services, start by asking probing questions to discern exactly what they need help with.
Listen closely for hints revealing if they truly require coaching, consulting or strategy.
Then, customize how you position core offerings to match their needs. Help steer clients to book precisely the right role they need right now. Educate them on why your flavor of coaching, consulting or strategy builds the perfect bridge across their current challenges.
For example, an Executive Coach could market their 1-on-1 sessions as Leadership Alignment Consulting for corporate clients. This may connect far stronger than simply advertising "coaching".
Likewise, a Business Strategist may tweak service offering names to sound more like concrete training when appealing to corporate teams. It's just a basic reframe, but more attractive to certain audiences.
When you showcase this level of discernment, corporations will flock as invaluable expert partners able to zoom into root causes and connect solutions to their biggest priorities.
The market rewards niche providers addressing real-world pain points with proven frameworks.
The Takeaway
Understanding the differences between coaching, consulting, and strategic planning allows you to offer exactly what each organization requires.
Avoid assumptions. Ask smart questions, listen closely and align services to lift client results.
When speaking to corporate prospects, subtly reframe core offerings to connect with what motivates purchasing decisions in their environment. Meet them where they are while leading them where they wish to be.
Now that you understand how to shift between critical service-based roles seamlessly, you hold the keys to maximizing both your value and corporate appeal.
So, which transformation will YOU own for your ideal corporate clients?
Helping you clarify the solution you provide that will resonate the most with corporate is one of the things I do with consultants, coaches and service-based professionals (attorneys, medical professionals, money pros, therapists, etc) in my 6-week intensive.
This level of clarity will help corporates instantly recognize that you can solve their problem And the compound benefits are well worth it for your business growth and impact.
This is perfect for someone above the $100K mark who would like to make at least an additional six figures per year from workshops and/or consulting with a small number of corporations and organizations.
I also help with:
Taking the solution you ALREADY provide and turn it into a highly valuable offer that corporates want. In most cases, this is your gateway offer, like a workshop or speaking engagement (which can turn into longer-term projects at higher fees).
I identify your 50 top perfect-fit prospects to connect with and help you create the five different types of lead generation content that positions you as a trusted industry advisor so they book a call with you to start a conversation about working together.
Guiding you through your first discovery sales call process using my unique two-call CONSULTATIVE approach to make it easier for clients to say "yes" to working with you.
This is far more effective and faster for you than using the traditional way of sending a long proposal that doesn't get any response. (ALSO includes roleplaying if needed).
The investment is $9K, which is reasonable considering how hands-on I am, my proven methodology, and the results achieved.
My clients typically add multiple 6-figures in revenue and get triple their original prices after working with me. To make it happen, you’ll get a series of easy-to-follow action items that take you through my proven framework for generating targeted corporate conversations without sacrificing results.