The following is taken from David’s interview with Ernest F. Oriente in 10 Super Coaches.
What do you feel is the biggest key to your success?
Far and away, getting so very clear that I wanted to identify my perfect clients and live in their world. The clarity I had on that has been unwavering. It just got better and I got better at doing it, and building better alliances.
I never have lost that focus, I’ve never changed that which is to say ‘here’s who I want to serve, how deep can I live in their world’, and the deeper I did, the more business that came and the more services we provided for them. And the more referrals that came from that. That success has been a formula.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Jim Earley in 10 Super Coaches.
What method did you find most effective in getting your initial clients?
My initial method involved a lot of stumbling around, occasionally getting in front of people, and being of service. What worked was facing my fear, meeting people, and being of service (although I didn’t understand that was what I was doing).
I think it’s more important that you find out if you have the courage to keep going than it is to know the best and easiest way to find business. If you don’t overcome your fears and limitations, what good will you be as a coach?
If I could give my younger self my best advice it would be this: When you meet with people, worry less about what you hope to get, don’t think at all about how desperate you are for a new client. Just serve them. Keep honing your understanding of how you best serve.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Leza Danly in 10 Super Coaches.
When did you first increase your fee, to what did you increase it, and why?
I increased my fee when my practice was full and I felt I could “hold” an increase. What I mean by that is that I felt I could include it within my self-image. I could imagine people saying yes to the new rate. If I couldn’t imagine it, I didn’t raise my rate.
First I raised it to $200, then $250 then $300 over the first two years. Then I went to 3 sessions a month for the same $300, then $400. A couple of years ago I went to $400 per hour, and my clients split that up in a few different ways-three half hours, two 45 minute sessions, one session a month for $400, or some work with me in groups of three.
What advice would you give coaches about charging clients?
Don’t make up a rate you think you should charge and wish you could get, but don’t feel willing to receive. I think it’s better to coach 20 people at $100 per moth than having a rate of $300 or $400 and only having a few clients. You need to coach. Coaching will develop your self-image as a coach, and as you witness your impact you will naturally increase your rate. Of course, this is only true if you are a GOOD coach. So make sure to develop your skills and your personal depth.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Andrea Molloy in 10 Super Coaches.
What advice would you give coaches about charging clients?
Don’t undervalue your services, do your market research. Find out what other coaches are charging locally and position yourself well. Don’t apologize for your rates either, be confident in stating your fees so the client appreciates your worth – they need to feel they are getting good value for their investment.
Do you recommend offering free coaching?
We offer potential clients the opportunity to chat with a coach for half an hour, to answer any queries they may have about the coaching process and so the coach can learn more about the client’s specific requirements.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Michael O. Cooper in 10 Super Coaches.
What top three methods, in order, did you use to get your clients in the first 2 years?
Sample Sessions: I find that offering sample sessions is the best way for people to experience my coaching ability and style. I offered coaching sessions to people in networking meetings, at the Chamber of Commerce, associations I frequented, friends, family members, colleagues, etc. I mastered the Complimentary/Sample Session with the help of Michael Charest and Michelle Schubnel in their “Coach and Grow Rich” program. I still find this the easiest and most effective way of landing new one-on-one coaching clients.
Networking: I prefer to network with people I already know frequently and have generated dozens of referrals this way. In the early phase of my business, I spent 5-8 hours a week at networking meetings, and I have to say I was horrible at it! Or at least horrible at attracting clients this way. I did generate some interest, but my “elevator speech” wasn’t strong enough to attract clients because I was too generic (prior to establishing my niches). I took networking classes and now rarely attend general networking events, because I personally do not find it as effective as other methods of attracting clients, although I know dozens of coaches who are experts at it!
Internet: I built my website very early on in my business growth cycle. I believe I hid behind it for a while, but many other coaches and clients know me because of that website – many coaches copied much of the material from it. It took over 18 months to attract a client just from the website alone.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Marcia Reynolds in 10 Super Coaches.
What were the biggest doubts you had in your early months?
Why would people pay out of their pockets for coaching, especially when I hadn’t completed my training? And then when they paid me, would I really be able to help them shift and create new lives? I suffered from the “fraud factor” as I have now found that almost all new coaches experience.
To overcome this, I just “acted as if”, knowing that if I gave 100 per cent to my clients, really listened and cared about them, I would know what to say. Since coaching is more about facilitation than having answers, I found that I could “be a good coach” faster than I realized.
