Today, coach Nicky Kriel discusses errors she’s seen coaches make attempting one particular marketing approach.
5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking
You may not know this, but Life Coaches have a bad reputation on the networking circuit. Anyone can call themselves a life coach and start a business without any formal training or certifications. So many people feel that because they have undergone a crisis, it qualifies them to be a life coach. The reality is there are more people wanting to be a life coaches than there are people looking for life coaches.
(Using the Google Keyword tool to find out what people are searching for on the internet, shows that each month 368,000 people search for the phrase “How to be a life coach” vs. 2,900 searches for “How to find a life coach”.)
Now let’s assume that you are still reading this and you are serious about earning a living from helping others develop themselves. What can you do to come across more professionally at networking meetings? Well, here are some of the mistakes that give life coaches a bad name.
1. Not realising that you are running a business
You may feel that you have found your purpose in life through what you do, but if you don’t make any money from doing it, it is just a hobby. It is not enough to be a good coach. You also need to be good at marketing and selling your business otherwise you won’t have any clients. If you don’t have the business skill yet, then it is time to make the effort to learn. There are many people at networking meetings who can give you advice.
2. Bad Business Cards
You don’t have to spend a fortune on business cards, but handing out a cheap looking business card won’t do your business any good. Some of the worst business cards have been given to me by life coaches. Some indications that you don’t take your business seriously are:
- Printed on a flimsy card,
- obviously home-made,
- blatant typos,
- email addresses or numbers crossed out and corrected,
- “free” business cards from companies such as Vistaprint
- Email address is obviously a shared family addresses or a Hotmail or yahoo address
3. Saying you can help everyone
If someone doesn’t know what type of customers you are looking for, how can they help you? If you can’t be specific about what type of client you want to work with, how do you expect other people to know whether you are a good match for a friend or acquaintance that needs some help? You cannot help everyone with everything. If you are too general, you will end up with no business.
4. Assuming that everyone knows what life coaches do
Most coaches are good at talking in coach talk with other coaches, but most people in a networking meeting don’t know what life coaching is about. Be aware of any jargon you might be using and think about what other people might be interested in. Stop talking about you and start thinking about what your audience might need.
5. Coming across as though you need a life coach yourself
If you want people to trust their inner most feelings with you, don’t air your dirty laundry or share your latest crisis with people you have only just met. People need to be confident that their secrets are safe with you.
If you are passionate about what you do, you need to find a way to make a living from doing it. Be professional and learn the skills you need to grow your business.
About the Author/Further Resources
Nicky Kriel, Guildford’s Social Media Queen, is passionate about empowering small business owners to use Social Media to grow their business. Her background is in Marketing and Sales and she is a Master NLP Practitioner.
As a Communication Coach, she helps people remember the “Social” aspect of Social Networking: It is not all about tools and technology, but about people and human relations.
Aside from her private coaching clients, she runs Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook workshops for business owners and bespoke courses for SMEs. Nicky really enjoys helping business owners to level the playing field by harnessing the power of social media.
You are welcome to follow Nicky on Twitter or like her “social media for newbies” Facebook page
Hi Nicky. I totally agree with you. Having been around networking for a while now, I’ve come across loads and loads of life coaches. I have to say that numbers 1 and 5 really do stand out as completely off putting for the people they are networking with. One of the many things I do myself is life coaching and I’ve found that steering away from the term ‘life coach’ and instead letting people know the benefits of what you can offer, is a much better approach. You also need to exude confidence and energy so that people see you and listen to you and think ‘I want some of what she’s got’. I think there also needs to be an air of realism about actually running a business and the amount of hard work, dedication and commitment it requires. Running a business requires a business mind! Great post.
Thank you, Vicky.
It is nice to know that you are a life coach who is serious about making your business work and have such a great positive mindset. You are right about exuding confidence and energy when you are networking. Thank you.
Nicky
Whew! Well…thanks for the facts in spades! This is a very needed communication and a timely one.
There is one factor that rarely occurs but I have found incredibly true: people who tend to be truly “life” knowledgeable (some may call them “wise”) are the least likely to go about proclaiming themselves as a “life coach.”
Why would this be?
I have a bit of a controversial perspective but it is grounded in a real history: I’ve graduated through 3 coach-specific training programs (all certified by International Coach Federation (ICF), have created one program myself that is ICF-certified, taught 10 yrs in this field as part of my career, and worked directly with hundreds of executives and business owners. While they all brought whole selves to our work together (as in their lives) — I would never have dared to coach them on “life.”
Healthy, functioning clients are their own “life” expert – and it really would be quite arrogant of me to think otherwise. Their life worked quite well before and after I entered it, thank heavens! That’s the very best type of client to have, btw…because many of the rest actually are far better suited too often as a therapy client or in some cases a trained spiritual counselor or minister…a separate speciality.
Forgive the rant. It’s way, way, way past time we attend to the facts. People’s lives are much to important to allow people to wade into them who simply think it’s a good idea to do so.
Hopefully all 3600+ people I’ve helped train as coaches all are remaining quite clear on what their role is and is not. Gosh knows – our own life is pretty much part of our full-time job without taking on that role in another persons.
I have enjoy the plain truth you shared.