Get $10K Clients Without Chasing Trends

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/zHm7oWMMh4Q

I can always tell when a coach is running the guru playbook. The views look great and the inbox stays dead silent.

In this episode I break down the guru playbook that keeps coaches sounding identical, why it quietly repels the high-ticket clients you actually want, and the Three C's system I use to pull an endless supply of content only you could ever make. It all comes from three places already sitting on your phone: your calendar, your cash, and your contacts.

If you're a coach, service professional, or agency owner pulling in views that never turn into clients, you're probably running the wrong playbook, and this is the fix.

Here's what I get into:

• The guru playbook (find an outlier, steal the hook, let AI rewrite it) and why it's a slow race to the bottom
• Why the clients who pay $10,000 or $20,000 actively avoid coaches who look like everyone else
• The seven-word principle that turns you from a copycat into the source
• The Three C's system for mining content only you could ever create
• The mindset shift from reporting on what you're doing to teaching from what you've actually lived

This isn't a viral hack, and it probably won't make you go viral. It's the durable stuff that makes a coach impossible to copy, including the small embarrassing moments I now turn into content on purpose.

Here's your challenge. Pick one thing from your calendar, your cash, or your contacts that stood out this week, and turn it into your next piece of content. That single shift is how you stop chasing clients and start being chosen.

Want the full system that turns this into client-getting content? Watch this next: https://youtu.be/F3cHaH_H2w4

A lot of this one started as a visual breakdown on the video side. If you want to see it, click here: https://youtu.be/zHm7oWMMh4Q

New episodes every Monday. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen.

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Timestamps:
 00:00 The Content Hamster Wheel (Views, No Clients)
 00:34 The Guru Playbook and Why It's a Trap
 02:44 Say Only What Only You Can Say
 03:31 The Three C's System
 03:41 C1: Your Calendar Is a Content Goldmine
 06:36 C2: Your Cash Tells Stories Money Can't
 09:47 C3: Your Contacts Are an Endless Well
13:21 Two Paths: Hamster Wheel or Chosen Coach

Transcript

[00:00:00] Kenn Okazaki: Does your content creation feel like a hamster wheel? You know, spending hours scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, and you're looking for ideas from other places. You find a trending reel, you spend another hour adapting it to your niche using ChatGPT or whatever, and then you finally post it. And you may get some views, maybe you get even good views, but then the next stage is crickets.

[00:00:17] It's a dead end. No applications to your inbox, and no actual clients signing up. This is the exhausting cycle of creating content that gets you views, but not respect. It's gonna get you some attention, but it's not gonna build your authority so that you become the chosen coach. If this sounds familiar, then I want you to know it's not your fault.

[00:00:33] it's not your fault.

[00:00:34] Small reminder, this podcast is the audio version, but a lot of these ideas started as visual breakdowns on videos that are hosted on YouTube. So if you hear me talking about a funnel, a framework, or a content model, or some weird little drawings that only make sense when you actually see it, go watch the video version on YouTube.

[00:00:52] Just search Ken Okazaki or find me at @K-E-N-O-K-A-Z-A-K-I.

[00:00:58] it's not your fault. This This is what I call the guru playbook. It's what all the gurus on social media have been teaching about. Now, on the surface, the outlier method sounds super clever, and it actually does work. So here's the logic behind it. You're gonna go to social media and you find posts that are doing five to 10 times better than the average of the actual channel.

[00:01:15] That means that this is a breakout post. Then once you find it, then you're gonna steal the hook, you're gonna take their script, feed it into AI or whatever, and have it rewritten, and then you make your version of it. Sounds good, right? But the part that they don't tell you about is that when something goes viral and everybody is following the same advice, everybody else is doing it, and you're one of 1,000 or maybe 2,000, 5,000 other coaches doing the exact same thing, and all of a sudden everybody starts sounding the same, and it gets really difficult for you to stand out for what's unique about you as a coach.

[00:01:47] Now, I've been running a content agency and a coaching program for years now, and I'll tell you one thing. The kind of clients who are willing to drop $10,000 or $20,000 for a high-ticket coaching program are not looking for a coach who is a copycat. They're not looking for somebody who looks the same as everybody else, who's following the trends.

[00:02:04] They're looking for somebody who actually has a unique perspective, somebody who stands out and that is memorable. So this entire method, the guru playbook, it forces you to compete on trends. It forces you to look at what everybody else is doing and copy it. It's just a race to the bottom, and in the end, what's gonna happen is everybody's gonna look vanilla, and the person who stands out and does their own unique type of content, they're gonna look like a spike inside of that graph and actually stand out.

[00:02:29] And if right now you're struggling to get people to pay attention, to actually pay you money, then it might be because you're running that playbook. So today, we're gonna throw that playbook out the window. So if the guru playbook is out, then what's the new playbook? What's the method to actually use? I'm glad you asked.

[00:02:44] The alternative is not about finding a better trend to copy, it's about finding an even more obscure outlier pattern. And the core principle behind the whole thing comes down to seven words: Say only what only you can say. So what happens is you stop competing on categories, you stop competing on trends, and you become a category one.

[00:03:01] You create your own niche, which is you. And when you do this right, you shift from being a copycat to being the source. And this is exactly how you stop chasing clients and you start being chosen. Now, I know you might be thinking, "I'm not a creative genius. Where am I gonna get these ideas from? I'm not a copywriter.

[00:03:16] I don't have experience in this, and I don't have an amazing, colorful life to talk about all the time. Where am I supposed to come up with all the ideas for my content now?" And you know what? You don't need to be more creative. You just need a better system of knowing where to mine the best stories that are already in your head, in your history.

[00:03:31] And that system is what I call the three Cs. It's a simple framework that will give you an infinite well of content ideas that literally no one else on the planet can create, and it all starts with your calendar. All right, here's how it works. The first C is your calendar, and I want you to stop thinking of your calendar as a schedule, as a list of to-dos.

[00:03:48] From now on, from this point on, your calendar is your content goldmine. It is a logbook of your stories, challenges, and breakthroughs that only you have ever experienced. Now, your audience of sophisticated buyers doesn't want more abstract theories. They wanna see your expertise in action, and your calendar is the proof.

[00:04:07] Every meeting, every client call, every win, every problem is a story waiting to be told. So let me give you a few concrete examples that you can actually use. Let's say you look at your calendar, and last Tuesday you see you had a tough client call. I'm a business owner. You're a business owner. You get it.

[00:04:22] This happens sometimes. Now, the guru playbook coach is gonna completely ignore the call, but the chosen coach is gonna see an opportunity. What you don't wanna do here is just vent about the situation and share something vague, some lesson you learned. What you wanna do is turn it into a high-value piece of content.

[00:04:38] So for calendar entry, I'm gonna remember that I had a tough client call. Now, what I wanna do now is think about what's the content angle. Now, here's what I'm thinking. My client almost fired me last week, and then I'm gonna tie it to something else, the three-step de-escalation framework. Now, when you look at this, do you see the difference?

[00:05:01] Nobody on Earth can copy that story. Nobody else had that tough client call that I had. Nobody else can make this piece of content, and it still makes sense. So now you're not just giving advice, you're demonstrating your process under pressure, and that's gonna build way more trust than another generic how-to video like a thousand other coaches.

[00:05:19] All right, let me give you another example. This time we're gonna go into the future instead of the past. So this is a real appointment on my calendar. Next week I have a workshop, so on my calendar I see I have prep for workshop. Now, most coaches are gonna look at their calendar entry and just think, "Oh, this is an internal task."

[00:05:34] But now that you know this, you're gonna see this on your calendar when it's your turn, and you're gonna think, "This is a great opportunity to create content." So here's the angle I'm thinking. The angle I'm thinking is I'm building a new framework for my paid workshop, so this actually costs money. But I wanna give you one piece of the training for free, and the one piece I wanna give is called the three Cs method.

[00:05:55] So there's actually three things going on here. Number one, you're creating content. Number two, you're creating FOMO. And number three, you're demonstrating your skill and your value to them potentially hiring you as a coach. Again, with this one, completely uncopyable, and this is gonna work for everything.

[00:06:10] Your weekly planning session, that's a video about your productivity. The call you had with your mentor, that's a story about the best advice you ever received. The onboarding call with a new client, that's a piece of content about the one thing that every new client who comes into your system needs to do before they start working with you.

[00:06:26] Now, here's the mindset shift. You need to stop reporting on what you're doing and start teaching from the experiences that you're having. Now that we've finished talking about the calendar, let's talk about the second place where you can find infinite, uncopyable stories for your content, and by that I'm referring to your bank account.

[00:06:41] And the second C is cash. Now, I need you to understand, this is not about money itself. You're not giving money lessons on investing and psychology. What you're doing is you're gonna be telling the stories behind every transaction. You're gonna be telling the stories behind the $5 bill, the recurring subscription, the date with your wife, the flight that you took, the upgrade to business class, and why you did it.

[00:07:01] And from personal experience, I can tell you that often the most powerful, the most interesting stories come from the tiniest details, the tiniest transactions. So think about it. Every transaction that you've ever made is an indicator and tells something about your priorities, the decisions you make, and your life.

[00:07:16] So what you're gonna do right now is stop, look at your phone app or whatever you use, and look at some recent transactions. Look for a receipt for a $5 coffee you had with a friend last month. The coffee does not matter. Well, it could be this coffee. I'll tell you a story about this coffee. My son brings it to me every time we shoot video because he knows I love coffee, and a little extra caffeine boost helps me in the mornings.

[00:07:35] And I also... I don't know if you know this, but 7-Eleven in Japan actually makes decent coffee, unlike the US. Like, skip convenience store coffee anywhere else in the world except for Japan. But the coffee is relevant. It's the story around it. Maybe with your cup of coffee, not mine, your friend asked you a question that sparked a huge aha moment for your business, and you applied it and something big happened.

[00:07:56] Maybe they shared a struggle that perfectly illustrates a point that you can teach to your clients. So the guru playbook, the old way, that coach is gonna ignore that receipt. It just goes in the trash. But the chosen coach, the new way, they're gonna see and then create a piece of content that is titled The Most Important Business Lesson I Learned Last Month Came From a $5 Coffee, and Here's What My Friend Said That Changed Everything.

[00:08:20] So if the title is $5 Coffee- with a friend. That's the actual transaction you're gonna see on your credit card. And the content angle, this is not the exact title, it's gonna say, 'One sentence that my friend told me over coffee that completely changed how I think about goals.' Now, that right there, that's a real story.

[00:08:38] It's rooted in a real moment, a small moment, but nobody else can tell this same story and still make sense. Now, this is gonna work for the small moments, and it's incredibly powerful for the big decisions too. You open up your statement and you see that you have a $500 per month subscription and you canceled it.

[00:08:56] Now, that's not just a canceled charge. Think about it now as a cautionary tale. It's a piece of content about why you need to buy solutions, not shiny objects. That vulnerability saves your audience time and money, and it's gonna build massive trust. So the actual transaction is that you canceled a $500 per month subscription, but here's the angle.

[00:09:17] Last month I canceled a software subscription for $500, and the angle is gonna be, I was wasting $500 every month on X, and here's the red flag that I noticed that helped me make the decision, and here's what I learned. All right? That's a great piece of content, and I think everybody probably has a few things that they can purge, and they're gonna think, "Wow, that's a great way to identify it."

[00:09:37] Look at where your money's actually going. That is a map of your experiences, not just your expenses, and sharing that map is one of the fastest ways to attract clients who want to go on a similar journey. Now, let's move on to the final C, which is your contacts. And arguably, I think that this is gonna be the most powerful of the three.

[00:09:54] Do me a favor right now. Actually, do yourself a favor. Pause the video and open up the contact apps on your phone. Now, every single name on that list, whether it's your mother, whether it's the first client you ever scored, or the plumber you used last year, represents a story, a relationship, a lesson, 

[00:10:09] Your contacts break down into three main categories. There's gonna be clients, contractors, people who work for you And then family. All these relationships have shaped your unique worldview. Your expertise was not formed in a vacuum. It was forged through conversations, disagreements, and collaborations, and sharing the stories is the most potent way to show, not just tell, who you are and why you're the only choice.

[00:10:32] Now let's get specific. I want you to scroll on your phone and go to the name of the first person you paid money to for advice, the first mentor you had. Now, the old way, the guru playbook coach might post a generic thank you note, but the chosen coach finds the tension inside that story. Let me give you an example. 

[00:10:49] So the contact might be your very first mentor Now, the content angle we're gonna use is gonna be the worst advice

[00:10:57] My first mentor

[00:10:59] Ever gave me. And why rejecting it?

[00:11:03] Saved me $270,000

[00:11:07] Kenn Okazaki: Now, an angle like this does three things instantly. It grabs attention, it demonstrates that you are an independent thinker, and it teaches a valuable lesson from your own experience, and that's gonna build massive authority. Now let's do one more example for contacts. Now here's another example I'm gonna give you.

[00:11:23] You're gonna scroll down and find your first ever paying client. You might have to go back quite a while, depending on how long you've been in the game. But think about that relationship. What did you learn from the very first client who paid you money for your coaching? What surprised you? Now here's the angle.

[00:11:38] The one sentence that my first ever client said that completely changed how I structure my offers today. Now with this content angle, you're telling a story, you're revealing a key business insight, and you're honoring your client's journey all at once. It's authentic, it's valuable, and the best part is impossible to replicate.

[00:11:56] This is an endless well. Your former boss who taught you everything about what not to do as a leader, that's a story, right? You remember that failed project and the people who were with you in it? That's a story. That's a masterclass on resilience. And how about that time that your brother asked you a question about your business 'cause he didn't get it, and it made you see it in a completely new light, a better way to explain your business.

[00:12:17] All of that is content. So here's the entire system again. First we have calendar, then we got cash, then we have contacts . What calendar is is you're gonna look for the meetings that you've had with real people, either in the past or in the future. You're gonna talk about the client calls that you've had, how you helped them win, and what's unique about each of these clients.

[00:12:35] What are the wins that you've had, or the ones that you're going for, and what problems are you facing right now? All that's gonna be in your calendar. Cash. Think about this as telling a live story that only you can tell about your priorities, about the decisions you made, and about your life in general.

[00:12:50] Or it can be just something fun and goofy about ordering something from Amazon that was supposed to be a gift to your wife, and it turns out being a $10,000 computer. Yeah, I've made that mistake before too. Or contacts, the clients, contractors, and family. These are the three categories, and all of these are sources for stories.

[00:13:06] And I'll tell you one thing. It's really different when you can just sit there and think and try to remember, or when you actually go back through your calendar, your receipts, and the actual address book. When you actually physically do this versus just trying to remember, it's a completely different game.

[00:13:21] So now that I've broken down the three Cs and you understand how to use it, you're left with one of two choices for you to make. Number one, you can close this video and go back to the hamster wheel method and keep playing the game of the guru playbook, the old way. You can keep chasing the next trend, modeling the next viral video, and stealing hooks, but you're always gonna be one step behind.

[00:13:39] You're always copying somebody else. You're always sounding like all the other coaches out there, and it's impossible to stand out. That path leads to more of the same. If you've been getting views without clients and attention without authority and a business that feels like a constant uphill chase, you're gonna get more of that.

[00:13:55] Or you can choose path number two. You can decide right now to become uncopyable. You can commit to the three C system and start building a library of content that is 100% uncopyable, 100% you. And you can start mining your calendar, your cache, and your contacts for the stories that only you can tell, and this right here, this is the path to becoming an authority.

[00:14:17] It leads to an infinite well of ideas that magnetizes your perfect fit clients, and it makes you the one and only logical choice, It's how you finally stop chasing and start being chosen. 

[00:14:29] If this episode Gave you an aha moment or a new way to think about content, I want you to hit subscribe because every single week I'm gonna be producing high quality content like this.

[00:14:38] They're probably not gonna go viral, but they are going to be extremely powerful and effective for people just like you The way I think about content when I put it out here is, is it gonna help a coach to stop chasing clients and be chosen instead?

[00:14:51] And that's the filter I put on every single episode here, and that's why you should hit subscribe. Thank you so much for listening to the end, and I'll see you next week

[00:14:59] ​If this episode was useful to you, make sure you subscribe. New episodes of The Content Capitalist come out every Monday. You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music, and wherever you normally listen to podcasts. And if you want the video version, head over to YouTube and find me at Ken Okazaki

[00:15:16] ​

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