If you’ve ever introduced yourself at a networking event or updated your website bio, you’ve probably defaulted to some version of it: “I help [type of person] achieve [outcome].” And while that format has its place, it’s become so ubiquitous in the coaching world that it’s stopped doing the one thing it was supposed to do – make people remember you.

The truth is, your story is the strategy. Not the polished, packaged version you think people want to hear – the real one. The version that explains why you do this work, what it cost you to figure out what you now know, and why that matters to the person sitting across from you.

Why the Formula Falls Flat

The “I help…” framework was designed to create clarity, and it does, to a point. But clarity without connection is just information. And in a market where most coaches are solving the same problems, information alone won’t differentiate you.

What actually draws ideal clients in is specificity. Not the specificity of your niche statement, but the specificity of your experience. The moment you stopped pretending you had it together. The client's situation cracked something open for you. The thing you had to unlearn before you could actually help anyone else.
That’s the story people connect with. That’s the story that makes someone think, “she gets it—she’s been where I am.”

Your Story Is Your Differentiator

Think about the coaches you’ve been drawn to – the ones whose content you actually save, whose emails you actually open. Chances are, you know something real about them. You’ve heard them talk about the hard season in their business, the identity shift that changed how they serve clients, or the counterintuitive decision that turned everything around.

That texture is what makes a brand feel like a person instead of a product. And it’s exactly what most coaches are leaving out. Your methodology matters. Your framework matters. But neither of those things will land with the right people until they trust you – and trust is built through story.

3 Places to Weave Your Story In

Your About Page

Stop treating it like a resume. Share the turning point that led you here. What did you try before this worked? What do you understand now that you wish someone had told you earlier?

Your Content

Instead of leading with tips, lead with a moment. “This time last year, I was staring at a spreadsheet trying to figure out why revenue had stalled – and what I found surprised me.” That opener will always outperform a numbered list.

Your Sales Conversations

When you share a relevant piece of your own journey during a discovery call, you signal that you’re not just qualified – you’re the right fit. It lowers the stakes and opens the door for your potential client to be equally honest with you.

--

There’s a difference between oversharing and strategic transparency. You don’t need to air every difficult chapter of your story – but you do need to let people see that you’ve done real work to get where you are. That honesty signals credibility in a way that credentials alone cannot.

The coaches who build sustainable, referral-driven practices aren’t necessarily the most credentialed or the most visible. They’re often simply the most relatable – the ones whose story makes a potential client feel less alone in their struggle.

So the next time you sit down to write a bio, draft a post, or introduce yourself on a call, try something different. Instead of starting with what you do, start with why it matters – to you, first. Let that be the foundation your brand is actually built on.

Are you ready to scale your business?

In less than 15 minutes, you’ll learn the 3 areas that you need to laser focus on in order to generate reliable and predictable revenue and scale to a highly profitable business.