Building a coaching practice is a lot like buying real estate with no money down.  If it’s wrong, you’ll be disappointed and it will look like it’s impossible.  Most people either fail to get the loan, or they succeed and go bankrupt.  So what can you do about building your life coaching business?  Is building a coaching practice through public speaking a viable option?  Just like most people in our society date before they get married, you need to let people get to know you before you get life coaching business.

If You’re Interesting in Building a Coaching Practice Through Public Speaking Do NOT Coach From the Front of the Room

The biggest mistake coaches make when building a coaching practice through public speaking is offering coaching from the front of the room.  It will minimize the life coaching business you will get because it’s the most expensive option you have.  Even the big gurus don’t do it.  How do they do it then?

Unless You Are Speaking in Front of Paying Clients Who Have Purchased Your Products, You’ll Have to Do More to Increase Your Life Coaching Business

If your ultimate outcome is to get life coaching business, you’re going to need to add a few steps before you make that offer.  For example, a certain guru holds seminars with thousands of people attending.  That’s not a big deal for most people to give up a weekend of their time, and the cost is fixed.  Perhaps after they attend the seminar people buy some of his products, audios or videos.  They may even enroll in another seminar.  That’s a lot of time and effort that this guru invests in people even before people consider coaching.  If building a coaching practice this way was hard for him, it’s going to be impossible for you.  Unless you’re speaking in a group of paying clients, who have already been buying your products

Building a Coaching Practice Becomes Easier and More Enjoyable When You Follow These Steps

Before you start thinking that building a coaching practice from the front of the room is a waste of time, there are some things you can do to get life coaching business even before you become a master.  For example, you can offer a free coaching session and pass out lead cards to gather contact information.  Another way to get life coaching business is to offer a drawing for a free book, product, or month of coaching.  Tell your audience that if they want to be in the running, pop their business card in your basket.  And as an aside, let them know that if they want a complementary coaching session with you, they can just write ‘yes’ on the back of their card.

That’s the simplest way to get people to be interested in coaching and in build a life coaching business.  Once you get them alone you can add a ton of value to them through your coaching, and yet you still have the validation because you were a speaker.  Building a coaching practice this way may seem like more work, but you will have more success and be able to enjoy the process as well.

Colette Seymann

JTS Advisors Designated Accountability Coach