How to Create a Successful Coaching Business

How to Create a Successful Coaching Business
By Jayne Warrilow

We all know that if you want to run a successful coaching business it takes more than just being an exceptional coach. Many excellent coaches fall by the wayside because they fail to invest the time and the energy into their business. It is easy to forget that coaching is merely one aspect of your business and it is the business itself which usually demands attention, particularly in the early days. So you need to get into the mindset of an entrepreneur to make your business a success.

There are three key strategies to bear in mind when setting up your coaching business.

1. Developing yourself
2. Developing your brand
3. Developing relationships

Step 1 - Developing yourself - is the one most coaches can answer in their sleep. It is true that the foundation of a solid coaching business all begins with you. Are you a good coach? Are you qualified? accredited? Where do your skills lie in comparison with your competition? All these will ensure that the quality of your service as a coach is value for money. But to stay competitive you will need to continue to develop your skills.

Here are some ideas:

Join a coaching association - there are a variety of professional associations to choose from which combine high standards of coaching with continuing education

Get a supervisor - there is nothing like supervision for keeping you at your learning edge and giving you an objective perspective on your skills

Set up a co-coaching group - why not get together regularly with a small group of coaches to coach each other, gain feedback and try out new techniques? You will benefit from the support of others, which you can also use as a Mastermind group to check out new ideas and increase your confidence before you face a live client.

Set the intention to learn continuously - your ongoing development can take many forms from reading books, articles to attending training workshops. For many coaches I know, this is a key part of their service to their clients, since the more they develop, the better quality of service they can offer their clients

Step 2 - Developing your brand - this is the most important business decision for you to consider. The coaching market is becoming increasingly competitive - so what makes you so special? Why would clients choose to work with you? What do you want your brand to say about you? Are you building the business around you as a coach or do you want the business to operate independently of you?

These are all important questions which need to be answered before you begin to think about your potential customers, and your niche.

So what is your niche? When people buy form you they want to make sure that you are an expert in your field. So what field of coaching embraces your expertise? Is it leadership? corporate teams? relationships? self-confidence? public speaking? managing stress & resilience? parenting? Make sure you are clear at the outset. If you are confused your potential customers will be too. Know your target market.

Being seen as an expert - all experts study their subject and know the breadth of information available. They also develop this information using new ideas to develop new techniques and are always evolving. They write articles, give opinions and talk on their subject. They are also not afraid of setting the standards for the industry. So choose mastery of your subject and ensure you are better than everyone else.

Business set up - How will you set your business up legally for trade? Will you be a sole trader? a partnership? a limited company? If you are unsure, do some research, look for advice on the websites of professional associations and get some sound legal advice.

Online or offline? - How will your business operate? Will you have a website? (most professional coaches do) Will you be found social networking? Or will you confine your activities to building relationships and networking offline? Will you coach, face to face, using the telephone or by internet link?

Step 3 - Developing relationships - How will you get your clients? How will they find out about you and your coaching services?

In my experience this is one of the most common questions that coaches ask me. I have learned that coaching is a relationship business, people buy people, not amazing coaching services. I tend to get my clients because they trust me and they usually either know me already or know someone who I have previously coached, or they have heard me speak at a conference or training event. I can count on one hand the number of people I have coached who didn't have a previous connection and perhaps merely read an article of mine, or happened upon my website - so don't depend on this to build your business!

So go out and make more connections, talk to people and listen - after all this is what we coaches do really well. Perhaps you just need to meet more people? If you love people (and I will guess that as a coach you do) then just go out and meet some more, get to know specific individuals from your target market and begin to really understand their challenges and their businesses. This will help you to talk specifically to them in your marketing.

Once you have built a good relationship with them they will begin to ask your advice. Give some help, show them what it is like to have you as a coach, by coaching them on one of their challenges - there is no better way of selling yourself. And don't expect anything back. Sooner or later they will remember you as a solution either for themselves or for a friend.

Remember to turn your relationships into a business you are going to need systems, processes and procedures, so you are ready when they come.

Your success depends on where you focus your energy. For your coaching business to become successful you will need to invest your attention on all of these areas.

Jayne Warrilow is founder and CEO of the Max Coaching Academy and Max Executive Coaching. The Academy is an exceptional place to help coaches achieve accelerated results using the power of energy and flow. Jayne specializes in working with senior executives across the globe combining a flair for strategic thinking with a passion for harnessing the clients own intuitive power. She has over 15 years coaching experience and is passionate about coaching as the singular, most effective path for individualized leadership development. She enjoys guiding coaches towards their learning edge so that when they step into the unknown with their client, and allow their intuition to step forward - the results are simply staggering. To get your free audio CD by mail and receive the Academy's bi-weekly newsletters visit http://www.MaxCoachingAcademy.com. 2010 Max Coaching Academy. All rights reserved.

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