Connecting with clients through coaching

• Engaging the client in provocative conversation, in which the coach listens carefully to what is said and asks obvious next questions, clarifies real meaning, and questions when something doesn’t sound right;
• Revealing the client to himself — help them to see themselves better;
• Helping the client to identify sources of motivation; and
• Helping clients to “elicit greatness” — getting them to adhere to higher standards and move to a higher level.

Coaches are taught to “enjoy the client immensely” — enjoy their strengths and enjoy their weaknesses. “Enjoy them where they are now; don’t just tell them where to go next,” Miga explains.

Sixth sense

Another key element in coaching, she says, is inklings — intuition developed from knowing the client and the situation. “That’s where the synergy comes from between the client and the coach. The coach might say, ‘I have an inkling of where you might go.’ We share our intuition,” says Miga.

Sharpened focus

Coaching has greatly improved Miga’s ability to focus her clients on what’s most important to them. “They get a greater sense of clarity about what they want for themselves and this helps them become motivated and fully engaged in the financial planning process,” she explains. “When I take them through the coaching process they get a better sense of where they are and where they would love to go and they begin to feel focused and empowered in their ability to get there.”

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For more on coaching and how hiring a coach can help you build your practice, read the April issue of Advisor’s Edge. To subscribe to Advisor’s Edge or to search our archives, please click here.

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Aileen Miga, CFP, is a coach and author of the book Inspired Wealth: Financial Leadership for the 21st Century (Inspired Wealth).

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Harvey Schachter is a contributing editor of Advisor’s Edge.

(04/07/04)