Training To Be a Life Coach: What if I have recently moved?

Image by Zach Klein via Flickr

Through our free mini-course, we get a lot of questions from people who are thinking about becoming a life coach.  They are passionate about the idea of life coaching… but certain things can get in the way.

Here’s a recent question:

“Mitch, I found your mini-course to be very helpful  but for those of us who have been counseling for years in the HR, Personnel, and the Employment arenas but have recently relocated to a different state and have no connections business or otherwise, I am most interested in your methods  of developing life coaching clients?  Please excuse my impatience.  Sincerely, ‘B’ – a recent Texas transplant”

Are you struggling with the same type of question?

Have you moved recently? Are you wondering whether you can really grow a fruitful and successful coaching practice as a transplant to a new area? Are you worried about your ability to become an effective life coach since you don’t feel like you know anyone locally?  Well… these are common questions and I want to offer you some hope.

Here was my response to the question…

“Good morning B -

Thanks for the email and the question.  Oh, and no problem with being “impatient!”  I just consider that passion for coaching!

Hey, I’ll tell you that in our training, we give A LOT of specific strategies for building your coaching business through networking, marketing and promotion.

But I wanted to offer a little hope right up front… especially in regards to your recent move.

So one of the things that I’d say to encourage you is that with my own coaching practice… over half of my clients at any one time are not from my area at all. In fact, I don’t even know what a lot of my clients even look like!  And that’s the beauty of coaching!

Why?

Well, in our training, we highly recommend that you utilize the phone for your life coaching sessions.  I know that this is a departure from many counselor’s experiences, but with life coaching it tends to really add to the experience for the coach AND the ally (our word for client).

Some reasons for this:

• No travel time before or after the session
• The client can call from a location that is easy for them
• They don’t have to feel weird going to an office
• You don’t get interrupted like you would in a coffee house or restaurant
• It also allows you, as the coach, to really concentrate on listening and note taking

So these are just some of the reasons why we suggest you utilize the phone with your life coaching clients.

But the kicker for someone like you is that using the phone would free you up to be able to market yourself to your networks from your “former life.”  Think about it. You wouldn’t be limited by your geography or your current local network! You’d be free to go to the people you know… all across the country… and let them know that you have started coaching.

I know for me, when I was starting my own life coaching business, I was wrapping up a season in my life where I had had to move my family numerous times over a short period due to my work in the corporate world.  I felt a bit lost and overwhelmed as I thought about “networking” in my new area.  But I quickly realized all my moves actually helped me when it came to life coaching.

Since I was going to use the phone, I wasn’t limited by my geography.  So every place I had lived in the past became a place where I could reconnect with people and get the word out about what I was doing.

That meant I could help anyone who had a phone… and that’s a pretty big group!

Now, it also helped to get really really clear on my “ideal client” but that’s something we also go in depth on with our coach training, and that’s probably a topic for another day.

Lastly, I’ll tell you that I went through this process with my own coaching practice back in 2002 and 2003, and that was before things like facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and heck… most of the Internet as we know it! So it’s even easier to get the word out to your networks now than it ever has been!

But as I’m wrapping up I’d just throw a few questions out there for you…

What if your move (or moves) was a positive instead of a negative? 

What if was something that opened up possibilities?

Since you can still reach out to people in the areas where you have lived in the past… and serve them well as a coach… what if it’s a benefit that you can reach out to your networks in other geographical areas… as you also start to grow your network in your new area?

I know that I thought of all my moves initially as a weakness too, but as I started to think this way… my “nomadic” season very quickly became a strength!

So give it some thought. I’m betting you can turn this perceived weakness into a strength as you start to build and grow your successful life coaching practice!”

How about you?

Have you made a move lately… and you were wondering the same thing as “B?”

What are you thoughts?  Could some of your recent moves be a strength?  Could it be something that would help you to have a much broader network as a life coach?

How could you use things like social media to expand your reach… and help you to tap into your networks… old and new?  Click on comments and join in the conversation.  We’d love to hear from you!

Keep dreaming BIG and helping others to do the same,

Mitch Matthews

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• Training to be a life coach: Breaking free from the familiar (trainingtobealifecoach.com)
• TRAINING TO BE A LIFE COACH: Are you a life coach and you want to write a book? (trainingtobealifecoach.com)
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