The following is taken from David’s interview with Anna Dargitz in 10 Super Coaches.
What words of advice would you give to a coach starting out?
Coaching is more than a calling and more than a business. It transcends both because it’s about evolution. You are setting out to become a mentor for those who are ready and willing to evolve. Don’t take it lightly. It’s not as easy as it looks. And the rewards are more abundant than they appear.
Be prepared to dedicate your life to discovering, living and teaching others who you really are and who you really aren’t. Plan to learn and relish all kinds of truths about the underlying dynamics of people, situations and life. Plan to express yourself fully. The field of coaching is evolving fast: Plan to keep up.
Before you can help others evolve faster, you’ll need to immerse yourself in your own evolution. Don’t scrimp here. Find a good mentor. When you’ve given up all your attachments to how you thought you, life, others, coaching, and almost everything else is supposed to be, you’ll be ready for the noble role of Personal, Business and Professional Coach. And people will flock to you. Where are you now on that path?
The following is an excerpt of an actual transaction between David and a client in Top Coaching Techniques.
David: You feel that you’re not achieving?
Client: Well, I feel that everything I am achieving is about making money, which is a good thing, because I need to make money and I’ve figure out how to make it. The problem is that then I start to feel I can’t do the fun stuff, because I’m not making money. That’s frustrating me and I need to deal with that.
David: Good. I would tend to agree with your strategy. Not doing fun stuff because it’s not the same priority as the money making stuff.
Client: Exactly.
David: Are you doing fine with the money making stuff? That’s working?
Client: Yeah. I’m doing fine with it.
David: And it’s working because you put your attention on that?
Client: Exactly.
David: There’s a managing director I’m working with who has this 7-stage plan for their life and their business, with a grid of different areas they’re going to achieve and by when. I liked it because it included things that wouldn’t normally be in a business plan. For example: one area someone put in was giving back, and he wrote he was going to sponsor a child. Another person’s area was goals they had for their kids. Another’s was life-changing experiences. I think one of them was to go and visit a morgue.
The following is an excerpt from David’s independent report on coaching training and certification.
Let’s summarize your choices:
A. Forget about accreditation until you have 1,000 hours of paid coaching under your belt (by which time you may not care if you’re accredited or not).
B. Pick a school whose training inspires you and get their accreditation
-If they are rubber-stamped by the IFC – great! At the end of the day you should end up with both certifications.
-If you choose Coachville, then no ICF accreditation (at least yet), but you’ll have a CV accreditation, and an IAC accreditation. (Is this IAC accreditation worth anything? More in the next chapter.)
C. Go the other way around, and set your heart on the ICF accreditation, and pick a school accredited by the ICF – and whose training inspires you – to end up with a school accreditation AND ICF accreditation.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Marcia Reynolds in 10 Super Coaches.
What top three methods, in order, did you use to get your clients in the first 2 years?
Public speaking: I worked hard to develop my skills and this part of my business so I would be hired as a keynot speaker for big conferences. This helps me to attract many possible clients at once. I have worked with speaking coaches, attended acting workshops, joined the National Speakers Association (where I get to see great speakers and learn marketing techniques) and began speaking everywhere I could to practice. I now coach people in public speaking as I think it is vital to success in most businesses.
Writing: I write articles, audio programs and books. People read or hear my ideas and contact me. Some of my products are in bookstores. Others are self-published. I sell them on the Internet and at my seminars and speeches. I give books away to potential clients…this works better than a brochure. My book is only 60 pages…a quick read that teaches as well as tells people about my outlook on personal and professional development.
Publicity: I learned how to attract reporters through emails pitches and press releases. This is how I received my first client that was not a referral from a friend.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Philip Cohen in 10 Super Coaches.
How would you suggest coaches find their niche?
I usually suggest letting a niche find the coach, instead of looking for one. Open yourself up to coach anyone and then look for patterns. This has several advantages: you might find yourself in a niche you never anticipated; you can build your business more quickly; you have an opportunity to coach a more diverse group of clients, which will add to your skill base.
When I started my coaching practice, I got a call from a person with a network marketing business. Before long, I had 6 or 8 clients in the same business. If I had decided to pursue it, I could have created a niche from there.
However, if someone comes to coaching with strong conections to a niche, then I would suggest they pursue it. For example, I had a client who was a new coach. Her previous job was executive director of a professional organization. She was on first name basis with all the significant people in her industry. She didn’t have to go through a gatekeeper because she had everyone’s direct phone number. I firmly supported her intent to create a niche in the market immediately.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
It’s one thing to have filled your practice by getting on the phone and offering lots of free or discounted sessions or consultations. But we don’t want you to be calling people for the rest of your life! We just recommend this to ramp everything up quickly — to build your confidence, expertise, public profile, and testimonials.
What you need now are Marketing Engines, which send you a steady stream of clients. In the next three chapters we’ll cover the most fun and productive strategies:
- How To Get Clients Via The Internet
- How To Get Clients Via Alliances
- How To Get Clients Via Public Speaking
Caution: Don’t use all of these strategies. Doing a little of each will usually be a waste of time. You want to pick one or two, and go deep. Use them consistently for six months or preferably twelve — and you should see some great results. Once you are getting results from one or two engines, only then should you consider adding a third.
