In the following article life coach and marketing consultant Lisa Gruenloh makes the case that a creative group coaching model may serve as a key catalyst in making life coaching more accessible and helping coaches build a profitable practice.
Creative Coaching Options Add More Diversity and Revenue to Your Coaching Practice
by Lisa Gruenloh
Professional coaching benefits nearly everyone, yet coaching is primarily utilized by mid to higher income professionals and often in a business setting. With a creative approach, coaches can build our businesses and bring quality, affordable life coaching to more people by overcoming potential obstacles such as affordability, awareness and accessibility.
Create affordable coaching offerings. Group coaching allows the individual to pay much less for coaching and the coach to maintain his or her one-on-one earning level. From a marketing perspective this approach allows coaches to reach more people who have the potential to become private coaching clients and/or great referral sources.
Meet people where they are. I love taking clients through life vision processes using a big picture, holistic, ongoing approach. But not everyone wants, needs or is ready for that; it can seem intimidating. Thinking big and starting small is a valuable marketing strategy – opening the door of coaching to those who might otherwise walk right past it. Yes, it’s exciting to "create the life you want," but it might also create a sense of anxiety, setting up grand expectations for already overwhelmed people. So develop workshops or conversation circles around a specific life topic, and start with one session instead of insisting on a longer commitment. This allows potential new clients to try on the experience – and come back for more.
Introduce creativity and playfulness. It is possible to offer creative coaching experiences and still maintain the highest level of quality and professionalism. Take the coaching out of the office and into someone’s home. Bring in some playful rituals or exercises that lighten the mood, while honoring the serious intent of the experience. As long as all of our coaching standards and ethics are fully embraced, there's no need to fear these new approaches.
So, think about how you might employ more "Equal Opportunity Coaching." How can you build your business while serving a diverse group of clients? What creative new services might appeal to your existing clients, as well as to people who may never have considered or heard of coaching? How can you empower people of all backgrounds to experience their own meaningful, life-changing shifts? And how cool would that be?
Lisa Gruenloh, MA, ACC, is Founder and President of Empower Parties™, a creative and affordable life coaching platform available to coaches across the U.S. The mission of Empower Parties™ is to make life coaching more accessible. IAC members receive a fee discount and bonus marketing materials, and certified coaches receive additional benefits. For more information, please log into the Member Benefits page on the website.
