What Starbucks can Teach us About Getting Coaching Clients
I don’t know many people that love the taste of Starbucks coffee and yet, up here in the Pacific Northwest, it’s nearly impossible to walk more than five blocks in the downtown area without running into another Starbucks.
How does one of the largest coffee shop chains in the world NOT have the best, most delicious coffee?
The answer is simple. Starbucks is a lot more than a coffee dispensary. “What Starbucks actually does for me,” shares a 40-something Englishman, “is give me all the benefits of a pub, without the expectation that I’m going to drink alcohol.”
Inspired by a trip to Italy in the early ‘80s, Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz’s goal was to recreate the experience of drinking an espresso in Milan, where the coffee shops on every street corner form a big part of the social fabric. I don’t even drink coffee and I enjoy going to Starbucks. The couches are comfy, the lighting and colors are soothing, the baristas are pleasant, the music is soulful and uplifting, and you can almost always count on it being full of people enjoying friendly conversation.
The Starbucks experience has been carefully planned and executed. It’s not by accident that millions of people get their caffeine fix at Starbucks. Starbucks delivers more than coffee. They deliver an experience that customers depend on. Starbucks has made a distinction between delivering the thing and creating an experience around the thing.
Think about what happens before and after the coaching call
Coach training schools teach you to how to coach, which is the equivalent of making coffee. What they don’t teach you is how to create an experience before and after the coaching call.
Think of Starbucks again. There’s a big difference between the barista and the shop manager. While the barista’s concerned with the taste of the coffee, the manager is concerned with the whole experience and the taste of the coffee is only one aspect of it.
So when it comes to coaching, are you a masterful barista or a shop manager? Are you concerned with the taste of the coffee or the whole experience? Are you concerned with only the coaching or have you considered the whole coaching experience from the moment your clients “walk in the door”?
I have spoken to dozens and dozens of coaches who tell me they are great coaches but they don’t have many coaching clients to show for it. They regularly tell me that although they recently got formal coach training, they have been coaching their whole lives.
If you are a great coach, it doesn’t matter to potential clients when:
- They call you and get an informal voicemail: “Hi, you’ve reached the McKenzie’s, Bob, Nancy, Jane, and Rufus ‘woof woof.’ Leave us a message”
- They visit your website and there are spelling and grammar mistakes
- They email you and you take four or five days to respond
Whether explicitly or not, the most successful coaches create an experience that instills confidence in their clients.
Steps to create a great coaching experience
Here’s a short list of ideas to help shape the experience your clients have of your service:
- When a potential client calls, what does your voicemail say? Do you even have a separate phone line for your business?
- Do you make it easy for customers to book an appointment with you or do you end up exchanging dozens of emails just to set an appointment?
- How do you welcome new coaching clients? Do you have an intake form that instills confidence and trust?
- If you have an office where you meet clients, what does it look like? Is it bright, clean, and spacious?
- What happens when you complete with a client? Do they have something to show for the work they did with you?
Stop being just a coach and start creating an amazing coach experience for your customers. I know just the place to ponder how: Starbucks. The drip coffee might not be the greatest but it’s the perfect place to plug into the WiFi and zone out to the conversation of life.
Great post/analogy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I’m glad you liked the post.
Stephan – a great article – a good reminder of how important the whole experience is that a client has from beginning to end. Thanks for your insight and for Noomii.
Loved the comparison to Starbucks — they are a great brand because of the experience they offer. I was fortunate that my mentor coach delivered a comprehensive and professional experience that went way beyond her coaching ability.
Great read. I love that the idea raises the bar for us as coaches to think more broadly about the user experience. Thanks!
Now, that’ a “Whack on the side of the head!” Stephen, you just envisioned for many the missing link….brilliant.
Thanks Stephan for the post. It inspires to look the coaching from new angle. Rather than just focussing on getting the coaching call done and giving the client goals, one must focus on giving the client an amazing experience. I learned this from a pediatrician in our city. He is introvert.. seldom talks to the clients, but once you go inside his office, he would win you over despite his introvert nature. He would make you feel that your child is in safest hands, the way he carries himself, the gentle way he touches the child etc etc… and he is the highest paid pediatrician.
This is a great example of how a brand is far more than a logo. Our brand should be reflected in our client’s experience and how they feel when interacting with all aspects of our coaching practices.
I recently spent some time reviewing my systems for scheduling, and switched to a new online calendar system so my clients can easily book online- this removes the phone tag games, and emails back and forth. It’s all about ease and simplicity so we can both focus on the coaching.
What a great read! Thank you! Quick questions – will you give examples of what you mean by: Do they have something to show for the work they did with you?
Are you meaning a thank you card? a certificate?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Tiffany,
Good question. Some of the best coaches have developed systems for keeping track of their client’s information so there are artifacts of the work done. Here are some examples:
– send new clients a binder of forms to fill out that they can refer to time and time again
– get your clients to journal online
– create a one-page life plan for your clients to use
– send them their “letter to my future self” in a year
Does that make sense?
Thank you, Stephan. Your thoughts inspire me to deepen the elements in my company’s service and customer experience process. We could even complement the ICF Core Competencies, and Co-Creating the Relationship in particular, with competencies on creating a customer experience!
Thanks for sharing this, I found so enlightening. Love the comparison to Starbucks! It is not just about being a great coach, but creating an experience for the client to feel valued! Love it!
Thanks!
As I read all of the comments, one thing I didn’t mention in the article that I think the best coaches do is establish trust and hope. The experience of visiting the coach’s website, reading their bio, and talking to them has the client feel confident and hopeful that better results will be achieved.
Kat mentioned having a scheduling system for ease of scheduling appointments. That may be true. A calendaring system is more convenient but it may also be a signal to the client that says “I’m a professional. I value your time. I value my time. I use convenient tools to make sure that we spend time on what’s important – improving your life.”
What do you think?
Stephan, love the post and also your most recent comments about establishing trust and hope. Trust is so foundational, and I believe that is also part of the Starbucks experience. I remember being (literally) on the other side of the world and walking into a Starbucks in Singapore, and it felt just like my ‘home’ Starbucks in Cleveland. No matter where I go in the world, I can walk into a Starbucks and get that same feel. I trust them to deliver… and hopefully my clients can take that same feeling from working with me.
If our job is to hold the space for the client to show up whole, creative, resourceful, and fully, why not make that space warm and pleasant and exceptional?
Again, thanks for offering the lovely distinction.
Hi Jim,
I just got back from a couple months in Thailand so I know the feeling of walking into a Starbucks in an otherwise unfamiliar environment. They definitely offer more than just a cup of coffee.
So yes, go forth and create a warm, pleasant, exceptional “space” for your clients!
Hi Stephan:
Like Maya Angelou says “it is not about what you own, know, do or say, it is how you make people feel that they remember about you.” I paraphrased it sorry. But you are right on, Stephan. Thank you for the tip. Make people fall in love with themselves and some how they will always remember you because you got them started.
Happy writing and many blessings,
Love,
Keya
Great posting- I thought about my first Starbucks experience and I remember how terrified I was that I would look stupid and say the wrong thing. Here I am a year later and am a pro…….walking into Starbucks is a familiar feeling any where I go and I feel at ease. This is the way I would like my clients to feel.
I loved the analogy. Great post