Two Wonderful Articles in Choice Magazine

I just got my copy of Choice Magazine, the magazine of professional coaching. In this issue (vol 9 #2) are loads of business-building articles making this a must-have issue for new coaches.

Here are two great articles I ran across at my first perusing.

Article 1, The Seven Stages of Practice Building – What it really takes to build your ideal coaching business, by Brian Whetten, MA, Ph.D.

The article talks about the seven stages and how coaches tend to go through stages 1-3 and then jump to 6 & 7 without going through 4 & 5. And as a result, they struggle to reach a sustainable income level of over $45,000.

Stages 1-3 talk about student life – before you go pro.

Stages 4 & 5 are about having practice – becoming a master at working directly with clients.

Stages 6 & 7 are about becoming a leader.

What I find fascinating is how it explains why many coaches fail due to little support in stages 4 & 5.

In stages 4 & 5, you make an income you can survive on – again, the $45,000 mark. And then eventually increase that up to something more substantial such as $100,000. In these two stages, you’re primarily working with clients as opposed to selling products or doing affiliate programs.

You may see a lot of advice on creating membership sites, writing ebooks, or selling affiliate products to make a lot of money as a coach. I know I have. I find it refreshing to see that you don’t need to do those advanced things to be a full-time pro coach.

I see so many new coaches get caught up in that stuff, causing them to be overwhelmed and slow or have no success.

Then, on the facing page, so coolly positioned, is the other article I loved …

Article 2 – Enrollment – Using strategy sessions to get clients, by Frankie Doiron and David Steele.

This article dovetails nicely! It talks about one huge key to success in life in stages 4 & 5.

That key is mastering enrollment.

The authors tell you to do “strategy sessions” instead of “complimentary sessions”.

These types of sessions are not client-driven as in “What do you want most help with today?” but instead are aimed at solving your market’s top, overriding challenge.

From the example in the article, if you’re a relationship coach, you may offer a “Find Your Soulmate Now Strategy Session” instead of the more common “complimentary session.”

The article goes on about what to do in the session, so I won’t give those goodies away.

I do want to say, that from both of these articles, you can do a lot for your business by focusing your efforts on enrolling clients as opposed to worrying about advanced stage 6 & 7 types of stuff – passive income, products, and the likes.

You may want to grab a copy of Choice Magazine

Choice has evolved in the last few years I’ve been subscribed. It’s got lots of great articles on handling clients, developing skills, and growing your career.

Thanks, Garry (Garry Schleifer, Publisher), for your hard work putting out Choice and for getting these two articles out to coaches.