There are four elements that will lead people to hire you as a coach. One reason is because there’s something they want that they don’t have. Here are some examples:
- a salesperson who wants to increase her sales commissions and needs to improve her technique or confidence.
- A man who wants to start a business
- A woman who wants to grow her business.
- A man wants to find a career that lights him up.
- A single woman who wants to get into a relationship
Element number one is that there’s something they want that they don’t have now. It could be internal or external. Some people want peace of mind, some want to get back in touch with their spirituality, and some want certain internal qualities. But most are looking for something external.
The truth is most people want something they don’t have but a lot of them are small wants, or if they’re big wants they don’t want them that badly. For example, maybe they would like to get into a relationship but they’re happy being single, or they would like to start a business but they get paid well and the job’s not so bad.
The second element is that they’re having a hard time getting what they want on their own. They want a different job, but they don’t know what kind of job they want, or they want to start a business, but they don’t know how to start a business, or they want to grow their business but they’ve been trying for a year and a half and they’re stuck at the same income level that they were for the last year and a half so something’s not working. They can’t get there on their own or it’s not happening fast enough, so maybe the business is growing but too slowly, or they’re starting to get more dates but still not meeting the right people. Because if they are getting it on their own, there wouldn’t be a need to get a coach, right? It’s either not happening or not happening fast enough.
The third condition that needs to be present for somebody to hire a coach is that something is uncomfortable—there’s a reason why they can’t stay where they are, that if they stay where they are it’s too painful and they don’t want to continue with the status quo. Maybe they hate their job and they’re about ready to quit, but they need to make money somehow, so they’re not going to quit yet. They might hire a career coach. Suppose it’s a salesperson and they’re making some money but not enough, and they have to dip into savings every month, or compared to the other salespeople they’re at the bottom of the pack. Even though they’re making good money, they might want it for pride purposes. They can’t stand being towards the bottom or maybe they’re super competitive.
Possibly a single person who wants to get into a relationship is feeling lonely, and for three years they’ve been dating a lot but just can’t get into a relationship. For some reason it doesn’t stick and they want it so badly, because they can’t stand being alone and not having a date every Friday night or someone to spend weekends with. There has to be some pain—and the desire of something they want. They can’t stay where they are any more.
The fourth aspect that has to happen in order for someone to want to hire a coach is that they feel certain you can help them. In order for somebody to look for and hire a coach they need to be open to hiring a coach.
People who have all four of these things happening are going to hire you fairly easily, endlessly, and constantly, and that’s why it’s good to become one certain type of a coach. Because if you become a relationship coach, you might be teaching people tips about how to get in a relationship, and they will get to know you as they’re learning from you. Then eventually they will get to the point where they can’t stand being where they are any longer and they want your help. They’ve been learning from you and some of the things are working but not fast enough.
Recap: People hire a coach because…
A) They want something
B) They aren’t getting it on their own (at least not fast enough)
C) They can’t stand being where they are any longer
D) They feel certain you can help them.
Here is an article I wrote covering why people hire a coach and the traits of successful coaches.
Ideal Coaching Age | Finding Clients | Traits of Successful Coaches
You may not be one of “them,” but you’ll still discover a lot about how to find new coaching clients from what I’m about to share with you. I’m going to tell you a little known “secret” about why people hire coaches (and it’s not something you’ll learn anywhere else). This secret will revolutionize the way you think about finding new coaching clients (in a very good way)!
Before I share this with you, I need to address something. A lot of people have been writing in to get my opinion on some things: –> “How young is too young to get started as a professional coach?” or…
–> “Am I too ‘old’ to get started in professional coaching?” Now…
Even if you’re not one of “these people,” my answer to this question about “age” will still apply to you because there’s a bigger, deeper, more universal principle that I’m going to explain. And…
If you ARE one of the people wondering if you’re too young or too old to be a coach, what you’re really wondering is “will people hire me?” If you have doubts, fears, or limiting beliefs about making it as a coach, this may be some of your “inner work.”
You may need to address this stuff within yourself. And perhaps I can help you. But, for now I want to take a different approach and share with you…
**** Why does anyone hire a coach anyway? *****
The answer to this question will shed light on the “mystery that is coaching” and will clear up the whole “age issue” once and for all. And, when you understand what I’m about to share, it will (hopefully) forever change the way you go about getting coaching clients.
There are actually 3 answers to this question, each one “deeper” and more true than the last! Here’s the first one…
1) People hire a coach because they want something. Here are some sample reasons people hire a coach: = A sales professional wants to increase her sales numbers! = A single man wants to find his soul mate! = An executive wants to grow the company and get more public kudos! = A middle manager wants to find his dream career! = A small business owner wants to take more vacations! = An aging man wants to get back in shape! But…
Even though people want something, it’s not enough to make them hire a coach. Lots of people want something, but never hire a coach.
So why do people hire a coach?
2) People can’t stay where they are any longer. Not only do they want something, they can no longer settle for the status quo. If we look more closely at the examples from above, we’ll find that these people have something deeper going on: = A sales professional can’t cover her bills each month, is dipping into her savings, and needs to make more money fast or she’ll end up losing everything! = A single man has been lonely for 5 years and knows he’s afraid to ask out women he finds attractive! = An executive can’t get his team to take the initiative and his board of directors are breathing down his neck! = A middle manager is bored with his job and can’t take another year doing this meaningless job! = A small business owner works 80 hours a week and feels like a slave to her business! = An aging man is feeling “old” and starts to realize that some of his friends haven’t lasted this long and if he doesn’t clean up his act he may not have much longer either! And…
This may make them start looking for a solution to their problems, and perhaps to start looking for a coach. But, this may not be enough for them to hire you.
3) People will hire YOU based on how well you can create certainty that you can help them. They need to feel sure that coaching will work, and that it will work for them. And here’s how you can do that (at any age).
**** How To Create Certainty That You Can Help ****
1) Teaching solutions to some of their challenges creates certainty that you can help them. You can write an article for business owners on how to be more focused, delegate more, etc. Or share secrets for single men to meet women.
When you teach something valuable to the people you want to coach, they will see you as an expert, a person who really knows his stuff! This will help potential clients begin to consider you as the “home-run” solution they’re looking for. They’ll think, “If he knows this much about X, then if he worked with me personally, I wonder what would happen.”
2) People will hire you based on how well you demonstrate “you understand them” (and their situation) above almost all else. If you can explain the “ins and outs” of the situation they are in a few things happen.
People will believe that they are not alone. They aren’t the only ones going through this (most people think they are the first one to have the problem that they have). They will obviously see you as an expert at handling this kind of thing because you know it and understand it so well.
They will feel a connection to you. People feel a sense of rapport or connection with people they have something in common with. When you show you understand them, they feel that sense of commonality. This will be a BIG factor in making them want to hire you. You can demonstrate how well you understand them by discussing what their situation must feel like, how it shows up in their daily lives, and perhaps how their problems came to be.
3) Offer a satisfaction guarantee on your coaching. I don’t guarantee results because 90% of clients’ results depend on the clients themselves (how much effort they put in, how much they follow through, etc.).
I tell them that after the first month, if they don’t see that the work we’re doing is going to make the difference they are looking for, or if they aren’t happy for any reason, we can stop working together and they can have a full refund.
I call it my “unconditional happiness guarantee.” It makes them feel “safer” about giving coaching a try AND it shows how confident you are in the work you do. When you offer a guarantee it shows you mean business!
**** Bottom Line ****
I know coaches who were successful at age 19 (I started when I was 24)! I know coaches who are in their “later years” and are doing very well in coaching too. Ultimately, your success depends mainly on your ability to understand your clients’ needs, connect with them, and show them that you can help them. If you can do this, you’ll be successful in coaching at any age!
COACHING TIPS: “Traits of Successful Coaches”
Here’s a list of traits that coaches who are successful in coaching all seem to possess (in no particular order):
- A strong desire to help people
- Confidence in themselves (although we all have our insecurities)
- Determination
- Great communication skills
- A love of learning, especially learning about people
- An inner drive
- Feeling “guided” by a higher power or their intuition
Do you posses some of these traits? If so, then I have a feeling you’re going to achieve a lot of success as a professional coach. Still… There are few “overnight successes” in life. True success takes time. Although one of my clients started and grew his coaching business to over six figures in just 90 days, this is by far an exception.
If you don’t have a lot of the traits mentioned above, it may be time to do some of your own personal growth work to develop these aspects of yourself, because anyone can get better at anything! And if you really want to be a success in the coaching world, I know you can be!
Go to this URL for our Longevity Coaching Special Offer: https://personal-longevity.com/plp-special.htm
