The Most Saturated Market in the World

Yesterday, one of my mentees commented that there seem to be an awful lot of certifications and programs for coaches, out there, and that it's hard for a coach to know which are really important to pursue and which aren't.

I agree. There are so many coach trainings, marketing programs and certifications on the market, that coaches aren't just overwhelmed, they're confused - and broke!

And still more products for coaches to buy are rolled out practically everyday.

This points to one of the biggest bad habits in the coaching industry, right now: the tendency to market to other coaches. The cause is pretty simple: we know what matters to us and we know how to communicate with each other. It's a natural! The problem is, most coaches don't have thriving businesses, yet, and buying more products tends to keep them in the financial red.

This produces the proverbial snake that swallows its tail. Not a sustainable industry practice!

And I'm a mentor coach, so I'm guilty!

I sometimes wonder if this hybrid of professional/entrepreneur doesn't just present a massive integrity problem for coaches. Coaches aren't supposed to be experts, the client is the expert, right? And yet, we present ourselves as experts in our marketing materials. This confuses everybody - including us.

Slippery integrity kills coaching. And it could kill the coaching industry, too.

When you're presented witht the next great program that's going to finally make you a successful coach, ask yourself if that's really true? Do you really need it and how can you find out? And always bear this in mind: Coaching businesses are businesses. They create products to make profits. Is the program you're about to buy designed to make you successful or make the seller money?

The best ones will do both.

You need to be able to make a clear assessment of what you need at every step along the way to your ideal coaching practice, so you know what you need to buy.

And you need to ask a lot of questions about the programs you buy, like: What is their track record? Do they have success stories? Do they have statistics on the success rate of people, like you, who buy? What's the reputation of the seller? Is it sterling? Don't just rely on a big name; ask people what their experiences have been.

If the program is just based on a cool new theory, it may still be worth checking out, but expect to pay less, if you're an early adopter.

This is a tough challenge for me. I want to be part of the solution, not just be adding to the problem. I've considered getting out of the mentor coach biz, because it's such a depressed market, but this seems to be my calling.

I don't have all the answers, yet, but I'm willing to name the problem. My goal is to find ways that help coaches get from the tourist stage, where they just want to buy and experience all the cool stuff out there for coaches, and help them to have their own thriving businesses. That's the only way coaching will survive.

I'm wondering what your thoughts are.

Copyright, Julia Stewart, 2005 http://www.yourlifepart2.com