Getting Started In Life Coaching - How Do You Get Your First Clients?

By Lawrence Mortenson

One of my clients recently completed the initial coursework of one of the most reputable coach training programs around, and is just about to begin their coach certification program.

He’s a powerful individual, successful entrepreneur, and is committed to adding coaching to the mix of businesses he’s involved in. Fascinatingly, even though he’s achieved great success in other businesses, he’s worried about hitting the minimum number of paying clients required to begin the certification program.

Even he’d fallen into the strange funk that afflicts most new coaches when it comes to getting clients!

For many, life coaching seems like the best profession in the world…until they’re confronted by the realities of building the business. I talk about this at length in my other articles and resources, but your job as a coach is fundamentally about getting clients, keeping them, and charging what you’re worth.

That’s how you make money, and that’s how you make a difference.

If you’re working on transitioning out of a job and beginning your journey as a life coach, here’s a 3-step plan to get you jump-started in building a professional practice.

Contact everyone you know – friends, colleagues…and even family and ask them to work with you

When you’re starting at the ground floor and don’t have a lot of relevant professional experience, just get started coaching!

Once you have a few basic skills the most important thing is to get experience. The more experience you get at this phase, the more confident you’ll become. And with confidence, it’ll become much easier get paying clients.

Make a list of all of your contacts, and rank them in order of how comfortable you are with them. Then, call them one by one and let them know you’re pursuing your passion for helping people by becoming a coach and that you’d love to work with them for three months for free.

Let them know how much you’d appreciate their help in getting you started, and that you can guarantee they’ll get significant value from the process.

Make sure you set an end date for the free coaching. It’s important because it’ll allow you to come back to them in a few months and begin charging.

Making these calls does 3 things:

• You let people know where you’re headed
• You get no-risk experience having enrollment (‘sales’) conversations
• You will ABSOLUTELY get the clients you need to get started on the right foot…if you make enough calls.

Get busy coaching
Now that you have 5-7 clients (if you have a job, you probably won’t be able to manage many more), immerse yourself in coaching them. Take yourself and the coaching conversations seriously and focus on creating value for your first clients.

If one or two clients drop out, that’s okay. Just go back to your contact list and start making calls again.

When you’re approaching the three month mark, you’ll find you have a lot more confidence in your coaching ability. And now it’s time to ask for a raise.

Talk with each of your clients and let them know that the initial three month period is about to end (you’ve set the stage, so this should be easy) and that you really enjoy working with them.
And that it’s time for you to begin charging for your services.

Let them know that if they’d like to continue, you’d be charging $50 per month for the next three months.

As uncomfortable as it may be, it’s critical that you have these conversations at this stage of the game and that you begin charging for your services.

• You’re making the transition from ‘coaching hobbyist’ to professional coach
• You’re experiencing asking for money for your coaching services for the first time
• You’ll now have the paying clients you need to complete the requirements for any certification program you may be in.

Get more clients, and repeat the process time and again

Once you’ve had the conversations and transitioned the majority of your current clients to paying clients, it’s time to make more calls, to ask for referrals, and to start working with more people.

You’re ready to increase your client load to 10 or more.

As you bring the new clients on board, you have the opportunity to leapfrog your pricing.
Instead of $50 per month, charge $100 or $150. You’ll have a solid base of 5-7 clients you know will be sticking with you for the next 3 months, so take a leap of faith and begin asking for what you’re really worth.

Make sure everyone understands that you’re still in ‘training’ and that you’ll need to increase prices in another 3 months. Set the stage for having the repricing conversation a few months down the road.

Following this simple 3-step process, you’ll build the confidence, skills, and client base to have a thriving coaching business just twelve months from now. A full practice of 20-30 clients paying what you’re worth is virtually an inevitable outcome.

Of course, knowing what to do and doing it are two completely different things, and NOTHING HAPPENS until something moves.

What are you waiting for?!

For no-nonsense resources on how to become a coach and start your life coaching or business coaching practice on the right foot, check out the Coaching Success Institute at http://www.coachingsuccessinstitute.com

Learn simple strategies for getting you coaching business started on the right foot, getting clients and keeping them for life, and doubling your income and your time off.

Do yourself a favor and take the short-cut to success in the coaching business.

Coaching 101 - Coaching Core Values

By Lisa Van Allen

I am drawn to coaching for many reasons, but the core values and beliefs that drive coaching top the list. Coaching is so different from anything else I’ve ever done, including counseling, consulting, training and mentoring. There are similarities and overlaps – but very distinct differences.

Co-Partnership in coaching places the client and the coach on an equal plane. There is no expert, no authority, no controlling or manipulating the relationship. The coach comes alongside the client to support his/her agenda and goals. This role is very unique. When I worked as a psychologist, I was expected to be the expert, to lead the relationship toward a healthy result.
As a consultant or trainer, I usually set the agenda and kept my clients on track. As a mentor, I shared my expertise and experience with someone younger or newer to the profession. There is nothing wrong with these roles – they have their place. But coaching recognizes the value brought to the relationship by the client. Two equals are working together, creating a relationship that fosters growth toward the client’s vision and purpose.

Relationship stimulates growth. When people come together to work toward a common goal, something powerful happens. They are able to achieve more together than the combination of what they could accomplish separately. They each grow and learn and spur one another on to creativity. A trusting, supportive relationship is the catalyst to transformation.

Responsibility and Stewardship for one’s own life is fostered in the coaching relationship. A client’s freedom to manage his/her own life is nurtured. The coach empowers the client through accountability but does not assume to tell the client what to do.

Believing the Best about the client, his/her intentions and goals is one of the most empowering things a coach can do. Clients are affirmed, believed in, built up rather than assessed, diagnosed or judged.

Unique Design has been built into every individual. A coach will honor the gifts, talents, personality and abilities of the client in a way that encourages them to find and fulfill their life purpose.

Exploration and Discovery takes place in an environment that is safe for the client to learn and grow. Personal values, passions and dreams are nurtured; solutions and strategies are generated.

Integrity, Authenticity and Sincerity are essential characteristics of every coach. The coaching relationship is based on honesty, reality, and transparency. Other professionals offer their clients integrity, but few can offer the level of transparency a coach is able to share.

These are the values I aspire to bring to each coaching relationship. They are the tools that enable me to help others find and fulfill their life purpose. What an incredible job!!

Lisa Van Allen, MS, PhD is a personal and executive coach with a background in clinical psychology and healthcare administration. In her forthcoming book, "POWER-Filled Living", Lisa provides a process for finding and fulfilling life's purpose. Excerpts of her book and additional articles on life and leadership can be found at http://www.vanallencoaching.com.