The following is taken from David’s interview in 10 Super Coaches.
What top three methods, in order, did you use to get your clients in the first 2 years?
The first thing I did was use my current network. I called people I knew who might have an issue or that I wanted to work with, or who I thought might just do a session we me because they were a friend of mine. That was very important.
Another method that I used was public speaking, and I worked with a mentor coach, Christine McDougall. She helped me put together my speech and I went out to Rotary and I did the free speaking circuit and I actually got quite a few clients out of that, so I definitely thing that’s a very powerful way to go.
The third thing that I did was I developed my website and I spent a lot of time studying the search engines and working out how that all works and trying to get more and more traffic. I love playing with my website, and I get 95% of my business now through the web.
The following is taken from David’s interview in 10 Super Coaches.
When you started out did you coach face to face, or by telephone?
I did both. Initially I thought it had to be face to face, then I moved to phone coaching because I got a client in Melbourne and I was in Sydney at the time.
Now what I’ve found is that I actually prefer phone coaching. I do quite leveraged sessions, I work for twenty five minutes a week with people and I think if I was going to coach face to face it would probably be more appropriate to do forty minutes, maybe longer.
I’ve moved more and more towards voice only, over the phone. Also, if you do expand to a national practice or an international practice you’re going to have to do a lot of phone coaching, it’s just the only way to do it.
I say to new coaches, do what feels good.
What do you think new coaches need to be reminded of?
New coaches starting out may forget that once they’ve done fifty sessions, they’re going to be a lot more confident. And once they’ve got ten clients and they’ve got several testimonials under their belt and some really grateful clients, your confidence does increase a lot.
The other thing that I think helps is realizing that you don’t have to be a guru. You really don’t have to be any kind of incredible mystic that has the answers to everything, you’re simply there for support and to coach them as best you know how. It’s up to the client what they do with that.
That’s a major, major shift and all coaches go through it, or need to go through it, at some point.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Philip Cohen in 10 Super Coaches.
What method did you find most effective in getting your initial clients, and what advice would you give to coaches trying this method?
Use your database. However, one important lesson I had to learn was to not prejudge the people I contacted. People who I thought couldn’t afford coaching, found a way to pay for it. “Ask and ye shall receive.” If you don’t ask, you have said “no” for the other person.
Did you coach your friends and colleagues? If so, what invitation did you use that worked best and felt good for you?
I had no problem coaching colleagues. However, I made a distinction between friends and acquaintances. I don’t like coaching friends because it’s too easy to have the relationships blend into one. I didn’t want to take the chance of losing both a client and a friend. My current coach is a close friend, however, we’ve both been coaching for a lot of years and know how to set up the relationship so there’s no problem.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Anna Dargitz in 10 Super Coaches.
What training, experience and qualifications did you have when you started coaching?
The most important qualifications to coach masterfully are self-awareness and advanced communicating skills. There are many ways to obtain them. I chose transpersonal/spiritual psychology training, world myth and religion and family life. I obtained a PhD in clinical psychology. I worked in mental hospitals, outward-bound programs, Jungian psychology training schools and private practice. I was an executive director of a non-profit educational institution, a wife and a mom. Life teaches self-awareness and communicating skills to the ready learner in all kinds of environments.
The following is taken from David’s interview in 10 Super Coaches.
How would you suggest coaches find their niche?
I think there are two ways that you can do it. Firstly I would say – relax. If you don’t find your niche straight away it doesn’t matter. You can coach everybody and anybody for a couple of years and just see how it goes.
Secondly, you can work with a mentor coach, which is a great thing to do. I’ve worked with somewhere between eighty and a hundred coaches and one of the main things we do first is look at who would they like to coach, and what they would like to coach that person on.
Now once you choose your niche, it doesn’t mean that’s the only group you have to work with, but you can focus your website and your business cards and your business name on that niche and still coach other people who might be attracted to you.
