I have just moved back to Charleston, West Virginia from Atlanta Georgia. I lived in Atlanta for five years and during my time there, I had a personal/life coach. The coach really helped me with some things. She was great, really fantastic. And now I would like to bring that kind of service to the Charleston area, where you can’t find a life coaching service. I have already spoken with some people and no one has heard of this kind of service before. So my question is- How can I introduce a new idea or service to an area that is not familiar with it and with what you can do for them?

–Vickie Halstead

Peter Morris, the Business Shrink answers:

After speaking with Vickie, I learned that she currently works as a paralegal in Charleston. It sounds like she really would like to help other people realize their goals and the steps they need to take to reach them, just as her Atlanta life coach did for her. I think this is a great idea but also a great challenge.

Vickie’s paralegal background is great preparation for the transition to a personal coach because she is already in a situation where she constantly helps others in the office, assists clients, hones her listening and communication skills, gives advice and suggestions. The next step is to clearly define the idea of “coach” for the purpose of shaping a career around it. For example, a coach is someone who helps people in business and in non-business areas to get their lives together and to work towards goals and bettering their situations.

To get started, I think one of the first steps Vickie can take is to go out and get a few people she knows- friends, co-workers, family- whom she knows she can help and give them an introductory offer that they can’t refuse. She could charge a little or charge nothing at all for a little while, during a trial period of perhaps 60 days. And she’ll start out working with people she can introduce the concept of coaching to easily and simply.
Its all in the approach. She can set potential clients at ease with an introduction that explains, “Some people go to church, others to temple, some go to lawyers or doctors or psychologists and psychiatrists. And what’s needed more than that is a compassionate, caring person who will put her arm around you and listen to your problems and help guide you through them.” I think that’s a really easy sell as long as Vickie gets to talk with people in a relaxed environment where she can explain what she does and what coaching is about. And she can listen carefully and give them a glimpse of her own life experiences and advice. And after that, her services will spread like wildfire. I understand that Vickie is aiming to introduce life coaching to a part of the country where traditional values are based on being self-reliant, on pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, and where people often don’t have anyone to really talk to because problems are a luxury.

During my conversation with Vickie about her plans, she said that “worry” was a key word she wanted to focus on in her coaching. She explains that during her childhood, “there was just so much worry and really no need to worry. Things work out if you get your mind in the right place and work towards things.” She told me one of her lifelong passions comes from a number of discussions with co-workers and friends who worry about their jobs and say they hate their work. And she is concerned because so many hours are spent on the job. One of Vickie’s goals is to come up with ideas to help these folks learn to love their jobs again. And again, this is another easy sell if its done in the right way.

Vickie may want to think about taking an ad out in a local newspaper or weekly, with clever wording that poses the question “DO YOU HATE YOUR JOB?” That’s an eye-catcher. And she can follow up that headline with something like “Would you like to find a way to love your job without the pain of loss of income, losing friends at work, and starting a new job hunt? It’s not too good to be true. Come talk to me, Vickie Halstead.” She can then set up a sort of free introductory meeting or offer, and treat the client to a cup of coffee. Set up office somewhere comfortable like a local coffee shop or meet at a Starbucks, or rent a small office space. And that ad will draw a few people who want to come in and see what its all about, who want to sit down and just talk for a bit.

Charleston is a town where family connections and relationships are important, where trust is often found in simply knowing a bit about someone else. Once Vickie creates a situation for interested folks to sit down and get to know her, they’ll feel comfortable and come back for more. She is really just creating an invitation to sit down and talk in a neuatral, non-frightening space. And she is explaining that instead of taking the problem to church or to a doctor, they can take their problems to her and work out step by step solutions. She will be able to tell them how she, too, has experienced similar fears and problems and that she can identify with them. Once people see how humble, professional, and experienced Vickie is, she will be able to really start helping them, one by one.

Vickie, I wish you the best with your endeavors. I think you’re off to a good start. And I’d love to hear back from you in a few months. Check in and let us know how well the business is going!