Why I’ll Never Claim I “Drove X Revenue” for a Client

Every time I scroll LinkedIn, I see it:
“I helped a client drive $30M in revenue.”
“I 10x-ed my client’s business in six months.”

And every time, my gut reaction is the same: HOW on earth do you actually know that?

Are you plugged into the company’s analytics? Sleeping with someone in finance? On the sales floor closing deals? Unless you’re directly clocking hours stocking shelves, selling products, or negotiating contracts, you didn’t drive that revenue. You may have supported a leader during a growth phase — and that matters — but taking personal credit is disingenuous at best, and flat-out lying at worst.

Nothing happens in a silo

Here’s the truth: no single executive, consultant, or coach is solely responsible for a KPI. Not even the CEO.

Who keeps Starbucks running? Baristas. If they walk out, revenue tanks no matter how great the CEO’s coach is. Who makes your favorite shirt? Workers in factories. Who made that billboard work? The creative team and the talent scout who found the model. Claiming “I drove X metric” is absurd, because every metric is the cumulative result of countless people and conditions aligning.

The copywriter’s perspective

As a former copywriter, I recognize this kind of claim instantly: it’s a sales tactic.

In advertising, we compress nuance into single, powerful lines. We blur correlation with causation. We know how to play on emotions — especially fear. “Your skin still breaks out in your 30s? We’ve got the cure.” “Not sure what to pack? We’ve packed for you.” We make complex, long-term problems feel like they have quick, one-size-fits-all solutions.

That’s exactly what these LinkedIn revenue claims are doing. They target leaders under pressure — executives with boards breathing down their neck, small business owners staring down payroll. The problems are real. The promised solutions? Simplified to the point of dishonesty.

What coaching really is

Coaching isn’t a vending machine where you push a button and get $30M. It’s fundamentally internal work. Coaching connects thoughts with emotions, emotions with actions. It brings awareness to the way you show up as a leader — in meetings, in decisions, in culture.

Maybe your team is underperforming. You think it’s strategy, but often it’s how you show up in the room — cutting people off, shutting down hard truths, broadcasting fear. That’s the real work of coaching: creating space for awareness, choice, and change.

How I measure success

I don’t measure success in revenue. I measure it in alignment.

I coach through the lens of brand. A leader’s job is to be their brand’s number-one advocate. Do they know what the brand stands for? Can they tell the origin story in 15 seconds? Do they recognize employees who live the brand’s values? Do they believe those values themselves?

Success, for me, is when leaders stop parroting slogans and start embodying their brand.

The bigger picture: LinkedIn metrics are the new Instagram filters

This obsession with inflated metrics is just LinkedIn’s version of social media vanity. On Instagram, teens feel ugly because everyone else looks perfect. On LinkedIn, professionals feel small because everyone else claims to have driven millions in revenue.

It’s all designed to keep us scrolling, comparing, engaging, doubting. If it bleeds, it leads. If it sparkles with dollar signs, it tops your feed.

My promise

I will never sell you false promises. Coaching isn’t about revenue projections, clickbait claims, or what the algorithm wants this week.

It’s about this moment. Right now. How you’re showing up. How your choices today move you closer (or further) from the vision you hold for tomorrow.

I won’t claim to drive $30M for your company. But I will help you breathe easier, see yourself more clearly, and lead more authentically. And that’s the kind of growth that ripples far beyond a quarterly report.