The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
So whom would you like to help? Someone wanting to switch careers? People wanting to begin treating their bodies well? Or children dealing with puberty? 30-35 year old women looking for a partner? Bachelors over 50 wanting to organize their life?
If you focused on a particular client type, what are three possibilities? Who would you really like to contribute to or do you feel a connection with? (Small business owners? Women? Kids? Artists? Butchers? 50-60 years old?)
If you concentrated on three coaching areas, what would they be? What are three things you might like to help these groups with? (Switch careers? Get over divorce? Clean their cupboards?)
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
There are a multitude of specific coaching niches, with more being identified every day. The major areas of specialization at present include: Life Skills, Business Coaching, Executive Coaching, Corporate Coaching, Career Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Financial Coaching, Study Skills, Fitness and Weight Control, and overall Personal Development.
A typical life skills program may look at clarifying values and visions, setting goals and new actions so that an individual may lead a more satisfying, successful, and fulfilling life.
Business coaching can be useful in any type of business, small or large, and may range from individual skill development to overall team coaching in larger corporations. Areas that often benefit from coaching include communication skills, time management, strategic planning, increasing market share, improving workplace efficiency and productivity and dealing with specific conflicts within the workplace.
If you were working with small business owners and possibly their staff, you would normally call it Business Coaching. If you were working with staff within a corporation, usually paid for by the corporation, or working with the board or leadership team, you would call it Corporate Coaching. Working with individuals in executive positions is of course Executive Coaching, but clearly there can be a lot of overlap between this and Corporate Coaching.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Michael O. Cooper in 10 Super Coaches.
What are your coaching niche(s)? How did you discover this?
Leadership Coaching: I have always held a fascination about leaders and how they ticked, how they inspire and motivate others, and unfortunately, often how their unchecked egos ruin their influence. I discovered the 15 Leadership Proficiencies developed by Thomas Leonard and started using them with a client on a whim. Within a few months I was asked to present at a conference on leadership and have been speaking and coaching ever since. Serendipity really.
Coaching financial advisors to market themselves effectively: I developed this nice out of necessity when I was near bankruptcy and needed to double my income in one month. I had worked with one financial advisor on a pro bono basis and he doubled his business within a few months. I was desperate and began interviewing other financial advisors to understand their market better. Essentially, they developed a “guided coaching program” for me. Within four weeks I quadrupled my business with this program. Note: I didn’t have a passion or experience in this niche, but the need already existed in the market.
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 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 an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
1) Their challenges get more uniform as you go narrower. Therefore, you can become an expert in their specific issues, instead of a generalist in everything.
2) You can research this particular group to learn more about what they need. And, you can test-market your wares to see what they are buying.
3) In your literature, you can appeal specifically to this group instead of to everyone. So your target market will be attracted to you instead of passing you by.
4) Your material (e.g. newsletter), can be targeted and of value to your target market, instead of a little bit useful to everyone (e.g. newsletter articles).
5) You can work out where they ‘hang out’, (e.g. health magazines), and focus your marketing campaigns.
6) When you want to get paid advertising in YOUR newsletter and on your web site, advertisers will actually be interested because you have a targeted, qualified audience for their product.
7) You achieve more credibility than someone who appears to handle everything.
You can create specific products and services that appeal to this group; e.g., Find your Career Direction form.
