The Four Secrets To Discovering Your Coaching Niche

By Alun Richards

What Determines Coaching Success?

There are more coaches in business right now than ever before. I'd love to say all of us are wildly successful in our chosen profession, but the reality is somewhat different. Many of us are finding that we are not getting the business we expected when we trained.

Recent research I've undertaken indicates this is not primarily related to our coaching skills. It relates to our marketing – and the fundamentals of marketing are what services we supply to what target market. In other words, what niche we have as a coach, and what target market we have chosen to supply.

You must, you must, specialise.

But here lies the problem: over two thirds of us coaches do not have a niche – we are generalists. We will coach anyone to do anything. And many of us love being generalists.

But let me ask you a question – when you really need your car serviced, do you take it to any old garage or a garage that specialises in your make of car? When you need an eye examination, do you go to a GP or an Optician?

And which business makes more money – one with a general motor mechanic, or one with trained automotive engineers who specialise in your specific make of car? A General Practitioner or a medical consultant like an ophthalmic surgeon with a specialisation?

We seek out these specialists because of their specific knowledge of problems and how to resolve them. And we're prepared to pay a premium because they get the right results faster. Yet we as coaches resist selecting and sticking to one coaching niche. And our practices suffer as a result.

But how do we do we discover our coaching niche? Well, it's all down to the four secrets I reveal below.

Secret 1 - Discover your passion

You must have passion for what you do. Long term you will not stick at anything you do not love. Passion is what drives your coaching business forward. Look at anyone who is truly successful and you will see a passion about how they conduct their business.

Ask yourself – do you love what you do in coaching? Is there a fire, a drive behind what you do? Discover what it is you're passionate about. Are any of these things reflected in your coaching practice? If so, great – that's the first step completed!

If not, perhaps you would benefit from exploring those things that do inspire you, and to incorporate this into your coaching niche.

Secret 2 - Discover your key knowledge, skills and experience

You must have credibility in your chosen area of coaching. You'll have credibility where you have relevant experience and are using your key skills and knowledge.

Few clients will take on a coach with no relevant skills, knowledge or experience. And we're not talking about coaching skills and experience here. You need to demonstrate you have the relevant skills, knowledge and experience for your client.

Do you have a track record of success in the area in which the client is being coached – be it weight loss, relationship coaching, financial coaching? Do you have a system you follow?

Do you know what the major issues are, and have ways to help your client overcome them? If you do, you'll have credibility, and will be able to attract coaching clients. You are also far more likely to get testimonials and referrals.

Secret 3 - Discover where there is a market

It's no use fishing where there are no fish – you won't catch anything. Likewise, it’s no use coaching where there is no ready market. Many coaches select a market that is too small to support their services, or a market that is not really interested in their services.

If you select a market that's too small, your coaching practice will not be viable. Is there a really a market for your services? Are there enough potential clients in that market? How do you know?

Also, if you're offering services that the market is not interested in, you will get no take-up. There's another fishing analogy here - ask yourself what bait am I using? The bait I like, or the bait my market likes? What will your market go after – what services do they want and need?

Secret 4 - Discover where you can make money

In order for our coaching practices to succeed, we must be able to make money. Clients must be prepared to pay for our services. We coaches do the world no favours by under pricing our services for clients who do not really value them.

So, have you established whether your target market has the money, and is prepared to spend it? If not, could you take your services elsewhere – where they are valued?

Putting it all together

In order for our coaching practices to succeed, we need to understand and overcome the most fundamental coaching marketing problems. We need a clearly defined coaching niche and target market.

To achieve this, we as coaches need to leverage all four secrets in this article. We need passion, knowledge, skills and experience, a market for our services and clients prepared to pay us. If we fail to exploit all four secrets, we will not be as successful as we could be. And we may not realise our true potential as coaches.

This article has described the four key secrets to discovering your coaching niche – which ones can you start to work on today?

Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche. Discover yours with the free mini-course, "Discover Your Coaching Niche", available from http://www.brandingyou.org/ecoursesales.html

© Copyright Alun Richards 2006 All Rights Reserved

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