Is Your Coaching Platform Tuned for Success in a Recession?

 success coaching 

With each passing day, news on the economic front is more troublesome. That being said, never have there been more potential opportunities for savvy coaches, especially those that have their practices tuned to succeed in a stressed economy. The winners in this challenging environment are most likely to be those coaches with (1) strong platforms, and (2) the right product/service offerings. This article addresses the former.

Your coaching platform is the totality of the visibility and credibility of the brand called YOU. With coaching having been transformed over the last decade from an in-person model to a more global, audio linked model, your national -- if not international -- visibility has become more important than ever. But, here is the key! Recessionary stresses are sure to create an even greater demand for coaching of all kind. But, potential clients will likely be very deliberate and very frugal in choosing a coaching solution. Aided by the internet, potential clients will search far and wide for a coach that fits their needs. And, they will likely use the internet to carefully investigate the credibility of a coach that interests them.

.

93-97% Of MLM's Fail Why Is That? -  
Is it time for a fresh start? With Michael Frazier International Internet Success Coach
for a 45 minutes internet consultation (that's a value of $100 dollars with no obligations, no commitments, and  no expectations on my part.  We will discuss the problems you face with in your business.
 My Fees are $400 per month
Email:
Name:
Telephone:
Best time to Contact:

So how does the brand called YOU come across online? Here are six simple questions that tell a lot about your online visibility:

  1. Do you have high visibility in a search on Google for the kind of coaching you offer?

  2. Do you have high visibility in major coach directories?

  3. Do you have high visibility in Facebook and Linked-in?

  4. Do you regularly publish to an ever growing email list?

  5. Does a "Google alert" on your name produce a steady stream of references from blogs and elsewhere on the net, about you?

  6. Does a Google search on your name, for research purposes, produce a significant number of links, from credible sources, within the first three pages of search results?

Beyond just being visible, what does your online and offline presence say about credibility? Remember that high visibility, without equally high credibility, is not likely to lead to long term success for your coaching business.

So how credible is the brand called YOU? It is a well known fact of life that the person we see in the mirror is often not what others see in looking directly at us. This same phenomenon can stand in the way of our being objective about review of our business platform. Many of us might be willing to admit we come up short in visibility, but how many of us are willing to question the credibility we portray through our platform?

Compare your own platform to that of a recognized market leader. Consider, for example, the platform of Cheryl Richardson who is widely regarded as among the leaders in the coaching industry. Spend some time looking at the platform Cheryl has skillfully built over the last decade through her extensive online and traditional media activities. Cheryl wasn't born with this platform. Her platform is a result of consistent, diligent effort; great care with regard to where and how she permits her name to be utilized; cultivation of relationships with only the finest organizations (e.g., PBS, Hay House, Kripalu, etc.); and the fact that she is constantly doing so much to help other coaches, authors, speakers, and the world, in general. In an environment where authenticity is only one click away from being verified, Cheryl's compassion for mankind and personal credibility explains why she is a role model for so many coaches. And, this personal credibility has contributed to a platform that is widely recognized as among the very best in the coaching business.

There is no end to the resources available for improving ones platform. Accessing such resources should only be done after one has objectively reviewed one's visibility and credibility. If you find it difficult to be objective about your own platform, you may want to consider tapping the expertise of some of the leading advisors - to coaches of all kind - on one's platform. There are some every talented specialists with respect to branding for coaches.

With a recession bearing down on us, now is the time to step back and to reflect on whether your platform has you positioned to take advantage of new opportunities that will be created by the recession. The right platform, coupled with the right product/service offerings (the subject of the companion article to this one), will pay big dividends for coaches serious about prospering in the coming months and years.

Dave Carpenter, http://www.dave-carpenter.com is a well known business consultant and the Exceptional Wisdom scholar on personal Peak Performance. He is also host of the weekly Peak Performance show on Exceptional Wisdom Radio. He was recently selected as the host for the 2008 SuperConference for Coaches, http://www.2008superconference.com This conference features 20 superstars from the coaching and marketing world providing the latest thinking on how to grow multiple streams of coaching revenue and how to effectively promote their coaching products and services.