For every individual who would benefit from a coach, there exists some dream coach who’d be just right for that individual.
Imagine an oddly-specific genie approached your ideal would-be client. Instead of the usual three wishes, he offered to give that person the coach of their dreams. One who will relate to them, support them, challenge them, and set them up in exactly whatever way they desire. What would your client say?
Genie: Greetings, mortal. I see that you are up to something in your life, and could use a coach to help you get there.
Client: Holy crap, a genie! Do I get three wishes?
Genie: Nope, I don’t do the three wishes thing anymore. Too many parables of them spectacularly backfiring. Perhaps you’ve read a few.
Client: Oh. Okay. What’s this about a coach now?
Genie: I will give you coach of your dreams, the one perfectly suited to help you achieve the great ambitions you have for your life.
Client: Huh. (Thinks about this for a beat.) I was really hoping for three wishes.
Genie: Yeah, but if we get this right it’ll still profoundly change your life. And do so without all the tragic and ironic backfiring.
Client: Mm. That’s… (shrugs one shoulder) starting to sound pretty good.
Genie: So tell me, mortal: what exactly would you like in your dream coach?
Client: Can they be hot?
Genie: (Glares while slowly exhaling.)
Client: Sorry, sorry. Just kidding. Ummm… okay. I guess I’d want them to be someone I click with, someone I’d feel comfortable working with.
Genie: (Starts nodding intently, taking mental notes with arms crossed in that boss, Genie way)
Client: They should be really smart… wise, I guess. Know their stuff, know what they’re talking about.
Genie: (Still nodding, muttering “good, good” under his breath.)
Client: Oh, and they should have lots of certifications.
[Editor’s note: just kidding, no one says that. Let’s try that line again.]
Client: Oh, and they should be super affordable. Free, I guess, would be ideal.
Genie: You won’t value it if it’s free. Don’t worry though: your ideal coach won’t charge you celebrity pricing. It’ll run you about as much as a therapist. Apparently everyone’s supposed to go and get one of those now. (Sighs and rolls his big genie eyes.)
Client: Right, cool. Yeah, I can swing that. It’s just—
Genie: (with firm and exacerbated patience:) “…Achieve the great ambitions you have for your life.”
Client: Right. Yes. Yes! Okay then, yeah. I think I’ve got it.
Genie: (Skeptically cocks eyebrow) That’s it?
Client: Yeah, that’s it, I think. Smart and relatable. Knows their stuff!
Genie: But how about how you would like them to relate to you? How would you like them to support you? How deeply would you have them challenge you?
Client: (Cocks head and blinks a few times while staring out with a blank expression.)
Genie: (Continuing his laundry list without pause.) What level of direction would you want? How firmly to hold you to account? If they could set you up to go accomplish in whatever way you like, how would that be?
Client: (Snaps out of reverie and looks at genie, still wordless.)
Genie: You can have this coach show up for you, set up the game for you, relate to you, avail themself to you, and support you in any way you want. How would you like your dream coach to be and act in working with you? What would be your dream experience of being coached?
Client: I… I’ve never thought about that before now.
Of course they haven’t.
If pressed to describe their ideal coach, your would-be clients will struggle to do so starting with from a blank slate. Unless they’ve already experienced the wide gamut of coaching styles, they will have generally no idea what it is they’re looking for beyond the most superficial traits.
So give them better than a blank slate.
Make it clear what it’s like to work with you, and be bold enough to go beyond describing how smart, caring, approachable and well-trained you are. Specifically paint the picture of what the process of working with you actually looks like: what it takes to show up, what will be expected of them, how they’ll be supported, and what sort of specific results are at stake.
Any given coaching style is composed of various practices, and yours is no different. Make it clear to your would-be clients what your practices are, and they, in turn, might be able to recognize you as their dream coach.
When you use CA for managing action plans, tracking metrics, documenting sessions, giving assignments, sharing resources, and structuring whatever supportive interactions between the sessions themselves, you have a LOT that you can share about what it is like to work with you.
For example, you might have a practice called clients MUST do the work to fill out a pre-session check-in form in order to have their session with you, challenging and demanding of them that they shore things up and think for a beat of what specifically they want to accomplish.
Or you may have a core practice in reducing their stress level. You can set up a Metric that prompts them to measure and report on that regularly, yielding actionable insights as simple a part of how you roll.
You might let them know you’ll be paying attention to how things are unfolding during the space between sessions, offering up encouragement and accountability on the way.
CA’s tools allow you to clearly demonstrate how robust and supportive your coaching practice really is.
