Coaching & Covid-19: Coaching Trends for 2021 and Beyond
In the past year, every industry has had to adapt to the changes brought on by Covid 19. The business coaching industry has been no exception; it has had to adapt its coaching services to clients' changing needs, while logistical adjustments and coaching trends have had to be implemented to effectively keep up with the rise in demand for coaching services.
It’s important to note that although many industries have failed to meet the challenges brought on by the pandemic, the coaching industry was affected a little less harshly than most.
A study done by Acuity states that 52% of the business coaches in their study reported an increase in revenue in the past year, while 22% reported their revenue as “unchanged.” These were impressive percentages in a period when unemployment reached record highs.
In fact, the ICF states that the coaching industry is still expected to be worth $20 billion in 2022 and remain one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world.
Demand for Coaching in Times of Crisis Has Improved the Future of Coaching
Although coaching exists to improve the professional and personal lives of coaching clients, whether they are struggling or not, the value of coaching is increasingly visible in times of crisis.
A coaches’ leadership, knowledge, and skills—their “true colors,” so to speak—are put to the test when their client has a tangible crisis to overcome. And for most of us, the pandemic gave us all good taste of what a crisis means.
As a coach, your role is never to pull your client out of the trenches on your own, but rather to get into the trenches with them, assure them there is a way out, creating a space to strategize an escape plan, and share your tools and training to be able to climb out of the trenches together.
Apart from your experience, skills, and resources, as a coach, your voice of understanding, listening ears, and unwavering presence of support is what will get your clients the necessary faith to overcome their crisis.
With your coaching, the client stops perceiving their crisis as a “crisis” and instead sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for improvement.
The global growth and success of the coaching business during the pandemic have cemented the future of coaching. It has proven to be of tremendous value for current coaching clients and potential clients in times of uncertainty.
New Coaching Trends Produced by the Changing Coaching Industry
With new problems plaguing businesses and individuals, coaches have had to adapt their coaching process to these new issues and focus their resources on helping their clients navigate this new world.
Apart from addressing their clients’ new issues, coaches have had to change their coaching services and conduct their business to continue to reach their clients under the new normal.
Industry trends have risen from this “new normal,” and coaches everywhere are implementing these trends to keep up with its growth and success.
Trend #1: Embrace the Power of Virtual Coaching
Like many other businesses and organizations, coaches have had to take their content and expertise to the screen. Coaches have had to direct their process of finding new clients, interviewing with them, and conducting coaching sessions over to the online world.
At a glance, virtual coaching may seem to lack the “human connection” and direct engagement that is expected from business coaching. Still, when used correctly, this kind of coaching can be more beneficial than in-person sessions.
The ease and accessibility of virtual coaching platforms can open a lot of doors:
It erases commute time and cost for both the coach and the client; it can be safer when building a relationship with new clients
It can create more privacy for both parties
It can make group coaching much easier and accessible
Coaches don’t have to limit their market audience to their community‑they can essentially coach anyone from anywhere in the globe.
With the coaching business hopping online, here are some trends that coaches are implementing into their business to create that authentic “human connection” and maintain engagement with their clients—virtually.
Reduce Zoom Fatigue
By now, organizations and individuals are aware that digital calls and conferences are putting people to sleep because of how overused they are becoming.
However, there are key steps to take to prevent your clients from falling into “zoom fatigue.”
Focus on creating positive connection through dialogue; make the session an interactive two-way conversation to prevent the client from multitasking on their side and zoning out.
Take notice of the energy within the video call—there is energy flow, even if it is virtual. Take physical cues (posture, movement, breathing, talking tone, and speed) from the person on the other end to notice where they are and adjust the tempo and content to their current needs.
Remember that silence is more than ok. Long pauses and a time for contemplation are needed to reflect on the content at hand and give productive answers and questions.
Focus on Pre-Work
Pre-work is one of the trends that the ICF is signaling will be most effective when implemented with virtual coaching.
Pre-work is basically another word for “homework,” and I know nobody misses the days of having to turn in homework, but hear me out: pre-work is a trend that can be a key part of your client’s success.
Pre-work can take the form of questionnaires, diary entries, personal assessments, business research, performance rating, creating and completing new personal and professional projects, and creating power points or vision boards.
By assigning pre-work, you free up more coaching time within sessions; your client knows what to expect before each session and is better prepared to work on certain issues that the pre-work primed them to tackle.
If you aren’t quite sure how to make your sessions more successful, pre-work is an excellent performance tool to implement.
Trend #2: Implement Technology into your Coaching Services
Lean more into the virtual trends by filling in business gaps with new technology and software that’s easy to install and use.
Tools
Scheduling Software: There are many different scheduling software companies; for example, Squarespace has its own software.
If you are already conducting your sessions virtually, you might as well connect the scheduling. It takes the back and forth of texting and finding a time that works for both of you.
With this software, your client basically looks at their coaches calendar in real-time and picks a time that you have available, and that similarly works for them.
Payment Software: Implement up-to-date payment technology to make payment processing easier and more cost-effective.
These programs are also great for coaches to keep track of payments, late payments, and any issues that may arise. It’s also great to have all of your financial information in one place when tax time comes around.
Screen Recording Tools: A great thing about online coaching is that you can give your client the option to record your video calls. Coaches can record the session and send them to clients afterward in case they want to revisit what you discussed.
Marketing & Your Online Presence
Many coaches within the industry are marketing their skills and services by boosting and cultivating their online presence; these coaches find that this online trend is growing the demand for their business.
Social Media: Social media's power is only expected to rise more and more as time passes. A social media presence should be an important part of a coaches strategy for reaching their target market.
A coach should use social media as a tool to reach potential clients, create a visible brand of their self, and use it to network with fellow coaches.
Basically, if someone can’t find your services on a website or social media, then you can't offer them your services.
Coaching Platforms: An online coaching platform acts as a middleman in connecting clients to coaches who fit their needs. Coaches can use coaching platforms like CoCaptain to reach a wider audience, many times outside their local community. It also works well for coaches who don't have the time, skills, or investment to start their own website or run their social media accounts.
Trend #3: Sell More Than Just One-on-One Services
For Clients
As a coach, remember that some clients have reached their wits end of zoom fatigue or don’t have time to sit in on sessions.
Make pre-recorded video sessions with the content you are most specialized in. Many people are looking for specific content from experts that they can learn from without the extra time that one-on-one sessions require.
For example, some coaches who have expertise in marketing will consider creating a marketing guide on how to reboot your business’ branding scheme, or a motivational coach might record a motivational set of videos that detail how to get through a rough patch in your personal or professional life.
For Other Coaches
Maybe you have created your own coaching model or coaching style and have found it incredibly successful; you can consider creating a guide that details your coaching model and sells it to other coaches.
Other parts of your services like specific pre-work you assign, questionaries, or talking points for different sessions are valuable tools that other coaches are willing to pay for.
Trend #4: Carve Out Your Niche
The future of the industry lies largely in coaches who specialize in a specific area. Coaches who have a specific set of skills, background, and knowledge within a niche sector will see much more employment opportunities in the coming years.
After a year like this one, most clients, businesses, and organizations know what areas they need the most help with as their blind spots, and weak links have most likely been revealed.
Organizations and individuals continue to face more complex challenges as everything becomes more globalized and everything changes rapidly.
Clients will need a specialized coach within a certain niche that can cater to their particular needs.
Find a target niche for yourself if you haven’t already done so. This doesn’t mean a coach can only cater to certain clients, but it does mean that they can market themselves as an expert in some area instead of not being an expert in anything.
Bottom Line
During this past year, the resilience and success of the coaching industry have crystalized the positive impact professional coaches have had on countless people across the globe during this crisis.
The pandemic has changed life as we know it, and it has also changed the coaching industry as we know it.
New trends and opportunities have grown from the pandemic's challenges, and it's up to individual coaches to take the challenges as opportunities for revolutionizing their practice.
As a coach, what changes have you had to implement into your business that you think you will keep after the pandemic is over?
