Stepping into the world of executive presence coaching isn’t about sporting a suit and getting respect right out of the gate.
It’s about learning what it means to have influence and impact in real-world situations and guiding others to do the same.
If you’re considering becoming a coach who empowers leaders, inspires confidence, and refines their leadership presence, you’ll want to read on.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to become an executive presence coach, plus helpful advice on launching your coaching business.
Let’s break down what it takes and how you can carve a space in this meaningful career path.
What Is an Executive Presence Coach?
An executive presence coach guides leaders, professionals, and rising stars on how to command respect and influence others in the workplace.
Some renowned executive presence coaches include:
- Joel Garfinkel: Helps introverted and overlooked leaders feel seen and heard, so they can explore their true potential safely
- Deborah Gruenfeld: A top psychologist and faculty member at Stanford known for “Acting with Power”, focused on strengthening body language and presence.
- Kristi Hedges: Works with clients to achieve clarity in executive communication and composure in high-stakes situations.
- Ben Decker: Built entire coaching programs around communication skills and the way great leaders handle challenging situations.
The defining quality among all these examples? They help clients refine leadership skills, exude confidence, and unlock their full potential.
What is executive presence coaching?
Executive presence coaching helps leaders understand and leverage the elements of executive presence:
- How they show up.
- Their non-verbal cues.
- The words they use.
- How they make others feel.
Whether group or one-on-one coaching, you make sure clients can command a room, making the most of their strengths.
You don’t give clients direct answers. Instead, you partner with them, provide feedback and help them get through professional demands like public speaking, business meetings and stakeholder presentations.
What does an executive presence coach do?
A typical day for an executive presence coach involves:
- Evaluate the current situation: Assessing clients’ current professional presence and how others perceive them.
- Give notes for improvement: Providing feedback on body language, tone, and leadership qualities.
- Identify coaching milestones: Helping clients set clear goals to develop their executive presence.
- Build experiences: Designing exercises to build confidence in high-stakes situations.
- Give specialized training: Offering presentation skills training and communication training to help clients articulate their ideas.
- Facilitate actual practice: Guiding clients through mock interviews, executive communication drills, and emotional intelligence exercises.
- Monitor progress: Prompting clients to reflect and find ways to improve their leadership presence.
Why do people hire an executive presence coach?
People turn to executive presence coaches for many reasons:
- Executive leadership opportunities: They’re moving into new leadership roles and want to exude confidence.
- Public speaking fears: They want to overcome their anxieties and inspire confidence in themselves, teams, and stakeholders.
- Personal development: They’ve been told they lack “presence” or don’t command respect at work.
- Career and organization growth: They want to enhance their executive presence to accelerate promotions or positively impact the organization.
- Specialized programs: They know that coaching can help them develop skills beyond what traditional leadership training offers.
How to Become an Executive Presence Coach
To become a successful executive presence coach, you need a plan. Not just for changing lives, but for building a solid foundation for your career.
Here’s a comprehensive path with key steps to help you establish yourself in this field:
1. Study foundational knowledge
Understand what it is exactly you’re working towards. From theory to practice, study up on executive presence:
- Read widely to get familiar with leadership, communication, and influence.
- Attend workshops and summits to train and see leaders in action.
- Reflect on your own journey with executive presence and the techniques that worked for you.
This exercise helps you relate to future clients and refine your coaching philosophy.
2. Participate in mentorship or training
Enroll in recognized executive coaching, communication training, or leadership training programs.
Many coaches attend workshops or summits to enhance their executive presence and gain practical tools.
If you don’t have the time and budget to certify, consider working with a trusted mentor instead. You get personalized advice on real-life best practices.
3. Get an executive presence coach certification (optional)
Pursue a credible executive presence coach certification, like an ICF-accredited program or related credentials, if you can. Top programs cover key areas like:
- Leadership skills
- Presentation and communication skills
- Stakeholder engagement
Certifications signal to clients you’ve invested in your development and follow best practices.
5. Identify your ideal clients and niche
Get specific about who you help. Are your clients emerging leaders, executives at large companies, entrepreneurs, or professionals in certain fields?
This helps you personalize your message and coaching program. Research problems that matter most to your audience so you can solve specific challenges.
You can even check out other related niches like business leadership coaching, communication coaching, and confidence coaching.
6. Refine your Magic Pill Offer and approach
Clarify the transformation you deliver. Set yourself apart from other coaches by:
- Considering what makes your approach unique (e.g., focus on emotional intelligence, a blend of leadership coaching and storytelling).
- Creating assessment tools, exercises, and feedback processes for coaching sessions.
- Building packages full of value that would be impossible to walk away from.
7. Build your brand and credibility
Think about how you show up and what messages you’re sending. Here’s how to present a strong coaching brand:
- Develop a professional website
- Craft an engaging LinkedIn profile to get clients.
- Showcase your expertise with blog posts, videos, or speaking engagements.
- Share testimonials, case studies, or credentials to demonstrate your track record.
8. Network and collaborate
Networking opens the doors to new opportunities, including referrals, corporate coaching engagements, and co-facilitated workshops.
- Connect with HR professionals, leadership development firms, and other coaches.
- Join relevant online communities or associations.
- Get in front of someone else’s audience and turn them into potential clients (e.g., podcast guesting, virtual events).
9. Build your coaching business
Combine foundational work with business-building. Plan for logistics, operations and marketing.
Don’t forget to set up your sales enrollment system. From discovery sessions to onboarding new clients, go through the process with confidence.
10. Deliver results and collect feedback
Track your coaching outcomes and gather client feedback on coaching sessions and results. Use this as proof of your effectiveness or as a springboard to improve your services.
Be the type of coach who always keeps learning and sharpening their craft. That way, you stay relevant and deliver coaching that keeps up with the times.
What Do You Need to Be an Executive Presence Coach?
Being an executive presence coach is not just about looking the part. It’s a blend of presence, communication skills, and the ability to project confidence and inspire trust in others.
Here are the skills, qualifications, and character traits you need to succeed:
- Coaching skills: You practice active listening and provide honest, actionable feedback.
- Strong communication skills: You understand both verbal and non-verbal cues needed to be respected.
- Leadership background: You’re familiar with the common challenges executives and leaders face.
- Emotional intelligence: You know how to manage feelings and reactions in different social settings.
- Familiarity with pressure: You have mastery of techniques to ground and maintain composure.
- Personalization: You can customize and fit your program to your client’s specific needs.
- Genuine passion to help: You really advocate for people to be the best versions of themselves.
Personally, I believe the most important thing is that you’ve been an executive yourself or have worked closely with executives. Having such personal experience is unmatched in coaching.
Do you need a degree to become an executive presence coach?
No, you don’t need a specific degree to become an executive presence coach. But a background in psychology, communications, or business leadership definitely helps.
Going through a personal journey also goes a long way to building trust. Clients often want the same transformation you go through to happen to them, too.
At the end of the day, no matter your titles, what matters most for clients is if you can help them get results.
Executive presence coach certification
Certifications aren’t always required, but they definitely add credibility and structure to your coaching experience. Here are some top options:
- ICF Certified Executive Presence and Leadership Skills Program: Dives deep into the four pillars of executive presence: gravitas, impactful communication, leadership best practices, and action commitment plan. It also covers the ICF coaching competencies and ethics on top of niche concepts.
- Bates ExPI Assessment Certification: Trains executive coaches and talent development leaders to administer a research-based assessment for measuring executive presence. This way, you can ground your coaching on data and business results.
- Center for Executive Coaching (CEC): With this coaching program, you get practical training and a globally recognized credential. You get all the support you need to launch your executive coaching business: a complete executive coaching tool kit, global support and self-paced or on-demand options.
- Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder-Centered Coaching: A results-driven leadership growth program from one of the top coaches in the world. You learn Goldsmith’s 5-step structured methodology, so you can make lasting changes in your client’s lives.
- Certified Executive Coach (Symbiosis): This dual certification course guides business leaders to achieve their strategic communication goals and build their leadership influence. Classes are virtual, and you also get practical training to prepare for actual coaching sessions.
How Much Do Executive Presence Coaches Make?
If you’re wondering about potential earnings, executive presence coaches can do well, especially those who build a reputation for delivering powerful results.
Here’s a breakdown of annual salaries for executive presence coaches:
- Beginner coaches: $59,500
- Average: $122,120
- Top earners: $312,000+
Coaches working with high-profile executives or in-demand industries often charge more.
How much does an executive presence coach cost?
Fees for executive presence coaching services range widely based on your experience:
- New coaches: $30-$50 hourly
- Seasoned coaches (with specialized training): $100-$150 hourly
Aside from charging hourly, you can also offer packages and group rates. These can increase your income and reflect the value you offer better.
- Group sessions: $80-$4,500 per person per session
- Workshops: Starts at $250, reaching $5,000-$15,000 (long and comprehensive programs)
- Three to six-month Intensives: $6,000-$50,000 (depends on depth and personalization)
How to Start an Executive Presence Coaching Business
Ready to start your own executive presence coaching business? Here’s a simple roadmap that you can follow.
- Clarify your niche: Decide what you want to specialize in. Look at other types of coaching to see how they stand out (e.g., personal growth coach, or empowerment coach).
- Register your business: Sort out all the legal documents and processes you need to officially launch a coaching business.
- Design your offer: Create a clear package around the result your coaching delivers. For example, “leadership confidence bootcamp for directors” or “presence coaching for technical founders.”
- Build social proof early: Post case studies, tips, and testimonials online, or partner with organizations for workshops to showcase your methods and get coaching clients.
- Develop your sales and discovery process: Make it easy for clients to book a consultation, learn about your offer, and dream up their transformation with your coaching.
- Invest in your growth: Attend workshops, get advice from mentors, or join a mastermind group.
- Stay consistent: Consistency in client service, marketing, and ongoing learning is what builds your brand and eventually allows you to unlock your full potential as a coach.
Achieve High-Profile Success
As an executive presence coach, you know the importance of building authority and confidence. With your coaching business, it’s what convinces clients to trust you with their personal goals.
Nothing exudes executive presence more than knowing the value of your genius.
You charge accordingly and position yourself as a top expert. With my 3-Step Blueprint to Become a Highly Paid Coach? You can make that your new reality for free.
Ready to attract high-paying clients and get paid what you’re worth?
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