Ally Nitschke is the founder of Made For More, a leadership coaching agency. After running her agency for over three years, while juggling a part-time job for financial stability to support her family, Ally suddenly had to restructure her business to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the help and coaching of authority positioning strategist Samantha Riley, Ally bounced back from this setback. After five short months, Ally was able to quit her part-time job and go full-time on her thriving coaching business.
The Problem
When Australia announced its lockdown measures in early 2020, Ally’s corporate clients began to cancel, and that put her business in jeopardy.
“I had a year’s worth of events booked with my corporate clients that had canceled or postponed within the space of four days. So I was in a situation where my business was on the way up. Then within four days, it was obvious that I did not have a viable business plan or business model during a global pandemic. And that’s when I started to seek out some help.”
Ally added, “my business strategy was to show up for my existing clients. But I needed some help in maintaining an income stream. How do I keep my business growing and building during a time when there was so much uncertainty?”
She discovered that during tough times merely showing up was not enough. The pandemic had eliminated a critical income stream for her.
Ally was also working part-time to support her family.
“Around that same time, I was working very part-time for a job that I’d been in for a long time, which I liked. But it certainly wasn’t my passion. And while that was safe and stable, it wasn’t setting me on fire.”
Maybe you can relate?
So Ally looked into coaching services for some clarity on how to proceed next. She had previous experience with other coaches before, but this time she wanted someone who could inspire and help her business grow. Ally found this person in Samantha Riley.
“We certainly had a really good connection. And when we had some continued conversations, I knew that she was the right fit for me.”
The Solution
Samantha’s coaching was a great mix of knowledge, integrity, optimism, and no-nonsense talk.
As Ally elaborated, “When I found Sam, there was this real difference around actually getting into the nitty-gritty.”
Samantha worked with Ally on a strategic plan to achieve her goals and a series of actionable steps to improve her business performance.
- She asked Ally questions to clarify where she wanted to get to, and where her starting point was.
- Sam asked Ally to clarify where her audience was, her current offerings, how she’d been attracting clients, and what hadn’t been working.
- Ally was then given access to the Genies (Sam’s implementation team) to free up her time to concentrate on marketing, sales, and client delivery.
- Sam then helped Ally to tweak her webinar for sales (the webinar previously had a zero conversion rate).
- They got clear on Ally’s programs and the ideal client for each of them. Ally was previously creating programs on the fly and had no strategy for why or who she was making them for.
- They created marketing plans to attract Ally’s ideal clients – including a consistent email schedule and list building strategy.
- Sam also helped Ally to flesh out a sales script (as she previously wasn’t converting sales calls)
These steps helped Ally better understand what she needed to prioritize to make more money with her coaching business.
Together, they’ve pinned down important sales tactics. For instance, Samantha provided Ally with a step-by-step plan to get more clients from her webinars.
The result?
An 800% boost in sales. (Yes, we’re not making this up.)
Outcome
In just five months after getting help from Samantha, Ally quit her full-time job. Today, she is building Made For More full-time.
Samantha has been not only a coach but also a trusted confidante. As Ally mentioned, “emotionally, I have Sam there as my cheerleader. My support has been amazing.”
Throughout this process, Ally courageously moved her business forward.
With Samantha’s coaching, Ally figured out how to better brand herself.
Samantha also had important feedback and actionable tips that enabled Made For More to grow significantly. She gave Ally clarity on how Made For More can thrive, even during a pandemic.
Ally now has a better work-life balance. Since becoming a full-time owner, Ally now has more time to spend with her four young children. For example, Ally recently went on a school excursion with her son. Before, this wasn’t possible with her day job.
As she shared with us, one of Ally’s favourite quotes from Sam is ‘“you can’t read the label from inside the jar.”
“Working with Sam has certainly helped me to recognise and realise the expertise that I already have accumulated and have been sharing with the world. Plus, how to package that out.”
Key Takeaways
Ally highlighted several ways that Samantha helped Made For More to achieve success.
- Gain clarity around your business and how to position your expertise. Ally already had years of expertise to back the quality of services. Samantha helped bring this out.
- Focus on generating sales. Samantha helped Ally focus on revenue-generating activities and removing distractions. Building a business means making sales. Realizing that this was the lifeline of her coaching business, Ally doubled down on her sales strategy, and her results reflect this intense focus.
- Be open to pivoting/changing business model with an experienced coach – Made For More is now more successful than ever. By being free to change and implementing the strategic changes recommended to her by Sam, Ally could restructure her business and improve upon its growth trajectory.
Now you know what’s possible, do you want to experience results like this in your business too? Click Here to book a Business Accelerator Call with Samantha.
About Ally
While most people instinctively avoid confrontation, leadership coach, facilitator and speaker Ally Nitschke knows confrontation and Courageous Conversations are central to getting results. With over 15 years of leadership experience working with some of SA’s iconic organisations, Ally knows what it’s like to lead teams of over 120 people and is an expert in bringing perceived tough conversations to the forefront and creating a culture of feedback which significantly reduces performance issues.