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Hi, this is Ronda Degaust with Life Potential Developments.com International NLP Trainer, Coach, Columnist, and author of the book How to Heal from Criticism, Insults, Abuse & Rejection.
Before we get started with today’s topic – The 10 Mistakes All UNsuccessful Coaches Make – I want you to know my husband and partner Bob Clarke & I fell into this trap in our earlier days of business.
As a matter of fact, I think we made every mistake possible when starting our coaching business. It was a major struggle, and we almost went out of business. And the worse part was that we almost lost everything we owned.
Many years have passed, and with a lot of knowledge now under our belts, we want to save you all the years of struggle and frustration by sharing with you; The 10 Mistakes All UNsuccessful Coaches Make.
Joining me from Texas is Patrick Mazor. Patrick is a business coach and trainer who specializes in helping coaches, and other solo-entrepreneurs learn how to develop, manage, and market their businesses to success.
Welcome, Patrick.
Patrick: Thanks, Ronda – great to join you.
Ronda: I’m sure you have noticed many mistakes coaches make over the years and I like for you to share in discussion with me about those mistakes so our listeners can avoid making the same mistakes.
Patrick: Yes, I have. And most of those mistakes can be avoided with just a little bit of a heads-up.
Mistake # 1 -Fail to treat coaching as a business…
Do you treat coaching as a business – use to give yourself a proper income? Or do you give it away…charging less than your worth, therefore depriving others of getting the help they deserve? We basically ran our business like a church…often struggling to get paid after we provided the service…or had many clients using the guilt card saying that helping should be free…it was a hard lesson for sure.
Patrick: Ronda – there are a couple of different sides to this one. You just mentioned coaches not giving clients the help they deserve. All of us tend to place value on the things we have to pay for. When coaches undercharge, they are doing more than a disservice to themselves. They are doing a disservice to their clients because the clients think they aren’t getting quality service. Clients have that phrase, “You get what you pay for” rolling in their heads. Treating a business like a business – in all ways – is critical to success.
Mistake #2 Fail to specialize…
There is no money in being a generalist, no way to stand out, and every way to fail because why should anyone come to you?
Ronda: Most of us start our NLP business, thinking we can do it all. Jack of all trades master of none, it doesn’t work. Pick something -anything -you can still do whatever comes up, but at least you will have focus and be recognized for something.
Patrick: Ronda – this is very true. Here again, we rob ourselves of opportunities. As I tell my clients, focus on what is important to you in life and your passions. Focus on your life experience. I have always loved business development, and that’s where I offer my coaching services. And I would think the same is true of you, isn’t it Ronda?
Mistake #3 Fail to charge enough…
No one ever went out of business for charging enough. I don’t even know of anyone who went out of business for charging too much! And as I mentioned in Mistake #1, if you don’t value your work, no one else will either.
You should also be aware of the fact that some people won’t buy your services unless they are priced high.
Patrick: This goes back to mistake number one and is the flip side of the coin. It is just as important for us to value ourselves. Many of my clients start out charging a little or even nothing. Talk about serious frustration. However, when they find that right fee and start charging that – wow, what a wake-up call.
Mistake #4 Fail to fire bad clients…
What is a bad client? They drain your energy, suck your life away, and give nothing back. In their case, the money is not worth it. Make a vacuum, get rid of them, the universe hates a vacuum and will fill it with a good client, as long as you pay attention to Mistake #6.
Patrick: We both know about this one, don’t we Ronda. Most of us go into coaching because we want to help people. The challenge is to not let that overshadow the fact that, again, it’s a business. When clients don’t pay on time, or expect lots of freebies – calls, emails, and so on, or don’t do the homework and are willing to be accountable – it’s time to let them go.
Mistake #5 Fail to have a good coach…
Come on…this one is a given for two reasons. One, you of all people should believe in having a coach. If you don’t invest in yourself by having a coach…how do you expect possible clients to invest in themselves. Two, if your business isn’t where you want it to be, you need to hire someone who can help you get it there.
No excuses…get a coach!
Patrick: Ronda – this one is so very important. What better way to get over the hurdles and past the pitfalls than to learn from a veteran coach. We all face challenges – in the beginning, and throughout our careers. Sometimes, we just need someone to bounce ideas off of or to do a tune-up with. But most important of all, in my opinion, we need someone in our corner. I know you’ve been there for me on that one Ronda – more than once.
Mistake #6 Fail to know who your client is…(remember Fail to specialize)
be authentic to who they are and how they can help others…
OK, listen up because this is perhaps the second most important mistake you want to avoid making. Get a note pad and pen and start writing. I want you to describe your perfect client… and I want you to be so specific that if I met them, I would know they were your client.
Regardless of what you think now, not everyone is your client. Stand out, be specific, and make them qualify to work with you. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and theirs.
Pick an age group within a 10-year span, for example, 30 to 40-year-olds. Pick a gender, male or female. Pick an income range, for example, 50 to 60,000 per year. Where do they hang out? What is the problem they have that they need you to help them with? Etc.,
etc…
Patrick: This falls again right in with treating the business as a business. Before we talked about finding your best areas of specialization. This is the same deal exactly. Know who your optimum clients are – once you know those things, you can figure out the demographics and know-how to market to your market. Advertising and marketing to our real potential clients can save a lot of money, especially when we don’t have it to waste.
Mistake #7 Fail to have a support system…
Search out like-minded groups to support you either professionally or personally. Coaches and entrepreneurs get lonely…they need other like-minded people for encouragement and ideas to grow their business. Surround yourself in some way with those you are successful in either your field of business that is willing to help you grow as well by promoting what you do and who you are. Stay connected, and you have a far better chance to stay in business.
Patrick: This goes along with what we said about having a coach ourselves. If you are just starting out, there is one brick wall you are going to run into. Any kind of solo-entrepreneur business, and coaching especially, can be very lonely. Make absolutely sure you have a support system – it may be family, or friends, or even people from a community in which you are a member. We all need encouragement and support, but especially when we are trying to manage a one-person business.
Mistake #8 Fail to choose the right training institute… (quality of training plus support during and after training)
Patrick: Ronda, as you know, this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I bought into one of those 16-24 hour weekend programs quite a while back. It was a waste of money. And, by the end, I figured out what the story was – they wanted to sell me their “specialization” programs. I could have easily ended up spending thousands of dollars. Find a quality program. Look for the number of hours the trainers offer in the program. Find out what kind of support is offered. Ronda and Bob’s program is 120 hours and qualifies for well-recognized certification. And the Guardian Angel Forum is always there so students can communicate and share ideas. Students come away with a quality training experience and are on their way to becoming practiced and confident in their coaching abilities.
Mistake #9 Fail to sell…
I have met so many people that dance around a sale so much that the client becomes so confused s/he can’t make a choice to buy.
Selling isn’t about making people do something they don’t want to. Dr. Milton Erickson couldn’t even do that…selling is about finding what a person needs and helping them acquire it.
If what you do or have to offer matches what someone is wanting… it’s an easy sell. But, you have to sell yourself as a coach…the potential customers need to know you exist. They need to find you…so promoting your business and your products or services is necessary to stay in business.
Patrick: Oh, gosh, yes. I’ll bet that well over half of my clients tell me in the beginning, “I’m not a salesman. I don’t know how to sell.” And I say, “Then don’t sell. Don’t do what doesn’t resonate with you because a client will pick up on that.” Rather, take time finding out if what you offer is right for your client and if your client is right for you. If you are on the same page, all you have to do to is ask a simple question – one that is based in NLP – “when would you like to schedule your first session with me.” That’s all it takes.
Mistake #10 Fail to have a well-formed outcome…
Well, we are finally at the big one. This is by far the master mistake of all. This is the granddaddy of mistakes. This is the mistake all the others fit under.
If you create a well-formed outcome around your business, you pretty well have the rest in hand. It has been proven time over time that people who do it are in the top10 or 20 percent of income earners.
Two quotes that play together in my mind are, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there” and “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”…
Patrick: Whether we call it goal setting or well-formed outcomes, it doesn’t matter. You are absolutely right, Ronda, there has to be a destination. When I’m working with a client, I ask two key questions at the very beginning. Those questions are, “What do you want?” and “Where will you be one year from today?” That one year from today is a destination. Now all you have to do is map your journey – what are the stops along the way? What are your progressive success points? With those things clear in your mind, I can guarantee you will end up with a great journey and have a lot of fun along the way.
So there you have it,
The 10 Mistakes All UNsuccessful NLP Coaches Make!
And how to boot these out the door and become the success that you want others to see you as…
as a review
Fail to treat coaching as a business…
Fail to specialize…
Fail to charge enough…
Fail to fire bad clients…
Fail to have a good coach…
Fail to know who your client is…
Fail to have a support system…
Fail to choose the right training institute…
Fail to sell…
Fail to know your outcome…
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