As a business coach over the past 13 years, here’s what I have discovered: Everyone is silently begging to be led. Now there are two schools of coaching if you will: 1) The first says you cannot and should not advise. You must pull answers only from what the client says. 2) The second is more like consulting and I believe in this type because that’s what I pay for.

1. Two coaching styles: Advise and Consult or Ask clients
to discover their own answers
As a business coach over the past 13 years, here’s
what I have discovered: Everyone is silently begging to
be led. Now there are two schools of coaching if you
will:
1) The first says you cannot and should not advise. You
must pull answers only from what the client says.
2) The second is more like consulting and I believe in
this type because that’s what I pay for.
Every once in a while it’s nice when a coach asks,
“What do you think you should do?” This allows the client to coach herself which is
empowering. But, my personal feeling is, if I’m going to invest money for someone’s expertise,
then I want direction. I want best practices, I want that person’s intuition and all of that as well.
The truth is, most people are begging to be led.
Thomas Leonard, the founder of CoachU and Coachville did a survey and the number one
thing clients asked for was a strong coach because they are looking for direction, reassurance
and confidence. I found that fascinating. So no matter what you do, from holistic coaching to
business, people want a strong and loving coach. The combination is important to build a
productive coaching relationship.
Clients may seek direction and guidance, but, there is a caveat. In certain circumstances when
you don’t have the knowledge to consult, you say, “Well Susan, I can’t advise you in this
because it’s not within my realm of expertise. You’ve got to do your due diligence, check in with
your intuition, and get the facts first. So I can’t tell you what to do. But I can say if it were me, I
would probably do this.”
One of the first things I learned in coach training, during the model on advising, was to be
very careful. Ask clients to make their own decisions. You can suggest, “if it feels right to you,
then…” to be sure clients gain confidence in making their own decisions once the information is
gathered.

2. There is also room for asking clients what they think they should do. I don’t believe clients
want that 100% of the time, but it works very well from time to time and is highly empowering.
Your Client Attraction Assignment
Of the two coaching styles, which one do you use more often? Consultative or the hands off
approach? Remember that if you tend to be highly directive, it can be a good switch to ask your
client what she thinks to guide her to make future decisions on her own.
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System,
the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record
time...guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing &
success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your
income, visit http://attractclients.com