Reason #9: An Aversion to Data

Our 9^th reason in our blog series investigating why coaches are failing at creating full-time careers highlights the importance of obtaining data on clients before, during, and at the end of the coaching relationship.

Unfortunately, coaches are becoming a dime a dozen.  Coaching schools are like conveyor belts of certification, churning us out en masse.  So many people enter thinking they will become successful coaches just by graduating (and many of these programs have lax standards).  Very few schools offer their graduates a data driven, practical, scientific, impressive, and powerful assessment they can use to measure the progress of a client throughout the coaching process.

So my former colleague and good friend and I created one for ourselves.  I now call it the Kinetic Life Analysis (KLA)

Here’s how I use the KLA in my practice.

The Complimentary Session

There is a lot of controversy in the coaching world about free sessions.  People need skin in the game to take us seriously, we are told.  I wholeheartedly agree.  And so while coaches who charge their full-rate for an informational session with a client go out of business because no one is taking them up on the idea because nothing is truly offered to help, I prefer to give away one short session to obtain a new client who pays for many more because they see the value during the freebie.

And the KLA provokes my potential clients.  I ask them to take the assessment before we meet.  They only see the results if we meet, Skype, or talk on the phone.  I structure this comp session around their results.  I learn a ton about them as they explain their individual scores.  It also helps them generate clear goals and it helps them understand the value of coaching.

But, and this is an essential but, I never coach a client during the complimentary meeting.  It is about information sharing only.  I learn about the client and the client learns about my method.  Over 90% of people who meet with me for a complimentary session hire me.  The results speak for themselves.  And I credit most of that success to the KLA.

On-Going Assessment

The KLA is an amazing on-going assessment tool.  Every 4-6 sessions I ask a client to re-take it.  We discover new trends, we celebrate the categories where improvements are obvious, and we create new goals, if desired, around categories that lag.  I have found that the higher the overall KLA score, the happier and more achieving the client.

The Last Session

The exit KLA is equally important.  When clients have the chance for a final debrief it allows time for reflection and celebration.  It also sets up an opportunity for the coach to ask the client what new goals come out of the discussion.  All things come to end, and a coach should see the coming and going of clients as natural.  I know too many coaches who think they failed when a client moves on.  Frankly, get over yourself, there are innumerable reasons for a client to stop their regular sessions with you, and many of them may be quite positive.

Data are not for dorks, well maybe for coaching dorks!  Data allow you to create value for your clients.  It is the best of both worlds.  A client qualitatively describes where they are and where they want to go with helpful quantitative parameters to provide context and insights.  The Kinetic Life Analysis is the way to provide an opportunity for you and for your clients to get to the heart of the matter quickly, specifically, and effectively.

The more detailed a client can be, the more likely lofty goals are achieved.   The KLA is the tool that has built my base of clients.

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If you have any questions about coaching please feel free to contact me at scott@kineticcoaching.co, and remember I always offer a complimentary 30-45 minute session to prospective clients to determine if we want to work together.