How long does a typical client relationship last for you as a coach? It should be years and year. However, many coaches are "one and done" with clients. They do a short engagement, and never get hired again.
This shouldn't happen.
The best coaches don't think in terms of single engagements. They think of their practice as a portfolio of client relationships, like a stock portfolio. Each relationship has a series of coaching engagements.
The coach's job is to attract clients who are open to a long-term relatlonship, deliver extraordinary value for that client, get extreme results, nurture the relationship, and anticipate new ways to work with each client.
The top consulting and professional services firms take time to focus on their top clients and figure out new ways to keep bringing value to them. You should do the same.
Questions to ask include:
– What is driving change in this business?
– What are the client's most pressing challenges?
– What are the client's top priorities, and how can we help them get better results in each?
– How can we improve the relationship with our client (e.g., everyone with whom we are working at the organization)? How can we help each person with whom we are working to be more successful?
– Who else should we know at the client's organization, and how do we get the introduction?
– What is our overall value proposition to the client?
– What is the best sequence of opportunities we can tee up with the client, and in what order/time frames? How do we tee each one up? What is our value proposition for each one?
– Who does what, by when?
– How often do we come together to review and change the plan?
– What are immediate next steps?
This is one of many examples why the Center for Executive Coaching goes beyond what other coach training programs teach.
