17 Pro Tips to Be a Top life Coach

So many call themselves a coach......

Yet only the successful coaches put conscious energy into setting themselves apart.

Looking for expert answers about your coaching skills? Then deep dive into our 17 pro tips to be a top life coach. They'll help you get your name out there in the market while making sure clients know they’re in the best hands:

1: Your Own Story

This is the most important thing you have and a massive part of who you are. Your story helps you connect with others and as you learn more about your client’s story, offering a part of yours will help build stronger trust and connection, and help ensure their success.

2: Your Own Life Experience

With more life experience comes more life lessons, wisdom and knowledge on how to best interact with, connect with, and help others. There is nothing quite like seeing someone using your experiences to consider and resolve the challenges in their life.

3: Training and Education

On the other hand, it is vital to have the right education to back you up. This is a major part of what will separate you from all the other coaches entering the market. Being equipped with proven concepts, powerful skills and innovative ideas will ensure that your client receives a service that really can help them through their challenge and become the amazing person they aspire to be.

4: Professionalism

Your education will also assist you in how to conduct yourself professionally. Your clients may anticipate you to present yourself formally, casually or anywhere in-between. Taking that into account is a powerful element of your business. However acting in a professional manner, such as always respecting a client’s privacy and taking their concerns seriously, is an absolute must for a top coach.

5: Understanding Where You Are

Think about your story, your life experiences, and why you are passionate about coaching. Why do you want to help people and is there any group of people in particular you want to help? Is there a particular community you are involved in with members that may be interested in receiving some life coaching? Thinking about these questions can help you articulate your target market.

Feeling inspired? Here's more of our 17 pro tips to be a top life coach.

6: Knowing Who You Are Best Able to Help

Are you passionate about helping young people, for example? Or is there a particular group of people you are uniquely situated to help? Assisting and coaching people through their unique life challenges can often require prior knowledge and experience with those things, but can also present a great starting point for your coaching business.

7: Understanding Your Target Market

Tip number 6 goes hand in hand with understanding your market. Your target market is the particular group of people you want coach. This might be young people, a couple going through a tough time in their relationship, or an individual struggling with their career. While there are so many different people out there you could coach, it is important to focus on what your good at and are best able to help.

8: Experience in Coaching

Of course, starting out is always a big challenge in itself. However building experience as quickly as possible will be a huge help as you build your experience, skills and business. The more practice you have, the more you will stand out above the others to become a top coach.

9: Building Your Brand

Your brand will set you apart from all the other Coaches out there. Think about what you want people to think when they hear your business name or see your Facebook Page. Of course, there are the obvious things such as being professional, experienced, a having a great education. Think about what sets you apart, such as assisting “divorcees in the Northern Suburbs” and “available for home visits”.

10: Communicating Your Qualifications

Don’t be scared to say where you studied and how qualified you are. The Coaching Institute is the best in Australia, and we are here to support your brand and business. Our reputation goes a long way in ensuring clients know that you know what you are about.

11: Growing a Market Presence

If no one has heard about you, there’s no one to contact you and no one to coach. A little bit of marketing goes a long way here. The three ways for this to happen are online, traditional and through word of mouth. Understanding your target market will help you to choose how to use these different mediums.

12: Online and Social Media

Think of your blog, twitter, your business Facebook Page, your website and all the other wonderful platforms that can be found online. Understand your market: what platforms do they use? If you find your clients prefer using Twitter, then focus on that. Often you’ll need to maintain a presence on a number of different websites.

13: Traditional Media

Think newspapers, magazines, everything people used before the internet was a thing. Again, understanding your target market is vital here. If you are focusing on coaching retired people, for example, they may feel more comfortable reading the local paper and not use Facebook at all.

14: Word of Mouth

This is perhaps the most powerful tool that you can use, especially when used in conjunction with social media, if that is relevant to you. People are more likely to choose the assistance of a service provider recommended by a friend, or avoid them if the friend hated their experience. If people are saying amazing things about you, your business will flourish.

Client testimonials are a great way to utilise the things people are saying and include them on your pages and websites too. Sure, it’s not quite the same as being recommended by a friend. Yet it does give the viewer a glimpse of other people’s satisfaction. Remember to respect the testimonial giver’s privacy though, tell them how you plan to use it and ask if they would like their real name or a fake name accompanying the quote.

15: Your Own Coaching Community

Being a part of a positive and supportive community is a huge boost, and a change for you to support others who have supported you in the past. Keep in contact with the people you meet through your training at The Coaching Institute. It’s a great way to build new friendships and help each other overcome challenges and improve.

16: A Coach of Your Own

Everyone needs a coach at some stage through their life, and sometimes we need that bit of assistance from someone else in our own personal or professional challenges. This doesn’t have to be a formal arrangement. Think about your coaching community and the friends you have in it, people are often willing to help you out, especially if you’ve helped others too. If you’re helping others, it’s always important to make sure that you look after yourself too.

17: Keep Doing What You Love!

Lastly, and most importantly, coaching is awesome. If you’re here because you love it, keep going! No matter how crowded the market gets, your passion and skill will win out. There are always new challenges, but you’re investing your career in helping people achieve their dreams and bettering themselves, and there’s nothing better than that.

Your Turn!

How do you set yourself apart from the crowd? Got more ideas to add to the top coach list? Let us know in the comments below!

Hiring a coach is a significant investment of both time and money, so an important first step is to determine whether your organisation is ready to commit to coaching at this time. Whether your organisation develops a comprehensive, in-house coaching program or contracts external coaches on a temporary basis, coaching is growing and being implemented throughout organisations globally.