8 Ways to Expanding your Coaching Business during a Recession

1. Embrace the Internet. Life Coaching is changing, the Internet will revolutionise this industry. Clients want to be able to be coached when it suits them. They expect more and need affordable coaching. Coaches can send information at the speed of thought, they can no long reply on one income stream, they want to move away from paperwork, they need more clients in the same period of time.

2. Continue to market your business. In lean times, many businesses make the mistake of cutting their marketing budget to the bone or even eliminating it entirely. But lean times are exactly the times your Coaching business needs marketing the most. Consumers are restless and looking to make changes in their buying decisions. You need to help them find your products and services and choose them rather than others by getting your name out there. So don't quit marketing. In fact, if possible, step up your marketing efforts.

3. Specialise - Niche. Trying to be all things to all people just will not work, people get confused and a confused mind will say "No!". Although you may be able to coach on any subject you do need to start with a niche that you are excited about and interested in. The need for a well defined market niche increases dramatically as coaching becomes more competitive. Having a market niche enables you to differentiate yourself from the competitors; it will provide you with a steady stream of clients. Once you have established your niche finding your prospective clients will be easy.

4. Become an expert.  Once you have identified your Niche or speciality you will be able to talk and write with authority and more importantly enthusiasm. You will be excited and the person people will seek you out as the expert on this subject. Think of how you can add value for your customers in a way that no one else is doing, use this as your starting point. Your objective should be to create and take ownership of this niche, in a way that makes your position virtually un-assailable.

5. Affordable coaching. At times of recession people are even more conscience on value for money, by expanding your services and products your clients will be able to select the service that fits their current financial situation. Consider adding SELF Coaching, this is a great introduction to coaching for every new client, this is affordable where the client is self coaching with no expectations from the coach, for the first time a coach can now have an UNLIMITED number of clients. Also including INTERACTIVE Coaching, your clients will get the best of both worlds, self coaching together with communications from their coach - this is not email coaching! By adding SELF and INTERACTIVE Coaching to your 1:1 services you can have a "pick & mix" where the client can select the best service for them and their budget.

6. Offer something for Free. Everyone likes something for nothing, by having several FREE Marketing initiatives to attract the visitors attention you will be able to capture this clients details and add them to your database for future communications. The FREE item must be of value to the potential client so how about a FREE goal setting exercise or FREE Life Mapping Session.

7. Make it easy for your prospect to turn into a client. Enable the client to choose the right fit for them; do not be too rigid with your time or services, the Internet is ideal for managing these. Help the prospect to understand what exactly coaching is all about, give them the choice of services, some people do not feel comfortable speaking to a "stranger", some people like to "try" before they "buy". Give your prospects their own unique personal coaching website, where they can communicate with you in a confidential room, receive personal development and coaching resource materials, even coaching tools until they are ready to upgrade to your coaching services.

8. Make the most of the clients you have, turn this client into a life long client. I have never really understood the concept of a rigid period of coaching a client, surely the client is a working process and although they may have exhausted one area of their life, this will have a knock on effect to other areas that will need attention. This doesn't have to be a personal 1:1 with their coach but by providing the client with coaching tools that will keep them interested, focused and on target with their goals, giving the client the ability to upgrade to employ the services of a coach when they come across bigger issues, that they are unable to handle themselves on a self coaching basis.