Good morning! And Welcome to the first edition of The View from Coaching Corner newsletter.
The newsletter will come to you every Monday morning, a round up of views and experience alongside industry news and articles as well as info from other coaches and what they have to offer.
Some issues will be a one-off interview special with a coach, or even a guest post.
I will of course share what I offer, too – but it’s not all about ‘sign up with me!’ – this is a place where we can share ideas, communicate, talk about the coaching world and learn from each other. As it grows, there will be the opportunity to book a classified listing.
Let me start off by telling you a little more about me and why I decided to write this newsletter.
I’m quite new to coaching compared to many of you – I began my ‘journey’ in October 2020 when I enrolled with Optimus Coaching Academy. In May 2021, I received my diploma, after completing a recorded assessment, months of lessons and peer coaching as well as over 50 hours of one on one coaching and running workshops for freelancers.
I still feel a big wave of imposter syndrome when I say I’m a coach! One of the reasons I did the course was to be able to say that I had trained, even though, as we know, this is an unregulated industry. But it helped me enormously and I learned way more than coaching techniques – I learned where I wanted my business to go, about myself and my goals and met some amazing people along the way.
I write a newsletter for my coaching business and platform, Freelance Feels, and coaching began to encroach on that, so I wanted to create something just for the coaching side of my business, where I could know that I wasn’t annoying all the non-coaching followers as I might have been in the other one. Sitting in my spare room, which I call ‘coaching corner’, I decided that was the name and the plan – to write as if I was sharing my view from that place, every week.
The view from coaching corner will begin each week with an experience I’ve had in the world of coaching, and move on to sharing an article or articles from the industry and then some words or info from other coaches. Perhaps a book I’ve spotted, or a cool Instagram account… Ready?...
July 5th 2021: The view from Coaching Corner
Do you ever feel like you’re a con-artist? A charlatan? I suspect not!
In this Observer piece, it’s discussed that ‘Online Job Coaches are exploiting the unemployed during the pandemic’. It really stuck with me because I can see how people might choose the wrong coach, and decide to have coaching with someone who doesn’t know their stuff.
After all, this industry is unregulated, so anyone can say ‘I’m a coach’. And when you’re new to it, like me, it can feel like you’re trying to fit into a niche that isn’t quite the same size and shape as you…
It made me think about how we position ourselves to potential clients – how many promises we make, how ‘in their face’ we are. It made me glad that part of my USP as a coach is very much ‘what you see is what you get’. I won’t promise to change your entire world, I promise to hold your hand while you begin to plan and make changes that will shift your world for the better, short and long term.
Here’s your Coaching Corner question(s) for the week: How do you pitch yourself to new clients? What do you say you can help them with? How do you make sure they trust you and don’t feel like you’re another ‘charlatan’?
Coaching Corner Classifieds…
Brand and Blossom I’m taking part in a branding course and I am LOVING it! You can enrol in the September group now – this is with Emma and Jill who run Blossom Lane Creatives. Emma is also a coach who works one on one, and I’ve worked with her a lot as she was my peer coach on the training course.
Discoco The recently-launched Discoco is a bright, fun platform with lots of articles to help you on your coaching journey. I’m hoping to collaborate with them on some writing soon!
Helen Campbell is such a wave of positivity! She was a recent guest on my podcast and has written a book called Founders, Freelancers and Rebels. Find out more at
Dominique Atwell is The Happiness Coach, and has recently run a workshop on releasing your ‘inner mentor’ Follow her @thehappinesscoach_ for updates and more details on her coaching.
And then there’s me - find me at www.freelancefeels.com where there are details of my group coaching, one on one and masterclasses. The next masterclass on ‘How to be a Media Friendly Expert’ is on July 14th priced £15.
Thank you Jenny, it's a really interesting question. Possibly I am unusual in that I don't make any promises at all to clients. Instead, I have information on my website about what sort of issues I've been working on with clients, and what sort of results they have achieved. So the work speaks for itself. I also ask prospective clients what they're looking to gain out of the coaching process, and then I can tell them if I feel this is achievable or not (most of the time it is, but not always). One very useful question I often use is: If we were to do some coaching together, what would have to happen to make that a really valuable use of your time?
good luck with your coaching journey!
Joanne
www.joannemallon.com
I can definitely relate to both the imposter syndrome and also the sense of unease that after a quick Udemy course I can call myself a Mindset Coach (I do have other coaching qualifications!).
My approach is to be honest with prospective and current clients about how I can help them. I never try to manipulate people into paying for something that they don't want or which isn't right for them.
And honesty works! Recently, I had a new client who booked the cheap, introductory course on my website. After this, she asked me what I would recommend next. I was in a quandary as I have cheaper, teaching courses on another website but the ones on my website are much more expensive.
Conventional marketing wisdom might suggest 'selling' the higher cost courses. Instead, I explained why there is a price difference and what she could expect from each option.
Guess which course she picked?
The expensive one!