| What is the future for the coaching industry? | | | | profitable niches, and is bad news for the |
| The coaching market is changing and it's changing | | | | undifferentiated life coach. |
| rapidly. There are a number of powerful trends | | | | Coaching MegaTrend 5: Coaching Products |
| sweeping through the market, and every coach should | | | | Coaches are increasingly using online products - both |
| be aware of them. These are the Seven Coaching | | | | their own products and those of others - to achieve |
| MegaTrends, and they are set to change the coaching | | | | different marketing objectives. These products can be |
| market forever. | | | | ebooks, articles, short courses delivered by |
| They will affect your coaching practice, the way you | | | | autoresponders, teleclasses, downloadable mp3s, CDs, |
| reach your clients, how you interact with them, what | | | | home study courses and combinations of the above. |
| you offer and ultimately whether you will continue to | | | | Some coaches are using products to augment their |
| get coaching business. You'd best be aware of them - | | | | coaching offerings, to appeal to different segments of |
| so read on to discover what they are. | | | | their market. Others use them as a promotion device, |
| Coaching MegaTrend 1: Increased Supply of Coaches | | | | to attract new prospects to their marketing funnel. Yet |
| We are seeing a vast increase in the number of | | | | others are using products to leverage their time with |
| coaches qualifying from the rapidly-growing numbers | | | | clients - so that the client gets the maximum benefit |
| of coach training establishments. And the number of | | | | while minimising costly 1:1 coaching time. |
| coaches qualifying each year is accelerating. Recent | | | | Coaches are finding that products can achieve multiple |
| estimates indicate that there are now between 30,000 | | | | objectives - they can bring in revenue while building |
| to 50,000 active coaches worldwide. | | | | client loyalty and gently guiding prospects to the |
| As well as far more choice of coach training, there are | | | | coach's higher-value coaching services. |
| far more good books, seminars and other support | | | | This means that with coaching products coaches can |
| materials both on coaching and on managing your | | | | increase their revenue, leverage their time with clients, |
| coaching practice. | | | | build their prospect list and increase their exposure in |
| This means far more competition for both newly | | | | the market all at the same time. |
| qualified and established coaches alike, and these | | | | Coaching MegaTrend 6: Coaching Programmes |
| coaches are learning both coaching skills and practice | | | | We are seeing the growth of the specialist coach, |
| management skills at a rapid rate. | | | | who blends coaching with instruction and training, and |
| Coaching MegaTrend 2: Increased Demand for | | | | sometimes adds consultancy. Coaching programmes |
| Coaching | | | | have an overall aim, and a set duration and have |
| Marketers distinguish between four different stages of | | | | specific content that is communicated in addition to the |
| a market: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. | | | | coaching. |
| We see the coaching market as a whole as still being | | | | They typically offer a programme - often between six |
| in its Growth stage, where the expansion of coaching | | | | and eight weeks - designed to build knowledge and |
| significantly exceeds the growth of the economies in | | | | skills in a particular area. Examples of this are CJ |
| which it operates. | | | | Hayden's Get Clients Now! programme which typically |
| The characteristics of the Growth Stage of a market | | | | blends training and coaching. |
| are increasing customer interest, with rapidly increasing | | | | This trend is leading to the coaching market |
| sales and the equally rapid emergence of more | | | | fragmenting somewhat - and becoming less |
| coaches as competitors. | | | | homogeneous. It's not enough to just be a coach, it's |
| So there is an increased demand for coaching - but at | | | | what sort of coach are you, dealing with what sort of |
| the same time the coaching market is expanding, the | | | | clients to achieve what? |
| competition from other coaches is also increasing | | | | Taken together with MegaTrend 4 - niches and |
| significantly. | | | | differentiation and MegaTrend 3 - the increasing |
| In this stage, to attract new clients, the marketing | | | | maturity of the coaching market, we are seeing |
| activities of coaches become more and more | | | | coaches profiting from providing coaching programmes |
| important. On the plus side, several clients typically | | | | to specific market niches. |
| engage in repeat purchase behaviour patterns. | | | | Coaching MegaTrend 7: Availability of Web-based |
| Coaching MegaTrend 3: Increasing Maturity in the | | | | Technologies |
| Coaching Market | | | | We are in the midst of an explosion in the availability of |
| The Wild West days of coaching are over. A | | | | affordable, easy to use web-based technologies. And |
| significant percentage of coaches have now been | | | | savvy coaches are beginning to realise what benefits |
| coaching for more than five years, many for ten - and | | | | this can have to their coaching practices. |
| they have a maturity of approach & experience. | | | | A coach's website is taken for granted these days, as |
| There is an associated increasing maturity in the | | | | is a their newsletter. If you look at several coaches' |
| coaching market itself, with clients having an increasing | | | | websites you'll see a remarkable consistency. They no |
| awareness about coaching and its benefits. | | | | longer differentiate. The area in which to compete has |
| Purchasers of coaching services have changed from | | | | moved on. |
| Innovators in the early days of coaching through Early | | | | Audio and even video are creeping into coaches' |
| Adopters, and now firmly into the Early Majority. | | | | websites. But the coaches who will succeed are those |
| What this means is that there is a much bigger market | | | | offering something that their market want - their |
| out there - 34% of any market are seen as Early | | | | content must be relevant and valuable to their target |
| Majority, with innovators making up 2.5% and early | | | | market. |
| adopters 13.5%. | | | | Those coaches who utilise teleseminars, |
| The Early Majority are more cautious purchasers and | | | | autoresponders and increasingly blogs that meet a |
| need more reasons to buy. They are deliberate, not | | | | client need will prosper. The next big technology trend |
| impulsive decision-makers. They have many informal | | | | is likely to be coaches' podcasts. And the same |
| social contacts that they rely on to know whether | | | | dynamic will apply - the content must be relevant and |
| they should decide to do something. They adopt | | | | valuable to the client. |
| innovations - like coaching - just before the average | | | | We're seeing far more use of internet automation - for |
| member of the market. They seldom lead, are not the | | | | keeping in touch with prospects via autoresponders |
| first, and not the last to do something. | | | | and newsletters, online surveys, membership sites... ...the |
| This means that we need to take a different approach | | | | list is long and growing. |
| to presenting and marketing coaching services to the | | | | The winners in the use of the web-based technologies |
| Early Majority. | | | | will be those unafraid to experiment, who use |
| Coaching MegaTrend 4: Niches & Differentiation | | | | technology for the benefits it can bring to them and |
| The need to differentiate oneself from the ocean of | | | | their clients, rather than for its own sake. |
| other competing coaches is more vital than ever. As | | | | Summary - The Coaching MegaTrends |
| competition in the generic life coaching market | | | | So these are the Seven Coaching MegaTrends: |
| intensifies, more coaches will need to specialise to | | | | 1. Increased Supply of Coaches |
| differentiate themselves. | | | | 2. Increased Demand for Coaching |
| There is more and more focus on niches - weight-loss | | | | 3. Increasing Maturity in the Coaching Market |
| coaching, presentation skills coaching, marketing | | | | 4. Increased need for Niches & Differentiation |
| coaching, career coaching, coaching for lawyers, | | | | 5. Growth in Coaching Products |
| dentists, executive coaching, relationship coaching... | | | | 6. Growth in Coaching Programmes |
| Yes, these options have been available via life | | | | 7. Growth in availability of Web-based Technologies |
| coaches for a while, but niche coaches focus on one | | | | The Seven Coaching MegaTrends are affecting the |
| specialisation, and therefore bring more experience and | | | | coaching market now, and their power will increase |
| knowledge of what's required in that niche to their | | | | over the coming months. You may already be seeing |
| clients. | | | | their effects. |
| The coaching market is already showing signs of | | | | The question is, what are you going to do about them? |
| fragmenting, with specialist coaching sub-markets | | | | Are you going to nod sagely, or take immediate action |
| continuing to develop rapidly. These coaching niches | | | | on them? If you're up for taking action, what are the |
| are growing faster than the rest of the market, with | | | | three things that you can do this week to enable you |
| executive coaching, relationship coaching, career | | | | to deal more effectively with these trends? Set a date |
| coaching and weight loss coaching growing particularly | | | | for completion of those actions and track your |
| rapidly. | | | | progress! |
| This is good news for coaches who can exploit these | | | | |