Your 7 Step Guide on How to Hire a Life Coach
If you’re wondering how to hire a life coach or don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. As a newer industry compared to say, therapy, the coaching space brings ambiguity. And for those wanting to hire a coach successfully, it may not be obvious where to go or how to do it.
But don’t fret! We’ve got you covered at CoachRanks. In this seven step guide, discover what you should expect as you embark on your search for the right life coach. While your own search may not follow these steps perfectly, we hope to make things a little less daunting as you strategize how to find a life coach who meets your needs.
1. Narrow Down Your Niche(s)
Step one in finding the right coach is to do some very early filtering based on what you want and need in your life. While many life coaches offer a general slate of services, most of them are specialists in a few areas of focus. These areas of focus are often referred to as coaching niches, and there’s no shortage of them!
The more specific you can get with what you want in your coaching experience, the better. Your job in step one of your search is to simply increase the odds that the coaches in your search will overlap nicely with your needs. This may be as simple as determining “I want a life coach who has some expertise in spirituality and relationships.” While these specialties may not be required on your end, they give you a good starting point to filter out some of the noise as you launch your search.
2. Understand Coaching Certifications
In an effort to add some standardization to the coaching industry, credentialing organizations have emerged en masse. As you start poking around to find a coach, you may notice some coaches have things like “ACC” or “PCC” after their name (much like a doctor would use “PhD”). To learn a bit more about these credentials, read our post on the best life coach certifications.
While some people care about a coach’s certifications, others may not even pay attention to it. However, for most, a certification brings some level of peace of mind that a coach is committed to the industry and held to a certain standard. This alone can be a valuable “filter,” as there remains no barrier to entry into the coaching profession—meaning, anyone can call themself a coach, certified or not.
Keep in mind that the importance of coach certifications largely depends on your situation. For example, if you are a startup founder looking for an entrepreneurship coach, certifications may not matter at all. In this case, experience trumps certifications, and you are likely to benefit most working with a coach who has successfully run their own businesses. Such a coach may not have any certifications, but they have the first-hand experience to offer plenty of value.
3. Determine Your Budget
You may have a hard time figuring out how to hire a life coach if you skip over a simple yet important detail: What’s your budget?
Life coaches charge a wide range of rates, with some coaches charging hundreds per hour. On the other end of the spectrum, some coaches charge very low rates (or even offer free coaching) especially if they are early in their coaching careers.
It’s good to have a general idea how much you’re willing to spend on coaching per month before you start your search. Landing on a number will help cut through the noise and will give potential coaches the opportunity to offer packages that fit your budget. For example, an expensive coach can always offer fewer sessions per month as a way to meet your budgetary restraints.
4. Strategize Your Search
For many, finding a great coach takes effort. Unless you have a word-of-mouth referral at the ready, chances are you’ll be venturing into the open market to find a match. But don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to conduct a successful search.
Start by assessing step one in this guide—what niches or specialties are you seeking in a coach? This may help inform where to start looking. Consider where your ideal coaches hang out. What platforms do they use and how might you reach them?
Are they business oriented and more likely to be on LinkedIn? Create a post from your LinkedIn account asking your network to point you to recommended coaches.
Are they on the younger side and more likely to be leveraging a platform like Instagram? Dig into some hashtags that your ideal coach is likely to use as a way to filter content.
Outside of social media platforms, online directories offer another outlet for searching. With so many coaches to choose from (and many offering the same services), directories may be overwhelming. Decision fatigue can make it difficult to narrow one’s search down to just a couple options.
Still, it’s worth checking them out. Some hit-or-miss examples include the International Coaching Federation’s coach finder tool (which only includes ICF-certified coaches) or bark.com.
5. Schedule Up Some Consultation Calls
Once you find some coaches who look like a potential fit, it’s time to take the next step. Most coaches make it relatively easy to learn more about their services via their website or social media profiles.
Most often, the first step is a free consultation with a coach that lasts no more than 30 minutes. The purpose of these calls is to check for compatibility and to ensure that your needs as a client overlap nicely with what the coach can provide.
Beyond compatibility, these initial calls also offer the opportunity to review logistics, like packages and pricing—so you can get some clarity on whether it’s a fit budget-wise.
To maximize your chances of success, try to find a few coaches with whom you can schedule consultations. It always helps to have a few different leads—if nothing else, so you can compare and contrast different offerings on the market.
6. Interview Questions to Ask a Coach
“You are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you.”
You’ve probably received this advice from a friend before interviewing for a job. Well, the same advice applies when you’re interviewing a life coach during a consultation call. This is your time to take command of the initial chat and figure out if this person can suit your needs. Some recommended questions to consider when you interview a coach include:
What are the outcomes you help create for your clients?
Do you work with other <blank> clients like myself? If so, do you have testimonials?
How long do you typically work with clients?
Can I stop at any time?
How much do you charge and do you do any variable pricing?
How has your experience in this niche shaped your coaching approach?
These questions are designed to reduce uncertainty and give you a very clear understanding of what you’re getting with a coach. Try not to be shy! Coaching is a real investment of your time, energy, and money. Coaches vying for your business should be held to a high standard and if they struggle with these questions, you’ll be better off knowing it. Remember, selecting the right coach is a critical decision and not one to make lightly.
7. Getting Started
If and when you choose to proceed with a coach, the end of your consultation call (and any follow up communication) will likely make it clear how to move forward. Coaches use a variety of tools and systems to operate their practices, so expect a bit of administrative set up.
Many coaches assign some form of homework or “launch exercises” at the beginning of their engagements. You should welcome this part of the experience. These launch exercises are typically designed to get you in the coaching mindset by forcing you to do some reflection on where you are, where you want to be, and any limitations holding you back.
Doing this work during and before your first few coaching sessions also gives your coach valuable information about yourself. Equipped with knowledge, your coach will be able to better personalize the coaching experience, optimizing your chances for a great engagement.
Conclusion
There’s no better time to invest in yourself than right now. And there are few self improvement investments as beneficial as life coaching.
As you continue to get educated on how to hire a life coach, remember that no two people are on the same path. You may find the perfect coach in a matter of days, while someone else may take weeks, or even months. In a similar vein, you may decide to work with a coach indefinitely, while others may only try it for a few months.
In any case, we wish you the best of luck as you venture into the wonderful world of coaching. Keep an open mind, take your time finding a great coach, and enjoy all that this self development resource has to offer.
