The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
I believe it makes sense for your client-gathering strategies to depend on how far you are along the coaching ‘curve’. If you have at least a year’s experience in coaching, and an existing client base, then I suggest you jump ahead to Advanced Marketing Strategies.
However, if you’re still building up your confidence, then I’m going to outline here a strategy, which I have found to be the fastest for building confidence, and getting your initial clients. (Once you are confident and have a full practice, revenue increases, your attraction increases, and you’ll know more about who you want to coach.)
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Remember that most people have never worked with a coach before. In fact a coaching ‘structure’ is probably new to them (and you!).
You don’t have a coaching service they can buy, until you have the details. You need something they can get their mind around – wrap their arms around – so they can buy it or commit to it.
Is there a minimum commitment? How long are the sessions? Face-to-face or via phone? Is e-mail support provided? Are results guaranteed? What will be expected of me? What can I count on the coach for? What are your coaching hours? Are there any bonuses you provide? Are you available in between sessions? Do I have to pay in advance? What forms of payment do you accept? What if I want to stop half way? What if I want to miss or postpone a session?
Once you have answers to these questions, you have a coaching service. At this point you will have something your potential clients can say YES to, when you invite them at the end of an Exploratory Session.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Leza Danly in 10 Super Coaches.
What words of advice would you give to a coach starting out?
I think the most valuable thing I could impart is that people are not just hiring a set of skills. Most of all, it is your PRESENCE that will have the biggest impact on your client. You can’t fake this part. If you feel powerful in your own life, you will model this for your clients. If you are personally courageous and loving and responsible for your impact, that orientation to life will shape the questions you ask, the compassion you bring and the strength you believe exists in others.
The other piece of advice is to understand that good coaching is emotional. People don’t change by just changing the “doing” in their lives. They change by being different, and that new being produces different actions. The “Just do it” approach can get the ball rolling, but it must be followed up with fundamental change at the level of being. This means emotions! You must be extremely comfortable being with a full range of intense emotion if you want to be a coach. Emotional expression is the fuel of change and the path to reclaiming power.
The following is an excerpt from the book Get Paid For Who You Are.
If you are working 9 to 5 for someone else at something you’re not passionate about, or struggling to get more clients for your own business, then I can tell you I understand. I’ve been in those places not too long ago.
I was a consulting actuary for Fortune 500 companies based in New York. By all measures, I was a success. I had gone to school to learn a great profession, worked hard to get promoted, and had taken 8 years to qualify as an actuary (no small feat). I was making good money. I’d moved from Australia to my dream destination, New York City. My parents were proud and my friends thought I had it made.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this just wasn’t me!
After much soul-searching, I took six months off to pursue a life-long dream of playing guitar and singing in pubs. I dressed up in fun, silly costumes like a kilt and a long blond ABBA wig, and sang party songs like Blame It On The Boogie.
You know what? I never made it back to corporate life. I’d broken my old thought patterns and started coaching people to achieve their goals. Soon other coaches were asking me how to attract clients using the internet. I was now doing what I loved, but I was still working five days a week. So I turned my knowledge and passion into a CD product. Now I was helping people 24/7, without using my time!
I took many deep breaths the day I slowly wrote my resignation letter to the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. My mind was screaming, “You’ve invested eight years of sweat, stress and tears in qualifying — you’re crazy to let that go!” But I was letting go of the old to create the new, so it felt right. I made my own choices. And that’s what I want for you.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Judy Feld in 10 Super Coaches.
What did you spend money on in the first 6-12 months? Could it be done for less?
Had the computer. Developed the website myself. Increased phone bill – that’s about it. Office supplies. Also… business cards and stationary. I don’t think it could have been done for less. My time and attention were the valuable commodities.
What did you charge your initial clients?
I think I began at $250 USD per month (in 1995) for three 30-minute telephone sessions. I always have offered a menu of options.
When did you first increase your fee, to what did you increase it, and why?
I have increased my fees about once a year. Supply and demand and expertise.
What advice would you give coaches about charging clients?
Offer a menu of options. People usually opt for the choice in the middle. Be consistent in your pricing. Don’t raise your fees on existing clients. Loyalty and longevity counts. I have clients I have been working with since 1996. We are partners.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Mike Turner in 10 Super Coaches.
What was the most disheartening for you while building your practice?
What was most disheartening was not getting enough clients – and wondering if I should persevere or go back to being a consultant. I coped with this by working my fairly small network more and by seeking out a couple of organizations which were active in the coaching field and trying to develop affiliate relationships with them.
Although my early attempts to develop such relationships didn’t lead to any work, spending time developing the relationships did mean I was around people who were active as coaches and this sustained my confidence that my work would eventually expand – as it eventually did.
What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?
The point at which I realized that my practice was self-sustaining and that I no longer felt a day to day anxiety about whether I would be able to pay the bills that month!
