What do YOU care for?

What do you care for? It’s a pretty broad question...one that can generate a wide variety of responses and make people feel a number of emotions.

And it can be answered on many levels—you may care for orphans in another part of the world, for your community or country, for your family, for your health and for your ICF membership but you may not care for them all at the same intensity.

So…what is it that you care for? There is no right or wrong way to respond to this question.

Since the end of October, when the I Care For campaign was officially launched, responses to this question have been pouring in—and they are truly as varied as our 17,000+ members.

We’ve learned that Jaki in Kenya cares for “the academic and personal advancement of children from disadvantaged backgrounds” (learn more about Jaki’s story in the January 2011 Coaching World); José in Portugal cares for “a world where being is the matrix of doing and having;” and Bonnie from Canada cares for “creating a world of authenticity, purpose and belief in possibilities by connecting people to their core values and purpose in life.”

Haven’t shared what you care for yet? Do so by 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2010 and your name will be entered into the I Care For contest. Prizes are awarded in two categories, depending on how you submit your message. (No worries to those who have already shared what they care for—you will be included in these drawings as well!)

Those who share their message through a video will be entered into the drawing for a $250 USD VISA gift card. And those who submit their message via e-mail/Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/other written form will be entered into the drawing for one of two Kodak Play Sport video cameras. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the New Year than with one of these prizes!

And entering is so easy…you simply need to share what you care for! Instructions for submitting your message can be found here.

THE PROBLEM WITH SELLING COACHING

Coaching is a beautiful calling. Everyone who does this work, loves it. New coaches love their training and immediately recognize the power of a coaching relationship in assisting others to make important changes in their lives, careers and businesses.

For clients, once they try coaching, they love it too. Many studies have shown that over 96 percent of the people who try coaching are very happy with it. Most clients will stay with their coach for over six months and some never leave. When you take coaching into organizations it routinely generates returns on investments of 500 to 700 percent.

Further, more and more clients are becoming aware that certain types of changes are very difficult to accomplish on their own. These bigger, “adaptive” changes are rarely achieved through books or “one-size-fits-all” or “drive-by” training solutions. Rather these types of changes benefit from individualized attention. The support of a good coach can facilitate crucial shifts in perspectives and an overcoming of limiting beliefs. A coaching relationship can provide the feedback, accountability and support needed, over sufficient time, so that new knowledge and intentions can be translated into new behaviour. This is what coaching excels at.

So if coaching is such a valuable and effective service, why do so many coaches struggle to fill their practices? The simple truth is that coaching is still a relatively new service that most people have never tried, and people are hesitant to purchase things they don’t understand.

This will change in time. It has improved noticeably over the past decade. However, if you are currently trying to build a successful coaching practice, I encourage you to minimize your pain by:

• Not trying to sell generic life coaching, business coaching, career coaching, executive coaching, etc.
• Identifying an existing niche–a specific group of people with an existing set of challenges.
• Finding out what the people in your niche are struggling with–the acid test is to find what percentage of them are actually spending money now to find solutions or achieve specific outcomes.
• Finding out how you can easily create relationship with them. In person? Through writing or talks or workshops? Online, through social media, newsletters or by optimizing a website to the keywords they type into Google? Remember to market in the vocabulary they speak about the challenges they face and the outcomes they seek. (Coaching is just the way your deliver your solution.)
• Making it easy for them to experience coaching, understand its benefits and how it contrasts to the current solutions that are not working well for them.
• Communicating why you are the best solution provider. Ideally you want to highlight three compelling reasons/strengths.

If you follow some of these hard-earned lessons (from the thousands of coaches who have walked this path ahead of you) you will find it much easier to attract clients. Hopefully, you will more quickly arrive at that lovely place where you can enjoy doing what you love, while earning a comfortable living.

Yes, coaching is a beautiful calling, and a great service to the world. Wherever you are on your journey, please take good care of yourselves. Do your homework, get well-trained, pay attention to the marketing, and know that there are many who have faced the same challenges you face.

They did it. You can too. Keep believing, and know you are not alone on this path.

Steve Mitten CPCC, MCC served at the 2005 ICF President and runs ACOACH4U.COM

Playboys to stay-at-home moms: research shows reasons for coaching may overlap

Ever since American television actor Charlie Sheen hired a “sobriety coach” earlier this month (reportedly to assist in steering him away from drug and alcohol use), professional coaching has once again been pulled into the media limelight.

The real story is not about Sheen’s wild lifestyle but that people all over the world, from Hollywood playboys to stay-at-home moms and corporate executives to college students, are working with professional coaches. Circumstances may vary but people of every age and race have utilized coaching over the last decade.

As a coach, you obviously realize that people hire coaches for an array of reasons…thus the wide assortment of coaching niches out there. But according to the new ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study*, the most common reasons people hire coaches are to:

• Improve work performance;
• Expand career opportunities; and
• Increase self-esteem.

Think about your own clients, past and present. Would you agree that these reasons are the most common? What factors persuaded them to engage in a coaching partnership?

Other reasons noted in the study were to improve business management strategies and manage work/life balance. Learn more in this ICF issued press release, Coaching helps organizations achieve business results during economic downtown.

*The awareness study surveyed 15,000 participants (aged 25 and older in 20 countries), was conducted independently by the International Survey Unit of PwC. Findings around the awareness of coaching can be found in this study—use them in your own marketing endeavors. Learn more at Coachfederation.org/works.

Global Conversations Continue Past the ICF Conference

Our "Internationalism Becomes the New Norm" Global Conversation table at the 2010 ICF Annual International Conference exchanged cards and we are continuing to stay in touch through e-mail. With coaches from Italy, Turkey, Mexico, and the US, our table enjoyed our global diversity and look forward to additional opportunities to connect, not only with each other, but also future culturally rich discussions within ICF.

How will you continue your Global Conversation and seek other ways to connect? Are you connecting through social media, a designated blog or website page, a yahoo group, Skype group calls…?

In case you missed this year’s conference, Global Conversations was a new offering, where we had the opportunity to choose a topic we were most interested in and listened as a subject matter expert presented on the topic. We then discussed the topic at our individual tables, and each table “captain” shared a two minute summary with the larger group. To tie it all together, one ICF participant per topic shared a brief summary in our Saturday closing.

Our table wants to know: as cultures become more mixed, how does that effect coaching? How does that effect the perception of coaching? Related to the conference, we want to know: how can the conference become a more international experience? (More intentional, fun opportunities to connect with participants from other cultures.) How can we honor those traveling a long distance (besides our wonderful conference opening)?

I have been a facilitator for citizen forums in Kansas City, USA, where I live. At the end of those discussions, participants have the opportunity to plan and commit to action from possibilities generated during the discussion.

We want to hear your ideas and action plans! Your ideas will be noted.

- Marilyn O’Hearne, MCC, vice president, global ICF Board of Directors

We Care For…Your Continuing Education

Since late October, coaches have been sharing what it is that they care for…and the answers are as varied as our 17,000+ members! For instance, Tuncel in Turkey cares for “creating better politicians and citizens on this planet by creating more enlightenment and awareness” and Aurora in the USA cares for “supporting coaches as they help their clients through grief.”

Have you shared your story yet? Tell us what you care for at ICFICarefor.org. You can also join the conversation on Twitter or Facebook.

Here at the ICF, one of the things we care about is the continuing education of coaching professionals.

To assist in the ongoing development of coaching professionals worldwide, the ICF offers several educational opportunities including Virtual Education sessions, the ICF Annual International Conference and the world-renowned ICF Credentialing program for both members and non-members alike.

If you are looking for a regular opportunity to meet new people, learn new techniques and ideas, and earn Continuing Coaching Education Units (or CCEUs)—to be used toward applying for or renewing an ICF Credential—look no further than ICF Virtual Education (VE).

VE sessions offer coaches personal and practice development through presentations by guest speakers. Several sessions are offered each month and are free to ICF members. Topics range from Coaching Abrasive Leaders to Personal Branding for Coaches and everything in-between. Learn more about ICF Virtual Education here.

Through 2010, the Virtual Education program was expanded—offering more than 45 presentations in five languages across numerous time zones. This has allowed even more people to get involved! In fact…2,156 participants have taken part in VE sessions to date in 2010 (compared to 1,823 total participants in 2009—also in 2009, there were only 31 total VE sessions compared to this year’s 47).

Have you attended an ICF VE session this year? Was it beneficial? What topics or speakers would you like to see through the ICF Virtual Education program?