2012 - Inner Firewalking

Leza Danly on Building a Practice

The following is taken from David’s interview with Leza Danly in 10 Super Coaches.

What was most disheartening for you while building your practice?

I built my practice quickly, reaching my goal of 20 clients in less than 6 months. It was my goal for the end of my coaching certification, to have a full practice before the exam. I got my 20^th client on the day of our last group call. I never really had a major block, but I remember the first time I lost a lot of clients in a short period of time and I went into some scarcity about that.

How I dealt with it was to take a deeper responsibility for why I created them leaving. I discovered I was hungry to make a deeper commitment to coaching clients who wanted to do really deep work, and that the clients I lost were not fulfilling for me. It was a shout from the universe telling me to raise the bar on my standards.

What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?

Well, the most exciting thing was watching the dream come alive. The idea that I could create a professional life for myself by loving and supporting people and building intimate relationships was a revelation. It was my dream career, and I was creating it magically. It was a total high! And I was giving it to myself.

Coaching Principles: Suspend Your Opinions and Judgments

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

Coaching is not advice. It’s coaching. As a human being, you will have opinions regarding what a client should do. But you need to be really clear about when this is your opinion, versus helping them get clear for themselves on what they should do. At different times, your client will want both.

“Should I break up with my boyfriend?” A coaching response might be: “What is best for you?”

I had a client looking to make extra income. She was actually considering applying to work for an escort agency. My initial reaction, which I stifled, was — “Surely there’s an alternative to prostitution!” But remembering I had my coaching hat on, I asked her why. It seemed she didn’t have any moral judgments about it, and thought it might actually be an interesting experience. She did have other options, so it wasn’t coming out of desperation. In fact, I discovered the main thing holding her back from pursuing this avenue, was worrying about what a future partner might think of her — which I don’t find a powerful reason for any decision! In the course of time, she made her own decision not to follow that path. But she wasn’t stifled by the judgments and opinions of her coach.

Self Coaching Form

The following is an sample form from Top Coaching Techniques.

1. What have you achieved since the last coaching session, in any/all areas of your life? (Include anything you have learned)

2. Are any actions not done or incomplete from the last coaching session? I will complete these by:

3. Have you been blocked anywhere? What is your current Perspective and underlying Judgment? What new Perspective will you create?

4. Please name three things in your life for which you are currently grateful (at least one should be different from previous weeks).

5. What concerns, if any, do you currently have?

6. What opportunities exist, or can you create for yourself this week? (In particular, you might like to use any insights from 3 or 5)

7. Please list the actions you will take to move yourself forward by the next coaching session:

(List numbered down the page, and please be specific)

8. What do you want to accomplish from your upcoming coaching session? Please be as specific as you can, and if you draw a blank, I invite you to create something!

David Wood on Offering Free Coaching

The following is taken from David’s interview in 10 Super Coaches.

Do you recommend offering free coaching?

I do recommend offering a free initial session, I think that’s quite smart. This isn’t like the profession of being a doctor where people are looking for you already and they’ve been to a doctor twenty times in their life.

This is a profession that a lot of people don’t know about and they may not trust yet until they’ve experienced it, so I think offering a free session makes a lot of sense. A lot of businesses give a free consultation, so whether or not you call it a free coaching session, or a free consultation, at least have a ten-minute chat to find out what their goals are and to explore ways that coaching could help them.

If you can help them find their goals, if you can help them get clear on what they really want to have in their life, then that’s going to inspire them. They’re going to be excited when they get present to that. The next thing they need to see is that working with you is going to help them get that. So if you get those two things covered – that they get inspred about their goals and the could see how coaching could help, then chances are you’re going to have a client.

Anna Dargitz on Charging Clients

The following is taken from David’s interview with Anna Dargitz in 10 Super Coaches.

What advice would you give coaches about charging clients?

Give some of it away knowing that what you give freely comes back tenfold. Give some of it away with the agreement that the client may receive benefit, but they are also giving themselves to the coach so the coach can practice their new skills. And for some, charge what people can afford to pay you, noticing who receives the most from you (your ideal client). Notice who you attract and what it takes to attract your ideal clients.

How did you deal with the coaching/charging friends issue?

After feeling disappointed a few times because of my own unrealistic expectations, I stopped going there! I cross-referred. My coach colleagues sent me their/family and I sent them mine. Always pro bono with the agreement that both coach and client were practicing on each other.

Find What the Client is Comfortable Paying

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

So how do we marry the first two principles? How do we take on as many clients as possible, yet value our services, and get as much revenue as possible?

Simple: Ask the client what they’re happy to pay!

Consider the following role play I might do with a new coach playing the part of a prospective client:

Scenario 1

Client: “How much do you charge?”

Coach: “I charge $300 per month.”

Client: “Well OK – how do we get started?”

Scenario 2

Client: “How much do you charge?”

Coach: “I charge $300 per month.”

Client: “Hmmmm….well I don’t think I can afford that right now, but I appreciate your time.”

Coach: “Well let me ask you, IF price wasn’t an issue for you, would you be interested in working with me on this issue for 2-3 months?”

Client: “Hmmmm… yes – IF price wasn’t an issue, I suppose I would.”

Coach: “OK – since I’m still building my practice, and I want to coach you, I’m happy to make an investment in this. In fact, right now, the money isn’t that important to me. So tell me, what would you feel comfortable paying?”

Client: “Well I suppose $150 would be OK.”

Coach: “Great, if you’re willing to commit to working with me for 3 months on this, I’m willing to take you on at 50% of my fee for that time. At the end of that period, we can revisit it.”

See how it works?

Archive

Yearly Archive for 2012