It’s exciting to get paid coaching clients, but how can you get your first client? In this episode, Christy Whitman offers some new ways of looking at the things involved in getting your first paid coaching client, as well as breaks down some misconceptions around it. Her QSCA coaching program can teach you how to bag your first client sans the fear and doubt, and she lets you in on that here and more.
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Becoming A Life Coach – The Secret to Getting Your First Paid Coaching Client By Christy Whitman
Coaching is an extremely rewarding profession on so many levels and it’s also one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. Through the sequence of short videos, I’m going to teach you the key fundamentals that you need to know to get started as a coach. How to create a fun and thriving coaching practice that’s in perfect alignment with who you are, what you value and what you most want to contribute to others. I remember the day when I started a coaching relationship with my very first paid client and it was definitely a rite of passage. The great thing is getting your first paid client is the biggest hurdle and once you’re on the other side of it, your coaching practice and your confidence will start to pick up momentum.
The reason for this is that the only hurdle we encounter has to do with the way we’re perceiving the idea of getting that first client and luckily, we’re infinitely in control of our own perception. In our short segment, I’m going to offer you some new ways of looking at what’s involved in getting your first client. The truth is it’s not a process of getting them, it’s a matter of sending out a clear signal of who you are and the value that you can provide and allowing your clients to find you. A common misperception that makes the idea of getting new clients feel daunting is that we think that it’s about the doing, pounding the pavement, going to networking meetings, setting up speaking events. The secret that all of my coaches learn in the QSCA is that getting your first client isn’t about doing. It’s about who you are being.
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Remember the old adage, “Who you speak so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.” To a certain extent, those around us respond to the words that we offer, but what we communicate without words is infinitely more powerful. Over the last several decades, numerous studies have been proven that at minimum, 60% of communication is nonverbal and that nonverbal communication is at least twelve times more powerful than words. What this means is that when given a choice between what someone is saying and the energy or vibration they’re offering as they’re speaking, the human brain will always discredit the words and believe the nonverbal cues that are being offered instead. First impressions happen in less than a second, and lasting impressions about likeability, trustworthiness and confidence are all made within that second. If you understand the power of the energy you’re sending out and if you become masterful at shifting your energy. This technology is at the heart of everything that we teach in the QSCA training, attracting new clients will be a lot more effortless than you may think.
To get a sense of the power of energy, take a moment to reflect on what you are communicating non-verbally as you move about your typical day. Who are you being when you’re in the grocery store, in line at the bank or post office, attending a game or a performance that your child is participating in? I know that question can be difficult to answer because to a large extent, each of us is locked in our own way of perceiving the world around us. Bring to mind somewhere that you went where you interacted with other people and imagine that you’re able to see yourself through their eyes and more importantly to feel what it feels like to be in your presence. How others experience you depends a lot on their frame of mind and to some extent, it will vary from circumstance to circumstance. The point I want to make for you is that the opportunity to interact with potential clients about the aspects of their lives that mattered to them are not limited to networking events.
Get Paid Coaching: When you take a moment to become present to all that you have to contribute before meeting a potential client, your words and actions are inspired rather than contrived.
When you’re waiting in line or having lunch with a coworker or at an exercise class, literally everywhere you go in the course of your day, you are broadcasting an invisible but highly influential level who you are and what you have to offer. I know it’s easy to get into a rush and go through the motions when we’re moving through our day, but one of the things I train my coaches in is how to intentionally summon the quality of energy they want to bring to each interaction. Throughout the year-long training, they become increasingly aware of the gifts that they hold and the experiences that they have uniquely qualified them to contribute those gifts to others. When you take a moment to become present to all that you have to contribute before meeting a potential client, your words and actions are inspired rather than contrived.
For myself and for the thousands of QSCA–certified coaches that I’ve trained over the years. All that was necessary to attract our first client is to interact with those around us with an awareness of all the gifts that we hold and an attitude of wanting to contribute to them. Once you become sensitive to looking for them, you’ll notice that every situation provides opportunities to make the correlation as to how your coaching services could genuinely benefit those around you. This awareness coupled with your willingness to offer each prospective client a sample session so they can experience being coached by you for themselves is the winning formula to attracting your first client and all that who come after. I’d love to know your thoughts or questions on what we’ve discussed. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues. To get even more coaching tips and insights, subscribe to this blog and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we publish something new.
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