September 11, 2025 • 30 mins
In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets, our guest is Peter Duffy, a highly experienced Career Coach and Consultant with a proven track record of helping professionals unlock their full potential and navigate successful career transitions. With expertise in leadership development, personal branding, and executive coaching, Peter shares actionable strategies to stand out in today’s competitive job market and achieve meaningful career growth.
You can find him on:
https://connectionscareercoaching.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-duffy-ccc/
You can also watch this podcast on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/@CareerCoachingSecrets
If you are a career coach looking to grow your business you can find out more about Purple Circle at http://joinpurplecircle.com
Get Exclusive Access to Our In-Depth Analysis of 71 Successful Career Coaches, Learn exactly what worked (and what didn't) in the career coaching industry in 2024: https://joinpurplecircle.com/white-paper-replay
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Peter Duffy (00:00):
And so I continue to focus down.
I am the marketer.
I'm the coach.
And so essentially whathappened over the years is that
because of the impact I've hadon people's lives and based on
making more money now, they'rein a better job, but that they
market me and that's what Iwant.
I'm in a pretty good place.
There's a, there's a bookcalled the prosperous coach.
And I think the prosperouscoach that even says, you know,
(00:20):
if you do your job, right, youdon't need to hold, do a whole
lot of marketing.
Davis Nguyen (00:24):
Right.
And that's the way I adoptedit.
Welcome to Career CoachingSecrets, the podcast where we
talk with successful careercoaches on how they built their
success and the hard lessonsthey learned along the way.
My name is Davis Nguyen, andI'm the founder of Purple
Circle, where we help careercoaches scale their business to
$100,000 years, $100,000 months,and even $100,000 weeks.
Before Purple Circle, I'vegrown several seven and eight
(00:44):
figure career coaching businessmyself, and I've been a
consultant at two careercoaching businesses that are
doing over $100 million each.
Whether you're an establishedcoach or building your practice
for the first time, you'lldiscover the secrets to
elevating your coachingbusiness.
us.
Kevin Yee (00:57):
Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets Podcast.
I'm Kevin, and today we arejoined by Peter Duffy.
He is the founder ofConnections Career Coaching.
Welcome to the show, Peter.
Peter Duffy (01:06):
Thank you so much.
I'm really happy to be here.
Kevin Yee (01:09):
You know, I'm actually really excited for you
to be here too, because when Iasked you how long you've been
coaching for, you told meforever, but independently,
you've been having your businessfor the last five years.
What I would love to know islike your origin story.
I would love to hear the lore.
What was the moment when youkind of realized you want to
become a coach and moreimportantly, turned into a
business.
Peter Duffy (01:29):
I've been a coach for a very long time.
I have a special gift.
I don't want to call itclairvoyance, but I have a
special gift that I've had sinceI can ever remember.
It's a gift where I've actuallybeen able to look into the
heart of people and I believetheir soul.
And I've been able to seethings in them that they
couldn't see on their own.
And I would bring things upthat would shock them, that I
could read their mind in a way.
(01:50):
And so I think it's a highintuition part that I have.
And so I've always been able tosee people and to observe them
And, you know, in terms of theircareers, I've spent probably 25
years in marketing, media,business development, sales,
right?
So, you know, I'm all aroundpeople.
And, you know, even if it'spitching, I could see the
audience.
I could read the audience.
(02:11):
I could see running a pitchteam.
I could see that.
But also by the individual.
So I could see people whobelonged in that industry and
people who didn't.
And I would talk to them aboutthat.
And I would unearth it in them.
And they would leave and go tothis other place and they would
thrive.
Of course, their managersdidn't like it too much, right?
(02:33):
But I just saw it in them.
We'd have a beer and I'd say,have you thought about this?
I haven't thought about that.
They said, no, actually, I havebeen thinking about it, but I
haven't done anything about it.
I said, well, you really oughtto because that's where your
power is.
And so there it is.
So five years ago, I said, youknow, I basically left corporate
America and had enough of it.
And I said, hey, you know, whatdo you think about making this
(02:53):
a real thing?
So I spent a lot of timethinking about kind of like my
brand and the words connections,career coaching.
And I found that, you know,when creating my business, it
really psyched me up is becauseI believe in the power of
connections, but five degrees ofseparation.
So what I wanted to do is Iwanted to connect people to
their real self, to meaningfulwork or job performance and to
(03:15):
other great people.
And those three things are whathave enabled me to build a
great business.
It's about them.
And it's about, you know,understanding that a lot of
times there's loneliness and jobperformance is loneliness and
job and to be able to connectthem with other great people, my
clients, at any given time, itbuoys their spirits and helps
them to project.
So, I mean, I think it'semanated from the very
(03:37):
beginning, right, all the waythrough to my business.
That's my rationale for it.
Kevin Yee (03:42):
Yeah, it's really interesting because we think
about job searches ortransitions and stuff, and it
can be quite lonely journey aswell.
And so I'm glad that youmentioned the whole connection
element of it.
And so I'm kind of curious,like, it seems like you have a
different approach to kind ofyour coaching.
I'd love to hear more aboutyour approach and all that as
well.
Peter Duffy (04:01):
Yeah.
So, I mean, I think when youtalk about one of the questions
you brought up is, you know,with the email you sent was
like, what's different?
So I spent, I don't think,unless I show up with no ego,
right, for my clients, unless Ishow up, you know, with it's all
in on them, then I'm not doingmy job.
And so one of the things that Ithink that is important for me
(04:23):
that I do is part of my overall,the underpinning of my process
is to do a lot of meditationevery day in preparation for
moving in to have a conversationwith them to see how they're
going forward, right?
And so that meditation, youknow, I'm a big believer in
Napoleon Hill and John Murrayand, you know, the power of the
subconscious mind.
And I believe in faith and Ibelieve in my people, right?
(04:46):
And so that's a power that isunderneath everything.
The other thing too, is thathaving been in kind of that
business development, salesmarketing kind of world for a
long time, it's cool because Ihave actually adopted the
process of, you understand,brand, strategy, marketing
documents, I call them resumes,they're marketing documents,
right message, right time, rightaudience, and pitching.
(05:09):
It's pitching in all forms andcommunicating in ways that are,
it's almost like responding toan RFP, right?
Davis Nguyen (05:16):
It's like
Peter Duffy (05:17):
right audience, right time.
And so I take them, it's a veryrigorous project-based process
that takes them from what shouldmy decision be at the
beginning?
to making great decision at theend.
So it's not, like I said, it'svery rigorous in nature, but it
gives people this confidence.
It's kind of like the planetaxing at JFK and then slowly
(05:39):
wheels up and then acceleratingand then going right to
destination.
So that's the way I kind ofliken it to.
But it's a five-step process,whether it be job performance or
job transition.
Kevin Yee (05:49):
It's really interesting.
It seems like there is aesoteric type of element to it,
but then there's also thestrategy and tactical experience
to you that a lot of yourclients might go through as
well.
Peter Duffy (05:59):
Yeah.
I get about a 92% rate ofsuccess from my clients.
I mean, and the testimonialsare very good.
They're very authentic.
You know, the videos.
Kevin Yee (06:07):
Yeah.
And in your world, it's pretty,I think it's relatively easy
for, to track that, whether theytransition into another job or
not too.
So.
Peter Duffy (06:15):
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
I'm holding their hand.
I have clients right now.
They're in the active phase.
So they're all differentstages, but it's fun because the
process is agnostic in the wayit's built, but it's personal,
you know, and it's fun.
So they like it because I cango any direction they're going.
Yeah.
So
Kevin Yee (06:31):
one of the questions I have for you is like, let's
talk about your ideal clientprofile, your target audience.
And so I'm kind of curious, howdid you decide who you wanted
to help, I guess?
And who are those people?
Peter Duffy (06:43):
Yeah.
So my value proposition, it allgoes to my business plan at the
start of this thing.
And I said, where's myexpertise?
My expertise is in healthinsurance, biotech, pharma,
healthcare delivery, kind ofexecutive level, CMOs, CFOs,
operating officers.
officers, chief nursingofficers, and everything kind of
around that world.
So, I mean, clients that workat Thermo Fisher, clients that
(07:03):
work at Pfizer, clients thatwork at a myriad of different
Mass General Hospital, BostonChildren's Hospital, you know, a
myriad of all healthcare, 22%of the GDP is where my clients
exist because it is my sweetspot.
I can walk into a hospital andhave a conversation with a
pulmonologist about clinicalthings.
So it's, I can talk clinical, Ican talk health insurance.
So I did it because my valueproposition resides in that
(07:25):
place.
So on I'm not, you know, I'mnot so good at maybe retail or
something or, you know, kind oflike other types of things,
right?
Kevin Yee (07:33):
Yeah, that's really interesting.
So given your previousexperience, by the way, just for
the audience too, what was yourprevious corporate experience
before you went into coaching?
Peter Duffy (07:41):
Yeah, so I was head of business development for a
really large media company inNew York City.
That was my last gig.
My job is to basically leadpitch teams and close $700, $800
million deals.
Big, big, big pharma, bigbiotech companies, run them all
the way through the contractprocess and you know what was
great is I had to work with aton of people on the inside to I
guess the kitty cats and roomfull of rocking chairs to get
(08:03):
them all organized to get thething done so it wasn't just it
was client facing but it wasalso internal facing so direct
marketing media that kind ofthing and plus pharma and health
insurance I think that's but itwas mainly BD BD heads
Kevin Yee (08:17):
okay speaking about BD let's talk about marketing
for a second I think prior topre-podcast we were talking
about like how people find youand you said it was not
ordinary.
So I'm curious about yourmarketing strategies and how
your typical old clients findyou to work with
Peter Duffy (08:33):
you.
So what I decided earlier onit, I decided that I was going
to give people the most amazingexperience that it would cause
them to look around for otherpeople who could use my help.
And so I definitely did startoff with a marketing strategy on
LinkedIn and then Google anddriving people to my website,
that kind of stuff.
But I quickly learned that myinvestment in marketing wasn't
(08:57):
really doing what was necessary.
And so I continued to focusdown, I am the marketer, I'm the
coach.
And so essentially whathappened over the years is that
because of the impact I've hadon people's lives and based on
making more money now, they'rein a better job, that they
market me and that's what Iwant.
I'm in a pretty good place.
There's a book called TheProsperous Coach.
And I think The ProsperousCoach, it even says, you know,
(09:20):
if you do your job right, youdon't need to do a whole lot of
marketing, right?
And that's the way I adoptedit.
Have a great conversation withevery single person you meet,
whether they're a client or not,and they will make referrals to
you.
And that's what happens.
I know it's abnormal, I think,because marketing is expensive
and the ROI, I don't think, atleast for me, the ROI was just
not there for me because I don'thave one persona.
(09:42):
Like if I'm going to B2B, Idon't have like one persona in
one industry.
I have 10 personas across fiveindustries.
So as a sole proprietor, it'svery hard for me to get somebody
who's a marketing expert toactually actually go out and
say, okay, I understand thispersona, that persona, this is
the message that's going toresonate with them, right?
And then run those campaignsevery month, every week, every
(10:04):
month, running them, runningthem, and then having lead
generation pick it in, pull itin, bring it in, set up the
appointment, right?
It's very difficult.
I know I've hired marketingdirectors before, and they just
don't get it.
Kevin Yee (10:14):
You mentioned some of the challenges.
I'm also kind of curious, like,coming from a corporate
background and going intoworking for yourself, what other
challenges have you noticedwhen it comes to finding clients
on the marketing side?
Peter Duffy (10:26):
I think it's more around making sure that you
recognize it's identifying theclients you actually want and
making a decision after youspeak with them about they may
not be the right fit for you andbeing upfront for them.
Like I said, I mean, I thinkthat's the biggest opportunity
that I have and the biggestchallenge, but I always do share
with them where I think theycan go, right?
(10:47):
This may not be the right placefor you, but I mean, I've seen
these other places who may bethe right, like a lot of people
come to me for resumes.
I do great specific pitchedready resumes and cover letters
right i'm not a resume millthat's not what i do i build
strategies and help people getjobs or have great job
performance so people want tocome from a resume that's not it
it's i build their brand ibuild a strategy i build
(11:10):
marketing documents i help thempitch and win and we make a
great decision five-step processso a lot of times people will
come to me and say hey i justwant a resume now i say you know
that's not it so does that makesense sir
Kevin Yee (11:22):
it does it does and as i'm thinking like let's talk
about the business for a second.
You mentioned that you don't doresumes.
And so one of the things Iloved hearing about on this
podcast are the differentbusiness models that are working
for different coaches at theirdifferent stages.
And so I know you don't doresumes.
Some other coaches, it seemslike you do a lot of one-on-one
(11:43):
coaching.
Some people do group coaching.
Some people have mastermindcourses and all that sort of
stuff.
But if you're comfortablesharing, can you walk me through
your main coaching modalitiesand main offers, I guess?
What do they look like?
Peter Duffy (11:55):
Yeah, sure.
So The process is the same foreveryone.
The process always begins.
I just want to qualify.
I do resumes, but I do resumesthat begin from our brand work,
right?
And that brand work is criticalto get a high impact resume
because it taps into theirsuperpower, right?
And you have to make that knownand they have to believe in it.
(12:17):
So it's a five-step processwhere I take them through a
three-week brand analysis whereI identify their value prop
their expertise, theirmotivations, their passions.
And I look for their stories.
I ask them for five greatsuccess stories.
And I analyze all that.
I help them set up a greatdecision matrix.
(12:38):
Like, what do I want?
I'm going to target thesecompanies.
I'm not going to go out and goacross LinkedIn, right?
So the first step is the mostimportant part because it helps
us guide us in our direction.
No brand, no direction, right?
I mean, it's cross for anycorporation.
So there's the brand and thenOnce our brand, then we say,
okay, where are we going?
How are we going to get there?
(12:59):
Again, a very rigorous CRMprocess that I use to take them,
set up their 30, 40 targetcompanies and look at them.
I understand the keywords forroles and go after them.
If I have networks in thosecompanies, I introduce them to
the network, right?
And then they get feed-ins tothe company, right?
So it's a very robust strategicprocess using LinkedIn, using
(13:21):
other avenues, channels to helpthem to find the right kind of
job that is there superpower.
So that's strategy.
And once we identify that, thenwe were identifying, now we're
saying, okay, we have ourstories.
Now we're building a highimpact, pretty much non AI
organic resume that is builtbecause of my previous
experience with RFP responses.
(13:42):
Like in order to get to thatpitch process, you got to really
dazzle them with your response,right?
Then they invite you in.
And so I know how to createthose RFP product, kind of like
the pitch documents.
And so we create that.
Now it's brand strategy.
strategy, write a line with it,and then they get into
interviewing.
It's an entire pitch processthat I take them through, every
(14:02):
aspect of it, including thefollow up.
But it all begins with thebrand.
And then when you go throughthe strategy and you go through
the resume work, when they getinto the interview process, we
have created kind of the contentthat the hiring teams are going
to ask them about.
And they already began with thestories back in brand a month
and a half ago.
It's just a conversation likeyou and I having right now.
(14:23):
The last part is more of thelogistics part.
Are there references that haveto be done?
Is the negotiation needs to behad?
And then is it a decision?
So all three of those thingsare, that is the frosting on the
cake.
And what's exciting to me aboutthis entire process is when we
make the decision, we make thedecision, yes or no.
And I tell my clients, you cansay no, if you want to, that's
(14:43):
okay.
That's fine.
It's empowering, but we'regoing to make the right
decision.
They're on steroids when theyget going to their company.
They are so excited.
Then the referral comes.
Then the video testimonialcomes.
Kevin Yee (14:55):
And
Peter Duffy (14:55):
it's project-based.
So I run CRM, but I also have avery robust project plan that
we meet every week and we gothrough everything.
And when they see the datesfilling in and the completion
status and all the line items,they're like, we're kicking butt
right now.
Kevin Yee (15:10):
Yeah.
They can actually see theprogress.
Peter Duffy (15:11):
They can see the progression.
Visual for me, I'm a visuallearner.
Everybody needs to see visual.
And so they see that momentumhappening throughout the
process.
Yep.
And I'll tell you, I just, I dothis for CMOs.
I mean, they're like, oh mygosh, like You mean that?
Because the problem right nowis that networks aren't working
as well.
Recruiters aren't calling them.
(15:32):
They're having to do this ontheir own.
Huge change in the market.
So now they come to me and Ihave to get their ego to come
down a little bit.
I used to have the secretary doit, right?
Or a recruiter called them.
Hey, say, Hank, Hank, what doyou think?
You know, I mean, we've gotthis opportunity here.
Oh yeah, sure.
Or it's a friend that works foranother company.
Hey, it's dried up.
(15:53):
And so I have a process thatthey can get into I have to meet
them.
I have to like get their egodown a little bit.
Like this is work you need todo.
And they do it.
And it's so fun to watch.
I have a client just got a$500,000 job, right?
I mean, just it's a plus bonus.
He just got stock options, youknow?
That's awesome.
He loves the job and they lovehim.
Kevin Yee (16:12):
What I like about how you're describing this process,
it reminds me of healthcarewhere like certain patients,
they're always focusing on thesymptoms.
They're focusing on theircough, but they don't understand
the core reason.
And I liked how you walkedthrough the branding all the way
through.
all these different stages andthe visual, like almost the
visualization of what thisjourney looks like.
And that's really interesting.
I think the really interestingpart is also, you mentioned that
(16:35):
client where you help land on a$500,000 job with stock options
and all that.
And so there's obviously a lotof value and something I think
about, if you're open to it, I'dlove to talk about like pricing
strategy for your clients too,because I think this is where
coaches often struggle the most.
And of course you don't have togive any hard numbers or any
like that.
(16:56):
But I'm kind of curious how youthink about your pricing
strategy.
Do you price, it doesn't soundlike you price hourly, but like
project-based, value-based,outcome-based, retainer models,
like what goes through your mindas you're like thinking about
pricing these engagements?
Peter Duffy (17:11):
Well, have you read the Prosperous Coach, right?
They charge a fee up front.
Yes.
I charge a fee up front.
It's a good fee.
It's a 30, it's 9 to 120 daytransition.
And for the more zeros you haveat the end of their salary, you
know, requirements, the longerit's going to take, especially
in today's marketplace.
So I charge a fee up front foreverybody, same fee.
It's a nice fee.
(17:32):
I made my margins very high onit and it's worth every penny.
They all say the same thing.
At first they say, you mean Igot to pay this?
I said, yeah.
And I say, look, if it's toomuch, it's okay.
I just want to make sure youhad a great conversation with
me.
And they say, I'm in, I'mready.
So usually it's recruiters, thelevel that I work with, usually
(17:52):
recruiters, they get their owncomp, depending on the type of
search they're running, right?
In this case, they're payingthemselves.
And one of my clients who's ahead nursing officer at Boston
Children's said, you know, thisis an investment in me and I'm
willing to pay this money forthe investment in me.
And she's transitioning fromBoston Children's probably to a
large healthcare company inRochester, Minnesota.
(18:14):
So she hired me for like aneight month search, which is a
nice hefty, that's a nice fee.
Kevin Yee (18:19):
Yeah.
Which leads me to ask too,because you have healthy profit
margins.
The work that you do is highlyintimate, it sounds like too.
It doesn't sound like you'rejust turning them through a
factory, right?
So how do you manage yourclient capacity?
Well, what is your kind ofclient capacity and how do you
manage it?
Do you take on a set amount ofclients at a time or?
Peter Duffy (18:39):
My process is so, I guess, project-based.
We only meet once a week.
They have homework to do.
I have homework to do.
So really I can take on 10clients at a time.
It's okay.
More because it's so seamlessand it's all, everybody's got
their own thing they got to getdone and I have to get done.
So I think 10 clients at a timeworks for me because, you know,
(19:01):
if I'm working on their resumeand I'm working on their
stories, I do a lot of workaround the brand stuff.
I mean, I have to really kindof get into that emotionally,
mentally, physically to extractthe good stuff right and so yeah
so i think that's you knowthat's that's a good number for
me
Kevin Yee (19:17):
i'm also curious about your own ambitions because
you're five years in it's notlike you're not at the beginner
stage sounds like you're doingpretty well and so where do you
want this coaching business totake you in the next few years
do you have any secret dreamsbig ambitions any plans for
scaling and or growth like verycurious about that
Peter Duffy (19:35):
so yeah it's a great question and i've actually
been given a lot of thought tothat over the last six months or
so where do i want to take withthis.
And I want to, what I, my goalis to actually, and one of the
reasons I'm on this podcast is Iwant to share my experience
with other coaches.
I want to help other coacheslearn what I've learned and to
help them to, you know, to be,to, to grow in their, their
(19:58):
coaching capabilities.
I feel like I have some best inclass things that I can share
with them.
And so that's where I want totake it.
I want to coach coaches becauseI want, because I believe that
at this time and stage in our,in our civilization, especially
in the United States.
I believe that coaches have areally important role to play in
the lives of people and thatthey can make a huge difference
(20:21):
in somebody's mental capability,their emotional capability.
They can help them go from likein the dirt, even though they
don't show it, to superpower.
So it's not just the fact thatthey made a job transition, but
it's essentially saying, I feelso good.
And I think coaches have to bethe light in the world.
I think we play a huge role inhow people feel about themselves
(20:44):
and how they're digging in andhow they're being successful so
I you know that's my goal is toactually start coaching coaches
Kevin Yee (20:51):
yeah it's almost like change the vertical completely
into coaching coaches instead ofyeah interesting any challenges
or bottlenecks that you'renoticing as you're thinking
about making that transition oranything looming in your mind at
the moment
Peter Duffy (21:05):
no I think again it's off of the prosperous coach
right I mean they coach a lotthey coach coaches you know they
coach very high wealthindividuals right so i think
it's just really a matter ofconnecting with people doing the
same kind of work in terms oflike you know how do you prepare
you know how are you making adifference with your clients
like what kind of things do youdo right even maybe having a you
(21:28):
know kind of a coaching if youdid a podcast having a coaching
round table right where peoplecoach get on and we can have
this kind of 360 view of okay sowhat are you doing i call the
connection point with my clientsso you know Once a quarter, my
clients get together online onZoom, and I have an agenda for
them to go through.
And they all benefit from theconnection and also the content.
(21:50):
So I think it's really just amatter of identifying the target
audience and identifying theirproblems and then going in and
marketing to them in some wayand getting them on board.
Maybe, I mean, podcasts, Ialways thought about writing a
book on this very thing and thengetting that book out there and
having coaches read it.
Kevin Yee (22:09):
You mentioned this book.
a few times, like TheProsperous Coach.
I actually have it in my room.
I remember the cover.
It's a white cover and allthat.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's one of the books Ifrequently go to like at the end
of the year when I do a yearlyretreat.
Speaker 02 (22:22):
Yeah.
Kevin Yee (22:22):
But speaking about that, I would like to play a
game.
It's called Good Investment,Bad Investment.
So I'm very curious aboutwhat's been your best business
investment on your coachingbusiness and what is the worst
investment that you made thatyou wish you could get your
money back
Peter Duffy (22:36):
from?
That's great.
Those are great questions.
I think my best businessinvestment has been my
investment in myself and myinvestment in going deeper and
deeper and deeper into myability to kind of harness my
faith and my belief and be ableto transmit that faith and
belief to my clients.
And so I invest more and moretime every day into meditation
(22:58):
and into being present with myclients, which is a huge, it's
an interpersonal investment andit's been very hard for me.
And so I think that investmenthas been great.
I made an investment in an ITperson, it's been a tremendous
investment for my website, forthe nitty gritties of IT that I
deal with.
The investment that I made thatwasn't a good investment was
(23:21):
hiring marketing directors.
Kevin Yee (23:22):
You hired a marketing director?
Peter Duffy (23:24):
I did.
I hired a marketing directorfor my coaching business and she
just couldn't turn it becauseof, I guess, the multiple,
basically getting the messagingdown to multiple verticals,
multiple personas.
And it was very difficult.
The other investment that Imade, I think that was pretty
ridiculous, was LinkedIn.
i think linkedin has been ahuge failure i think linkedin
has lost its way in many waysit's become very political and i
(23:47):
continue to pour money intolinkedin running campaigns on
linkedin messaging all thethings let me put it this way i
probably got five leads from itlast year five leads and they
weren't good leads so you know ithink linkedin was not a good
investment for me and i don'tuse linkedin anymore
Kevin Yee (24:02):
it's great oh really
Peter Duffy (24:03):
yeah not anymore i mean i go on there but i you
know i mean my presence onlinkedin you know i do have a
presence it's a great I thinkprofile and I have great
testimonials on it.
I'll tell you why is becausethe proponents of people on
LinkedIn, they are not ready tomake commitment.
Second of all, all they want isresumes.
They don't want this broadoverarching kind of like
(24:26):
coaching process to make theirtransitions.
A lot of them don't understandthe value proposition is in
terms of like the fee.
You know, they're like, yougotta be kidding me like that,
right?
Whereas the people that I getthrough the referrals, they're
already kind of in tune with it.
So when they come, you know,from different people.
So I think the greatestinvestment, I think, is in my
(24:46):
own self, what I call myinterior life.
And then the worst investmentis kind of like where I'm
marketing and, you know, interms of directors and LinkedIn.
Kevin Yee (24:55):
Yeah.
Do you do any content marketingat all, like on LinkedIn?
I
Peter Duffy (24:59):
was.
I was doing a ton of contentmarketing.
But, you know, the thing aboutLinkedIn is it's millions of
people globally.
So when you throw stuff outthere, I mean, you're combing
through tons of people.
I always tell people, do notbroadcast to the hinterlands.
It's a total waste of time.
You've got to get into groups,build relations within the
(25:19):
groups, and then maybe one ofthose people might say, hey, I'm
making a transition.
Transitions don't happen.
They might happen two or threetimes in a career.
Oftentimes, cultivating thatrelationship really is not worth
it because they may not want toleave their company ever.
You have to get them whenthey're ready.
It's hard to get them, hard toidentify where when they are
(25:41):
actually ready.
Except that through a network,they'll call their buddy, say,
Peter, I've had it.
Oh, you got to call this guyover here.
So that's why having the broadnetwork is the one where they,
okay, that's where they talk toeach other and say, I can't
stand this job anymore.
What should I do?
Oh, call this person.
Yeah.
Kevin Yee (25:55):
It reminds me of kind of like, I was going to say
urgent care, but it's more like,you know, if you have a dog or
a pet or anything like that,they're like family, right?
And so when something happensto your pet and you're looking
for a vet, sometimes you'll goon like Google and stuff and
look up reviews and stuff.
There's intent there.
But then a lot of times you'lljust hit your good friends and
be like, yo, who's the best betfor the wall, you know?
(26:16):
So it feels like very, verysimilar.
Peter Duffy (26:18):
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think I fold a lot ofleadership into it as well.
And we haven't even talkedabout job performance because
that's a whole other piece thatI do.
But it's the same five-stepprocess, just used differently.
But
Kevin Yee (26:30):
job performance is kind of like being able to keep
and perform in the job, right?
Once
Peter Duffy (26:34):
you
Kevin Yee (26:34):
transition.
Okay, it's
Peter Duffy (26:35):
that.
No, exactly.
So, I mean, oftentimes, like Ihave a client, she's, you know,
kind of a mid upper levelmanager at a large pharma
company.
And she hired me to make atransition.
And one of the things that I'maware of is that, you know, she
may hire, make a transition, butit may not happen given the
niche that she's in.
It may be very hard for her tomove even into another pharma
(26:57):
company because they don't seeher.
What she's done is not calledthe same as another company.
So recently I took her throughthe whole process, did
phenomenal, but she got anopportunity in her own company.
It's great.
So I started coaching her onnetworking within the company
and expanding her brand that wework so hard on and now she's
climbing right and so she'sgoing to get a better job more
(27:18):
money so I often transition fromjob search into job trend you
know inner performance andthings like that
Kevin Yee (27:24):
yeah yeah that makes a lot of sense plus it's
probably good for your businesstoo because like revenue wise
like it keeps on going versuslike this one time
Peter Duffy (27:32):
exactly expands it expands the timeline and it's
all organic she says absolutelyPete you know we've been working
yeah let's keep doing this yeah
Kevin Yee (27:40):
final advice for you from you let's say connection
career coaching disappearsovernight hopefully that would
happen if you have to start overtomorrow with zero followers
zero clients zero of therelational capital that you had
so none of the referrals thatyou're getting in but you have
all the wisdom that you haveright now what would your first
90 days kind of look like foryou
Peter Duffy (28:00):
i think it would look like taking stock in kind
of when i left corporate americataking stock in what i've
learned looking at all of myvideos all the testimonials and
on kind of what are the nuggetsin there that I can now use and
take forward?
And then what I would do is Icreate a plan around that.
But I'd also look, as we talkedabout coaching coaches, right?
(28:20):
I'd say, okay, I think aboutthat as not a dead end, but an
opportunity, right?
To take my career to my life tothe next level.
And so what I would do is Iwould take stock in what I've
learned and then identify targetaudience, people that could
definitely, you know, kind oflike benefit from what I have
and create the same leanbusiness plan that I had and go
(28:42):
back out, right?
Now, if I were to do that, Imight do a little bit more
marketing around it because ifI'm going to a coaching
vertical, I'm going to have tokind of get my brand out there.
So, I mean, I think I'dprobably do more of that.
But something else also thatI'm doing now that I'm doing
more of and it grounds me ingratitude, I actually have an
opportunity to do this, isvolunteer at a homeless shelter
(29:04):
twice a week in downtown Nashua.
I serve coffee to homelesspeople in all the different ways
they come.
And so it helps ground me as acoach.
And so what I would continue todo is maybe do that plus a
little bit more so that I bringeven more depth to the
conversations that I'll behaving.
And I believe that I will behaving more conversations with
(29:25):
more people because I think thatthey're sent to me and they
just show up for me.
And so that's where I look atif I was going to start all over
Kevin Yee (29:33):
again.
Love it.
Pete, how do people find youand connect with you?
Peter Duffy (29:37):
Yeah.
So basically I'm atwconnectionscareercoaching.com.
I am at, you know, obviously myemail, my cell phone, all the
above.
I don't use Vox or anythinglike that.
But, you know, those are theprimary means for getting in
touch.
And I always do Zoom calls.
I hardly ever talk on the phonebecause I want to see the
people I'm talking with.
So that's the primary way.
Kevin Yee (29:56):
Cool.
Thank you so much for yourinsight today.
It's funny that we are kind oflike on the same page with the
same authors and all that.
And you're also really in themeditation I am too.
So that's awesome, man.
Thank you for coming on andsharing everything, by the way.
Peter Duffy (30:10):
Yep.
I hope this is valuable for youand the audience when they hear
it, I hope it is for them too.
Kevin Yee (30:14):
Yeah.
Cool.
Well, I hope people reach outto you too.
So thank you
Davis Nguyen (30:18):
so much.
See you, Kevin.
Bye-bye.
That's it for this episode ofCareer Coaching Secrets.
If you enjoyed thisconversation, you can subscribe
to YouTube, Spotify, ApplePodcasts, or wherever you're
listening to this episode tocatch future episodes.
This conversation was broughtto you by Purple Circle, where
we help career coaches scaletheir business to seven and
eight figures without burningout.
To learn more about PurpleCircle, our community, and how
(30:39):
we can help you grow yourbusiness, visit
joinpurplecircle.com.
And so I continue to focus down.
I am the marketer.
I'm the coach.
And so essentially whathappened over the years is that
because of the impact I've hadon people's lives and based on
making more money now, they'rein a better job, but that they
market me and that's what Iwant.
I'm in a pretty good place.
There's a, there's a bookcalled the prosperous coach.
And I think the prosperouscoach that even says, you know,
(00:20):
if you do your job, right, youdon't need to hold, do a whole
lot of marketing.
Davis Nguyen (00:24):
Right.
And that's the way I adoptedit.
Welcome to Career CoachingSecrets, the podcast where we
talk with successful careercoaches on how they built their
success and the hard lessonsthey learned along the way.
My name is Davis Nguyen, andI'm the founder of Purple
Circle, where we help careercoaches scale their business to
$100,000 years, $100,000 months,and even $100,000 weeks.
Before Purple Circle, I'vegrown several seven and eight
(00:44):
figure career coaching businessmyself, and I've been a
consultant at two careercoaching businesses that are
doing over $100 million each.
Whether you're an establishedcoach or building your practice
for the first time, you'lldiscover the secrets to
elevating your coachingbusiness.
us.
Kevin Yee (00:57):
Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets Podcast.
I'm Kevin, and today we arejoined by Peter Duffy.
He is the founder ofConnections Career Coaching.
Welcome to the show, Peter.
Peter Duffy (01:06):
Thank you so much.
I'm really happy to be here.
Kevin Yee (01:09):
You know, I'm actually really excited for you
to be here too, because when Iasked you how long you've been
coaching for, you told meforever, but independently,
you've been having your businessfor the last five years.
What I would love to know islike your origin story.
I would love to hear the lore.
What was the moment when youkind of realized you want to
become a coach and moreimportantly, turned into a
business.
Peter Duffy (01:29):
I've been a coach for a very long time.
I have a special gift.
I don't want to call itclairvoyance, but I have a
special gift that I've had sinceI can ever remember.
It's a gift where I've actuallybeen able to look into the
heart of people and I believetheir soul.
And I've been able to seethings in them that they
couldn't see on their own.
And I would bring things upthat would shock them, that I
could read their mind in a way.
(01:50):
And so I think it's a highintuition part that I have.
And so I've always been able tosee people and to observe them
And, you know, in terms of theircareers, I've spent probably 25
years in marketing, media,business development, sales,
right?
So, you know, I'm all aroundpeople.
And, you know, even if it'spitching, I could see the
audience.
I could read the audience.
(02:11):
I could see running a pitchteam.
I could see that.
But also by the individual.
So I could see people whobelonged in that industry and
people who didn't.
And I would talk to them aboutthat.
And I would unearth it in them.
And they would leave and go tothis other place and they would
thrive.
Of course, their managersdidn't like it too much, right?
(02:33):
But I just saw it in them.
We'd have a beer and I'd say,have you thought about this?
I haven't thought about that.
They said, no, actually, I havebeen thinking about it, but I
haven't done anything about it.
I said, well, you really oughtto because that's where your
power is.
And so there it is.
So five years ago, I said, youknow, I basically left corporate
America and had enough of it.
And I said, hey, you know, whatdo you think about making this
(02:53):
a real thing?
So I spent a lot of timethinking about kind of like my
brand and the words connections,career coaching.
And I found that, you know,when creating my business, it
really psyched me up is becauseI believe in the power of
connections, but five degrees ofseparation.
So what I wanted to do is Iwanted to connect people to
their real self, to meaningfulwork or job performance and to
(03:15):
other great people.
And those three things are whathave enabled me to build a
great business.
It's about them.
And it's about, you know,understanding that a lot of
times there's loneliness and jobperformance is loneliness and
job and to be able to connectthem with other great people, my
clients, at any given time, itbuoys their spirits and helps
them to project.
So, I mean, I think it'semanated from the very
(03:37):
beginning, right, all the waythrough to my business.
That's my rationale for it.
Kevin Yee (03:42):
Yeah, it's really interesting because we think
about job searches ortransitions and stuff, and it
can be quite lonely journey aswell.
And so I'm glad that youmentioned the whole connection
element of it.
And so I'm kind of curious,like, it seems like you have a
different approach to kind ofyour coaching.
I'd love to hear more aboutyour approach and all that as
well.
Peter Duffy (04:01):
Yeah.
So, I mean, I think when youtalk about one of the questions
you brought up is, you know,with the email you sent was
like, what's different?
So I spent, I don't think,unless I show up with no ego,
right, for my clients, unless Ishow up, you know, with it's all
in on them, then I'm not doingmy job.
And so one of the things that Ithink that is important for me
(04:23):
that I do is part of my overall,the underpinning of my process
is to do a lot of meditationevery day in preparation for
moving in to have a conversationwith them to see how they're
going forward, right?
And so that meditation, youknow, I'm a big believer in
Napoleon Hill and John Murrayand, you know, the power of the
subconscious mind.
And I believe in faith and Ibelieve in my people, right?
(04:46):
And so that's a power that isunderneath everything.
The other thing too, is thathaving been in kind of that
business development, salesmarketing kind of world for a
long time, it's cool because Ihave actually adopted the
process of, you understand,brand, strategy, marketing
documents, I call them resumes,they're marketing documents,
right message, right time, rightaudience, and pitching.
(05:09):
It's pitching in all forms andcommunicating in ways that are,
it's almost like responding toan RFP, right?
Davis Nguyen (05:16):
It's like
Peter Duffy (05:17):
right audience, right time.
And so I take them, it's a veryrigorous project-based process
that takes them from what shouldmy decision be at the
beginning?
to making great decision at theend.
So it's not, like I said, it'svery rigorous in nature, but it
gives people this confidence.
It's kind of like the planetaxing at JFK and then slowly
(05:39):
wheels up and then acceleratingand then going right to
destination.
So that's the way I kind ofliken it to.
But it's a five-step process,whether it be job performance or
job transition.
Kevin Yee (05:49):
It's really interesting.
It seems like there is aesoteric type of element to it,
but then there's also thestrategy and tactical experience
to you that a lot of yourclients might go through as
well.
Peter Duffy (05:59):
Yeah.
I get about a 92% rate ofsuccess from my clients.
I mean, and the testimonialsare very good.
They're very authentic.
You know, the videos.
Kevin Yee (06:07):
Yeah.
And in your world, it's pretty,I think it's relatively easy
for, to track that, whether theytransition into another job or
not too.
So.
Peter Duffy (06:15):
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
I'm holding their hand.
I have clients right now.
They're in the active phase.
So they're all differentstages, but it's fun because the
process is agnostic in the wayit's built, but it's personal,
you know, and it's fun.
So they like it because I cango any direction they're going.
Yeah.
So
Kevin Yee (06:31):
one of the questions I have for you is like, let's
talk about your ideal clientprofile, your target audience.
And so I'm kind of curious, howdid you decide who you wanted
to help, I guess?
And who are those people?
Peter Duffy (06:43):
Yeah.
So my value proposition, it allgoes to my business plan at the
start of this thing.
And I said, where's myexpertise?
My expertise is in healthinsurance, biotech, pharma,
healthcare delivery, kind ofexecutive level, CMOs, CFOs,
operating officers.
officers, chief nursingofficers, and everything kind of
around that world.
So, I mean, clients that workat Thermo Fisher, clients that
(07:03):
work at Pfizer, clients thatwork at a myriad of different
Mass General Hospital, BostonChildren's Hospital, you know, a
myriad of all healthcare, 22%of the GDP is where my clients
exist because it is my sweetspot.
I can walk into a hospital andhave a conversation with a
pulmonologist about clinicalthings.
So it's, I can talk clinical, Ican talk health insurance.
So I did it because my valueproposition resides in that
(07:25):
place.
So on I'm not, you know, I'mnot so good at maybe retail or
something or, you know, kind oflike other types of things,
right?
Kevin Yee (07:33):
Yeah, that's really interesting.
So given your previousexperience, by the way, just for
the audience too, what was yourprevious corporate experience
before you went into coaching?
Peter Duffy (07:41):
Yeah, so I was head of business development for a
really large media company inNew York City.
That was my last gig.
My job is to basically leadpitch teams and close $700, $800
million deals.
Big, big, big pharma, bigbiotech companies, run them all
the way through the contractprocess and you know what was
great is I had to work with aton of people on the inside to I
guess the kitty cats and roomfull of rocking chairs to get
(08:03):
them all organized to get thething done so it wasn't just it
was client facing but it wasalso internal facing so direct
marketing media that kind ofthing and plus pharma and health
insurance I think that's but itwas mainly BD BD heads
Kevin Yee (08:17):
okay speaking about BD let's talk about marketing
for a second I think prior topre-podcast we were talking
about like how people find youand you said it was not
ordinary.
So I'm curious about yourmarketing strategies and how
your typical old clients findyou to work with
Peter Duffy (08:33):
you.
So what I decided earlier onit, I decided that I was going
to give people the most amazingexperience that it would cause
them to look around for otherpeople who could use my help.
And so I definitely did startoff with a marketing strategy on
LinkedIn and then Google anddriving people to my website,
that kind of stuff.
But I quickly learned that myinvestment in marketing wasn't
(08:57):
really doing what was necessary.
And so I continued to focusdown, I am the marketer, I'm the
coach.
And so essentially whathappened over the years is that
because of the impact I've hadon people's lives and based on
making more money now, they'rein a better job, that they
market me and that's what Iwant.
I'm in a pretty good place.
There's a book called TheProsperous Coach.
And I think The ProsperousCoach, it even says, you know,
(09:20):
if you do your job right, youdon't need to do a whole lot of
marketing, right?
And that's the way I adoptedit.
Have a great conversation withevery single person you meet,
whether they're a client or not,and they will make referrals to
you.
And that's what happens.
I know it's abnormal, I think,because marketing is expensive
and the ROI, I don't think, atleast for me, the ROI was just
not there for me because I don'thave one persona.
(09:42):
Like if I'm going to B2B, Idon't have like one persona in
one industry.
I have 10 personas across fiveindustries.
So as a sole proprietor, it'svery hard for me to get somebody
who's a marketing expert toactually actually go out and
say, okay, I understand thispersona, that persona, this is
the message that's going toresonate with them, right?
And then run those campaignsevery month, every week, every
(10:04):
month, running them, runningthem, and then having lead
generation pick it in, pull itin, bring it in, set up the
appointment, right?
It's very difficult.
I know I've hired marketingdirectors before, and they just
don't get it.
Kevin Yee (10:14):
You mentioned some of the challenges.
I'm also kind of curious, like,coming from a corporate
background and going intoworking for yourself, what other
challenges have you noticedwhen it comes to finding clients
on the marketing side?
Peter Duffy (10:26):
I think it's more around making sure that you
recognize it's identifying theclients you actually want and
making a decision after youspeak with them about they may
not be the right fit for you andbeing upfront for them.
Like I said, I mean, I thinkthat's the biggest opportunity
that I have and the biggestchallenge, but I always do share
with them where I think theycan go, right?
(10:47):
This may not be the right placefor you, but I mean, I've seen
these other places who may bethe right, like a lot of people
come to me for resumes.
I do great specific pitchedready resumes and cover letters
right i'm not a resume millthat's not what i do i build
strategies and help people getjobs or have great job
performance so people want tocome from a resume that's not it
it's i build their brand ibuild a strategy i build
(11:10):
marketing documents i help thempitch and win and we make a
great decision five-step processso a lot of times people will
come to me and say hey i justwant a resume now i say you know
that's not it so does that makesense sir
Kevin Yee (11:22):
it does it does and as i'm thinking like let's talk
about the business for a second.
You mentioned that you don't doresumes.
And so one of the things Iloved hearing about on this
podcast are the differentbusiness models that are working
for different coaches at theirdifferent stages.
And so I know you don't doresumes.
Some other coaches, it seemslike you do a lot of one-on-one
(11:43):
coaching.
Some people do group coaching.
Some people have mastermindcourses and all that sort of
stuff.
But if you're comfortablesharing, can you walk me through
your main coaching modalitiesand main offers, I guess?
What do they look like?
Peter Duffy (11:55):
Yeah, sure.
So The process is the same foreveryone.
The process always begins.
I just want to qualify.
I do resumes, but I do resumesthat begin from our brand work,
right?
And that brand work is criticalto get a high impact resume
because it taps into theirsuperpower, right?
And you have to make that knownand they have to believe in it.
(12:17):
So it's a five-step processwhere I take them through a
three-week brand analysis whereI identify their value prop
their expertise, theirmotivations, their passions.
And I look for their stories.
I ask them for five greatsuccess stories.
And I analyze all that.
I help them set up a greatdecision matrix.
(12:38):
Like, what do I want?
I'm going to target thesecompanies.
I'm not going to go out and goacross LinkedIn, right?
So the first step is the mostimportant part because it helps
us guide us in our direction.
No brand, no direction, right?
I mean, it's cross for anycorporation.
So there's the brand and thenOnce our brand, then we say,
okay, where are we going?
How are we going to get there?
(12:59):
Again, a very rigorous CRMprocess that I use to take them,
set up their 30, 40 targetcompanies and look at them.
I understand the keywords forroles and go after them.
If I have networks in thosecompanies, I introduce them to
the network, right?
And then they get feed-ins tothe company, right?
So it's a very robust strategicprocess using LinkedIn, using
(13:21):
other avenues, channels to helpthem to find the right kind of
job that is there superpower.
So that's strategy.
And once we identify that, thenwe were identifying, now we're
saying, okay, we have ourstories.
Now we're building a highimpact, pretty much non AI
organic resume that is builtbecause of my previous
experience with RFP responses.
(13:42):
Like in order to get to thatpitch process, you got to really
dazzle them with your response,right?
Then they invite you in.
And so I know how to createthose RFP product, kind of like
the pitch documents.
And so we create that.
Now it's brand strategy.
strategy, write a line with it,and then they get into
interviewing.
It's an entire pitch processthat I take them through, every
(14:02):
aspect of it, including thefollow up.
But it all begins with thebrand.
And then when you go throughthe strategy and you go through
the resume work, when they getinto the interview process, we
have created kind of the contentthat the hiring teams are going
to ask them about.
And they already began with thestories back in brand a month
and a half ago.
It's just a conversation likeyou and I having right now.
(14:23):
The last part is more of thelogistics part.
Are there references that haveto be done?
Is the negotiation needs to behad?
And then is it a decision?
So all three of those thingsare, that is the frosting on the
cake.
And what's exciting to me aboutthis entire process is when we
make the decision, we make thedecision, yes or no.
And I tell my clients, you cansay no, if you want to, that's
(14:43):
okay.
That's fine.
It's empowering, but we'regoing to make the right
decision.
They're on steroids when theyget going to their company.
They are so excited.
Then the referral comes.
Then the video testimonialcomes.
Kevin Yee (14:55):
And
Peter Duffy (14:55):
it's project-based.
So I run CRM, but I also have avery robust project plan that
we meet every week and we gothrough everything.
And when they see the datesfilling in and the completion
status and all the line items,they're like, we're kicking butt
right now.
Kevin Yee (15:10):
Yeah.
They can actually see theprogress.
Peter Duffy (15:11):
They can see the progression.
Visual for me, I'm a visuallearner.
Everybody needs to see visual.
And so they see that momentumhappening throughout the
process.
Yep.
And I'll tell you, I just, I dothis for CMOs.
I mean, they're like, oh mygosh, like You mean that?
Because the problem right nowis that networks aren't working
as well.
Recruiters aren't calling them.
(15:32):
They're having to do this ontheir own.
Huge change in the market.
So now they come to me and Ihave to get their ego to come
down a little bit.
I used to have the secretary doit, right?
Or a recruiter called them.
Hey, say, Hank, Hank, what doyou think?
You know, I mean, we've gotthis opportunity here.
Oh yeah, sure.
Or it's a friend that works foranother company.
Hey, it's dried up.
(15:53):
And so I have a process thatthey can get into I have to meet
them.
I have to like get their egodown a little bit.
Like this is work you need todo.
And they do it.
And it's so fun to watch.
I have a client just got a$500,000 job, right?
I mean, just it's a plus bonus.
He just got stock options, youknow?
That's awesome.
He loves the job and they lovehim.
Kevin Yee (16:12):
What I like about how you're describing this process,
it reminds me of healthcarewhere like certain patients,
they're always focusing on thesymptoms.
They're focusing on theircough, but they don't understand
the core reason.
And I liked how you walkedthrough the branding all the way
through.
all these different stages andthe visual, like almost the
visualization of what thisjourney looks like.
And that's really interesting.
I think the really interestingpart is also, you mentioned that
(16:35):
client where you help land on a$500,000 job with stock options
and all that.
And so there's obviously a lotof value and something I think
about, if you're open to it, I'dlove to talk about like pricing
strategy for your clients too,because I think this is where
coaches often struggle the most.
And of course you don't have togive any hard numbers or any
like that.
(16:56):
But I'm kind of curious how youthink about your pricing
strategy.
Do you price, it doesn't soundlike you price hourly, but like
project-based, value-based,outcome-based, retainer models,
like what goes through your mindas you're like thinking about
pricing these engagements?
Peter Duffy (17:11):
Well, have you read the Prosperous Coach, right?
They charge a fee up front.
Yes.
I charge a fee up front.
It's a good fee.
It's a 30, it's 9 to 120 daytransition.
And for the more zeros you haveat the end of their salary, you
know, requirements, the longerit's going to take, especially
in today's marketplace.
So I charge a fee up front foreverybody, same fee.
It's a nice fee.
(17:32):
I made my margins very high onit and it's worth every penny.
They all say the same thing.
At first they say, you mean Igot to pay this?
I said, yeah.
And I say, look, if it's toomuch, it's okay.
I just want to make sure youhad a great conversation with
me.
And they say, I'm in, I'mready.
So usually it's recruiters, thelevel that I work with, usually
(17:52):
recruiters, they get their owncomp, depending on the type of
search they're running, right?
In this case, they're payingthemselves.
And one of my clients who's ahead nursing officer at Boston
Children's said, you know, thisis an investment in me and I'm
willing to pay this money forthe investment in me.
And she's transitioning fromBoston Children's probably to a
large healthcare company inRochester, Minnesota.
(18:14):
So she hired me for like aneight month search, which is a
nice hefty, that's a nice fee.
Kevin Yee (18:19):
Yeah.
Which leads me to ask too,because you have healthy profit
margins.
The work that you do is highlyintimate, it sounds like too.
It doesn't sound like you'rejust turning them through a
factory, right?
So how do you manage yourclient capacity?
Well, what is your kind ofclient capacity and how do you
manage it?
Do you take on a set amount ofclients at a time or?
Peter Duffy (18:39):
My process is so, I guess, project-based.
We only meet once a week.
They have homework to do.
I have homework to do.
So really I can take on 10clients at a time.
It's okay.
More because it's so seamlessand it's all, everybody's got
their own thing they got to getdone and I have to get done.
So I think 10 clients at a timeworks for me because, you know,
(19:01):
if I'm working on their resumeand I'm working on their
stories, I do a lot of workaround the brand stuff.
I mean, I have to really kindof get into that emotionally,
mentally, physically to extractthe good stuff right and so yeah
so i think that's you knowthat's that's a good number for
me
Kevin Yee (19:17):
i'm also curious about your own ambitions because
you're five years in it's notlike you're not at the beginner
stage sounds like you're doingpretty well and so where do you
want this coaching business totake you in the next few years
do you have any secret dreamsbig ambitions any plans for
scaling and or growth like verycurious about that
Peter Duffy (19:35):
so yeah it's a great question and i've actually
been given a lot of thought tothat over the last six months or
so where do i want to take withthis.
And I want to, what I, my goalis to actually, and one of the
reasons I'm on this podcast is Iwant to share my experience
with other coaches.
I want to help other coacheslearn what I've learned and to
help them to, you know, to be,to, to grow in their, their
(19:58):
coaching capabilities.
I feel like I have some best inclass things that I can share
with them.
And so that's where I want totake it.
I want to coach coaches becauseI want, because I believe that
at this time and stage in our,in our civilization, especially
in the United States.
I believe that coaches have areally important role to play in
the lives of people and thatthey can make a huge difference
(20:21):
in somebody's mental capability,their emotional capability.
They can help them go from likein the dirt, even though they
don't show it, to superpower.
So it's not just the fact thatthey made a job transition, but
it's essentially saying, I feelso good.
And I think coaches have to bethe light in the world.
I think we play a huge role inhow people feel about themselves
(20:44):
and how they're digging in andhow they're being successful so
I you know that's my goal is toactually start coaching coaches
Kevin Yee (20:51):
yeah it's almost like change the vertical completely
into coaching coaches instead ofyeah interesting any challenges
or bottlenecks that you'renoticing as you're thinking
about making that transition oranything looming in your mind at
the moment
Peter Duffy (21:05):
no I think again it's off of the prosperous coach
right I mean they coach a lotthey coach coaches you know they
coach very high wealthindividuals right so i think
it's just really a matter ofconnecting with people doing the
same kind of work in terms oflike you know how do you prepare
you know how are you making adifference with your clients
like what kind of things do youdo right even maybe having a you
(21:28):
know kind of a coaching if youdid a podcast having a coaching
round table right where peoplecoach get on and we can have
this kind of 360 view of okay sowhat are you doing i call the
connection point with my clientsso you know Once a quarter, my
clients get together online onZoom, and I have an agenda for
them to go through.
And they all benefit from theconnection and also the content.
(21:50):
So I think it's really just amatter of identifying the target
audience and identifying theirproblems and then going in and
marketing to them in some wayand getting them on board.
Maybe, I mean, podcasts, Ialways thought about writing a
book on this very thing and thengetting that book out there and
having coaches read it.
Kevin Yee (22:09):
You mentioned this book.
a few times, like TheProsperous Coach.
I actually have it in my room.
I remember the cover.
It's a white cover and allthat.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's one of the books Ifrequently go to like at the end
of the year when I do a yearlyretreat.
Speaker 02 (22:22):
Yeah.
Kevin Yee (22:22):
But speaking about that, I would like to play a
game.
It's called Good Investment,Bad Investment.
So I'm very curious aboutwhat's been your best business
investment on your coachingbusiness and what is the worst
investment that you made thatyou wish you could get your
money back
Peter Duffy (22:36):
from?
That's great.
Those are great questions.
I think my best businessinvestment has been my
investment in myself and myinvestment in going deeper and
deeper and deeper into myability to kind of harness my
faith and my belief and be ableto transmit that faith and
belief to my clients.
And so I invest more and moretime every day into meditation
(22:58):
and into being present with myclients, which is a huge, it's
an interpersonal investment andit's been very hard for me.
And so I think that investmenthas been great.
I made an investment in an ITperson, it's been a tremendous
investment for my website, forthe nitty gritties of IT that I
deal with.
The investment that I made thatwasn't a good investment was
(23:21):
hiring marketing directors.
Kevin Yee (23:22):
You hired a marketing director?
Peter Duffy (23:24):
I did.
I hired a marketing directorfor my coaching business and she
just couldn't turn it becauseof, I guess, the multiple,
basically getting the messagingdown to multiple verticals,
multiple personas.
And it was very difficult.
The other investment that Imade, I think that was pretty
ridiculous, was LinkedIn.
i think linkedin has been ahuge failure i think linkedin
has lost its way in many waysit's become very political and i
(23:47):
continue to pour money intolinkedin running campaigns on
linkedin messaging all thethings let me put it this way i
probably got five leads from itlast year five leads and they
weren't good leads so you know ithink linkedin was not a good
investment for me and i don'tuse linkedin anymore
Kevin Yee (24:02):
it's great oh really
Peter Duffy (24:03):
yeah not anymore i mean i go on there but i you
know i mean my presence onlinkedin you know i do have a
presence it's a great I thinkprofile and I have great
testimonials on it.
I'll tell you why is becausethe proponents of people on
LinkedIn, they are not ready tomake commitment.
Second of all, all they want isresumes.
They don't want this broadoverarching kind of like
(24:26):
coaching process to make theirtransitions.
A lot of them don't understandthe value proposition is in
terms of like the fee.
You know, they're like, yougotta be kidding me like that,
right?
Whereas the people that I getthrough the referrals, they're
already kind of in tune with it.
So when they come, you know,from different people.
So I think the greatestinvestment, I think, is in my
(24:46):
own self, what I call myinterior life.
And then the worst investmentis kind of like where I'm
marketing and, you know, interms of directors and LinkedIn.
Kevin Yee (24:55):
Yeah.
Do you do any content marketingat all, like on LinkedIn?
I
Peter Duffy (24:59):
was.
I was doing a ton of contentmarketing.
But, you know, the thing aboutLinkedIn is it's millions of
people globally.
So when you throw stuff outthere, I mean, you're combing
through tons of people.
I always tell people, do notbroadcast to the hinterlands.
It's a total waste of time.
You've got to get into groups,build relations within the
(25:19):
groups, and then maybe one ofthose people might say, hey, I'm
making a transition.
Transitions don't happen.
They might happen two or threetimes in a career.
Oftentimes, cultivating thatrelationship really is not worth
it because they may not want toleave their company ever.
You have to get them whenthey're ready.
It's hard to get them, hard toidentify where when they are
(25:41):
actually ready.
Except that through a network,they'll call their buddy, say,
Peter, I've had it.
Oh, you got to call this guyover here.
So that's why having the broadnetwork is the one where they,
okay, that's where they talk toeach other and say, I can't
stand this job anymore.
What should I do?
Oh, call this person.
Yeah.
Kevin Yee (25:55):
It reminds me of kind of like, I was going to say
urgent care, but it's more like,you know, if you have a dog or
a pet or anything like that,they're like family, right?
And so when something happensto your pet and you're looking
for a vet, sometimes you'll goon like Google and stuff and
look up reviews and stuff.
There's intent there.
But then a lot of times you'lljust hit your good friends and
be like, yo, who's the best betfor the wall, you know?
(26:16):
So it feels like very, verysimilar.
Peter Duffy (26:18):
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think I fold a lot ofleadership into it as well.
And we haven't even talkedabout job performance because
that's a whole other piece thatI do.
But it's the same five-stepprocess, just used differently.
But
Kevin Yee (26:30):
job performance is kind of like being able to keep
and perform in the job, right?
Once
Peter Duffy (26:34):
you
Kevin Yee (26:34):
transition.
Okay, it's
Peter Duffy (26:35):
that.
No, exactly.
So, I mean, oftentimes, like Ihave a client, she's, you know,
kind of a mid upper levelmanager at a large pharma
company.
And she hired me to make atransition.
And one of the things that I'maware of is that, you know, she
may hire, make a transition, butit may not happen given the
niche that she's in.
It may be very hard for her tomove even into another pharma
(26:57):
company because they don't seeher.
What she's done is not calledthe same as another company.
So recently I took her throughthe whole process, did
phenomenal, but she got anopportunity in her own company.
It's great.
So I started coaching her onnetworking within the company
and expanding her brand that wework so hard on and now she's
climbing right and so she'sgoing to get a better job more
(27:18):
money so I often transition fromjob search into job trend you
know inner performance andthings like that
Kevin Yee (27:24):
yeah yeah that makes a lot of sense plus it's
probably good for your businesstoo because like revenue wise
like it keeps on going versuslike this one time
Peter Duffy (27:32):
exactly expands it expands the timeline and it's
all organic she says absolutelyPete you know we've been working
yeah let's keep doing this yeah
Kevin Yee (27:40):
final advice for you from you let's say connection
career coaching disappearsovernight hopefully that would
happen if you have to start overtomorrow with zero followers
zero clients zero of therelational capital that you had
so none of the referrals thatyou're getting in but you have
all the wisdom that you haveright now what would your first
90 days kind of look like foryou
Peter Duffy (28:00):
i think it would look like taking stock in kind
of when i left corporate americataking stock in what i've
learned looking at all of myvideos all the testimonials and
on kind of what are the nuggetsin there that I can now use and
take forward?
And then what I would do is Icreate a plan around that.
But I'd also look, as we talkedabout coaching coaches, right?
(28:20):
I'd say, okay, I think aboutthat as not a dead end, but an
opportunity, right?
To take my career to my life tothe next level.
And so what I would do is Iwould take stock in what I've
learned and then identify targetaudience, people that could
definitely, you know, kind oflike benefit from what I have
and create the same leanbusiness plan that I had and go
(28:42):
back out, right?
Now, if I were to do that, Imight do a little bit more
marketing around it because ifI'm going to a coaching
vertical, I'm going to have tokind of get my brand out there.
So, I mean, I think I'dprobably do more of that.
But something else also thatI'm doing now that I'm doing
more of and it grounds me ingratitude, I actually have an
opportunity to do this, isvolunteer at a homeless shelter
(29:04):
twice a week in downtown Nashua.
I serve coffee to homelesspeople in all the different ways
they come.
And so it helps ground me as acoach.
And so what I would continue todo is maybe do that plus a
little bit more so that I bringeven more depth to the
conversations that I'll behaving.
And I believe that I will behaving more conversations with
(29:25):
more people because I think thatthey're sent to me and they
just show up for me.
And so that's where I look atif I was going to start all over
Kevin Yee (29:33):
again.
Love it.
Pete, how do people find youand connect with you?
Peter Duffy (29:37):
Yeah.
So basically I'm atwconnectionscareercoaching.com.
I am at, you know, obviously myemail, my cell phone, all the
above.
I don't use Vox or anythinglike that.
But, you know, those are theprimary means for getting in
touch.
And I always do Zoom calls.
I hardly ever talk on the phonebecause I want to see the
people I'm talking with.
So that's the primary way.
Kevin Yee (29:56):
Cool.
Thank you so much for yourinsight today.
It's funny that we are kind oflike on the same page with the
same authors and all that.
And you're also really in themeditation I am too.
So that's awesome, man.
Thank you for coming on andsharing everything, by the way.
Peter Duffy (30:10):
Yep.
I hope this is valuable for youand the audience when they hear
it, I hope it is for them too.
Kevin Yee (30:14):
Yeah.
Cool.
Well, I hope people reach outto you too.
So thank you
Davis Nguyen (30:18):
so much.
See you, Kevin.
Bye-bye.
That's it for this episode ofCareer Coaching Secrets.
If you enjoyed thisconversation, you can subscribe
to YouTube, Spotify, ApplePodcasts, or wherever you're
listening to this episode tocatch future episodes.
This conversation was broughtto you by Purple Circle, where
we help career coaches scaletheir business to seven and
eight figures without burningout.
To learn more about PurpleCircle, our community, and how
(30:39):
we can help you grow yourbusiness, visit
joinpurplecircle.com.
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