Think of the last time you catapulted a client to the next level in their thinking by using your intuition. A coach’s intuition is invaluable, allowing you to catalyze new awareness for your clients.

Now, think about the last time you instinctively knew what your next marketing tactic should be, replete with a clear marketing message? I imagine this is a bit more difficult.

Although these seem like two unrelated scenarios, there is one skill that should be present in both of these instances. And that skill is intuition!

When it comes to marketing, your intuition beckons you to rely on it.  Don’t get me wrong. Logical, well-drawn out marketing plans have a rightful place. But having plans with many moving pieces can distract you from your intuitive self. Marketing can start to look and feel like an endless stream of tactics that easily disconnect you from your purpose, leaving you feeling disconnected and unmotivated. Thinking about what to do first and when might stop you from taking action at all.  Even coaches with finely honed intuition get stopped cold in their tracks. They wonder:

How do I tell others about what I can offer, yet not come across pushy?

How do I grow my practice, without being perceived as “selling” myself?

How can I get people to take action now?

The fear these questions engender combined with a dislike for and perhaps, inexperience in marketing can make any coach want to run and put their head in the sand.  Herein lies the problem. Many coaches mistake these fears about marketing for intuition! Fear becomes an obtrusive false voice that shouts over the more subtle voice of intuition, which sometimes is simply a feeling. A feeling we should take a certain action that will lead us to our intended results.

This quiet voice is the one you really need to be listening to! So, how do you distinguish one voice from the other?  It’s a matter of LOCATION.

Think about a time when you helped a client facilitate change. Now, think about the actions that stemmed from your desire to help them create that change?  Where did you feel what you were doing was the right thing?

While there is science behind your methodology, there is also a feeling of what the next right action is that originates in your core. Most people refer to it as a ‘gut’ feeling. It sounds like the truth would if your heart and soul could speak.

Next, think of something scary you’ve been contemplating, perhaps, a new marketing campaign, expanding your services, raising your fees. Where is this feeling originating from? Does it come from the same emotional and spiritual place –your core—that place of authenticity? I’d guess not.

See if you can “locate” the feelings of fear and doubt.  These feelings live higher up in your body—in your mind, actually. These are the feelings that persist in haunting you with their insistence on what is not possible for you. They distract you, keep you awake at night, keep you stuck or hiding from your best self. Mind chatter.

Doubt and fear do not originate from, nor point at, truth whereas intuition IS your truth.

Allowing it to work THROUGH you and your marketing efforts will help you manage fear and doubt, such that you can speak and act from a place of purpose. Marketing from this place feels organic, natural, and spirit-filled. It is attractive and others are drawn to you and what you have to offer.

Copyright 2010 Paulette Rao, MCC                                          All Rights Reserved

Paulette Rao, MCC is an executive coach, mentor coach, speaker, trainer, marketing expert, and founder of the Conscious Coaching Institute, which is dedicated to the training and development of coaches. Through her OneSource^TM and Conscious Marketing^TM training programs, Paulette helps coaches develop mastery, get credentialed, and create sustainable revenue doing what they love.

Paulette’s OneSource^TM course is a comprehensive ICF credentialing program aimed at assisting coaches in developing in the ICF competencies so they are superbly positioned to pass the ICF credentialing exam with confidence. Through Paulette’s Conscious Marketing^TM classes, she helps coaches gain the clarity and confidence to easily attract the clients they most want to work with to consistently make money doing what they love. More information about both programs, along with more information about Paulette, can be found at www.ConsciousCoachingInstitute.com.