How the Coaching Market is Changing

The common factor amongst coaches is that they want to make a difference. That is what fuels us!

For us to make a difference, we have to be clear in what we have to offer, to whom we offer it and how we present what we do.

The Coaching industry or profession is changing which means how coaches get business will also change.

Until relatively recently, coaching was still new and attracted the sort of clients who were open to new approaches to develop themselves, their teams etc. Now, the market is opening up with more people seeing coaching as a valid intervention for improving performance etc. With that change, this new influx of people comes a challenge for existing coaches. This expanded market will require different messages, different marketing approaches to make their decisions to purchase. Also, they may not consider a 121 relationship as necessary for them to realise their goals.

Couple this with an ever increasing number of coaches graduating from the various schools means there will be more and more coaches offering coaching services. I am not suggesting for one minute that coaching is saturated. On the contrary, there is room for all - with marketing.

With more and more coaches and with a larger and larger market, differentiation becomes essential. Also, coaches working together either in complementary teams or as I am currently exploring having teams of coaches offering services in the same discipline but with different perspectives or ways of delivery.

I also think another thing happening is with learning. Life long learning has been around for a long time now. People are more used to the concept of continually learning in order to stay in their jobs, to get a promotion etc. This means people are taking more responsibility for their development their learning.

Also, technology enables us to, well communicate in this way, to learn from people who we wouldn't have come across at another time.

So the challenge and opportunity for coaches is only limited by their imagination and drive. Never before has there been such a large collection of people who are all committed to making a difference with all the other bits in place for that to happen.

There are lots of ways to deliver making a difference. But whatever, you do, you have to use marketing - whether it is understanding your desire, your talent, to learning the language and pain of your prospects, to designing and delivering programmes, to creating the website that is a fabulous show window for your business, to being attractive to your market for them to offer their details so they can learn more about you and your services. You have to do all of this to get clients, to feel good when you reflect on your day - how you have made a difference today.

My challenge, it seems, is to open coaches minds to see the opportunities I see. My role in all this is to enable the enablers. It has taken me some time to realise that is what I am supposed to do. I am to use my skills, my know how to enable others to make the difference they have been put on this earth to do!

Let me know how you are making the most of these changes.

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