Aug 10
26
Learning through work
Learning through work is something you may know more commonly as ‘on the job training’; quite simply a way of learning by undertaking the activities you want to learn. This of course is as opposed to learning the process through a more academic study in a classroom or training venue. Both ways of learning are of course acceptable to the different types of learning; after all we all have our own learning styles. What’s more there are more than these two types of learning, however recent training I am undertaking has driven me to discuss these two styles.
Posted in Learning by .
What is the future for the coaching industry?
The coaching market is changing and it’s changing rapidly. There are a number of powerful trends sweeping through the market, and every coach should be aware of them. These are the Seven Coaching MegaTrends, and they are set to change the coaching market forever.
They will affect your coaching practice, the way you reach your clients, how you interact with them, what you offer and ultimately whether you will continue to get coaching business. You’d best be aware of them – so read on to discover what they are.
Coaching MegaTrend 1: Increased Supply of Coaches
We are seeing a vast increase in the number of coaches qualifying from the rapidly-growing numbers of coach training establishments. And the number of coaches qualifying each year is accelerating. Recent estimates indicate that there are now between 30,000 to 50,000 active coaches worldwide.
As well as far more choice of coach training, there are far more good books, seminars and other support materials both on coaching and on managing your coaching practice.
This means far more competition for both newly qualified and established coaches alike, and these coaches are learning both coaching skills and practice management skills at a rapid rate.
Coaching MegaTrend 2: Increased Demand for Coaching
Marketers distinguish between four different stages of a market: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. We see the coaching market as a whole as still being in its Growth stage, where the expansion of coaching significantly exceeds the growth of the economies in which it operates.
The characteristics of the Growth Stage of a market are increasing customer interest, with rapidly increasing sales and the equally rapid emergence of more coaches as competitors.
So there is an increased demand for coaching – but at the same time the coaching market is expanding, the competition from other coaches is also increasing significantly.
In this stage, to attract new clients, the marketing activities of coaches become more and more important. On the plus side, several clients typically engage in repeat purchase behaviour patterns.
Coaching MegaTrend 3: Increasing Maturity in the Coaching Market
The Wild West days of coaching are over. A significant percentage of coaches have now been coaching for more than five years, many for ten – and they have a maturity of approach & experience.
There is an associated increasing maturity in the coaching market itself, with clients having an increasing awareness about coaching and its benefits. Purchasers of coaching services have changed from Innovators in the early days of coaching through Early Adopters, and now firmly into the Early Majority.
What this means is that there is a much bigger market out there – 34% of any market are seen as Early Majority, with innovators making up 2.5% and early adopters 13.5%.
The Early Majority are more cautious purchasers and need more reasons to buy. They are deliberate, not impulsive decision-makers. They have many informal social contacts that they rely on to know whether they should decide to do something. They adopt innovations – like coaching – just before the average member of the market. They seldom lead, are not the first, and not the last to do something.
This means that we need to take a different approach to presenting and marketing coaching services to the Early Majority.
Coaching MegaTrend 4: Niches & Differentiation
The need to differentiate oneself from the ocean of other competing coaches is more vital than ever. As competition in the generic life coaching market intensifies, more coaches will need to specialise to differentiate themselves.
There is more and more focus on niches – weight-loss coaching, presentation skills coaching, marketing coaching, career coaching, coaching for lawyers, dentists, executive coaching, relationship coaching…
Yes, these options have been available via life coaches for a while, but niche coaches focus on one specialisation, and therefore bring more experience and knowledge of what’s required in that niche to their clients.
The coaching market is already showing signs of fragmenting, with specialist coaching sub-markets continuing to develop rapidly. These coaching niches are growing faster than the rest of the market, with executive coaching, relationship coaching, career coaching and weight loss coaching growing particularly rapidly.
This is good news for coaches who can exploit these profitable niches, and is bad news for the undifferentiated life coach.
Coaching MegaTrend 5: Coaching Products
Coaches are increasingly using online products – both their own products and those of others – to achieve different marketing objectives. These products can be ebooks, articles, short courses delivered by autoresponders, teleclasses, downloadable mp3s, CDs, home study courses and combinations of the above.
Some coaches are using products to augment their coaching offerings, to appeal to different segments of their market. Others use them as a promotion device, to attract new prospects to their marketing funnel. Yet others are using products to leverage their time with clients – so that the client gets the maximum benefit while minimising costly 1:1 coaching time.
Coaches are finding that products can achieve multiple objectives – they can bring in revenue while building client loyalty and gently guiding prospects to the coach’s higher-value coaching services.
This means that with coaching products coaches can increase their revenue, leverage their time with clients, build their prospect list and increase their exposure in the market all at the same time.
Coaching MegaTrend 6: Coaching Programmes
We are seeing the growth of the specialist coach, who blends coaching with instruction and training, and sometimes adds consultancy. Coaching programmes have an overall aim, and a set duration and have specific content that is communicated in addition to the coaching.
They typically offer a programme – often between six and eight weeks – designed to build knowledge and skills in a particular area. Examples of this are CJ Hayden’s Get Clients Now! programme which typically blends training and coaching.
This trend is leading to the coaching market fragmenting somewhat – and becoming less homogeneous. It’s not enough to just be a coach, it’s what sort of coach are you, dealing with what sort of clients to achieve what?
Taken together with MegaTrend 4 – niches and differentiation and MegaTrend 3 – the increasing maturity of the coaching market, we are seeing coaches profiting from providing coaching programmes to specific market niches.
Coaching MegaTrend 7: Availability of Web-based Technologies
We are in the midst of an explosion in the availability of affordable, easy to use web-based technologies. And savvy coaches are beginning to realise what benefits this can have to their coaching practices.
A coach’s website is taken for granted these days, as is a their newsletter. If you look at several coaches’ websites you’ll see a remarkable consistency. They no longer differentiate. The area in which to compete has moved on.
Audio and even video are creeping into coaches’ websites. But the coaches who will succeed are those offering something that their market want – their content must be relevant and valuable to their target market.
Those coaches who utilise teleseminars, autoresponders and increasingly blogs that meet a client need will prosper. The next big technology trend is likely to be coaches’ podcasts. And the same dynamic will apply – the content must be relevant and valuable to the client.
We’re seeing far more use of internet automation – for keeping in touch with prospects via autoresponders and newsletters, online surveys, membership sites… …the list is long and growing.
The winners in the use of the web-based technologies will be those unafraid to experiment, who use technology for the benefits it can bring to them and their clients, rather than for its own sake.
Summary – The Coaching MegaTrends
So these are the Seven Coaching MegaTrends:
1. Increased Supply of Coaches
2. Increased Demand for Coaching
3. Increasing Maturity in the Coaching Market
4. Increased need for Niches & Differentiation
5. Growth in Coaching Products
6. Growth in Coaching Programmes
7. Growth in availability of Web-based Technologies
The Seven Coaching MegaTrends are affecting the coaching market now, and their power will increase over the coming months. You may already be seeing their effects.
The question is, what are you going to do about them? Are you going to nod sagely, or take immediate action on them? If you’re up for taking action, what are the three things that you can do this week to enable you to deal more effectively with these trends? Set a date for completion of those actions and track your progress!
Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche. Discover yours with the free mini-course, Discover Your Coaching Niche, available from http://www.brandingyou.org/ecoursesales.html
Author: Alun Richards
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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photo credit: Gabriel Fehr
Posted in Coaching by .
Aug 10
22
Dealing with difficult people
I’m sure you’ve met somebody who has tried your patience, on more than one occasion. In fact, I’m probably on safe ground suggesting you’ve met numerous; just like many other people you’ll be fairly experienced at having to deal with them. Having to deal with these people as often as you have to would give you the impression that you would manage to do the job with a cinch; how far from the truth is that? So why is it so difficult, despite all the practice and experience we have?
Posted in Relationships by .
Aug 10
21
A new beginning
At last life begins to make sense,
At first it didn’t,
The sky has been dark for a while,
The path we’ve walked down has been hard to see,
Life will not move forward,
It cannot be a positive, fulfilling future,
If we let things control our minds, bodies and soul,
Giving up is not an option,
Today is a new day,
Fight the battle and win,
Life may not always be what we want it to be,
The road we lead may have u-turns involved,
Do not fear,
For change can be good,
Follow the path that was laid out for us,
The sun is now shining,
We can now see the new path
There is a plan, a destiny that awaits us,
Focus on the positive
Achieve your goal
By Jayne for Paul
It’s your choice!
The poem above was written by myself during a very difficult period in my life, what I am pleased to say is because I believed in myself and took on board the words within the poem, I was able to move forward out of that time and now my choices are informed by my own experiences and decisions to set goals and go for them.
We have to remember that life’s greatest gift is the freedom to make choices and select the one we feel is most beneficial to us. We chose one action from a set of options and set the goal we want to achieve the most.
So why is having the ability to chose so good, it’s what makes us who we are as humans, “Choice is nothing but the chisel we use to sculpt our life” Michelangelo. However, we also need to know that with choice, comes acceptance and responsibility, but as long as we can accept, making the right choices can only send us reward and then happiness.
Our life is a continued journey and with every choice we make our life’s goals become closer and more achievable. As we travel the road to our goals we have to remember to ask questions along the way, keeping us motivated and strong. Ask yourself the following questions as you make your choice and work towards it:
- Am I moving closer to my goal?
- What action do I need to take next?
- How can I measure my achievement?
When you make your choices, they have to be part of your inner self, the very heart of your life and they have to be yours! Your creativity is your door to the life you choose and it is so powerful.
Each day we make decisions and life becomes so convenient and comfortable, but what happens when we find our self faced with a decision that challenge us. Do we step aside and let someone else sort out the problem for us, or do we have to face it head on and take the learning from it? By making choices to help us achieve our life’s goals, we begin to take on board challenges more actively and work towards lowering our defenses. Living in our comfort zone will only leave us where we are today, by facing those challenges head on and stretching ourselves, we can achieve so much.
Be proactive in your life, make some choices and begin to move forward into the life you want. Like the poem at the front of the post suggests, start your new beginning, life may not always be what we want it to be, but if we follow the path we lay for ourselves and be positive we can have the life we chose.
Thank you for reading this post. While you’re here please take the time to sign up for the newsletter or alternatively you may prefer to subscribe for regular updates in your favourite reader or by email.
photo credit: namestartswithj89
Posted in Personal Development by .
Aug 10
19
First Impression
Having to create a good first impression is a challenge we are faced with when we are asked to achieve something extra or include something new in our lives. What does creating a first impression mean? What is required? I know in its simplest form creating a good first impression is fairly straight forward but what are the underlying psychologies that are involved. Who are we trying to impress and for what reason?
Posted in Performance by .
Aug 10
17
What in the World is Life Coaching?
In my speaking engagements I have often compared coaching today to psychotherapy in the 1920s. The level of public understanding of coaching, outside of people in a certain socio-demographic category, is still in its infancy. We are all so saturated with the language of psychoanalysis – it’s difficult to read a book or watch a movie that isn’t premised on this shared language – that we probably don’t consider there was once a time when practitioners were asked:
Posted in Coaching by .
Aug 10
15
A new way of thinking
If you’re a follower of the many personal development theories that are available in great numbers, both on and offline, it won’t have missed your attention that to achieve the outcomes or goals you are seeking, it is important to adopt a new way of thinking. A different way of thinking than the one you are using to maintain your status quo.
Posted in Lifestyle by .
Aug 10
14
What’s the opportunity?
What opportunities are facing you at the moment? We know that when life is going smoothly and we’re full of confidence and self esteem, none of us mind one bit trying a new opportunity that is lying there in front of us. On the other side of the coin, however, when things are slugging along and we feel that the world isn’t on our side, that old negative self talk creeps up onto our shoulder and we just can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Posted in Performance by .
Aug 10
12
Rest and Recuperation
There are many phrases or cliches you’ve probably heard about rest and recuperation or other similar restful activities that people feel as though you should adhere to. All too often you will be presented with the advice of another, about how much you need a rest, or you should take a holiday or even it’s time for you to have a change. Whether you like to hear this or not, I’m inclined to agree with this freely available and zero cost advice. It’s probably some of the best advice you’ll receive unless of course you prefer to continue headlong in to burn-out.
Posted in Performance by .
Ten years ago I was fortunate enough to be heavily involved in the implementation of a company wide coaching programme, both as an employee who was to receive coaching but also as a manager and coach who was expected to regular coach my reports and my peers to enable them to achieve their objectives. I say, fortunate enough, because I found that when I was coached effectively I became really motivated and focused, and when I finally became a proficient coach, I again found it motivational in that I was able to support and enable my direct reports to achieve more.
Posted in Coaching by .
Aug 10
8
Surprise, surprise it’s happened
Have you ever been surprised or taken aback when something you wanted to happen, happened; even though you thought it had little chance of happening. Somethings happen in life for what seems like unaccountable reasons; there seems no obvious or logical reason, they just happen. The things I’m referring to are those that happen to benefit you. Just when you wanted a phone call from a friend they call you with an item of good news, something you’d been waiting to hear and didn’t in the least expect it.
Posted in Performance by .
Aug 10
7
I love working
I really like to work, it has been said that I am a bit of a workaholic, however is this a bad thing I ask myself? When I first left school and moved onto college I was so excited about going out into the world of work and doing something that I considered to be great. I wanted to be a teacher and so took the journey through college and into teacher training at Birmingham university in the UK. I loved the classroom and teaching right from my very first teaching practice. The children I taught were four to five year old and the day sped through as if I had only been there for an hour or so. When I got home my dad asked me if it had been a good day, I replied that I loved it and couldn’t wait to return the tomorrow.
Posted in Performance by .
Aug 10
5
Following your gut instinct
There is an abundance of gurus, blogs and other resources available, not only on the Internet, but off-line too, where you can easily become knowledgeable about how to achieve success. Many of these personal development tools include coaches, goal setting, personality profiling to name but a few. They do however tend to constrain you within a fixed, whilst not rigid, model; it can limit your thinking if you’re not too careful. A relaxed mind and willingness to think ‘out of the box’ is still required to maintain your creativity, openness to change and new ideas.
Posted in Performance by .
Have you heard about SMART goal setting? This technique is widely used by successful individuals in reaching their goals in life. They are those which are simple, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Once you set your goals through goal setting, you are guaranteed of favorable results.
Posted in Goals by .
Aug 10
1
The feeling of success!
There is much talk about achieving success and how we should or can achieve it for the plethora of gurus and experts, however one question that doesn’t appear too often is, “how does that success feel”? It is very important to have an idea of what the success will feel like when we set off; this will not only let us know what to expect but also provide us with an excellent motivator.
Posted in Performance by .
The summer holiday invariably brings a stressful time to some parents in terms of finding childcare for their children while they continue to go out to work. When you make the decision to start your family the true extent of what is required isn’t always so obvious at the time. However, you soon realise that the two weeks annual holiday you get from work, doesn’t stretch too far when it comes to taking your holidays at the same time as your children and their six week summer break. We’ve now had two weeks of the summer holidays and if you’re not considering what you can do for the next few weeks, your darling children might just be drive you round the bend with their persistent demands!
Posted in Lifestyle by .
Jul 10
29
What is it about relationships?
We build relationships, different ones, on a daily basis; they are the bedrock of our whole existence. We develop them with friends, parents, teachers, colleagues, neighbours, siblings etc. The list is fairly endless.
Building and maintaining them takes place with or without any real planning as part of our everyday activities. Watching them change and develop is a fascinating science for some who take a delight in studying them, for others they view them less scientifically and more on a basis of destiny.
Posted in Relationships by .
Would you like to live a more prosperous life? Would you love your relationships to improve. Perhaps you have specific goals or desires you long to see manifest in the material world.
It doesn’t matter where you are or where you have been. It makes no difference if you have a string of success behind you or only failures. I am about to share with you six steps that will ensure you reach all your goals.
Here are some top tips to help you achieve all the success you want.
Posted in Goals by .
Jul 10
25
Taking time out
Hard work to the extent of overworking yourself and not taking time out for rest and recuperation is a common fault with many people. This happens for a variety of reasons; some of which are guilt, pressure from managers or peers, or simply a wish to work hard and get the job done; this could be attributed to trying to create an impression. Do any of these reasons ring true with you? They certainly do with me!
Posted in Performance by .
Jul 10
24
Go on, you choose!
Posted in Relationships by .
A worthy cause
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