Have you ever been price-gouged by an online coach? It’s a common complaint – one I’ve made myself and one I hear often from from my friends online.
Maybe you’ve been lured in by dazzling promises, but when it comes time to deliver: NOTHING. No return on investment, no results and no cash in the bank either.
The problem is, the online space is noisy and awash with great copywriters making persuasive claims. You really want what they offer, so you get sucked in. But the online world is an unregulated space and people can pretty much do and say whatever they want. High ethics and professional standards are not a given!
That said, there ARE good coaches out there, but you need a reliable way to recognise them. One such way is to determine how much the coach you’re considering CARES about her tribe. Here are 7 sure-fire signs you’re onto a winner:
1. Generosity
A caring coach is generous in how much value she provides. She has lots of free content for you – and often it’s her BEST content. Implementing the suggestions from her free content alone will get you RESULTS. That’s because she wants you to have a WIN whether you buy her services or not! She knows how good it feels to help others and genuinely wants to make an impact on the world. She spreads love and it’s not all about “me, me, me.”
2. Shows Curiosity About YOU
In your very first contact with you, a caring coach curious about who you are. She’ll ask open-ended questions to find out more. For example, if you comment on one of her posts, she’ll not only reply, but ask something more like: “What are some of the ways you’ve applied this strategy, Jill?” Furthermore, you’ll notice that she’s taken the time to reply to every one of her commentators in the same kind and curious way.
3. Aligns With, Rather Than Opposes You
A caring coach has no need to prove that she’s RIGHT. She’s confident in her expertise and understands that standing in opposition to your opinion does little to build a trusting relationship. If she doesn’t agree with something you’ve said, she steps back and tries to understand the context in which you’ve expressed that opinion. Building a great relationship with you is always her focus. To that end, she’s not a “slash-and-burn” type of coach, who’ll delete you as a friend and block you on social media after you’ve paid for her services. If you have a complaint about her service, she’ll take it on board and make changes. It’s obvious she has REPEAT clients because they LOVE her.
4. Listens Deeply
The ability to listen deeply comes with professional training and practice and isn’t an easy skill to master. A caring coach listens to what you say, but more importantly, listens to how you ARE. She understands incongruence – which is a mismatch between what you say and how you really feel about what you’re saying. She gives you the space to say what you need as well as be. You know you’re being listened to because she gets you.
5. Reaches Out To You
Regardless of whether or not you’ve paid her, if you’ve made a connection with the caring coach, she’ll reach out to you after you’ve had a conversation. She takes the initiative to build the relationship and will follow up. She thinks about you long after you’ve spoken and will tag you in content she thinks you might find useful.
6. How You Feel Matters To Her
The caring coach understands that how she makes you feel is everything and she wants it to be a positive experience. She also knows that how you feel has a huge impact on your ability to create a business as an online entrepreneur. She gets the nuances of your mood and tunes into you sometimes better than you can tune into yourself! She’s empathic and sensitive. She has depth, character and integrity.
7. Doesn’t Try To Persuade You
The “sell, sell, sell” approach is deeply out of alignment with the caring coach. She has no need to persuade you because if you see the value in what she has to offer, you’ll tell her yourself. Sure, she’ll tell you about her services and the way it will benefit your business. But she doesn’t operate from a place of scarcity and she’s discerning.
She doesn’t want just any old client – she wants one she can build a deep relationship with. One whom she can genuinely help and who will do the work. She’s not desperately trying to convince you of anything, nor does she take your credit card details over the phone. She’ll let you take the time you need to make your decision so you don’t get “buyer’s remorse.”
To Sum Up…
Take the time you need to find your own caring coach. Create a shortlist of possible coaches for you (three is a good number) and follow them online for a while. Listen to your intuition. And if it helps, print out this article as a handy checklist to see if your future coach demonstrates these 7 signs: generosity, shows curiosity, aligns with, rather than opposes, listens deeply, reaches out, cares about how you feel and doesn’t use sleazy persuasion tactics.