How to use LinkedIn without annoying your potential clients with Kate Merryweather
In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kate Merryweather. Kate is a LinkedIn coach, and if you’re an executive coach who wants to attract leads without being annoying or salesy—this one’s for you.
We talk about how Kate went from being behind the scenes as a copywriter to fully booked within a few months of posting regularly on LinkedIn. Her clients started asking, “What exactly are you doing on LinkedIn?” and how that question led her to create a whole new business and identity as a LinkedIn coach.
We also chat about what’s working right now on LinkedIn—posting frequency, selfies, warm DMs vs spammy ones, and why connection requests don’t need a message anymore. Kate explains how to use personality and “essence of you” in your content, and gives a simple, practical framework to come up with a month’s worth of posts.
In this episode, we cover:
✅ Why LinkedIn is the place to be—“because that’s where the money is”✅ How to attract leads without cold outreach or spammy messages✅ Building likability and trust through content✅ The difference between warm DMs and annoying ones✅ How to brainstorm post ideas using “I don’t know,” “I want,” and “I’m afraid”✅ Why selfies can boost your reach (even if you feel scruffy)✅ Posting tips—how often, what kind of content, and when to sprint✅ Whether to bother with hashtags, notes in connection requests, or links in posts ✅ Kate’s favourite offer: the Show Up School membership Kate also shares her approach to experimenting on LinkedIn (like posting twice a day!) and how she helps people show up with confidence, even if they’re feeling scruffy and a bit over it.
Connect with Kate:
Kate’s Website (look for her Show Up School Membership)
Follow Kate on LinkedIn
Want to develop your coaching business? You can book a call with me to see how I can support your coaching business. Learn more about the Corporate to Coach Accelerator and how we support executive coaches in growing their businesses.
Connect with me on LinkedIn
For more resources, head to elliescarf.com
See you next time!
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41:58
Why You Need a Sales Pipeline ASAP (Back to Basics Month!)
It’s the final week of Back to Basics month here on The Business of Executive Coaching—and we’re finishing strong with one of the most important (and often overlooked) foundations of your coaching business: your Sales Pipeline.
This series has been all about those core pieces that help your business run smoothly—your ideal clients, your offers, your coaching bio, and now, your sales pipeline. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been coaching for a while and feel like some things just aren’t clicking, this episode will help you shore up a really important part of your business growth strategy.
Now, to be clear, while building your sales pipeline is a foundational part of your business—but definitely not basic, as in simple. It’s more like eating your vegetables. Not always intuitive, especially for coaches who aren’t naturally drawn to business development, but absolutely essential.
Here’s what I cover:
What a sales pipeline is, and why you should definitely have one.
How your pipeline helps you work with data rather than feelings.
The role of a pipeline in making sure opportunities don’t fall through the cracks.
Why it keeps you honest about what levels of activity are actually required to meet your revenue goals.
How it helps you step out of negativity bias and be more strategic with your actions.
I also share a method I teach for stepping backwards from your revenue target and building a granular view of your offers, pricing, outreach, and conversions—so you can be strategic about what’s working and what’s not.
Inside the Corporate to Coach Accelerator, we go much deeper into how to build and track your sales pipeline, including what tools to use and what to track. If you’d like my support, or if you'd like to check whether the Accelerator is the right fit for you, I’d love to offer a no-commitment one-on-one coaching call.
And if you book that call during April and decide to join, you’ll get a special offer just for podcast listeners: 13 months of membership for the price of 12.
📞 Book a call with me at elliescarf.com/bookacall. or message me on LinkedIn and mention the podcast.
See you next time! Stay tuned- I’ve got an exciting interview lined up to kick off May!
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18:07
Back to Basics: Your Coaching Bio, Done Right
This month is Back to Basics month on The Business of Executive Coaching. We're taking time to work through the fundamental building blocks of a sustainable coaching business. If you're just starting out or want to strengthen the foundation of what you’ve already built, this series will support you to get clear, get focused, and get moving.
This week’s episode is all about your coach bio—one of the most underrated but powerful tools in your business.
Your bio might seem like a small detail, but it’s actually one of the most important assets in your business. Unlike your website—which people may or may not visit—your bio gets sent to people. It’s often the first impression someone has of you, especially in corporate settings. So it’s worth spending some time getting it right.
Here’s what I cover:
Why your bio does a different job than your website (and needs different language)
What makes a good coach bio: clarity, relevance, and credibility
Why your professional background matters—especially if you’re new to coaching
How to make your experience feel current, even if it’s from a different field
Using simple, human language (no coach jargon!)
The role of social proof and how to use it without overdoing it
When having more than one version of your bio is worth the effort
This episode is packed with practical tips to help you write or refresh your coach bio so it clearly reflects who you are, what you do, and why people should work with you.
If you’d like personal feedback on your bio, I’d love to help. You can book a strategy call with me—and if you mention this podcast, there’s a bonus for April. If we meet and you decide the Accelerator is the right next step for you, and you join this month, you’ll receive one month free: 13 months of full support for the price of 12.
I’d love to hear how you go with this one—connect with me on LinkedIn and let me know what landed.
See you next week when we continue our Back to Basics series and dive into sales pipelines!
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21:06
What exactly should I be selling? Defining your offer suite (Back to Basics Month)
This month is Back to Basics month on The Business of Executive Coaching. We’re diving into the core components that make your coaching business sustainable and scalable. Whether you’re just starting out or refining your existing strategy, this month’s episodes are packed with insights to bring clarity and direction.
If you’re curious about how the Corporate to Coach Accelerator could help you build a business model that feels aligned and profitable, book a strategy call with me. Mention this podcast, and you’ll receive a 13th month of membership at no additional cost.
This episode is all about building an offer suite that works for you—not just in theory, but in real life. Many coaches struggle with how to structure their services and end up feeling stuck between too many options or not enough. This episode will help you simplify and strengthen your offer structure.
Here’s what I cover:
It’s more than coaching - Why the most successful coaches offer more than coaching!
The purpose of your offer suite – Why your offer suite isn’t just a list of products or services, but a strategic roadmap for client engagement and business growth.
Offer relevance - Why it is important that your offer solves a real problem for your ideal clients.
Coaching adjacent offers - The power of offers that support each other by building credibility with the same decision makers.
By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clear understanding of what your offer suite should be doing for you—and how to shape it so that it supports both your clients’ journey and your business goals.
I’m currently offering strategy calls for coaches who want to refine or restructure their offer suite. If you want to build a more focused, more effective coaching business, I’d love to help you explore the possibilities. Book your call here.📩 Let me know your thoughts on this episode! Reach out to me on LinkedIn or drop me a message—I'd love to hear how you're thinking about your offers.
See you in the next episode!
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27:52
To niche or not to niche - defining your ideal clients (Back to Basics Month!)
This month is Back to Basics month on The Business of Executive Coaching. This month we are covering some of the fundamentals of coaching business. You might be working through these concepts for the first time, or you might need to revisit. Whatever stage of business you are in, there is something here for you.
If you’d like to discuss your business and whether the Corporate to Coach Accelerator could be a good fit for you, book a strategy call with me! If you choose to join, just mention this podcast and you will receive a 13th month of membership for no additional cost.
This episode is all about the critically important task of defining your idea clients. Sounds like a simple task right? Chances are though that you’ve found it harder than expected. I discuss the challenges coaches face with this task—especially when traditional advice about narrowing down feels restrictive rather than empowering.
Here’s what I cover:
The pressure to niche down – Why the advice to "narrow your niche" often creates more stress than clarity for many coaches.
The danger of over-defining – How getting too specific can sometimes limit your opportunities rather than enhance them.
A different approach to niching – Reframing the way you think about your ideal clients to allow for both focus and flexibility.
Practical self-coaching strategies – How to move past confusion and make strategic decisions about your coaching business.
Trusting the evolution of your business – Understanding that your ideal clients will refine itself naturally over time as you gain more experience.
By the end of this episode, you’ll have a fresh perspective on figuring out your ideal clients that feels aligned with your skills, interests, and long-term goals—without the pressure to fit into a rigid framework.
As I mentioned, I’m currently offering strategy calls for coaches who want to gain clarity on their ideal clients without feeling stuck in over-analysis. If you’re ready to move forward with confidence, let’s chat about how I can help.
Book a call now!
📩 I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s continue the conversation.
Looking forward to next time!
The executive coaches out there know that coaching is very rewarding, but the business of executive coaching can be confusing, frustrating and unnecessarily opaque.
Join senior executive coach Ellie Scarf each week as she shares practical business advice, tips she’s learnt from her mistakes and her mentors, and the latest business ideas translated for the executive coaching context.
Join Ellie and her guests and be inspired by the possibilities for your executive coaching business!
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