Coaching Gets Some PR

The coaching world was abuzz yesterday with news of a "great placement" that the ICF was able to secure on NBC's The Today Show. 

The segment was about "great gifts on any budget" and included life coaching as a gift.   On the high end, there was "individual coaching" and a mention of ICF's searchable coach directory, and on the low end there was Carol Stanton's Life Coach in a Box: A Motivational Kit for Making the Most Out of Life.

After this segment aired, the coaching world cheered and cried with joy "Hooray!  Victory! Recognition! Now everyone will know and accept coaching!"

I say, not so fast.

Now, I brand myself as an upbeat and positive person, so I don't want to appear cynical about this, but  I just don't think it's as big a deal as everyone is making it out to be.  Yes, The Today Show is a major hit.  Morning shows are the holy grail of PR because their viewership is so high.  So it's wonderful to have coaching be mentioned in a Today Show segment.

But there are some things to consider:

1. Who gives coaching as a gift??  I have certainly had parents pay for their kid's coaching while the kid is in college or grad school.  But that's not really a holiday gift, is it?  Can you image opening a card this season with a note that reads "Here's a little something for you - go get yourself a coach!"?
2. How many coaches would want a client who received their service as a gift??  Not me, thank you.  If someone wants coaching with me or my company, I want them to be 100% ready to be coached; they have to really want it.  And I question whether someone who receives coaching as a gift will make a good coaching client.
3. The real person who will really benefit from this segment is, in my opinion, Carol Stanton and her Life Coach in a Box.  I am not familiar with the product, but at under $15 on Amazon, it seems like a cute idea.  Great for office grab bags, too.  It's just a much more practical gift than buying time with a coach for someone.

While I certainly commend the ICF's efforts to get coaching in the public eye, I think that the coaching industry has come further than we often think we have. 

ADD coaching has been recommended by experts like Ned Hallowell and Sari Solden for years.  And business coaching is extremely popular with both self-employed business owners and high-level executives. (The one form of coaching trailing behind is life coaching, and that's something I'll post about tomorrow.)

In the meantime, I'm more impressed by a new Sears commercial that I wish I could find a clip of to post.  Maybe you know it?  It starts off with a mom in a parent-teacher meeting, and it ends with the suggestion that for every teacher, life coach, etc., on your list, you can find them something at Sears.

The commercial certainly doesn't push coaching, but it does imply that having a coach in your life is just as common as having a teacher in your life. Now that's good PR! 

Thank you, Sears.