So You’re a New Life Coach or Business Coach …Now What?

Over the past several years, there has been huge growth in the life coaching and business coaching industries. This includes people who have always been the "great listener" amongst their friends; the corporate manager, trainer, or HR professional who's been downsized right out of a job; or even someone who has some people skills and just wants to work from home.

These new life coaches and business coaches come away from their certification programs with big dreams and lots of optimism. They've developed the coaching skills they need to really help people. But unfortunately, for the majority of these new coaches, they haven't been taught how to gain new clients. And if they do happen to build a small client base, they struggle with retaining those clients for the long term. A small coaching client base that slowly dwindles eventually leads to lack of a steady income which, in turn, leads many hopeful coaches right back to the 9-to-5 grind.

The secret to building a large coaching client base and retaining those clients for the long term (whether you're a life coach or business coach) is having a solid coaching system. A great system can help in three major ways:

1. Gain New Coaching Clients: Being able to tell your coaching prospects that you utilize a powerful system -- a coaching system that not only helps them to define what their true goals are, but also gets them to discover what's blocking them from getting there, where true ownership lies, the infinite possibilities, how everything in their life links to their big picture, and knowing when to recognize that they've actually attained their goal -- gives that prospect the confidence of knowing that you have what it takes to get them where they want to go.

2. Accelerate Client Progress: Having a system means no more haphazard, accidental coaching. Taking your client step by step through this type of coaching framework identifies problem areas much more quickly, resulting in more rapid progress toward your client's goals.

3. Coaching Client Retention: A client who, with your expert help, makes progress and consistently reaches their goals is a happy client. Happy clients stick around.

There are coaching tools and resources all over the internet, so how do you know which ones to choose? Be sure to do your due diliegence.

Check the background of the company, and especially the leadership of that company. Have they been "in the coaching trenches" for years? Do they truly understand both the needs of the coach AND the coaching client? Are they "people focused"?

Don't be afraid to contact the people behind any coaching tools or systems before you buy. Using your great coaching intuition, you'll know immediately if they really "walk the walk" or if they're all talk (or just in it for the money).