Maintain a good relationship with your customers

Life coaching is a profession that demands a great emotional involvement on the part of the coach in his relationship with the client. Generally, it is a common belief that the professional relationship established between the coach and the client should be limited to the work aspects concerning the problem that is being addressed during the sessions, this error induces the appearance of affective limitations that can significantly affect the effectiveness of communication.

During the development of this guide we will be addressing some of the most important elements regarding the importance of maintaining a good relationship with your clients to ensure effective communication with them.

Be affectionate in your dealings with your customers

Without pretending to become friends with your customers, you should know that it is very important that you learn to take care of the relationship you have with them. Try to be affectionate in your dealings with your clients, this will allow them to be more sincerely involved in the communications they establish during the coaching sessions. Values such as empathy, solidarity and humanism are fundamental in dealing with third parties.

Allow for discussion of issues outside the problem.

Many coaches avoid communication with their clients that extends to personal or unrelated issues. This could be a mistake if we take into account that one of the most important factors in establishing effective communication is trust. When we get our client to trust us, it is more likely that he will agree to communicate more openly, transmitting his feelings and experiences to give us a much more accurate profile.

If you notice that your client wishes to address topics that are not of value to the session, but that help him/her to gain confidence, provide the space for him/her to do so freely. Although it is true that the session could be distorted for a few moments, you will increase the level of trust that the client has in you and therefore improve the quality of future sessions that you carry out.

Show concern and interest in your clients

One of the best ways to improve the relationship you have with your clients is to show concern and interest in the things that concern them. Note every detail that comes up in each session, logically it is very complex to remember everything when you have many clients, so you should make use of an agenda or some substitute that allows you to remember the things that your client tells you and about which he would expect you to show some interest in the future.

If he tells you things like problems he has in his private life, important upcoming dates, issues he has to resolve next week, etc., you will be in control of these items, so when you start the next session, you will begin by asking him how he has been doing with those issues. Putting ourselves in the client's shoes is the best tool we have to know what works and what doesn't when it comes to improving our relationships. Treat your customers the same way you would want someone to treat you.

You don't have to be opportunistic or feign an interest that is not real, try to be honest and be aware that your greatest desire is that your client can fully trust you, since you must work daily with their emotions and this requires a certain degree of trust on both sides.