Coaching has exploded in the last ten years. This growth could largely be due to corporate cutbacks. However, many people find using a coach can catapult their goals. Of course, these coaches need to be good to make that happen.
If you are always helping others in one way or another, you could be a great candidate to be a coach. Your purpose will become helping others find their purpose. That is legitimate and valid. However, you want to make sure you do right by the people you are helping.
Some coaches will charge people whether the people are successful or not. While the people must take the initiative and do the work, some coaches are not qualified. In fact, the proliferation of coaching has made this a systemic problem. You don’t want a reputation as a coach who doesn’t help those who you coach. Any negative comments will affect who hires you in the future. Remember, referrals are often the primary source of new business for coaches.
The key is to make it easy for people to see the benefits of hiring you over others. You need a good track record, which can be difficult when first starting out. One great way around this is to offer light coaching to a few individuals for free. Make sure you set the scope of what you’ll provide. Otherwise, they will be expecting full service from you. Not meeting expectations will make it difficult to move forward with paid work.
Good coaches will guarantee their work as long as the people who they coach do the work required. A guarantee sets a comfort level for the people considering getting a coach. If you are good at what you do, this should not be a problem. Again, the people you coach must be willing to do as you instruct them to do.
It’s important to map out what your services include. Try to think about what it took to make you successful in the areas you plan on coaching. What kind of training did you require? Did you put in long hours in the beginning? You may be putting in those long hours even after several years of the venture.
Don’t sell yourself short when setting your fees. Cheap coaches are cheap for a reason. Your coaching has the potential to be life-changing for your clients. They should be willing to pay top dollar for this, and it can also be a great way to weed out the ones who won’t take the arrangement seriously.
