If you haven’t checked out the first post about offering coaching services, click here to check it out before you read on!
There are a variety of formats you can use for coaching. For example, you can coach people individually or in groups. If you’re not sure which version to choose, one-on-one coaching is usually preferred and ideal for a number of reasons. It just might be the perfect way to ease your way into coaching and become the type of coach who really delivers for your clients in an incredibly personalized way.
One-on-one coaching allows you to work very closely with one person at a time. You can really get to the heart of what they need and want so you can be as effective for them as possible. You’re involved in coaching because you really want to deeply impact the lives and success of your clients. This type of coaching might be the easiest way to do that. That’s not to say that group coaching doesn’t have value, because it absolutely does.
Individual coaching is something you can shape depending on what you and your clients need and want. You can offer this form of coaching either in person or online— it’s very adaptable. We have incredible tools these days (like Skype and FaceTime) that make you feel like you’re actually in the same room with your client.
You can even offer a combination in between. You could have in-person meetings and online check-ins.
That won’t work for every situation or every client and that’s just fine. In fact, many coaches offer online coaching only and work with people from all over the world. The distance doesn’t matter much at all, as long as you adhere to best practices for coaching, communicate well, and work hard to get to know your clients. Don’t let the fact that you can’t or don’t want to meet in person hold you back.
The Shape One-On-One Coaching Can Take
Some one-on-one coaching is fairly general. It’s designed to tackle the person’s business as a whole. It can start before the person has started a business or as they’re struggling with a current business. By the way—this doesn’t just work for business coaching, that’s just what I’m assuming you’re focusing on since it’s the most common type among my audience. You could offer life coaching or coaching on any number of subjects, really.
Sometimes one-on-one coaching is designed to tackle a very specific issue— something like mindset, or improving revenue, or client generation. Or, you might help the client do a total overhaul by focusing on every area or their business, goals, and habits.
One-on-one coaching is extremely special. Your clients are putting their trust in you. They believe you are the one person who can help turn their business around. They feel lost— they know they can’t do it alone. They have some specific goals in mind and think you’re the person to help.
It can be scary to have all that trust put in you. Then again, you’re confident and knowledgeable enough to do a fantastic job. Nothing’s going to hold you back, which is why you have to get to the heart of exactly what is holding them back. You’re going to get to know their successes, their failures, and what their goals are.
You’re also going to provide accountability. No matter what you charge or how excited the person seems to be at first, a surprising number of people will drop off and not follow through with their coaching much… or at all. It’s very disappointing, especially when you invest so much of yourself in a person as their coach. But, you’re going to try, and I’m going to give you some tools that will help with this issue.
The one-on-one coaching relationship can become quite detailed, so it’s important to draw boundaries. You’re going to get invested in the relationship, but not so much that it drags you down. There are some very fine lines you have to walk, and it’s not always as easy as it seems.
There will be times when you have to show tough love to a one-on-one client. You’ll probably feel obligated to help push them to success no matter how much they end up pushing back the wrong way. You should put some tricks up your sleeve and really focus in on improving mindset. Your client won’t be able to take action if they aren’t in the right mindset.
How Many Clients at a Time
Note that you can have a few one-on-one coaching relationships ongoing at one time. These coaching clients will generally be confidential, so they won’t interact or even know about each other. You won’t combine or mix any of the sessions, generally.
You have to be careful not to take on more coaching clients than you can handle— especially at first. Many new coaches think it will be a breeze to offer coaching and start to see dollar signs in their eyes, only to burn out very quickly because it was more time consuming than they imagined. Make sure you’re fully available to the one-on-one clients who hire you because that is what they expect and deserve.
Start out small and grow over time. Get a feel for what these one-on-one coaching clients really require. Set boundaries on your time and make sure your own business doesn’t suffer while you’re coaching them. Invest in their success, but don’t get so emotional or personally invested that the relationship or either of your businesses suffers. It’s always a careful balance, but it’s one you’ll get better at managing as you gain more experience.
Start To Offer One-On-One Coaching
Are you ready to change some lives? This can be one of the best possible ways to do that. It’s an incredible feeling to be a coach and see your clients achieving in ways they doubted they could. It will mean a lot to you to be able to change the lives of others. It’s something that drives me to improve my business and the way I mentor others. This is something that has benefits that go beyond the very powerful earnings you could see.
Start to shape your individualized coaching program. What do other coaches offer? What will your clients want out of a program? Consider offering different levels of one-on-one coaching. Then, launch your coaching offer. It might be scary, but it will be worth it and you will help to change lives.