How to Survive a Coaching Business Weakness

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I have a “confession” to make


I didn’t want to write this message to you.

I view myself as a speaker
 not a writer.

So when MY Coach, Jeffrey Sooey, Dean of Master Coach University



asked me to write this email to you


I said
 “I prefer speaking
 that’s why I’ve made so many videos for our students.”

“So, why don’t I just make another video instead?”

“That’s my preference



not writing an email.”

Jeff responded, “I don’t think you have a preference for videos (or speaking).”

Confused, I said, “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been a speaker for 15 years at companies like Ford, Century 21, and many more.”

Kris Thompson

“I’ve made hundreds of presentations and videos.”

“SPEAKING is DEFINITELY my preference.”

Jeff said, “Yes, you’re good at speaking



but you’re also WEAKER in writing.”

“If you were a strong writer, you wouldn’t have such an intense preference for speaking.”

“You actually have a WEAKNESS disguised as a PREFERENCE.”

I said “So the whole time I thought I was running TOWARDS speaking



I’ve really been running AWAY FROM writing?”

Jeff said, “Maybe not the whole time, but I think that’s what you’re doing NOW.”

“Avoiding your weakness



motivates your desire.”

I realized Jeff was right.

I didn’t want to face my weakness in writing.

Part of the payoff my preference for speaking gave me?

It excused me from dealing with my weakness.

Posing as ‘the great speaker’ hid my weak writing muscle.

I covered up my lazy writing by speaking more enthusiastically.

Why was I disguising my weakness



under the LIE of calling my speaking a “preference”?

I used my preference (speaking) to hide my weakness (writing)…


because it got me off the hook with writing.

That way I wouldn’t have to go through the discomfort



of struggling with my writing as I learned to do it better.

BUT
 The problem?

Getting off the hook ALSO allowed my writing to atrophy.

(neglecting my writing)

And THAT became the HOLE in my coaching business.

I was a strong speaker with a big hole in my competence.

I realized that there are a lot of clients I couldn’t reach without stronger writing.

That was a tough pill to swallow.

It turns out that most coaches have a preference that hides a weakness.

For instance


After surveying THOUSANDS of coaches, we discovered



most of them prefer to build their coaching business by building a website.

prefered client list

But many of those coaches prefer to grow through a website



not because they’re strong in building websites



but because they’re weak in attracting clients from scratch.

weakest client chart

Hundreds of coaches I’ve worked with have used their preferences



as an excuse to avoid facing the weaknesses in their coaching business.

EVERY coaching business has a weakness



including yours.

But having a weakness doesn’t mean your coaching business is “doomed.”

Even the most successful coaching business has a weakness.

Even the most successful coaching business has a weakness.“

Admit you have a weakness



and figure out what that weakness is.

If you don’t notice the weakness



then you can’t do anything about it.

Or even worse
 that weakness can “sink” your coaching business.

Coaching business weaknesses are like a boat taking on water.

If you don’t notice your boat filling up with water



it just sinks (and becomes useless to you).

BUT, if you notice your boat taking on water



then you can decide what to do about it.

high leverage ways to get paying coaching clients (with PIES)

(NOTE: Want to replace your full time income so you can transition to coaching for a living? Then you need to watch this video. In the video, I’ll explain the high leverage “PIES” strategy to best get paying clients. Click HERE now to watch the video.)

Deal with the weakness in SOME way.

How you decide to respond to your coaching business weakness



will determine how far your coaching business will take you.

How you decide to respond to your coaching business weakness
will determine how far your coaching business will take you.“

What can you do to deal with your coaching business weakness?

Here are a few ways to address your coaching business weakness



so it doesn’t sink like the Titanic.

First, maximize your strengths.

You don’t have to do anything about your weakness.

Facing your weakness doesn’t always mean ‘fixing it’.

You might just acknowledge the weakness while you double down on your strengths.

Put off doing anything about it for now



but continue to monitor that weakness



to make sure it doesn’t limit your business.

Can you arrive at your coaching business goal first and fix your weakness later?

If so, then pay the most attention to your strengths.

Making your strengths ‘strong enough’ could overcome your weak point.

Coaches seem to embrace this strategy the most



because it feels authentic to focus on something you’re already good at.

But here’s the problem


This reliance on your strength can become OVER-reliance.

Why?

Some coaches gain false confidence from their strength.

They feel enamored with that strength



to the point of getting ‘drunk’ on the ego boost it provides.

I remember a coach who was on our team, showing up to a meeting



bragging about what a great coach he had become.

“I’m a better coach than Tony Robbins!”

He was so excited and ‘full of himself’…


that I felt the need to bring him down to earth with this warning:

“That’s great, but be careful getting too caught up in your abilities.”

“Coaching gets you HIGH
”

“
and you’ll likely make dumb decisions when you’re HIGH.”

Unfortunately, that coach failed to heed the coaching.

He left the team shortly afterward



and his coaching business crumbled under the weight of his ego.

Bottom line
 some coaches talk up their strength



thinking that they’ve ‘got it all handled’.


and they never MAXIMIZE that strength.

Talking about your strength isn’t enough.

You’ve got to work on your strength



beyond what’s comfortable for you.

Many coaches never maximize their strengths.

They only develop their strengths to be “strong enough to get by”.

But if you work hard enough


If you work long enough


You could be one of the best in the world at your strength.

That alone could create your ideal coaching business.

But maxing out your strengths isn’t always enough.

The crew of the Titanic actually tried this strategy.

They continued to sail at maximum speed for a time AFTER hitting the iceberg.

Titanic

Relying on their ‘strength’ of speed



was, in fact, counterproductive.

It only made the problem worse.

How?

The speed caused them to take on more water than if they would have stopped dead in the water.

Their strength wasn’t strong ENOUGH to overcome their weakness.

They overestimated their strength



and sank before help could arrive.

If you’re considering ignoring a coaching business weakness



in order to maximize your strength



make sure that you’re able to make your strength strong ENOUGH.

If you’re considering ignoring a coaching business weakness
in order to maximize your strength
make sure that you’re able to make your strength strong ENOUGH.”

That way, your ‘boat’ (your coaching business) doesn’t SINK



BEFORE you reach the ‘shore’ (your goal).

If “doubling down” on your strengths doesn’t overcome your coaching business weakness


Become “good enough” at your weakness



to the point that it’s no longer a weakness.

This does NOT mean “turn it into a strength”.

Turning your weakness into a strength may not even be possible.

Getting “good enough” means that your weakness no longer harms your coaching business.

It also allows you to distinguish what’s involved in addressing your weak area.

This removes the “mystery” behind your weakness.

You will no longer overestimate your weakness’ difficulty



resulting in getting intimidated and avoiding it.

facing your weakness

Becoming “good enough” at a weakness is like putting a temporary ‘patch’ on the hole in your boat.

Temporarily patching the hole doesn’t mean it won’t take on water again later.

However, it DOES allow your boat to STOP taking on water RIGHT NOW.

That creates time for you to find a permanent solution.

Now that your “boat” is no longer taking on water (at least for now)…

How do you solve this weakness long term?

Now that you’re ‘good enough’ at this weakness, you have the power to



find someone else stronger than you to take over.

This means you hire someone to handle your ‘weakness’ FOR YOU


That way you can focus on growing your coaching business



by doing what you do BEST.

And, because you’re ‘good enough’ at this job, whoever you hire can’t fool you if they aren’t the ‘real deal’



because you’ll understand what needs to be done and how to do it.

Mitigate your weakness by delegating it to someone else.

Do what you do best and pay others to do the rest.

Sounds like a ‘cure all’, doesn’t it?

Not so fast.

Delegation and outsourcing isn’t as easy as it sounds.

You’ll still have to attend to this weakness from time to time.

Just like you have to inspect your “boat” on a regular basis



even AFTER you repair it


You must do the same thing with your coaching business weakness.

If you’ve delegated the weakness to someone else, you’ll still find it necessary to invest…

  • TIME to find the right people
  • MONEY to pay them
  • Time to MANAGE their progress


and finally, time to REPLACE them after they leave.

No one will work for your business forever.

It may take a decade, but, eventually, they’ll move on to other things.

When they leave, you’ll be thankful that you’re still ‘good enough’ at your coaching business weakness.

Why?

Because you’ll have the ability to take over



so your business doesn’t stop while you’re looking for a replacement.

This is HUGE.

It keeps YOU in control of your business



rather than your entire business success becoming dependent on someone else who doesn’t care about your business the way that you do.

It’s ok to have weaknesses.

‘Weakness’ doesn’t mean anything’s wrong with you or your coaching business.

The real reason why most coaches don’t deal with their weaknesses is FEAR.

The real reason why most coaches don’t deal with their weaknesses is FEAR.“

They HIDE their weakness with their strengths.

They HIDE their weakness with their preferences.

And that’s really because they are AFRAID to FACE THEIR WEAKNESS.

Don’t let fear stop you.

Let go of the fear.

Face your weakness.

So, What’s YOUR coaching business weakness?

What is your coaching business’s “hole in the boat?”

Is it not having enough paying clients?

If so, check out this video.

Is it not having strong enough coaching skills?

If so, check this training here


Are you not sure what it is?

If so, take this next step here


You can still be successful



weaknesses and all.

The MOST successful coaches don’t get discouraged that they aren’t perfect.

They just become a little better


every day.

Kristoffer “Save The Titanic” Thompson

Kris Thompson

Designated Coach, Master Coach University
Head Coach, Synergy Private Client Program
kristofferthompson@coachestrainingblog.com
619-212-0202

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