A healthy client-coach relationship is critical to discerning what you wants in terms of goals and how you go about achieving those goals. To make that relationship a healthy one, your drive and motivation to become a client is key. Without that motivation to become a real client, a willing-to-work client, it’s likely the relationship will fizzle. Why? Because a healthy client-coach relationship requires work- and a lot of it.
Here are six tips for creating and maintaining a healthy client-coach relationship. Make this relationship as important as your goals for real estate success.
- Together, create a set of standards and follow them. That set of standards includes things such as doing your part (being honest with yourself about who you are), working hard, paying attention, putting you and your coach first while you are inside that coaching relationship.
- Be realistic about what its going to take. Most clients want to know the “magic potion.” Know that there isn’t any magic…there’s just the potion. The potion is creating a game plan together that utilizes the client’s strengths to achieve the goals that motivated you to be in this coaching relationship in the first place. The potion is putting in the hard, daily work behind the scenes that will eventually make your goals and success a reality. The potion is making the small changes that lead to your earned success.
- Put in excellent effort all the time. It’s the effort that matters, not always the result. Everyone struggles; everyone fails. Overcoming the struggles/failures even when you put in the excellent effort is part of the process. Trusting and understanding that your coach wants the best for you is part of a healthy client-coach relationship.
- Together and individually, seek opportunities to improve. If there are issues within the client-coach relationship that are difficult to communicate, be direct and develop a strategic plan together that will help you both communicate more effectively about that issue. If there are individual skills (public speaking, for example) that you think would benefit you out in “the real world,” tell your coach and then report back to your coach about what you’re learning in your public speaking class.
- Together, always show respect and empathy towards one another. You as the client and your coach as the coach are two different people. Showing respect and empathy towards your coach will help you understand your coach and help you build a healthy relationship with your him/her. Practicing this with your coach will remind you to do the same with everyone, regardless of how different from or similar to you that they are.
- Be present with your coach. Be on time, or even early, for your appointments. Be totally tuned in during your session. Do the work behind the scenes. Email and/or text your coach to stay in contact about your struggles, successes, questions, and just revelations. Make sure that your coach is getting your best work.
