From this work you will be able to come up with a clear vision along the lines of "I want to coach 25 individuals* at an average fee of $350 per month, so I gross $8750 a month." (* It will pay to clearly specify your ideal client such as - open-minded, motivated, professionals/brain-surgeons/belly-dancers/etc. who earn more than $60K per year.)

CONTACT STRATEGIES
Depending on who you are (i.e. introvert or extravert), what your experience is, who you want to work with, where you live, etc., you're going to find several marketing strategies more powerful than others. But in general terms, in descending order, here are some of the strategies that work the best for the hundreds of coaches I have known. Note - The strategies that involve you actually connecting with people, so that they can get to know you, appreciate you, and trust you, are generally the most effective.

• Directly contacting prospects, 1 to 1, in person, by phone, by email.
• Referrals, from your contacts and clients and other coaches.
• Going to networking events - clubs, associations, etc.
• Creating a referral network with complementary professionals, physical trainers, accountants, lawyers, massage therapists, etc.
• Mini workshops - 1 to 2 hour mini group sessions with targeted groups.
• Teleclasses.
• Web site marketing.
• Public speaking.
• Article writing / on-line communities / publicity.
• Trade shows.
• General advertising in targeted periodicals.

THE GOAL
Your goal in all your contact strategies is simply to give your prospects a great experience of you and coaching. When they have that, they will see and value the benefits. Do not waste your time describing coaching. It is the experience of coaching that gets clients. It is through this process that a prospect sees and thus values the benefits of coaching.

QUALIFIED PROSPECTS
Notwithstanding any particular niche you may be targeting, you are generally looking for open-minded adults between the ages of 30 and 60, with a minimum income level in the $60K range.

NICHES
There is no end to coaching niches. Coaching is such a young profession that new applications are being invented all the time. What is important is that you choose to focus on groups that you are attracted to, that can afford you, that you have credibility with and who are open to experience the benefits of coaching. It is also important that your target niche appreciate your unique marketable attributes, those things that better qualify you for this type of coaching, and set you apart from other coaches.

I think it is a good idea to explore niches, but don't throw all your energy into one until you know there is enough depth in the niche to support you. Your niche or niches will emerge from both the branding work you do, and just by noticing who shows up in your practice. Pay attention to the type of coaching and clients that make you feel more fully alive.

PRICING
You are always free to price to market. However, generally new coaches target the $200-300 per month range. Certified coaches range between $300 and $500 per month. And experienced certified coaches, or those that work with executives or entrepreneurs start at $500 and go up from there.

If you're going to price to market, remember this rule of thumb. If more than 20% of your prospects balk at your rates, you are priced too high. If less than 20% object, you are priced too low.

At the start of your practice, don't get hung up on price. If a client wants to work with you, but can't afford it, find a way to make it work. "I want to coach you, how can we make this work? Can you afford half that?"

ROADBLOCKS TO A FULL PRACTICE
The main reasons coaches fail to fill their practice are; fear, lack of coaching competence, lack of business knowledge, lack of follow-through, and lack of support.

1. FEAR
   Fear is a very natural human reaction to doing something new, something we may fail at before we become good, something in which me might face rejection. For new coaches this presents itself in a variety of common forms including:

   "I'm not ready yet." In this common and understandable phenomena a new coach lingers too long in the belief that they don't know enough to coach. With good training and mentoring there is no reason why a new coach cannot begin to work, and add value to clients within 2 months.

   "I don't have my cards, brochures, website yet." This is another fear based variation on the number one reason. You don't need much to begin to get clients. Over time, as you gain clarity on who you most want to work with, and how to best reach them, your supporting information will evolve.

   "Once I get my office together I will get right on those cold calls." Who likes making cold calls? This is a fear of rejection situation. You can work through this with the right support, but at the start of your practice you shouldn't be making too many cold calls anyway. Go after the warm calls, or people you know (or know of you), and don't wait for your office or anything else to be ready.

2. LACK OF COMPETENCE AS A COACH
   Yes coaching may be a very intuitive process. But you still need to be trained. I believe there is a direct correlation between the quality of training you experience and your ability to add value to your clients. And the more value you can add to your clients, the more clients you will have. Thus, if you haven't already, make sure you check out the ICF ACCREDITED COACHING SCHOOLS They have passed the most rigorous accreditation process in the profession.

3. LACK OF BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE
   You may have come to coaching for reasons of the heart, but it is a business. And to really succeed in business you need to be good. Budget the time to learn all you need to know about marketing. Budget the time to apply what you know, and keep marketing.

4. LACK OF FOLLOW-THROUGH
   Even if you have successfully identified your niche and chosen your most effective marketing strategies, you still need to execute consistently and sufficiently. Too many coaches just dabble with marketing and wonder why they do not have the practice they want. If you are getting favorable feedback from your prospective clients, keep marketing. Make it the priority of your week until you get your practice full. You have a gift to share with the world. Don't hide it.

5. LACK OF SUPPORT
   None of us are meant to make it on our own. We are meant to learn from each other. We are meant to grow from those interactions. If this weren't the case, there would be no need for coaches. I believe that higher levels of success are directly related to the quality of the support team we create around us. Whether you hire a good mentor coach, create a support group of like-minded coaches, or talk to your dog, don't try to do it all by yourself. You won't see your blind spots, it will take you much longer, and it won't be as much fun.

BRANDING & POSITIONING
These are the marketing buzz words of the year, and they are very important. In its most basic terms this is all about how you stand out from all other coaches in your prospect's mind, and how memorably you communicate the value of your service in terms of the specific benefits your prospect recognizes. Don't try to be all things to all people, you will get lost in the crowd. Get to know your target clients well. What are their unique needs? What are your competitors offering? What unique qualities and benefits will set you apart from your competitors? How can you consistently communicate this message to your clients.

AT THE VERY BEGINNING
When you are just starting your practice, concentrate on giving coaching away to people you already know. Don't try to coach your family or close friends, but anybody else you either enjoy, or can afford you, is fair game. It can be done as simply as the following mock conversation. NOTE - this is just an example of a sample dialogue for demonstration purposes. Any real dialogue must always come from an authentic place with full integrity.

Prospect: Hi (Chris) how are you doing?

Coach: Absolutely fantastic.

P: Wow, what's up?

C: I have finally found what I am meant to do.

P: What's that?

C: I discovered Professional Coaching. I have taken my training and now I am really enjoying coaching people to accomplish some amazing things.

P: How does it work?

C: It would take me 10 minutes to describe it, and you still wouldn't understand. I would rather give you a free sample session. When will you have 20 minutes?

THE ELEVATOR SPEECH
You will find it useful to prepare a short, memorable description of who you are and how it benefits your clients. Since very few people have ever had a coach, be sure to emphasize the benefits of working with you. As an example, here is one from my Business Coaching site, Steve Mitten CPCC, MCC works one-to-one with business owners helping them make the personal and professional changes they need to grow their business, prosper and enjoy their success. Look around the web at some coach sites and get a feel for a style and approach that works for you, and will work for your target audience.

DAILY SUCCESS FORMULA
On average, as a new coach, you need to give away 2 to 3 experiences of good coaching to qualified prospects to get a new client. So if you want to get a client a week, you need to give away 3 sample sessions a week. If you want to average 2 new clients a week, you need to give away 6 sample sessions. That means you have to set up a system for identifying, contacting, and coaching (or presenting to) the prescribed number of prospects each day. If you complete the required number of calls or sessions each day, the weeks will take care of themselves. As a coach, you know the value of structure. So create a daily/weekly worksheet or structure to keep you on track. If that doesn't work get some other support.

You are only 60-80 good conversations away from a full practice. If you give yourself a few months, and choose the strategy most natural for you, this is not only doable, it can be enjoyable.

THE BEING SIDE
I have saved the most important piece for last. If you get this right you will find the process of building your practice far easier. If you don't, all your best laid plans will come to naught. For who you are will always speak louder than anything you say.

Be authentic. Be who you are with 100% integrity. Have your attention on the prospect and what they want, need, are doing. Do not become emotionally attached to getting this client or that. Just go out into the world seeking to add value at all times, with everyone you meet. If you plan enough seeds of value, you will reap an abundant harvest. More on this below.

HIGHER LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT
I don't believe there's any reason why a competent and dedicated coach cannot achieve a 6-figure practice working less than 25 hours a week, enjoy their coaching, and live a balanced, fulfilling life. Others do it. You can do it.

I believe higher levels of success as a coach boil down to working towards mastery in 3 areas:

• Mastery of the art and science of the coaching skills themselves.
• Mastery of the marketing and the business side of coaching.
• And self or being-mastery, that continuing journey towards more presence, more awareness, more compassion, more intuition and the ability to add more value.

(I emphasize the words working towards mastery because it is a moving horizon. The more you learn, the more you see there is to learn.)

If you want to achieve higher levels of success as a coach, steadily strive to advance in these three areas.

As to improving your coaching skills, you can take advanced coaching courses, take some programs from other schools of coaching, experience coaching with coaches from different schools, arrange some supervision calls with a senior coach, etc. The ICF offers some great free programs through their virtual community.

Regarding mastery of the business side, there are some good books on marketing like C.J. Hayden's, Get Clients Now or Seth Godin's, Permission Marketing. There are also dozens of free marketing newsletters out there, sign up for some. And if you look around the web you will find a number of senior, certified coaches that market themselves very well. Talk to them, and hire one that will get you moving.