Using Your Intuition to Find the Right Coach for You

We often look to others, to see how they’ve been successful — to try and learn from them. That’s why, when it comes to coaching, many people rely on referrals. This is a great way to become aware of coaches, but it may be difficult to really get a sense of who is a good coach specifically for you.

We invite you to look within for the signal that tells you you’ve found a good match. Today we’ll walk you through how to use your intuition to find the right coach for you.

Mindset

First, we invite you to be intentional about your mindset. To first define how you want to approach the process of finding a coach for you. We find that focusing on curiosity rather than judgment tends to create an expansive space to explore. Check-in with yourself — how do you want to approach this process? What does that look like, feel like, or sound like?

Define what’s important

When you think about working with a coach, what is important about that experience? Allow yourself to generate ideas of what is important to you, without worrying about priority. Once you have some ideas, then prioritize them. Determine what is the most important thing to have or experience and then work from there to create a prioritized list. Consider this prompt: “In the best possible outcome, my experience will be _____.”

Find coaches

Begin to see who is available to partner with you. You might look up coaches based on what you want to work on if that feels clear to you. Or, you may look up coaches that are accredited by the International Coach Federation. You could also lookup coaches by location if you’re interested in connecting with someone who feels close geographically. Get creative with your searches, and expand the pool of what is possible. Here are some of the many ways you can start finding coaches:

• ICF credentialed coach finder
• Workshops, classes, or retreats — see who’s teaching on topics that relate to you or what you want to work on
• Wellness collectives that have coaches on staff
• Ask your therapist or any other partner you work with (mentor, advisor, etc.)
• Coach matching service like Noomii, Life Coach Hub, Life Coach Spotter
• Referrals from friends, colleagues, family, etc.
• Social Media

Once some of the coaches begin to stand out to you or catch your attention, take a deeper look at their websites. See if they write a blog or write for any publications. Take a look at their social accounts. What are they putting out there? How are they showing up online?

As you aim to stay in a curious space, we invite you to remember that the best coach for you may have different experiences than yours. They may be the ones that ask just the right question to really help you unlock your potential!

Look or ask for reviews and testimonials

See if the coaches you are interested in share any testimonials online or have any published reviews. This will give you a sense of what clients experience, and how they talk about the process. It might give you more insight beyond what the coach shares.

If a coach doesn’t have testimonials or reviews on their website, you can always reach out and ask for them.

This can also include referral information from a friend, colleague, or family member. Get a sense of how they experienced working with the coach, or what they know about the coach and their work.

Understand pricing

What is most important in finding a coach is that it is the right fit for you. Before focusing on the pricing the coach asks for, first check-in with yourself to see what is available. What are your resources? What do you have to give?

Then take a look at the services and pricing information from the coach. Do they meet your needs? Do they align with what you have available? If not, what would need to change for it to be a better match?

Here are some common pricing structures that coaches tend to use:

• A per session, flat fee that is billed monthly
• Package fees — e.g. 12 sessions for $X
• Membership fee, which would include a package of services for a monthly/quarterly/annual price
• Sliding scale
• Services trade: The coach provides a session and you provide a service in return, like a haircut, an astrology reading, or a session of editing for example. The important thing here is that the services traded are of equal value.

Do an introduction call

Reach out to the coaches that still feel like they may be the right fit and see if you can schedule an initial call. This would be a short, free call to see if you two would be a good fit for working together. This is a great opportunity to get a sense of how the coach shows up, how they interact with you, and how they approach their work. You’ll also get a good sense of how they handle logistics — do they email you back in an amount of time that feels right? Do they carefully read your words and respond to what you ask? Are they on time for the call? You will get a lot of information from this initial opportunity to connect.

This is also a great time to ask questions! If you’re unsure about what a session looks or feels like with the coach, ask them to describe a typical session. If you have any reservations or concerns, bring them up and see how the coach responds. Get a clear sense of how they handle pricing and payment: do they take credit cards or are they expecting a different form of payment? Is the total due upfront? Are they open to payment plans?

We encourage you to reach out to coaches at this point, even if their pricing feels out of reach. In this call, you can get a sense of whether there are other prices or payment options than what might be listed on the website. Often, if it is feeling like a good match, a coach may be willing to shift their pricing so that they can accommodate what you have available. Or, they might be able to create unique packages that better fit your budget — like a 9 session package instead of 12, with a slightly smaller scope. This is why it’s important to understand what you have available and consider what might need to change for the pricing and packages to work for you.

Make a decision

Once you have gone through the steps above to gather any information you need, you’ll be ready to make your intuitive decision. You will know when you have enough information and when it feels right to make your decision. At that point, find a space to be quiet and turn inward. Perhaps you do a meditation, or maybe you dance to your favorite song. Whatever you do, focus on what you’re feeling and connect with your breath. Be open to any new information that comes up and gives you a clear sense of who to work with.

Gut reaction

For some, this will show up as a gut feeling. It’ll be a quick, in-the-moment knowing. Try to notice this and trust it at face value. Focus on the signal it is giving you, and try not to allow your brain to jump in and question it or overthink it. Trust the information your body is giving you.

The gut can also communicate to you through your sounds. Pay attention to whether you are someone who says things like “ooooh!” “mmhmm” or “mmm” when something feels right for you. Or, sounds might play in your head when things feel right or wrong for you. Pay attention to this! This is likely your gut giving you your signal.

Others will have an easier time thinking about one coach vs. another and hearing their gut reaction for who to continue to consider. In this way, they can slowly whittle down the list. The idea of looking at all the coaches at once might feel unclear and murky, so focusing on this-coach-or-that-coach will give them a clearer sense from their gut.

If you’re someone who has made impulsive decisions that have turned out very well for you, then you likely will get your intuitive answer from your gut.

Over time

Not everyone will have a gut reaction. Others will need to sleep on it and see how they feel over time. If you’re someone who maybe makes decisions and then regrets them later, this might be the approach for you. Think about the decision over a longer period, and allow yourself to arrive at your decision when it feels right.

One night of sleep might give you the clarity you need. It also might not. You might need a week to think through your decision. Or, you might need a couple of weeks. Everyone has their own timing, so be open to finding the moment that feels right for you.

No Filter

Another approach you can try is to think without a filter. Give your brain permission to go quiet, to allow things to flow. Let whatever thoughts come up to come out of your mouth. Don’t worry about it making perfect sense or it being full sentences. Just say exactly what you think. It might be helpful to record yourself or talk to a trusted friend, so you don’t have to worry about remembering what you say.

Overall, talking to someone else can be a helpful way to determine who feels right for you. Putting things into sentences can shift how we process them. You can even record yourself talking as if you were talking to a friend. When doing this, we encourage you to focus on sharing your thoughts to process, rather than sharing them for the other person’s opinion. Remember, you’re turning inward for your own intuitive signal.

Referrals can be a good way to get started in your search, and it may also be helpful to use your intuition to see what coach can be the best fit for you. Listening inward will give you the reassurance that you are headed in the right direction and it will bring you clarity in your decision. We hope this post gives you the information you need to find the best coach for you — if you have any other questions let us know! @magicalhumansco