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Why Offering Coaching is Easier Than You Think

So many people ask me if I believe that having a coaching certificate is necessary to become a great coach. My personal opinion is that no, it’s really not necessary. Almost anyone can hang up a coaching sign on her door and not have any official training or certification.

But, your own path to coaching depends on your target audience and your personal and business goals. If you inspire to add ‘life coaching’ or ‘executive coaching’ to your business model, then you may want to explore certification options. The competition is a bit more extensive in these two fields and certification will help you establish more credibility.

That all being said, if you happen to be in a very particular niche industry such as parenting, dog training or organization, certification is most definitely not essential. You know your field and you know it well. You can very simply design your coaching program to fit your target audience’s needs and your business goals and then launch your new program.

A little planning and preparation is really all you need to get up and running successfully.

Technology Makes Everything So Much Easier

Technology has made launching and running a great coaching program so much easier. Wouldn’t you agree?

Depending on your audience and the coaching program you create you can use:

Audio and video technology to coach (Podcasting, Webinars)
Membership site technology (Wishlist or Buddypress)
Autoresponders (Mailchimp or Aweber)
Social networking mediums like forums or chat rooms to coach
Instant messaging, email and other instant media to connect with coaching clients
Digital downloads and ebooks

Today, most coaches work mostly by Skype, email and telephone and so they are are able to offer their services all over the world.

In short, there are very few barriers to entry. You’re likely already using all of the technology you’d need to launch a coaching business. And unless you’re in a highly competitive field like “life coaching” certification and training isn’t necessary.

That’s my take on it!

Expand Your Sales Funnel Through Coaching

By Tina Yelle

As a rule of thumb, when the general public buys a product or service from you, they enter your sales funnel. Statistics show that most often they will enter your funnel at the lowest priced product or service that is available to them. However, through effective marketing messages and communication, your goal is to guide your customers through your sales funnel so they’re eventually purchasing more expensive products or services.

When you add a coaching program to your sales funnel, it’s often your highest priced product or service. Make sense?

Let’s review 3 reasons why coaching is such a beneficial addition to your sales funnel:

#1 The broader your sales funnel, the more sales you could potentially earn from each customer.

You will have some customers who will start at the very lowest priced product and then proceed to purchase every other product along the way. By adding a high priced item like coaching, it will help you make more money from your valued and loyal customers.

#2 The broader your sales funnel, the more value you can offer to your customer.

Through the addition of a high end product to your sales funnel you’ll offer more value to your customers. They’ll be able to gain the maximum amount of benefit from your business.

#3 The broader or more diverse your sales funnel, the more entry points your customer has to choose from.

Not everyone will choose to buy your least expensive product or service. Some people will jump in and buy a mid-level product as a first option and still, others will buy your highest priced product without blinking an eye. So, when you offer a variety of price points and products/services, you ultimately provide more options for your customers.

It should be noted that a coaching program doesn’t have to be expensive. For example, you could offer various levels of your coaching program such as group coaching in addition to your one-on-one coaching option. This way, you can cater to those who aren’t able to afford your personal coaching program.

In closing, coaching really enables you to expand your sales funnel and to add more choices and value for your prospective clients and existing customers.

In the next post, we’ll talk about how you can add information products to your coaching program to add more profit potential to your business.

Coaching May Help With Business Branding

By Tina Yelle

While you are considering if becoming a coach is right for you, you may also be asking yourself if coaching may help you with branding your company. Branding is most certainly an integral part of a business. It could be said that having a stellar brand is the most important component of a business.

You may believe that branding is a visual experience but that’s not totally correct. Good branding is about creating a personality as well. Infact, for most small business owners, your personality IS your brand.

Coaching, and the type of coaching service you provide, can filter into strengthening your brand. Your personality and coaching strategies will shine through with each customer transaction and every single moment you are coaching a client – thus strengthening your brand. Let’s take for example, if you’re known as an outspoken and controversial business owner already, your coaching style is going to follow a tone that is very similar. And, every potential client that has an experience with you through your coaching program will experience your brand. Your personal brand will also be strengthened or diminished in their minds.

Why Does Branding Matter?

In short, branding:

Makes your business more visible – You could be instantly recognized online and off.

Enhances word of mouth marketing – It motivates people to talk about you to other people. You may find more opportunities that will come your way.

Increases front of mind awareness – Customers think of you first when they have a need.

Makes your business more profitable – A strong brand helps you sell more products.

Remember, a strong brand is a strong business and adding coaching to your business can help you strengthen and establish your brand.

To continue reading through this Blog Series, you’ll find the next post on How To Add High-End Products to your Coaching Business for More Profits here.

How Coaching Builds Credibility and Authority for your Business

By Tina Yelle

Credibility is defined as: capable of being believed, believable or worthy of belief or confidence.

In business, credibility can be achieved through a number of experiences or actions.

For example, if you provide a fantastic customer experience then you earn credibility with your customer. Let’s take a look at a few more ways you can establish credibility:

Longevity also enhances credibility. So, a customer may be more apt to purchase from a company that’s been in business for twenty years than one that has only been around for one or two.
Credibility can also be improved by establishing yourself as an expert or “go-to” person in your field.
Publishing is one way that many business owners seek to establish and boost their credibility.
Coaching also helps establish credibility. When you position yourself to coach others, you’re essentially telling the world you’re an expert in your niche.

Authority is a bit different than credibility. Authority is achieved when you’re already considered to be an expert in your field. For example, Arlene Dickinson who is on the Dragon’s Den and is CEO of Venture Communications is an authority on marketing and communication.

Authority and credibility often go hand in hand. Do you see now how this works?

Why Does It Matter?

Both authority and credibility are buying triggers and these triggers motivate people to become customers. Robert Cialdini discusses them at length in his book The Psychology of Persuasion. If you haven’t read the book yet, you should pick up a copy. The principles of the book are that: people are more likely to buy from someone who they trust or they consider to be an expert in their field. Makes sense, right?

How Coaching Fits Into This Equation

So, let’s say you are wanting to get some training for your puppy. Your puppy has started developing some clear behaviour issues that you want to nip in the bud. You’ve hopped online to search for information about puppy training and you find two websites that have information that’s fairly helpful to your situation. One website offers an information product and a video series, on training your beloved puppy. The other site offers a similar product BUT they also offer coaching.

Everything else being equal, you’re more likely to buy from the website that offers coaching. Right?

Why? Because coaching implies that this company has expert knowledge.

In addition, if the website has testimonials to support their coaching program, they have clearly indicated their authority and credibility. They’ve set themselves apart from their competition.

So, you see, you too can add a coaching program to your existing business and set yourself way above your competition. You’ll give your prospects and customers the added value that you clearly have more authority and credibility, simply because you coach. And you’ll also have more credibility and authority with your coaching customers, that is with loyalty and repeat purchases.

And, one final thought to bring this home. Did you know that the media will often look to consult with businesses that offer a credible and authorative presence? That’s right. So, you may just find that adding coaching to your offerings will open up a whole new world of possibilities and marketing opportunities for you.

It may be time for you to consider adding Coaching to your cart!

Stay tuned for the next post in the Blog Series How Coaching Helps Brand Your Business.