Getting clients to buy into your coaching philosophy is a matter of getting them to pay attention to your coaching conversation, tips, techniques, and Powerpoint presentations. You would think it would be easy to do since they are PAYING you for your time. Though some clients are like eager students on the first day of school, others are more like that kid in the back row who never raises his hand and always tries to avoid any eye contact or have any conversation with the teacher. These are your problem clients.

Problem clients are enigmas. Should you even care if they don’t pay attention? After all, you have their check. If they want to throw good money away and give it to you, what is the issue? If they don’t want to listen to your tips or try to understand your techniques, or watch your Powerpoint presentations, what is the problem?

Well, there are two problems. First of all, you became a coach because you have a strong desire to help. If your clients are not paying attention to your coaching conversation, tips, techniques, Powerpoint presentations, and other tools of the trade, you are NOT helping them.

The second reason you should care that clients pay attention and understand your coaching conversation, tips, techniques, Powerpoint presentations, and other coaching methods, is that they will not get anything from your coaching and your reputation may suffer. Clients who do not benefit from your services will not tell others about your coaching expertise. They may even be negative about their experiences with your coaching. As a coach, one of your best forms of advertising is word of mouth; silence or negativity about your coaching is definitively not good for business and your bottom line.

Get Coaching Conversation, Tips, Techniques, Powerpoint Presentations to Matter!

The best method to get clients to pay attention to your coaching conversation, tips, techniques, Powerpoint presentations, and other tools of the coaching profession is to ask questions. Always ask questions. Never stop asking questions. Once you are finished asking questions, think of some more questions. Spend much more time asking your clients questions than talking to them. All your coaching conversation, tips, techniques, Powerpoint presentations, and other methods should be inquiry-based. Begin with questions instead of a lecture. End with questions instead of a summary or a demand. Questions, questions, and more questions!

What goes best with questions? If you answered, “Listening”, you win the prize. To keep your clients happy, you must listen to their answers. Coaches who ask and listen, usually have satisfied clients. Ask, ask, ask, listen, listen, listen; the successful coach’s mantra. By asking and listening, your clients will be much more likely to pay attention to your coaching conversations, tips, techniques, Powerpoint presentations, and other methods.

Though coaching is a dynamic, satisfying, and profitable business, it takes some work to build a successful practice. It starts with marketing and promotion, but the cornerstone of your business takes places when you are with a client. Getting them to pay full attention to your coaching conversation, tips, techniques, Powerpoint presentations, and all the other tools of the trade you employ, is the key to having happy clients, retaining happy clients, and obtaining more happy clients.

Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article… Thank you!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
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