Tag Archives: Coaching

The Life Coaching Process

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The area of personal development is an amazing area that is vast and yet it is incredibly interconnected. This not only provides a life coach with an unbelievable number of tools to use but also the benefits of the unlimited ways of how these tools can be combined are amazing.

From the many tools that I use I particularly found a set of four questions that are a combination of questions asked in both life coaching models and emotional intelligence.

Let us look at the questions asked in the life coaching model:

1) What do you want?

2) What are your options?

3) What is the best option?

Now let us see what one of the most famous emotional intelligence models asks:

1) What do you want?

2) What are your options?

3) How do you feel?

I found incredible results by combining both to come with one unified set of questions that would take the benefits of both sets:

1) What do you want?

2) What are you options?

3) What is the best option? or How would you prioritize them?

4) How do you feel?

Look how both models agree about the first two questions. Well actually those two questions, especially the first one, cause a real challenge to many people.

We seem to be experts in knowing what we don’t want, but when it comes to defining what we really want we seem to stumble a lot before getting the answer.

The emotional intelligence model does not continue to discover the best option or the priority of these options because it takes it a natural sub-sequence. While the life coaching model needs to help the client pin down every detail as the resulted action plan depends heavily on those answers.

While the life coaching model does not mention the question “how do you feel?” as part of the questions above, but the ending of the session must include this question to check the effect of the session on the client and to realize the difference between the beginning and the end of the session from the client’s point of view.

The above combination is only a small example how different models can bring marvelous results in the personal discovery and personal development journey. Personally I use a lot of the emotional intelligence tools and combine them with the different life coaching models and I try them on myself to check the results.

Making a Good Living As a Professional Coach

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Being a successful professional coach means that you are able to make a comfortable, full-time living from coaching. Most coaches are drawn to the profession because of their sincere desire to help others – and indeed the world needs coaches. After all the time and effort you put into your professional training, don’t forget you need to spend additional time setting yourself up for success by planning and implementing your marketing strategy.

Since many coaches do not have a business or marketing background, getting this type of support and mentoring in your field of specialty is essential in order to become a successful coach practitioner.

Here are Five Steps to Building a Successful Coaching Practice:

STEP 1: Get coaching training

– Select a training program that fits you and delivers on ALL your needs.
– Coaching is a specific methodology and requires specific training, even if you think you already know how.
– Credibility comes from having qualifications.
– Set yourself up for success by doing it “right.”

STEP 2: Choose a specialty and niche

– Your “profession” is your job title, which might be “Professional Coach.” Your “specialty” is your area of focus within your profession, such as “Relationship Coach.” Your “niche” is the specific group of people you help, such as “Relationship Coach for Singles.”
– Choosing a specific niche is much more effective for attracting prospects and convincing them to hire you. Many practitioners struggle, especially coaches, when you resist choosing a niche and try to market to a general, broad audience.
– Be unique, follow your passion, become an expert in your niche.

STEP 3: Design your service delivery system for your niche

– Here is the secret to guaranteed success: Market Research with the people in your niche to learn what they need and want.
– Sell programs, not sessions! Don’t try to market “coaching;” design and market a coaching program tailored to the needs and goals of your niche.
– Provide group services, such as classes, workshops, and group coaching. This is more affordable for your niche and is more profitable for you and leverages your time more effectively.

STEP 4: Apply marketing strategies to develop prospects

– Marketing is simply communicating what you do.
– You can market till the cows come home and not get any clients! The primary outcome of marketing is to develop prospects
– Three primary forms of marketing are:

1. Speaking
2. Writing
3. Networking

STEP 5: Apply enrollment strategies to convert your prospects to clients

– Focus on benefits and results. What will your client “get” and how will their life be different from working with you?
– Build your relationship with your prospective clients by providing and proving your value.
– Do not provide “sample” or “complimentary” sessions. Instead, offer a “[biggest goal or problem] Strategy Session” designed to be enticing to your niche (e.g. “Find the Love of Your Life Strategy Session” for singles).
– Learn and apply strategies for closing, overcoming objections, addressing common questions. Enrollment is a specific skill requiring practice and specific strategies. Once you’ve mastered this skill you will be able to get all the clients you can handle!
– Follow up, Follow up, Follow up. “Your fortune is in the follow up.” This is where most practitioners fall short as most clients will hire you through your follow up efforts, not your initial contact.

Being a Professional Coach is a wonderful way to make a very good living as well as make a positive impact in the world. Building a successful business as a Professional Coach is much easier than you might think if you follow these five steps. If you want to help others and find that your family and friend often come to you to talk about their problems, this growing profession is probably a good fit for you!