As consumers, we’re conditioned to look for an official stamp of approval or a promise of results before making big decisions. But the standard methods of weighing decisions don’t work in certain industries.
For example, clients in the coaching industry may default to evaluating credentials such as years of experience, notable affiliations or certifications. Or, they might look for guarantees of outcomes. Likewise, coaches may build marketing around these signals, in part because they seem important to clients.
Russ Ruffino, founder of Clients on Demand, argues that focusing on traditional credentials or outcome guarantees isn’t a great way to evaluate potential coaching services. A coach’s background doesn’t matter nearly as much as the transformative experience they create with their clients, and guarantees can actually be red flags.
Results vs. Experience: Understanding the Difference
When evaluating a potential coach, many clients ask questions like:
- Do they have the right certifications?
- How many years of experience do they have?
- Who have they worked with?
- What results do their clients usually get?
It’s the same criteria you might apply to other service providers, but it doesn’t translate well to coaching.
Consider how you might choose a plumber. You research options and narrow it down to two:
- One has won industry and regional awards.
- The other has dozens of customer reviews on Google praising the company’s communication, professionalism and follow-through.
The awards tell you something about a company’s or a plumber’s experience and background. The reviews tell you what it’s like to work with that plumber.
Ruffino sees the same dynamic in the coaching industry, where coaches often build marketing strategies around the wrong thing. He told Chris Badgett of the LMSCast, “[T]here’s so many people out there that are saying hire me because I was certified by so and so or hire me because I’m trained in such and such methodology or hire me because I fly around in private jets and drive a Lamborghini or whatever…”
Results are the final outcome of a coaching engagement, but how you get to them matters. Since no coach can practically or ethically guarantee results, the experience they create is a more reliable indicator of the value they deliver.
Transformations That Occur When You Focus on the Experience
Ruffino regularly talks about the shifts that happen for coaches and clients when transformative experiences become the primary focus.
1. Positioning Becomes Clearer, Leading to Client Self-Selection
Coaches who prioritize the experience they deliver must have a precise understanding of what they offer and who it’s designed for. Serving the right clients well matters more than serving more clients.
“What drives conversions at the high-ticket level isn’t reach. It’s specificity,” Ruffino told CIO Views. “A coach who can articulate in one sentence exactly who they help and what changes for that person after working together doesn’t need 50,000 followers. They need five focused conversations.”
When coaches lead with the experience they create, their initial marketing does much of the qualifying work. Someone who isn’t the right fit scrolls past; those who are a good fit are drawn in by the experience.
Ruffino takes this approach a step further with a “No Flexing Policy,” and Clients on Demand deliberately avoids income-boasting and other results-driven marketing that’s pervasive throughout the coaching space. Instead, according to The Hype Magazine, he focuses on participant experience, including:
- Quality of methodology
- Depth of support
- Integrity of enrollment
2. Enrollment Conversations Dive Deeper
A commitment to transformative experience starts with the first conversation. Coaches who focus on delivering transformation use the initial interaction to establish whether the relationship is the right fit for both sides.
“The enrollment conversation isn’t a persuasion exercise. It’s a diagnostic,” Ruffino is quoted by CIO Views as saying. “The job is to understand what someone actually wants and then give them an honest answer about whether you can help them get there … When coaches treat it as a sales performance, they close people who shouldn’t be in the program and lose people who should be.”
That diagnostic approach sets the tone for everything that follows. When a coach evaluates a client’s needs and says yes based on fit instead of a desire to close another deal, the foundation for a transformative experience is more likely.
Ruffino doubles down on this philosophy in the LMSCast, saying, “In the course of a very, very valuable conversation, which doesn’t feel like a sales call at all, it’s basically a coaching call, you can get clear on what those problems really are. Then once you’re clear, and once they’re clear, and everyone’s on the same page, most of the time, they’ll say… ‘You know what, this is serious. I better do something about this.’“
3. Pricing Reflects Value and Draws More Committed Clients
A transformative coaching experience isn’t something that happens to a client. It requires active participation. Ruffino consistently notes that mindset shifts, success with new strategies and lasting change require clients who show up, do the work and engage seriously with the process.
Pricing plays a direct role in whether that happens. When a client makes a significant financial investment, the stakes of the engagement change. There’s more reason to show up, more motivation to implement, and more urgency to get value out of every interaction. Premium pricing doesn’t just reflect the value of the experience, says Ruffino. It helps create the conditions for it.
Ruffino addressed this directly in an episode of the Fire Nation podcast, saying, “When you charge what you’re really worth… your clients are gonna get better results, you’re gonna make more money, they’re gonna show up accountable, they’re gonna show up ready to work, and you’re gonna actually change lives as opposed to just giving people little tidbits of information.”
Evaluating Potential Coaches Based on Experience Rather Than Results
Not all coaching experiences are created equal, and credentials or promised outcomes aren’t the most reliable way to choose the right option for you. Ruffino points to more meaningful signals, such as:
- Enrollment processes. A coach focused on delivering real transformation treats the first conversation as an assessment. They ask about your needs, discuss fit and don’t push you toward a decision that isn’t right for you.
- Methodology. Look for coaches who can explain what the process looks like and why it works.
- Guarantees. Be cautious of outcome guarantees. Ethical coaches acknowledge that results depend on the client’s own commitment and execution.