During my years as a coach trainer and consultant, I’ve often had to face the reality that some coaches are simply not cut out for the BUSINESS of coaching. I don’t mean the actual coaching part itself… most coaches are very good at listening and guiding others towards lifestyle changes and goals.
What I’m talking about is the part where you as a coach have the motivation, drive, and expertise to go out into the world, find interested prospects, and sell them your services! Yeah… THAT part.
Attracting and keeping paying clients, for many, is the hardest part of coaching. Even harder is growing your practice, i.e., retaining clients and motivating them to refer their friends, family and associates. But some are very good at this game, and they are the coaches who make the big bucks – not the ones who focus on coaching skills to the detriment of marketing themselves.
Coaching is desperately needed by almost everyone on the planet, and I’ve met and worked with some of the best. I’ve seen these coaches perform miracles in minutes with a client. I’ve seen them transform lives in a matter of days and weeks.
I’ve also seen these same coaches struggle to attract and keep paying clients, while others with FAR less talent grab and keep most of the clients, simply because they know how to sell themselves!
Is this fair? No. But its the reality.
So how do you know if you are cut out for the business of coaching? Here are the only two ways I know of:
- The first way is to do like everyone else, i.e., have the idea this is something you’d like to do, hang out your shingle as a life or personal coach, then work like the dickens to grow your practice. You will either fail or succeed, but you will definitely know if you are cut out for this business or not in a year or two.
- The second way to determine your capacity for success in coaching is to do a thorough personal evaluation on yourself before jumping into the fray. This does two things:
- You will have a pretty good idea of your chances before spending years and tens of thousands of dollars in the pursuit of coaching happiness, and
- You will come to know your strengths and weaknesses early. This will allow you to take the right courses, get certified, or learn about marketing, and gather all the other necessary tools for success.
While success is never guaranteed, you can weigh the odds in your favor by following the second path rather than the first. So, regardless of how far you have gone down the path of your coaching career, click the button below and take this simple coaching quiz to find out whether or not you have what it takes to be a success in the business of coaching.
It will only take a couple of minutes, and may save you years of heartache! Do it . . . and leave a comment to let me know how you’re doing.
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