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THIS week, I put a post out on LinkedIn saying nobody needed a coach. 

Why would I say that? I’m a coach, after all. Isn’t that career suicide?

Well, no. Context is everything. 

I was talking about the difference between *needing* a coach and *wanting* a coach, of course. 

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It’s an important definition. When it comes to buying decisions, desire is always more power-full than perceived need.

Think about it this way... let’s assume you’re really into shoes. Do you get more excited about treating yourself to the funky footwear you’ve been admiring for months, or that pair of really practical, regulation clogs you need to wear for your work in a hospital, for instance? Want V Need. 

What about this? You feel a bit stuck in your job, you know you have the potential to reach far greater heights, but you don’t really know which way to turn. 

Do you feel more enthused about the coach you’ve carefully selected and saved up for yourself, who will coach you outside of your working hours and help you to create your future direction, or the compulsory ‘guidance sessions’ your boss has set up with the HR manager to help you get closer to the goals you’ve been set? 

Want V ‘Need’. In this case, ‘need’ is even less enticing, because you’ll probably be feeling backed into a corner by somebody else’s need. 

?? You *need* something to eat. You *want* a slice of cake. Or a burrito. We cater for all needs here ??

?? You need a car. You want a Bugatti. 

?? You need a new coat. You want the Michael Kors. 

Get the picture? Want is a more power-full driver than need. 

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When it comes to coaching, too many coaches are turning the thumb screws and talking about ‘need’. 

It’s bollocks. 

The truth is, though coaching can help you achieve new heights and fly past your wildest dreams in record time, it’s definitely a *want* and rarely, if ever, a *need*. 

If you *want* to get more clients and make a few extra thousand quid every month, you might decide you *need* a coach to help you get there, but the want came first. 

If you’re coasting along and doing okay, you might *want* a coach to help you access more, or reach your goals faster, but it’s hardly life or death, is it? 

If you don’t hire a coach, you’ll just stay at the level you’re at for longer. That’s all. Coaches are more helium than oxygen... or something like that ??. 

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By and large, people got what I was saying in my LinkedIn update. Thousands of views. Successful post. 

At one end of the spectrum, someone said this: “If I was a coach I would pitch it differently. You are the biggest asset you have in life in the world and why would you not invest into it. To help be the best you can be and fulfil your potential. No one needs it but the people who invest in themselves it's visible.”

My response: “Yep, lots of coaches do use exactly that pitch ??????.”

Aren’t we all tired of that approach? The sheer fact that we’re being pitched at all the time? 

If you write a post, take a step back and look at it cold. If it looks like everybody else’s tired, old pitchfest, scrap it. Be brave enough to stand out from the crowd. Be different, not desperate. 

At the other end of the spectrum, someone said this: “Hi Taz !! Take a bow!! You had the guts to at least say what you believe in !!?????????? And that too being a Coach yourself. That speaks volume of your integrity and honesty. I salute Thee !!??????”

Yep - that’ll do nicely, thank you. 

Oh, and for the record, I did have enquiries off the back of my post - despite that not being my intention. 

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When we stop posting to sell and start posting to serve, something magical happens - especially in a ‘niche’ like coaching (inverted commas because coaching isn’t really a niche any more, by any stretch!), where so many people have been sold a dream, feel stuck in poverty mindset and are desperate for clients.

Desperate doesn’t attract clients. 

Trying to scare, or guilt, people into buying your products might have some positive results - similar to scarcity marketing - but I guarantee you’ll turn off more clients than you win. 

Sometimes it’s worth tipping everything on its head and standing apart from the crowd.

Think about the content YOU might like to consume. Consider whether YOU would want to engage with the kind of content you’re putting out there. If you wouldn’t, then be brave enough to change it!

What’s stopping you? 

#UnleashYourAwesome,

Taz

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