Photo Credit: Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
What is Prosperous Coaching? It took me awhile to realize that all business is about coaching. Whether we are speaking to other colleagues at work, mentoring someone, talking to a friend, meeting with our manager. "coaching" is happening. We often just don't know it is! As I entered into my professional coaching practice I was somewhat concerned because I was new to solely making a living on coaching and coaching alone. Then I met Steve and Rich. The Prosperous Coach by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin changed my night overnight - literally! We'll get back to that story in a minute... teachable moments
Steve and Rich opened my eyes to the reality of coaching and how to be effective at it. Steve also helped me realize that I had in fact been coaching for a very very long time. Any conversation you have when you are helping someone solve a problem is coaching. I sighed in relief and my inner critic shut down quickly. Phew!
Those of you that follow me regularly know purpose and message is all about authenticity and courage - becoming a bold leader. Steve and Rich teach in their book a similar approach to coaching. It's all about being genuine and slowing things down enough so you, as a coach, can provide true value to the client. This was a huge learning for me as I come from High Tech Silicon Valley Fortune 500 and 100 companies - dubbed the rat race.
I learned this slower pace is life changing! It allows enough time for the client to "be" and therefore that is when the real exchange happens. In this book Steve says all coaching happens "inside of a conversation" and this is so very true. The same applies for the process. If you slow down the process you are able to have an exchange over an extended period of time versus the typical pressure-cooker conversations so many of us have had with coaches or those selling training programs over the internet.
Steve doesn't believe in the gimmick and neither do I. Too many coaches and self-proclaimed experts out there do the typical "you must by this because this will happen if you don't, and oh, by the way, you can only get it at this low price for the next 48 hours!" Who's fallen for that one before? Uh....me!
This tactic doesn't create trust nor does it allow time for the process to happen. I hate to say it but if you are doing this I can guarantee the large amount of your clients that are buying in are not feeling connected with you and don't see the value. Price doesn't matter when you are getting value.
how i took action
As I sat there reading The Prosperous Coach on night one I knew I had to connect with Steve. I liked his genuine approach and I knew I could accelerate my career by doing so. I immediately wrote an email to his info alias.
The very next day I heard back and was put in touch with one of his top students. I was completely fine with this because as I researched Steve that evening I learned he was only coaching about five select clients a year. I knew his level of performance was way above what I needed right now, however, if I could connect with someone who was a student of his I would be working with someone 5+ years ahead of me and that's an appropriate delta to drive advancement. Done.
It's important when looking at coaches to thoughtfully consider the value you are receiving and the investment. Investment will not matter if they are truly bringing value to you. I know this sounds silly and is hard to grasp in our world of financial stress. But, trust me when I tell you that if you have a top tier coach the investment is purely a number and you will get a return on that investment no doubt about it as long as you are committed to do so.
what to look for
Make sure any coach you look to hire does the following, otherwise think twice.
They ask you one simple question in your first 5 minutes of interaction (whether by email, phone, or Facebook PM) - How can I help you?
They gift you an introductory session to see if there's a personality match, how they can help you, and to learn more about your goals/objectives and challenges
They give you real, tangible value before they are even willing to discuss price
My experience in reading this book has greatly improved not only my coaching but how I build my business. I know you will love it too so be sure to hop over to Amazon (link below) and buy the hard copy today or download to your Kindle device.
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