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I started getting more clients again, making more money, keeping them longer, and feeling "stronger" while coaching my clients.

If you can relate to this at all, then you will be happy to learn a few of my "coaching confidence" secrets.

Here is one very huge reminder that can increase your confidence as a coach:

Enroll clients into 6 months or 1 year of coaching right up front! Why?

Because people very rarely get huge results from 1 to 3 months of coaching. The power of coaching is cumulative, meaning that the longer the client is coached, the better the results they will see.

This locks up more reliable income for you (and helps take the financial pressure off), AND it helps clients reap the best rewards that coaching has to offer.

Get them to stick around long enough to see how much coaching helps. Sure there are some areas (like coaching singles to find a mate) that might make sense to enroll for less time (say 4 months at a time), but for the most part sign people up for longer periods of time.

Most people will say yes if you offer them a chance to opt out after they try it for the first month I actually recommend giving a money back guarantee for the first month. Why? It makes people feel safer with the idea of trying out working with you.

Bottom Line: Nothing increases your confidence more than watching your clients succeed!

Keep them around long enough to get "before and after" success stories!

(This will improve your marketing materials too.)

Let's get people coached!

Are you having success coaching? How about some free help? Now you can get the "Coaching Business Rocket-Launcher" absolutely free! Just go to http://www.coachingbusinessrocketlauncher.com/

Avoid the pitfalls and challenges that plague most coaches! I dispel the practices most coaches are taught that actually lead to the slow (or zero) growth!

Now you can benefit from my 7 years of experience coaching business owners and get a giant "short cut" on your own coaching business success. Astonishingly, the majority of the coaches that I've coached 1-on-1 have gone on to generate 6 figure incomes in as little as 3 months and the longest took only 18 months!

This FREE report reveals the 7 Secrets, Lies, & Myths of the coaching industry. PLUS, you'll also get:

* Secrets & Lies of the Coaching Industry" audio program

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http://www.coachingbusinessrocketlauncher.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christian_Mickelsen
http://EzineArticles.com/?Success-Coaching&id=674789

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Who Needs a Life Coach?
By Trish Powell

A few years ago, the term “life coach” was still pretty new to most people, and it was hard for some people to get their head around the idea. In more recent times life coaching has become mainstream, with a lot more people understanding how it works.

Life coaching shouldn't be confused with counselling because the two are very different. Counselling is more about coming to terms with, and coping with events that have impacted on our lives, often with dramatic results that leave us unable to cope. Life coaching is all about moving forward, it can help to resolve issues or overcome problems that may be holding us back.

In today's society there isn't always a network of family and friends available to advise and discuss issues with. People are happy to live alone and enjoy their own space, but this can create a vacuum where there is no one around with whom we can discuss ideas or share a problem.

By working together a life coach and their client can identify obstacles and work out a strategy that will give the client a satisfactory result. Of course since no two clients are the same, it is hard to measure results. However, it is the aim of the coach to ascertain the client's needs and to work with them through any problems to a fulfillment of their goal.

So who is the most likely sort of person to use a life coach? And what are the reasons for doing so? The answer to the first part is, just about anyone, from all walks of life and all age groups. The reasons are many and varied, some people have set goals or targets, they need to achieve, while others just want to work through an issue or problem that is holing them back. They may have just stalled in their life and not know why they haven't moved on.

Basically the term life coach pertains to any issue that affects our life: Business, Sport, Arts, Education, Relationships, Family, Health, Lifestyle, the list is endless, a coach can help in all areas of life. A career or job takes up a large part of our life and many people use life coaching to help them with issues in this area.

Coaching is invaluable because it enables a client to vocalize their situation and helps them to create a clearer picture of what they want to achieve, what goals to set and then attain. A coach also helps a client to look at their situation from a different perspective so enabling the client to come up with more solutions or choice of outcome.

People now more than ever want to make lifestyle changes and if it's a major change, they don't always feel capable of tackling it on their own. By working with a coach, they can put together a plan and work through it. The key factor being that they are moving forward and not stagnating.

Today we are faced with multiple choices in everything, this is not a bad thing, but some people when faced with so many options get confused and end up going round in circles, achieving nothing. Working with a life coach can bring structure and organized thinking into the situation, thus helping the client to get to grips with their issues. A big part of the coaching process is getting the client to vocalize their thoughts, just by speaking about their issues can give them a definite shape and form, making them easier to deal with. Some clients find this very enlightening and are rather amazed at the results.

A life coach is entirely focused on their client's situation. This means that the client has the undivided attention of the coach for the whole session. In an age when it is hard to get someone's attention for more than a few minutes this can be very important, listening to the client is one of the many skills that a coach focuses on. Unlike friends and family a coach is unbiased and sessions are entirely confidential.

Today we live life at a fast pace and we are more competitive than ever, because of this, the demand for life coaches will increase as more people realize that getting coached will help them to get a head. Life coaching is here to stay and those who embrace it will move forward confidently along their chosen path secure in the knowledge that they aren't alone.

For a great deal more information on how to improve your life and wellbeing visit http://www.wellbeing-information.com

Trish is an author and Life Coach specializing in health, wellbeing and relationships. Visit her web site at http://wellbeing-information.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trish_Powell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Who-Needs-a-Life-Coach?&id=649696

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Coaching Business Success - How To Solve The 3 Biggest Business Problems Most Coaches Have
By Lawrence Mortenson

If you've been in life coaching or business coaching for a while, you've probably come to recognize that success in this business depends on getting clients, keeping them, and charging what you’re worth.

Here are a few simple strategies you can implement to begin improving your business:

Getting Coaching Clients

Coaches spend a lot of time and energy thinking about getting clients, but most don’t understand the simple strategies that make the process easy. Getting clients requires that you get in front of as many prospective clients as possible, appear credible, and make them believe that you can help them solve their problems.

While talking to your friends and colleagues is a good start to building your coaching practice and trying to enroll people in your line at the grocery store certainly doesn’t hurt, to build your business the right way you need to begin speaking in front of groups, writing about relevant topics, and getting involved in volunteer organizations that build your image and credibility.

Whether you’re speaking, writing, or volunteering, your job is to build relationships and collect names. And then… to stay in touch with the people you meet. Before long, you’ll have developed a network of people who perceive you as the go-to person for solving their problems, and who will more than willingly refer clients to you.

Keeping the Clients You Worked So Hard to Get

In the life coaching business in particular (although this applies to business coaches as well), one of the biggest obstacles to financial success isn’t necessarily getting new clients – it’s keeping them!

Over a period of a year or two, it’s not hard to double or triple your coaching income simply by keeping your clients longer.

From the very beginning, offer your clients coaching packages that require a commitment to a certain period of time. The industry norm is to charge clients by the month with a nonbinding ‘understanding’ that they try working with their coach for three months. That isn’t in your best interest, and it actually isn’t in theirs either. Change requires consistent effort over time and your services should be structured to create real improvement in the lives of your clients - not pandering to the natural human tendency to give up too quickly.

Consider offering 3-month, 6-month, or even 12-month packages. And offer clients discounts for paying for the entire package up front.

Also, spend time and energy building your relationship with clients when they’re working with you. Send them articles you think they’d find interesting, recommend resources that suit their needs, mail birthday and holiday cards, books, etc.

Perhaps most importantly, don’t follow the path of least resistance when a client quits. Stay in touch with them and continue to build the relationship through mailings, cards, periodic calls, and friendly gestures. Eventually they WILL come back. And over time many will refer an additional 4-5 clients to you.

Charging What Your Worth

Make sure you don’t fall into giving away your services (unless you’re just beginning and doing it to get the experience) or charge less than what you’re worth. When you’re hungry for clients and need to increase your income, you need to resist the understandable urge to undersell yourself and lower your price.

Instead, focus on improving the value of what you’re offering clients and make working with you so irresistible that people are willing to pay what you’re asking.

Package your services in ways that offer clients additional value. For example, consider meeting with clients face-to-face for intensive working sessions. Offer them assistance with things that fall into your areas of experience and expertise and that don’t necessarily appear under the job description for ‘coaching’. Offer them discounts for purchasing longer-term engagements with you, or even consider offering them a money-back guarantee.

Chances are if you have a ‘pricing’ problem it isn’t because your services aren’t worth what you’re asking… it’s because you aren’t making your offer appealing enough.

Building a six figure coaching practice isn’t hard, and how to do it isn’t a mystery. Commit yourself to consistently following a few basic strategies to build client relationships and establish your value and you’ll achieve the success you’ve been wanting. Possibly even in record time!

For no-nonsense resources on how to become a coach and start your life coaching or business coaching practice on the right foot, check out the Coaching Success Institute at http://www.coachingsuccessinstitute.com

Learn simple strategies for getting you coaching business started on the right foot, getting clients and keeping them for life, and doubling your income and your time off.

Do yourself a favor and take the short-cut to success in the coaching business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lawrence_Mortenson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Coaching-Business-Success---How-To-Solve-The-3-Biggest-Business-Problems-Most-Coaches-Have&id=762742

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How to Know if you need a Life Coach
By Linda Lee Leipply

Consider the following questions:

• Are you living the life of your dreams?
• Do you know how to balance work and play?
• Do you have all the energy you need to take you through your days?
• Do you have best friends who support you but don't empower you?
• Do you ever suffer from feelings of not being enough?
  (Good enough,thin enough,smart enough. ENOUGH ALREADY)!!!
• Are you always looking to the future for times to get better?

If you answered "No" to any of the first three questions above, or "Yes" to the last three, perhaps it's time for you to consider hiring a Life Coach; here's why.

Almost everyone needs a life coach from time to time. All you need is a resounding realization that you are not living the life of your dreams.

A Life Coach is someone who can help you create a life that is more in alignment with your values, more closely adhering to what your soul is longing for. The emphasis here is on the word 'help'. A really good life coach will empower you to make those changes, but won't try to fix you or your life. Most of the top coaches that I know see their clients as capable, competent and whole. They may -- from time to time -- offer advice, but more often they trust you to have the answers inside of you. Their role is to guide you to finding those answers.

In a way, a Life Coach is much better than a 'best friend'. A coach is not a friend. A coach is someone that stands in your corner for you and the life you envision for yourself.

Coaching is for YOU! - your agenda, your purpose, your goals, and your vision without any attachments or ties. It eliminates the attachments and ties that often interfere in friend and family relations (no matter how good the relationship or the intentions).

Your Life Coach is someone you can talk to about the challenges you are facing. He or she will be objective, supportive and helpful. An excellent Life Coach has loads of resources -- books, videos, groups -- that you can tap into for inspiration. How you use those resources is entirely up to you, but your coach can make recommendations that your friends may not know about. Tapping into their experience with other clients, the feedback they've received from those clients and from other coaches, superior Life Coaches have developed a vast repertoire of ideas to get you started on your journey.

A Life Coach is much more than a 'best friend'. Your coach will encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone, seek new horizons, make the big bold moves, do something outrageous. You'll have a dedicated cheerleader in your corner to keep reminding you of your dream and your plan to realize it.

In addition, as you develop a good relationship with your Coach, the two of you can sort through the conflicting wants and needs you may have (for example, you may want to be a 'stay-at-home' mom, but need to have an income to support your family's lifestyle). With an objective view to how to structure your life, your coach can lead you to making the decisions necessary for change.

Finally, your Life Coach will hold you accountable to make those changes. You'll meet -- usually on the phone -- twice a month (or more often if that seems appropriate) and end each call with a clear idea of what your area of focus will be for the next period. Then, when you meet again, you'll discuss your progress and develop new strategies to move you in the direction of choice. With a constant 'correct and continue' approach, you'll find yourself gaining momentum and becoming more of who you want to be and creating more of the life you want to live.

Like any good fitness program, or nutritional changes you make in your life, your time with your Life Coach will work better for you if it is consistent and lasts for a minimum of 3 months. Most excellent coaches recommend a year or more. Don't look for a quick fix -- like any diet that promises you lasting results with only a few weeks' effort; rather, commit to work with your coach for as long as it takes to create the life of your dreams.

AUTHOR BIO:
Linda Lee Leipply (Neena) has been counseling and life coaching others for over 15 years. In her practice, she has found that many women are unable to connect with the person inside them who actually knows how to have fun in everyday life. This led to over three years of research into why and how this happens, and inspired her to begin her transformational work in this field.

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