The Top Seven Myths About Getting Coaching Clients

There are a number of widespread and damaging myths circulating about getting coaching clients.

These have been repeated so many times that new coaches believe they must be true. In truth, there are many effective ways for you as a coach to get clients. But the first step is understanding what doesn't work and why.

If you were only to avoid sabotaging yourself by not adopting these myths, you would already be ahead of many, many coaches. So read on, and discover the top seven myths about getting coaching clients.

1. They'll Find You

Myth one is that if you're a good coach, clients will find you.

This is the "If you build it, they will come" idea - the one memorably proposed by Kevin Costner's character in the film Field of Dreams. It's rubbish. If prospects don't know about you, they cannot possibly get in touch to ask you to coach them. You're as likely to get clients "just because you're good" as you are to find a black cat in a coal-hole at midnight. On a moon-less night and with a blindfold on.

2. Free Taster Sessions

Myth two is widespread, and it is if you give away free coaching sessions, those prospects will convert to clients.

Ask experienced coaches who have used this strategy how effective it is. The fact is people take the free session, and you don't see them again. That's if they turn up in the first place.

This is a case of the prospect assigning a value of zero to your service. Value yourself - don't give away your services!

3. Advertise

Myth three - if you advertise you'll get business.

No you won't. The only sure thing about advertising is that it will cost you money. Professional services like coaching are not really amenable to advertising. Coaching is not like plumbing, where a Yellow Pages advert is a good investment. Coaching is not an "emergency buy".

Similarly for radio, (and heaven forbid) TV advertising, billboards and notices in newsagents. These media are very unlikely to target the kind of market you're after. The only time advertising will work for you is when it's highly targeted on a narrow niche.

4. You Can Coach Anyone

Myth four is "When you're a coach, you'll appeal to anyone who wants coaching".

No you won't! The coaching market has matured in the last few years. Prospective clients are no longer asking for any old coach, they're asking for a specialist coach to help them accomplish a specific thing, or overcome a specific problem. Hence the proliferation of marketing coaches, weight-loss coaches, career coaches and the like.

You must focus your marketing promotion on a target market that want what you can specifically and uniquely deliver. This implies knowing precisely what you can deliver, and which sector of the market values it.

5. Put up a Website

Myth five is "If I put up a website I'll get loads of clients".

Try it and see. A coaching website on its own, with no traffic will do nothing for you. A website is but one component of an overall online and offline marketing strategy.

Does this mean you shouldn't have a website? Not necessarily, but on its own the effect will be limited. For it to work for you there needs to be a compelling reason for your target market to visit your website. Putting up a few articles on the difference between coaching, counselling and consulting and having some testimonials is no longer enough. Sorry!

6. Invest in Brochures

Myth six is because my prospects ask for brochures, that's what I'll supply.

Brochure requests are used as a delaying tactic by people who cannot make their minds up. Quality brochures are expensive to produce, take time to get right, and are most often filed in a circular filing system by your prospect.

And don't even think of producing them on your home PC printer using clip-art. What message would you be sending out?

Rather than waste your time and money, politely enquire of your prospect what information that they would like that would normally be in a brochure. Then answer that question on the spot.

7. Join a Coaching Group

Myth seven is "If I join an online coaching group, I'll get loads of clients".

Pretend you're an ice-cream salesman. Are you more likely to get people to buy your ice-cream by hanging around other ice-cream salesmen, or in areas where there are children playing?

Now I'm not saying don't join online and offline coaching groups. They can be very useful for ongoing coaching development, but just realise you won't get any coaching business from them!

The myths

These myths are widely held by coaches. You will hear them being touted time and again. This results in many coaches being far less successful in their practices than they should be.

And don't take my word for it that they are myths - ask other experienced coaches who have tried and failed with these tactics.

So now you're aware of the myths, what can you do about them?

Action Questions

1. Ask yourself how many of these myths you currently believe. Is it just one, or several?

2. How many of these are you actually putting in place right now? Are they working?

3. Are you aware, yet, what else you could be doing, that would be more effective?

4. Where could you find out more effective marketing tactics for coaches?

5. What actions could you take this week to make your marketing serve you?

6. What is the very first step you can take right now to improve your marketing and get more clients?

Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche. Discover yours with Alun's free mini-course, "Discover Your Coaching Niche", available from http://www.brandingyou.org/ecoursesales.html