The following is an excerpt from Top Coaching Techniques.
1. Make eye contact twice as often as you normally do.
2. Say “hello” to people on the street.
3. Introduce yourself ~first~ (don’t wait for them – they might be waiting for you!)
4. Hang out where the types of people you want to meet hang out.
5. Hang out with people who have lots of friends and associates!
6. Find out about them, not the other way around (OK, it’s obvious, but….)
7. Get their contact details, not the other way around.
8. If you want to build a relationship (business or personal), follow up with a call or email!
9. Organise get-togethers for your neighbours and friends
10. Remember, if you do get what looks like a negative reaction, it’s their stuff – it’s not about you!
The following is taken from David’s interview with Leza Danly in 10 Super Coaches.
What are your coaching niche(s)? How did you discover this?
In the beginning, I had a niche of actors and entertainment people just because they were the people I knew. I loved helping actors make successful careers for themselves. It had been my favorite part of being an agent.
Now my niche is defined not by profession, but by personal depth. I only work with people who know they are on a spiritual journey of embracing responsibility and magic, people who want to become skilled at transforming reality magically and powerfully.
How would you suggest coaches find their niche?
Look to your passions. What do you love? Who do you like to talk to? Who would you most want to support? It might be a particular group, like mothers or prisoners or artists, but I find that niches defined around BEING issues are more powerful than defining it by what one DOES.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Ginger Cockerham in 10 Super Coaches.
What top three methods, in order, did you use to get your clients in the first two years?
Referral Engine – I chose a niche of people who are generous, and let them be my advocates! My clients in the financial services industry are dependent on referrals to grow their own businesses, so they refer naturally, regularly and generously.
Media and Presentations – I love to write so I wrote a monthly column in Today’s Dallas Woman for two years with coaching themes. I presented and coached during those presentations to organizations, financial services companies, study groups for financial reps.
Networking – I became active in the coaching community and volunteered and took leadership roles, I gave back to my clients and community, I shared and received from many, many other coaches, I formed a networking group with other professionals and helped grow their businesses while they helped me grow mine.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Mike Turner in 10 Super Coaches.
What are your coaching niche(s)? How did you discover this?
My niches are executive coaching and mentoring, transition coaching, and metavising/supervising other coaches. I discovered these by noticing what the work I was actually doing was, what I felt drawn to do and what I enjoyed.
How would you suggest coaches find their niche?
Discover what you are naturally good at and do it. This sounds easy but is often quite difficult since we tend to be blind to what our natural gifts are. So, notice what interests you, what you feel drawn to, and what you enjoy doing. Get feedback from people who know you, about what your natural strengths and talents are.
Then go with the flow of what is already present and seek to expand and enlarge it so that what you do is aligned with what you love and what you are naturally talented at.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Judy Feld in 10 Super Coaches.
What was perhaps the biggest mistake you made in practice building?
Not exactly practice building mistakes, but here are some “don’ts” based on experience:
When closing a deal, don’t put yourself in a position of ‘negotiating with yourself’. Don’t do work on speculation. Don’t create long responses to complex RFPs. Don’t spend a lot of time “auditioning”. Coaches are different from consultants, and coaches get paid in advance. For career coaching: Don’t let a client assure that the first “exit package” offer received from their company is the best offer they can expect. You can always do better, and a coach can help you see how.
Would you advise coaches to pursue certification?
I did as soon as I could, through I haven’t surveyed my clients to see if my certification influenced their hiring me. I think with the number of people who are calling themselves coaches with questionable experience and training that the public will eventually look for certified coaches.
I recommend certifying as soon as you can and I think the ICF has the most credible independent coach certification credential.
Are there any particular schools you would recommend?
The Coaches Training Institute is where I did my primary training, from my connections to other coaches over the years, I would also recommend (in alphabetical order) Academy for Coach Training, Coach For Life, The Newfield Network, and Success Unlimited Network.
