Five questions to get your practice to breakout and be heard

By Don N. Markland, CEO of Accountability Now

With today's challenges impacting business owners and consumers all across the world, many are contracting back and focusing on longer-term benefits. This creates increased need for all types of coaching, developmental, personal, relationship, business, and more. The challenge is, what can you do to get in front of those interested people so you can help them? 

In a recent Forbes article, an anecdotal survey was conducted on the coaching industry. The study of 100 coaches presented the following results:

• 35% were a type of “mindset and accountability” business coach.
• 40% said they only worked with entrepreneurs and startups.
• 13% worked with teams and engagement.
• 90% specialized in some sort of leadership development.
• 18% had an offering centered around holistic, natural or meditative coaching for business owners.

The difficulty with these results is the commonality amongst so many coaches. Without individual and program distinction, any coach will find it difficult to grow their practice. As entrepreneur and marketing expert Russell Brunson teaches, “There are riches in the niches.” If you want to grow your clientele, then you must be different. 

Consider the follow analogy:

Imagine you went to a party with a group of friends, and at the party there is a deliciously laid out dessert table. Your stomach aches as you yearn for those treasured treats. Slowly, you venture over to the table to make your selection. All you want to do is partake of the sweet sugary desserts before you.  

Examining the options, you notice something odd: there are no labels. You have no idea which dessert is which since many of them look quite similar. Sure, there are stacks of cookies and cakes which are easy enough to tell a part, but amongst the individual sections it is nearly impossible to tell one from another.  

All of the cakes look close to the same. All of the cookies look nearly identical. Without any specific distinction, you cannot tell which ones might be chocolate chip, which ones might be peanut butter, or which ones might be macadamia nut. No matter how hungry you are, it’s impossible to select the exact dessert you want and the one that will satisfy you the most. In order to know if the desert is the one you want you actually have to select it first and look inside.

This analogy is exactly what many run into with their coaching practice. You cannot present a program that requires a client to sign up in order to learn if it’s the right fit for them. 

Further, too many similar options have a tendency to trigger one of the most common limiting beliefs in people: indecisiveness. 

Break your practice out of the common cookie-cutter mold of “life coach”, “leadership development coach” or “business coach” and hone in on what makes your practice unique and special. Make it easier for your ideal client to choose you. In other words, don’t be the common cookie. 

Here are five questions to help get you started. Take a couple hours and really write out your answers. 

1. Of all the potential people who could use my type of coaching, who am I most passionate about working with and helping? Which people do I most closely identify with, understand – even sympathize with?
2. When I speak with, or sell my services to _______ I get the most excited.
3. If I have to devote 10 hours a week to learning about a particular industry, demographic, or individual problem, which one would I enjoy the most? Further, what specific industry, demographic, or individual problems do I already know the most about?
4. If I were speaking to a room of 1,000  people and could work with only one of them, who would I choose? What attributes and problems do they need to have to ensure you’ll have the highest degrees of success. 
5. The people who give me the most positive feedback about the results from my coaching are __________.

Once you’ve completed this exercise, you will already be on your way to creating your distinction and coaching niche. This clarity makes all the difference. As Kate Harrison said “Focus and clarity are crucial,” and “owning your niche immediately gives you a leg-up on other businesses in the space.” Get clarity and focus for who you are trying to help. 

For those looking for additional guidance, Noomii has started our own Sales Academy that focuses on building your practice, finding ideal customers, follow-up techniques, how to sell your service (even if you hate selling), and more. Click the link above to register for your free trial, or contact support@noomii.com for more information.