With so much wrong with the coaching industry, we just might have found someone doing it right. The simple fact is that not all coaching is created equal. Like so many things, including computers, cars, and houses, some products and services are just done better. Maybe even the expression you get what you pay for applies a little (perhaps even a lot) to coaching as well. There is a reason why so many people who can get free health care in other countries still come to the US to pay for the best doctors with the best educations who work in the best hospitals learning from the best programs. We’re starting to think the same may just apply to coaching as well.
One such company we investigated was Genius Unlocked. Here is our interview:
What’s the difference between good coaches and bad coaches…profitable coaches and not profitable coaches?
The difference between a good coach and a bad coach is heart and education. A good coach passionately connects with their ideal clients through their heart and shared values. To see if a coach is a good connection through the heart, ask, “What are your top values for your business and personal life.” A lousy coach looks at their clients with dollar signs in their eyes, and your values will be different. A good coach has a variety of different certifications and tools from their education and can explain how their education developed their coaching process. A lousy coach uses one tool and says that it is the only one that works. If all you have is a hammer, you see everything as a nail. We advise someone looking for a coach or wanting to become a coach to seek out a craftsman toolbox where you have lots of tools for any unique situation. Heads up, coaches can be good marketers or salespeople and not be able to have shared values from the heart and explain how their education has informed their process.
It seems like anyone can be a coach, so the quality varies. How does someone find a legitimate mentor?
There are so many people with starry eyes and big dreams that can get sold into getting rich quickly or making your dreams happen fast. We get the appeal of making things happen fast. We made a million dollars in our first two years. People can say, “That person is an overnight success.” When in reality, they didn’t see the years of failure and learning to make the 100th idea an overnight sensation. A legitimate coach will not sell you on the fancy fast; first, they will sell you on a lifestyle change that you feel is trustworthy and possible, then tell you how to use their process to make it faster. In other words, a salesperson will sell you on the fancy fast. A legitimate mentor will sell you on a permanent, long-lasting lifestyle change. Someone looking for a legitimate coach can tell when that coach has had the same struggles as them and has produced the results in their life that the person wants.
Should a person be expected to pay for a coach or mentor, and why or in what context does it make the most sense?
Money is a positive exchange of energy. If you value the services, believe it can get rid of your problem and get you what you want, then most definitely. When people go through our program, we want them to say, “That was worth every penny.” Money is commitment and buy-in. Oftentimes, the client puts in an effort equal to the amount they have paid. Believe it or not, our $500 clients can take more time and energy than our $100,000 clients. I think about the times I have spent large portions of money. If it is a product, I take better care of it. If it is a service, I take the responsibility to get my money’s worth. Honestly, I hate to say this, but the times we have given our program away for free, those people have never produced the results that the paying clients have. They just don’t value it the same.
We see a lot of entrepreneurs and coaches, for that matter, using the expression fake it till you make it. How do you feel about that?
We are obsessed with the brain. We are obsessed with healing people and expanding their vision of what they thought possible. We are obsessed with doing the internal work to shift our external circumstances. I believe the cliche, “fake it till you make it,” decreases the integrity of the coaching industry. Don’t fake it till you make it. Be willing to spend the time, energy, and money showing yourself and others that you are committed, confident, and can get results. Look, everyone is at a different rung on the latter of life. Climbing up the latter to the dreams they have. The first rung, they don’t know what they don’t know about the climb. In the middle of the latter, they weathered the storm a bit. They realize they know now what they didn’t know before. They learn, grow, and take different actions. At the top of the ladder, you become competent in the climb. We tell clients, “You can reach your hand up to us, our hand will be there for you, and there will always be clients that can reach their hands up to you, and you will be there for them. Don’t oversell; work with the clients where you have achieved competence.”
What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a coach?
Coaching is a fulfilling and necessary skill for life. You can’t go wrong. Could you imagine if everyone had the communication skills of a coach? Employees would feel more valued. Children would feel like their parents understood them. People would know who they are and what they want, resulting in lower divorce rates, increased job retention, and happier customers. I could go on and on. Our mission is to create a sacred space for each person to release the most vulnerable judgments of themselves. We believe everyone has a genius and can make their next $100,000 with their genius. If you are feeling an inner calling, nudge, or whisper to becoming a coach, that means you are ready. Building a business is the best personal development. Having to sell your own product and service brings out a lack of confidence and imposter syndrome. Guess what? It is in there anyway. It is already stopping you in other areas of life. Commit to growth. Commit to taking actions that you are inspired to do. You can and will make it happen.
What do you do to help legitimize the coaching industry?
The most significant way we legitimize the coaching industry is with our multi-modality approach. We believe that with the proper certifications and education, coaches can work even deeper with people. It is not just one tool or technique. It’s all 8 combined together, which allows for more profound, more permanent results. We are one of the only certification companies in the nation combining all 8! Our certifications are also board-recognized, which is essential to legitimizing the coaching industry. We bring in modalities that work with people’s conscious mind and unconscious mind. Our client Debbie O’Connell, who is a professional LPGA golfer and now has a thriving coaching company helping golfers compete at a higher level, says she used to only help people at the conscious mind level reframe their thoughts and think positively. She found out it worked short term, and they would always revert back to their old habits. When she reframed their conscious mind and released what was holding them back in their unconscious mind, her clients had more significant decreases in their golf handicaps, won checks in competitions, and had more fun on the golf course!
Why would someone use you or one of your coaches over a therapist, psychologist, or other college-educated professional?
We have several clients who are therapists who believe adding coaching to their toolbox has helped them get even more profound, more effective results. They say while therapy helps people examine their past and create coping mechanisms to function better in life, coaching gives them a more comprehensive range of tools. Oftentimes, they feel limited in their practice. This means that when different modalities might support a client more, their license keeps them from using it. Our 10-step paradigm shift process using multiple modalities allows the process to be customized to the client’s needs. Our client, Gray Robinson, came to us wanting to get certified as a coach to increase his credibility and make more money coaching lawyers who were burnt out. Before we helped him build his business, we released root problems in his relationship with family and health and worked on past painful events. After being coached around other areas of life, he realized truly why he was holding himself back in his business. Now, instead of just coaching people 1-on-1, he has a healing certification for lawyers, making multiple Netflix documentaries with big names in the industry, and has another thriving business with his wife. We help with problems from the past, expand what they believe is possible in their life, and support them with action steps they are inspired to do!
Do you see the coaching industry growing, shrinking, or maintaining, and why?
A prime directive of the unconscious mind is to always want more. It is human nature. The coaching industry is a billion-dollar industry and is only going to grow. People want to know effective ways to make their dreams happen. More and more people are realizing they can have their own business, which creates time and money freedom. People are just now learning healing techniques that have been around for centuries or more. It is allowing them to be empowered and take their healing into their own hands instead of depending on someone else. The coaching industry is doing brain research and creating new techniques that were never possible before. With technology, online businesses are more prevalent than ever. People from around the world can connect, share, and make money. Our business took off during COVID because our in-person-only events now had to be online, which allowed us to become an international coaching institute. 100 years ago, doing what you were told was the best thing. Now, being authentic, healing, and growing are the HOT things.
How should a coach decide what to charge a client, and how should a client decide what to pay a coach?
Results! A coach should charge their client based on the results they can help their client achieve. A coach spends time, energy, and money evolving their process in order to achieve client results. A coach can increase their price the more effective their process is. We have 4 levels of certification: practitioner, master practitioner, advanced coach, and trainer training. These add new tools, insights, and a deeper understanding of the brain. A client can decide how much they want to pay on the results they want to achieve and how willing they are to take the inspired action. I would suggest a client deciding how much to pay to ask themselves, “How long have I wanted the results?” and “When I achieve my results, how much is that worth to me?”
As a part of our interview, we looked at things like their website, signed 5 and 6-figure agreements for services rendered, and reviewed testimonials of clients. Although we are not in the business of recommending or endorsing any one company, they do seem to provide proof that they might just be leading out on the cutting edge of the coaching industry.
Start your journey at https://geniusunlocked.coach/
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