Kim Avery Coaching

Non-Existent Client Disorder: Do You Have It?

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Are You Suffering From The Hidden Disease Striking New Coaches Everywhere?

stethoscopeUnexplained nausea, a pesky rash, phantom pain – each of these can quickly start my mind rolling down the track of no return.  What if…

What if it’s cancer? The Bubonic plague? A coach-eating bacteria? A biological virus unleashed on Winter Haven, FL by a terrorist who was cleverly disguised as a local Girl Scout?

Funny how the mind works, isn’t it? I think my brain’s reasoning (I’m assuming my brain really does have a reasonable side), is that if it can wrap itself around the worst case scenario and live then the real diagnosis will almost seem like good news.

This sad, irrational thinking has been striking new coaches everywhere.

Disease

A new disease has recently been discovered. It’s highly contagious, excruciatingly painful and ultimately, deadly.

The symptoms are so common, so ordinary, so seemingly normal you may have it right now and not recognized it for what it is.

The name of this disease?

Non-Existent Client Disorder. NCD.

 waiting room

Symptoms

If you have any of the symptoms below, seek treatment immediately.

Coaches suffering from NCD generally…

  • …average 3 clients or less in their coaching practice
  • …find themselves inexplicably lowering their fees in almost every consultation
  • …feel paralyzed at the thought of marketing so they sign up for additional training hoping that will solve the problem
  • …secretly worry that this coaching thing won’t work and they’ll soon have to get a ‘real’ job

Course of the Disease

This disease commonly attacks coaches in their first year or two of business and if allowed to go undiagnosed can lead to discouragement, doubt and grasping at weird offers on the Internet that they know are too good to be true.

Gone untreated in its final stages the disease leads to this terminal conclusion: “Maybe God didn’t call me to be a coach after all.”

In medical terms, we call that death.

Death of hope. Death of a business. Death to the dream of impacting the world through the power of coaching.

Prognosis

Here’s the bad news. (Doctors always like to start with the bad news, don’t they?) To date, no magic pill has been discovered.

But there is hope for those afflicted with Non-Existent Client Disorder. The treatment is radical and the road is hard but when followed complete healing is possible.

Treatment

The treatment regiment is a two-step process that should be applied daily for best results.

1. Get in front of a targeted group of people. – If you hope to strengthen and grow your marketing muscles you will have to get out from behind your computer and meet people in person as well as online. And not just anyone and everyone. You will need to find that rare group, commonly called a niche, get to know them and let them get to know you.

2. Tell them how you help them solve the problems they have. – Your target market isn’t looking for a coach. They are looking for solutions to their common problems. Working with a coach is probably a better solution than 98-100% of other things out there, but no one has told them that yet. You just need to show them the benefits coaching can bring.

Rinse and repeat. Daily.

Outlook

Unfortunately, the majority of coaches won’t seek treatment for NCD (Non-Existent Client Disorder) and for them there is no cure.

In some rare instances, a coach may discover that God really did call them into coach training but not a coaching career for mysterious reasons of His own. Thankfully, for them there are no lingering aftereffects – only joy in their new path.

But for you, the wise coach, things can be different. You’ve spotted your disease in its early stages. You’ve identified your symptoms and diagnosed this disorder accurately.

Granted, the treatment regimen may seem harsh at first, but once begun will quickly work its way into your daily life.

For you, the prognosis is very good. You are wise enough to follow the prescription. And when you do clients will come.

Congratulations. You and your business are looking healthier already.

8 Comments

  1. Cindy

    Ah, this disease looks very similar to the Panicked Photographer’s Disease. And you are so right! Marketing – getting in front of your target market and showing them how you solve their problem – is the only cure. And remembering why God led me on this path in the first place. Good reminder, Kim!

    • Kim Avery

      Hi Cindy –

      God paths never seem to be a straight line from Point A to Point B, so you are very wise. I need to continually remind myself of the mission He has sent me on and that if He has planned it – He will do it!

  2. Cheryl Cope

    Perfectly diagnosed. Excellently prescribed. And humorously written. Thanks!

    • Kim Avery

      Cute answer, Cheryl :).

  3. Patti

    Love your humor. It’s like a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. You make one statement that causes me to pause “get out from behind the computer and meet people”. I need to have a balance between the online marketing (blogging, newsletters, website updating) and meeting real people with blood coursing through their veins. I used to emphasize only the latter and hardly any online presence. Now I’ve flipped. All the clients I have had up to now have been by personal referral, not discovering me online. Does that mean something? Thanks for your blog Kim.

    • Kim Avery

      Hi Patti –

      What a great question. Because people will do business with us once they really know, like and trust us, in-person connections seem to bring clients a lot faster than online connections. It so much more personal.

      However, many people, like me, live in a small town and there just aren’t enough venues to keep a practice full with local networking. So, for us getting business online is almost non-negotiable.

      All other circumstance being ideal – a pleasant mixture sounds right.

      Your observation that you have gotten all your clients through personal referrals up to this point, certainly seems to show that you are a powerful in-person networker and that may be a good cornerstone for the rest of your marketing.

      What do you think?

  4. Debi

    This is a very informative and entertaining article! I love the rinse and repeat daily phrase. This is very true – we must be dedicated and willing to push through the slow times. Thanks!

  5. Summer Alexander

    Loved this article Kim, very clever! Key takeaway – Your target market is looking for solutions to their problems, not a coach.

    I definitely believe that consistently following the regiment you prescribed will always lead to positive results.