When I am coaching I like to take my clients backwards and then forwards to their future. I invite them to enter a virtual time machine: my coaching ‘Tardis’ if you like – and I first invite them to seize the controls and take it back 10 years. And then I ask them, “How would you have introduced yourself ten years ago? What are you doing? Where are you living?’ What do you want for yourself ten years on? How would you describe your life looking forwards 10 years?”

And then I bring them back to the present moment. This useful first step helps people to see the difference between their aspirations and their reality. They are able to reconnect with their ideals and their ambitions – and to reflect on where their choices have led them. 

Then I invite them to travel forwards, to 10 years into the future. I ask: ‘What is your life like? Where are you living? How do things look? Who are you associating with? Do you own any properties? What car do you drive? Is there anything that you would like to do in the next 10 years? Anything you would like to be? Anything you would like to have?’ 

For some people the aims will be value-driven and idealistic; for others, material gain will be important; and others will be planning to have children and build a family. There are no right or wrong answers – this is simply a powerful way to get people to think about and really focus on what they would want in the future. 

To achieve anything in life you need adopt the right behaviours. 

Everything we Think affects what we Say and what we Do. Everything we Do will depend on who we truly want to Be. By adjusting our thinking so that we are living as if our future is happening NOW – we will adjust the decisions that we make on a daily basis – and are much more likely to make that goal a reality. 

I always say that if you get the Do and the Be right, the Have should follow. 

As Steven Covey says ‘Begin with the end in mind’ 

TIME TRAVELLER’S TIPS FOR SETTING YOUR GOALS FROM THE FUTURE: 

1. Be clear, clarity is the key to success. Know what you want and why you want it.

Many goals are not achieved because they are too vague. ‘I want to go on holiday next year’ is unlikely to become a reality. Other questions need to be asked to gain clarity: Where? With whom? To do what? For how much? When?

Africa? Great. But where in Africa? An adventure holiday? Sounds lovely – but what kind of adventure? If you get stuck – get some advice. Talk to people. In the case of a holiday it could be advice from a travel guide, a web page or a travel agent; in the case of a business start-up it may mean joining Business Link or speaking to others in the same industry as you. Once you know why and where you are going – then you can take the actions necessary to get you there.

2. Dream big, reach for the moon if you don’t reach the moon at least you may land among the stars.

Dreams will only become reality if you take steps to turn them into practical actions. Taking action takes time and planning: and it takes no more time to plan a big outcome than a small one. So – when you are mapping your vision – take it as wide and broad as you can imagine it to be. See how large your comfort zone is at present and where it might extend to in the future. Decide where you are aiming for now – but keep your future possibilities in view too.

Thinking back to that African adventure: you might begin with a package tour to the Gambia but have in mind a train ride across the whole continent. Anything is possible if you begin to live as if your future is happening now.

3. Create a vision board with everything that represents your end goal, pictures, power words and phrases.

The mind is stimulated by all our senses. Images, words, sounds, flavours, touch – all of these will reinforce the messages we send to our brain. Africa becomes more tangible if you start to surround yourself with images, music, foods, patterns and fabrics from the region. A business dream will become more of a reality if you begin to read business magazines, watch business programmes, put images of the material goals that you want to achieve on your wall, have your business plan on your wall – and so on.

Whatever your personal dream or vision – surround yourself with whatever inspires you to achieve it. Change it over time so that it is always current and reflecting the true nature of your ambitions. As the saying goes: ‘Be careful what you wish for – you might just get it!’

4. Imagine you are being interviewed for a TV show or magazine after you have achieved your goal. The interviewer asks you, how you did it. What attitudes and behaviours contributed to your success?

Each of us is a ‘self’ expert. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. It can be helpful to do a stock check of skills to see what is driving you forward and what is holding you back. Are your fears getting in your way? Face them head on and if necessary get some professional advice or training in that areas. You will be surprised at how quickly the getting of experience can make fears a thing of the past.  My friend and mentor Peter Thomson once asked me the following questions, why not ask yourself right now….

What do you need to START doing?

Take action? Set achievable goals? Monitor your progress? Seek advice? Get a makeover? Get a mentor? 

What do you need to STOP doing?

Procrastinating? Living in the past? Having regrets? Blaming others? Putting yourself down? 

What do you need to do LESS of?

Spending? Watching TV? Eating junk food? Putting everyone else’s needs ahead of your own? 

What do you need to do MORE of?

Networking? Socialising? Saving money? Planning? Taking action? 

5. Identify who can help you and who you may need to avoid

People are more willing to help others to achieve their goals than you may imagine. If you know someone who has the skills to help you – approach them and ask them for their advice. Find a mentor, who can help you in an objective way, and will shortcut your route to success. Identifying who you need to avoid can be one of the trickier ones. Are there people close to you who undermine your ambitions? Who are happy to have you stay the way you are because a change would threaten their status quo? At the end of the day, the only person who knows what is right for you – is you. Others will catch up with you eventually if they care about you. Be brave, follow your dreams and start living today as if they are already a reality. 

Now -  step back inside that time machine and think back from the future to the first thing you did that set you on the right track towards your goal. What was it? Be very clear and precise about it and see yourself doing it. 

Begin it now and take the first step into a future you can be proud of.

Written by Bev James, Managing Director The Coaching Academy

One of the keys to being a super successful coach is to get great testimonials. Testimonials are like proof. They create certainty in the minds of your prospects that they’ll be able to get similar results.

Certainty is good, especially when people feel unsure about whether coaching will or will not work for them.

Testimonials are a very important way to increase the certainty that you coaching will work for them too. I recommend that you make it one of your goals over the next 30 days to get five glowing testimonials.

Here’s the three step process:

1) Make it a condition of a client hiring you.

Ask ahead, ‘Can we use your success story to inspire others after you achieve the success you’re looking for?’

2) Make your coaching programme results-oriented.

What I meanis that you are focusing your programme on one overall result. For example: lose weight, get in shape, find the love of your life, stop your divorce, grow your business, find happiness, etc. This will help your coaching programme be stronger and will help you stay focused for your clients.

3) Ask for the testimonial to be in a specific format.

The best testimonials are personal and unique, yet share a story like: ‘I was feeling XYZ because of ABC, then I hired Christian and now I’m feeling DEF and I have result EFG!’ ‘Christian and I worked on HIJKLMNOP and I couldn’t recommend him enough!

By Christian Mickelsen

The good news is that developing a great marketing plan can be easy, fun – and when you begin to see the results you’ll just want to do even more of it.

• Question: when should a coach think about marketing?
• Answer: all the time!

Successful business leaders, no matter how busy or profitable their market share is now, always keep an eye on developing new and exciting opportunities for the future. For a coach, since we are also business owners, this rule applies to us, too.

Stephen Covey suggests our present knowledge has a ‘half shelf life of two years’, and by that he suggests that up to half of what we know today will become redundant within the next two years. This blows the ‘doing what you’ve always done – getting what you’ve always got’ equation out of the water.

The reality is that no matter how busy and successful you are, you should always keep an eye on developing future opportunities, because if you don’t you can be sure others’ will.

In coming toward my 7th anniversary as a full time Personal Career Coach, I can say that whilst a percentage of new clients come via referral and recommendation, some will still find me and be convinced to coach with me as a result of my marketing.

Whether you are new to coaching, or have been practicing a while, whether you are putting together your first marketing plan, or have one already, it’s always a good idea to ask yourself ‘and what am I going to do next’. Following are tips and ideas I use to help grow and keep my practice busy. Use the ideas that best resonate with you, since the best marketing should always be an extension of your personality.

Mike’s Top Tips for Marketing!

1. Have a marketing plan. It’s amazing that whilst most businesses spend time creating a business plan, they forget the importance of a marketing plan to sit alongside it. In simple terms, a marketing plan is a template of how you plan to communicate with present and future clients over a determined time frame (usually a year). If your communication is fresh, interesting and useful to those who receive it, they will buy your product. You can have your marketing plan on the wall on a white board, on your computer, or written down – the place you’re most likely to keep it up-to-date and read constantly is the place it needs to be for you.

2. The main product – YOU! From a marketing point of view ‘you the coach’ are the product. Spending time to clarify what it is you bring to the world of coaching so that a prospective client can understand why they should work with you is really valuable. Thinking about your values will help in deciding how to present yourself. Marketing is all about creating an image of who we are and what we stand for. In short, having a point of view, even being a little controversial, will help. From a client’s view point, they must know who you are before they’ll consider buying your services.

3. Be relevant. In NLP it’s suggested that ‘the person with the most flexibility will achieve the greatest success.’ What could this mean to you with regards marketing? Research suggests consumers buy a product after at least 5 contacts. What could those 5 contacts be for you? Many coaches write articles, have a website and send out newsletters. Social networking is now an established fact of life. If you’re not yet familiar with the world of eNewsletters, Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, etc you could be missing a vast array of mostly free advertising and marketing opportunities. Spend time getting to know the various options and mediums – then rather than go with the one you feel most comfortable with, ask yourself ‘what would my future prospective client find most useful’ – and go with that instead.

4. Have something to say. What to write about? Obviously, the seasons, all the holidays and special days throughout the year, news headlines, trends, fashion – the list is endless. What’s your point of view? As mentioned above, don’t be bland, ‘all things to all people’ – people don’t trust people who don’t have a point of view. Being a leader, which as a coach you will be, is about saying what you think and having a passion during marketing – after all, I’m guessing you’re passionate about coaching: so get writing!!

5. Products. As a coach, how flexible could you be in providing your coaching services? Here are some ideas – which could apply to you?

a. Individual face-to-face, telephone, Skype, video, or email coaching
b. Group (as above) coaching
c. Online coaching programmes – including audio
d. eBooks

6. It’s never too late… Finally, one of the main benefits of having a marketing plan is that it allows you to plan ahead. New Year is the busiest time for new coaching business, since it’s the time most people set goals. From a marketing point of view, the time to submit articles to magazines is mid-summer, for national newspapers Sept/Oct, and local press mid November. A marketing plan will help you with this and can remind you in good time to start writing your articles, and also who’s who and where to send them off to.

PS: Whilst New Year is the busiest time because it’s when most people plan, from a marketing point of view you can create a buzz any other time of year, too. For the first couple of years as a coach I used to believe summer was a quiet time…until I decided to start marketing summer time coaching (which starts going to press during spring). From that point on, summer has always been equally busy.

I hope this helps you to grow your business. Marketing is fun, and is best when it’s as individual as you are.

All the best, Mike xx

You can contact Mike through The Coaching Academy at info@the-coaching-academy.com

According to Wikipedia, Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented. The accreditation process ensures that certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify 3rd parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance.

Currently the coaching world is an unregulated one and therefore no specific awarding body for coaching qualifications exists. This is not likely to be changing in the UK for the foreseeable future, due to the complexities involved.

Having recently attended a debate on this very subject, it was generally agreed that the coaching industry is not yet mature enough to be regulated. Part of the debate compared the coaching world to another profession that has recently been through professional regulation and the process that they followed. The timeline connected to such regulations can exceed 7 years in duration and this process generally starts when there is a majority vote from the professionals in favour of the move and one body is accepted to be the suitable body. The Health Professions Council (HPC) is widely thought to be most suitable for coaching though this is not unanimous.

A large number of organisations have their own internal qualification for coaching. The ones that carry the most weight are those who request an external body to review and approve the internal qualification.

The Coaching Academy currently has 4 external endorsements and accreditations, which highlight the strength of the training and the quality assurance procedures that we deliver. These are:

• OCN - Open College Network
• ODLQC - Open and Distance Learning Quality Council
• ILM - Institute of Leadership and Management
• EDI - Education Development International

Part of my role within The Coaching Academy is to constantly monitor these external bodies to ascertain the validity and benefits of seeking accreditations from other bodies. The Coaching Academy aims to always be at the forefront of the profession and will enhance the provision as new coaching techniques evolve.

Coaching memberships:

As The Coaching Academy has worldwide recognition your coaching diploma can be used to gain affiliations with a large number of membership organisations.

Currently there is no hard and fast rule that guides you as to which organisation you should become affiliated with. When making such a decision our advice would be to consider your research into the organisation and your options resulting from this research. Perhaps look into the history of the organisation, who are they linked with? Have they been established by another organisation to provide themselves with accreditation? What are the benefits to you as a coach being affiliated with the organisation? Should you belong to more than one?
Only you will know the impact such questions will have on you and your coaching.

For more information regarding The Coaching Academy accreditations please refer to the Accreditation Booklet that can be downloaded from the home page of the members area or by contacting Jan Lonnen on qualifications@the-coaching-academy.com

People start their own coaching business because of the flexibility and control it affords. Yet sometimes, without them knowing, they stop running the business and the business starts to run them. Work and life blend together and they are never too sure where one begins and the other ends.

The work-life balance ideal can feel like a distant idea when you are sitting in the wee small hours trying to balance the accounts. It has become all work and no play, and somewhere the balance of your life has been lost. Putting down some ground rules to ensure that you do indeed find the right balance is essential, and these three tips can help to get you back on the right track.

1. Separate home space from workspace
If you are working from home you can find that the whole house has become an extended office, so it can help to have a separate office space. Even if you have another place of business, work will always find a way of coming home with you, so a separate space at home will ensure that you are not interrupted when working. When you leave your home office and close the door, you are able to mentally ‘switch off’ from work. Remember, your business is not a substitute for your family so avoid bringing work issues into family life and vice versa. It will require great discipline to keep both separate, but for the sake of all concerned, it is worth it.

2. Be flexible
By working for yourself you get to choose your own working hours. This is an area where you can take back control. Choose hours that suit both your business and social needs. For example: if you have children at school, you may wish to work only during their school hours, or you may work a longer day with short breaks for the school run. Do not forget your other responsibilities to yourself as well as others; life is for fun as well as work.

3. Stay positive and be realistic
Achieving a work-life balance you desire is really about believing that you can really do it, and sticking to your own rules. Don’t feel guilty if you have some time out for yourself when, in theory, you could be working. Don’t be pressured into taking on more work than you can handle, but if you are getting more work then you can reasonably do yourself, then consider getting help by hiring temporary staff or taking on an employee. Again, you have to be very disciplined and know your limits. Your business goals and workload need to be realistic, otherwise you will end up feeling over-stretched, over-stressed and very unhappy. Take a positive attitude and say to yourself that you deserve time off and, more importantly, don’t waste that time by worrying!

By Kevin Ryan of Moving On Coaching
www.movingoncoaching.co.uk

You may have heard the term Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ), but what actually is it? What does it mean in practice? And more importantly, how can you use it to help your clients?

EI describes an ability or skill to perceive, assess and manage the emotions of yourself and others. This includes interpersonal skills (the ability to build rapport, motivate, influence and get on well with others) and intrapersonal skills (the ability to know, understand and motivate yourself, and be self aware).

If you know yourself and understand others, it helps you to master the effect you have on those around you.

Research indicates that what distinguishes successful business people from their less successful counterparts is not IQ but EI. People with a higher level of EI are likely to have lower levels of stress, be able to build more effective relationships and get better results.

“For leadership positions emotional intelligence competencies account for up to 85% of what sets outstanding managers apart from the average.” – Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence, 1998.

Here are my top 10 steps you can take today to improve your own EI and share with your clients.

1. Take time each day to be in the here and now. We all get caught up in the busy-ness of life. Stop and see what is around you, the colours, smells, feelings and sounds. Be aware of how you feel and take time to be in the present.

2. Think about how you can influence other people’s behaviour. Moods are catching and can have a domino affect. What action can you take to draw out positive responses from others?

3. When you are faced with worry, detach. Think about the following questions: What is the evidence for the way you are feeling? What is the worst (and best) thing that could happen? How can you change the way you feel about the thing that is worrying you?

4. Realise when you are stressed. The first step to reducing stress is recognising what it feels like. Many of us spend so much time in an unbalanced state that we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be calm and relaxed. Once you have recognized your feelings of stress, you can then remember what it feels like to be relaxed and learn how to move to this state.

5. When you make decisions, factor in your emotions. How much do they help or hinder you when you are making a decision?

6. Choose your arguments wisely. Disputes take up time and energy, especially if you want to resolve them in a positive way. Consider what is worth arguing about and what is worth letting go.

7. To be happy, take responsibility for your feelings. Remember that no one can make you feel inferior without your permission.

8. Keep a journal or diary and write in it daily. Keep a record of what you are grateful for and record your achievements.

9. Mediate for a few minutes each day. Go somewhere quiet, slow down your breathing and clear your mind to give yourself greater focus and relaxation.

10. Get feedback from others. What do they believe to be your strengths and limitations? Find out how you can build on areas that may be holding you back and further develop your skills and strengths.

“There is only one corner of the universe that you can be certain of improving; and that is your own self. – Aldous Huxley

By Karen Williams of Self Discovery Coaching
www.selfdiscoverycoaching.co.uk

I love coaching online, but a lot of people ask me why I prefer it to working with people face-to-face or via telephone. I do offer this type of coaching too, but for me being an online coach is just the best. Here’s why it’s great for me (and so potentially great for you too!):

• I can coach whatever time of day suits me depending on what’s going on for me that day. The flexibility means I can go to my daughter’s sports day or have people round for dinner that night and I don’t have to reschedule my clients. So many coaches do other things in life other than coach and this flexibility is great.
• I can offer my clients a more affordable solution than face-to-face or telephone coaching, which they like, given the current economic client. 
• My online clients quite often upgrade to become my telephone coaching clients as they experience what I can offer them. It’s a great stepping stone to introduce people to what I do.
• I can provide loads of additional tools and resources built into my coaching package, giving my clients more value, without me having to be there (for example audio downloads, how to guides and video).
• I can go on holiday, pop into an internet cafe, and still service my clients
• Client payments are automated which means I don’t have to go chasing for invoices
• I moved from the UK to New Zealand and took my clients with me, and I’m about to move back to the UK and take my kiwi clients there too. And the time zones don’t matter as I coach asynchronously.

But that’s enough about me: what do the clients think about online coaching?

• They have time to think before they answer my questions. They might mull over a really good question for a couple of days before they answer it; getting a far better insight than giving me their gut response.
• They have to write their answers. Just the act of writing helps them to clarify what they are really doing and thinking.
• They have to write their actions. We all know that you’re far more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. I see this again and again with my online clients; they actually start to achieve the goals they set out for themselves.
• If they get busy during the week, they can move their coaching to a time to suit themselves. So if they have family commitments or a heavy day at work, they can complete their coaching sessions last thing at night, or 5am if that’s what they want!
• It more affordable than telephone or face-to-face coaching. Who doesn’t appreciate that?!
• Their coaching notes are all kept in one accessible website so they can return to previous sessions again and again.
• They can complete sessions at the workplace at lunchtimes, without eating into their evenings or work time.

By Nicola Bird
 www.jigsawbox.com and www.morethanyourtime.com

I provide a service for parents who aren’t finding parenthood a ‘walk in the park’! In my former life B.C (before children) I was a high-flying, globe trotting fashion designer earning lots of cash and having a ball! I had freedom, choices, money, and no one to think about but myself. Then I had children.

After my second child was born (I was pregnant with the second when the first was only six months old) I suffered Post Natal Depression. I knew something was wrong almost from the day my baby was born, but when I voiced my concerns to my GP he laughed at me and dismissed my feelings as normal. I had been keeping a diary and continued to record my thoughts and feelings. I then went back to my GP and made him read my journal. After reading four lines he said ‘Ok, we need to get you on medication’. I was not offered any other kind of support and I wasn’t monitored by anyone. I was left completely alone and at times I felt suicidal. My world had fallen apart, like a bomb had dropped in the middle and plunged me into total blackness, where there was no light.

I took anti-depressants for three years; they helped by taking the edge off my mental pain but they didn’t mend me. During that time I had asked my GP to refer me to a counsellor as I knew the incredible benefits of therapy because I am a counsellor myself. Again he laughed and said “What do you need to see a counsellor for? How would that help? You know what your problem is.”

I had to do it on my own. So I found a counsellor and paid for it myself. This was when my healing REALLY began. Just by having someone to talk to who wasn’t judging me and who actually HEARD what I was saying and believed my truth, had an enormous impact on my progress. It was at this point that I decided that I had to do something to help other women who might be suffering in the same way, and to help prevent the length of suffering I had endured needlessly. It was because of how I was treated by my GP, arrogantly and dismissively, that my suffering lasted three years. The feeling of isolation, loneliness, fear, abandonment, failure and guilt, along with the stigma attached to PND was horrific, and as a result of my experience I understand the confusion, terror and the disconnection from the outside world that PND brings. 

I enrolled to study Life Coaching with The Coaching Academy (I qualified with a Distinction) because I felt I could, along with my counselling skills, offer a service to women that would work with the client in a counselling capacity first, to get them to a point emotionally where they were strong enough to then be able to look to their future, which is when I would coach them.

The biggest challenge I have had personally, apart from overcoming PND, was to discover my new identity, learn how to make my new life work for me, get to know who I have become, and I aim to support others achieve this to.

Although the majority of my clients presenting issues around being a parent are women, this doesn’t mean the dads don’t have concerns and problems adapting to life as a parent. They probably don’t want to burden their wife with their concerns ….so who do they have to talk to? Their issues are often quite different to those of women. They may experience depression too, or witness their wife suffering with PND, which can be very distressing and scary, and they may feel totally alone and helpless. Who have they got to confide in? I coach many men and they find coaching very useful, as men naturally tend to seek a solution to a problem so they feel comfortable with the concept of coaching and can identify with it’s techniques.

I have done a number of articles and interviews for national magazines, such as Good Housekeeping, newspapers and radio, on the subject of Post Natal Depression. I am passionate about raising awareness of this illness and improving treatment for women suffering with it. I am also a media volunteer for MIND and a volunteer counsellor for a PND charity.

By Lynne Walder
lynne@polkadotcoaching.co.uk
www.polkadotcoaching.co.uk

Have you reached an age where doctors, vets and policeman look increasingly younger and notice people saying “life’s not a dress rehearsal” and “these are the best days of your life”?. Yet life doesn’t quite feel that way as the responsibilities of demanding employers, partners, children and possibly ageing parents pull you in several directions at once, and you may feel you’ve lost any real control, direction and purpose in your life, and start wondering if Work/Life Balance really does exist.

Well, it is possible, but you need to take responsibility for the choices you make and be prepared to TAKE ACTION.

Is Your Life Running You?

Old habits die hard, but remember, if you continue to do the same things, you will get the same results.

Focus on what’s really important to YOU and adapt your approach, ensure that the habits you have really work.

Think about when things were going really well, what were your doing then, that you can adopt today?

My biggest learning is that I can’t to do everything myself, and even I need to ask for help and support. 

Today, I’m a busy working mum and still have a lot of demands on my time, but now I am the one in control, life does not control me. I feel energised and enthusiastic. Am I claiming that I’m perfect?, NO!  I still need a chocolate fix at 3pm now and again – what girl doesn’t!

So what’s the magic formula for creating a greater work life balance – Here’s my top tips:

1. Put yourself at the top of the list, as least once in a while! Learn to say no when appropriate
2.  Get clarity of what you really do. Log what you actually do over two weeks. Write this down honestly and you’ll be shocked how much time you waste
3. Eradicate your time vampires. How much time do you spend moaning about having no time, searching for keys or that piece of paper with your notes on. How long do you really spend in front of the TV or computer attempting to ‘escape’
4. Focus on what’s truly important to YOU. Don’t live by someone else’s standards – when you’re on your death bed, will you really be thinking “I wish I’d done more ironing”?
5. We can’t physically change time, so schedule your priorities. Consider each of your roles and think what is really important for me to achieve this week or month as a mother, employee, daughter, wife etc….
6. Refresh your mind, body and soul. Get out in the fresh air, do something to make you laugh and get a better night sleep, unwinding even just 20 mins before you go to bed will leave you far less stressed.
7. Make these tips habitual, but be patient – new habits typically take 3-4 weeks to become truly embedded

By Debbie Hayes
www.LifeCoach2You.com

As a Muslim Love Coach I help single Muslim professionals be more creative in their partner search. Many clients tell me they’ve tried everything, from internet dating sites to speed dating events, but these have been a waste of time. My techniques and tools help them to try new avenues and identify the best method that suits them and their stage of life.

The reason I did my coaching diploma was because I had a clear idea who I wanted to help. I had a strong feeling and a strong belief that there was a gap in the market for a Love Coach within the Muslim community. This belief came about from my own experiences. When I was single and looking for a partner I found it difficult to decipher mixed messages coming from both Western and Muslim men within the dating arena. Other single Muslim women I spoke to also seemed unsure of the ‘rules’ of dating. I wanted to help as many single Muslims successfully manoeuvre their way through the dating field as I could. I still have that passion and that conviction today.

My niche market is within the Muslim community. I have focused on a specific section of the Muslim community – those who are single. Again, I have focused further into those who have professional occupations. And further still, those that have tried the traditional route via family introductions but have now decided to take control and meet potential partners themselves. Those who wish to create their own future.

My top 5 tips to tap into a niche:

1. Passion to help

If you truly believe you can help your clients, your sincerity will be obvious and contagious. This will mark you out from other coaches. Think of how you’ll be able to help. Be specific. Write down three things you can help your clients with if they worked with you today. The clearer you are with this the more passionate you will become. Ensure you have chosen an area to work in that you love. Ensure you believe in yourself as a coach and what you can bring to your clients.

2. Understand the pain or the motivator

If you can understand how your clients tick within the area you have chosen this will be advantageous to you. Some clients will want to move away from pain or something that they don’t like while others will have a motivator that they want to work towards or achieve or gain. The more you can relate and understand these approaches the more you will be speaking directly to the client in their own language. Within your chosen field, what are your client’s top two areas of pain that they want to move way from or top two motivators that they want to achieve or work towards?

3. Know your ‘perfect’ client

Knowing your ‘perfect’ client is all about having a very clear definition of the type of person that would be suited to buy your coaching programme. What’s their gender, age, profession, where do they live, where do they shop, what magazines do they buy, how do they relax and unwind? Now you know your ‘perfect’ client think about other potential customers who may not afford your coaching services but may be happy to purchase cheaper products from you, say an audio programme or a downloadable report. Go through the above questions to have a clear idea of these potential customers too. The clearer you are of your niche the better you will understand your client’s needs and how to reach them.

4. How do clients find you?

This brings us onto your channels of distribution. You now know where your potential clients and customers are. Do they know about you and what you have to offer? If they are interested in your services and products, how do they go about reaching you and buying your products? Do you have a website or an advert in a specialist magazine with a telephone number for them to ring if they’d like more information? Do you ask them to fill out their details and then follow this up with a personal call at a convenient time? Is your coaching business based solely on word-of-mouth and referrals? Do you hold free workshops? The more avenues for your clients to reach you and your products and services the better chance for you to be established in your chosen field of specialism. The easier it is for your customers to connect with your business the better the experience they will have of you. Focus on a new channel that you’d like your clients to have in addition to what already exists and take that first step to make this a reality.

5. Network, network, network

Coaching is still misunderstood out in the big world! The more opportunities you have to distinguish it from counselling, the more people will understand what coaching is all about and how it can help them. By networking and meeting new people from differing backgrounds and professions you will be opening yourself and your services up to new markets. Many may not want coaching in the field you have chosen however you may be able to recommend a colleague who has specialised in a different field to you. Referrals and recommendations are powerful testimonials. Research and attend a networking event in your local area this month. Be sure to take your business cards with you. Good luck!

By Dina Zaman
www.dinazaman.co.uk