How Financial Pressure Cured My Sales Anxiety With Claire Harbour

Written By xavi umeh

This episode of The Ace Coach Podcast features Claire Harbour, an executive coach who works with global leaders, celebrities, and Olympic athletes.

Claire reflects on her 15-year coaching journey and shares how the pressure of raising four children alone pushed her to overcome her biggest business challenge — crippling anxiety around sales conversations and pricing.

A must-listen for any executive coach struggling with sales or undercharging for their expertise.

📚 What We Talk About:

  • Claire's background, world travels, and natural inclination toward coaching from age seven [00:39]

  • The mindset trap that keeps skilled coaches broke and how to break free [02:11]

  • Claire's "sausage factory" strategy for building skills while earning (smart for new coaches) [04:28]

  • How to identify and attract premium clients who value deep transformation work [06:05]

  • The psychology behind sales anxiety and why "fixing people" mentality kills your sales [07:56]

  • The turning point: How financial desperation became Claire's greatest teacher [10:23]

  • Practical frameworks for conquering the 9:1 rejection ratio and pricing conversations [16:39]

💭 Key Quotes:

  • "I certainly have always had in me a sense of how important growth is at a personal level."

  • "That was my learning pad... I could just coach and coach and coach and be awkward and clumsy and not worry about it too much."

  • "Anyone who's committed to doing the work and going deep inwards is someone I'll consider working with."

  • "I don't just want somebody who's been sent to me to be fixed... coaching should not be about fixing. It should be about growth."

  • "I love to work with people who are really tackling the big, messy stuff."

  • "I was a great coach with not many clients... I had to get over my reticence to get stuck into those difficult conversations."

  • "I learned to accept that I would get at least nine nos in order to get a yes."

  • "You have to choose a price that's credible and a price that you are slightly uncomfortable with."

  • "Our job as coaches is to polarize people, not to be plain vanilla."

  • "It's my heart and my ears... I easily fall in love with my clients. Not in a creepy way, but I love easily and openly."

🔗 Connect With Our Guest:

xavi umeh
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Speaking Truth to Power With Margaret-Jane Howe