The summer season brings a slower pace for many coaches, as they and their clients take extended vacations. Still, proactive coaching professionals understand the importance of using any extra time to develop and implement forward-looking strategies.
With an eye toward maintaining momentum and propelling their practices forward, smart coaches realize several key initiatives can be pursued during the summer months. Below, Forbes Coaches Council members share the strategies they and their teams are pursuing this summer season to ensure their practices thrive in the second half of the year.
1. Focus On Promotion
We’re focusing on promotion! We are proactively reaching out to potential clients and cultivating new relationships. We also continue to network, attend relevant events and leverage online platforms, all with the aim of connecting with individuals who may benefit from our coaching services. – Moza-Bella Tram, Moza-Bella LLC
2. Elevate In-Person Meetings
One initiative I will focus on this slower season is elevating in-person meetings to improve my clients’ health, well-being and executive presence. I’ll be incorporating outdoor team activities, mindfulness practices and wellness strategies into sessions, addressing the unique challenges and goals of my clients and ensuring a thriving coaching practice come this fall. – Kelly Suazo-Davis, DauvCo
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3. Revamp Your Online Presence
This summer, I will focus on developing a robust online presence for my coaching practice. This includes expanding my blog content, optimizing social media accounts and developing relationships with influencers in life coaching to create more publicity. Additionally, I will look to make improvements in day-to-day processes, such as client onboarding and scheduling reminders. – Peter Boolkah, The Transition Guy
4. Take Time To Reflect And Recharge
Summer is the time to recharge, reflect and refresh. The slower pace of keynote speaking and client engagements gives me time to focus more internally. I recharge by spending more time with family and less time on planes for work. I reflect on the past year and focus on strategic planning for the coming one to two years. And I refresh content, from training material to thought leadership articles. – Katie Anderson, Katie Anderson Consulting
5. Dig Into Business Planning
Since I can’t say “yes” to everything, summer allows me to focus on business planning with my coaches. We get away and reassess my three-year plan. I get clear on where I need to pivot or adjust strategies. I also use the time to build up my own self-perception so I’m ready for the next level. This level of planning is an opportunity to recommit to how I’m going to serve my clients. – Asia Bribiesca-Hedin, Bridgewell LLC Professional Services
6. Engage With Your Network
I’m doubling down on engagement with my network this summer. Others’ pulling back provides more space for me to be seen and heard. My target audience is hungry for information and needs support year-round—I will be here for them. With that in mind, I have created special summer content and offerings to help them prepare for fall. – Cathy Lanzalaco, Inspire Careers LLC
7. Tie Up Loose Ends
Summer is the perfect season to serve others, promote our speakers and finish editing books. There is less demand on your time, which gives you space to focus on tying up loose ends, finishing projects and building. Summer is a season of restoration, joy and building! – Tammy Kling, Voices Speakers Bureau
8. Practice Mindfulness
I focus on personal renewal, and I recommend to my clients that they do the same. Summer is a great time to focus on mindfulness and taking care of your mind, body and spirit. I choose to be an exemplar of these behaviors; I find that this attracts the kinds of clients who will benefit most from our working together. Summer is when I work on being the best version of myself. – Philip Liebman, ALPS Leadership
9. Prerecord Educational And Marketing Content
One of my favorite summer holiday strategies is to shoot a bunch of prerecorded podcast episodes in June that will run over the summer months while I’m off (when more people are listening to podcasts on their holidays, too). I also record back-to-school promotions that run on my podcasts in August so that I have lots of lead flow come September. – Susan Hobson, Elite High Performance Inc.
10. Learn And Reflect
I reflect on my processes and improve my standards. I always take downtime to either learn a new skill to add to my arsenal of coaching tactics or to publish academic or practitioner materials, but more importantly, I reflect on the past year to understand what can be improved and how to improve it. – Karina Ochis, Prof. Dr. Karina Ochis
11. Review And Update Essential Systems
In his best-selling book, Atomic Habits, James Clear wrote, “You do not rise to the levels of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” I couldn’t agree more! Summer is a great time to double-check Web links, email sequences, sales funnels and other internal systems to ensure they’re all up to date and running smoothly. You won’t regret being organized and ready for the fall! – Michelle Rockwood, Unscripted Sales
12. Develop New Coaching Tools
I believe that it is increasingly necessary to implement Agile methodologies in coaching sessions. We live in an environment of absolute immediacy, and it often becomes challenging to bring the coachee to a state of passive reflection. I am considering developing new tools that will make each session a more engaging experience, and summer is a perfect time for creativity. – Paula Vidal Castelli, Paula Vidal Castelli Intl., LLC
13. Evaluate Your Business Strategy And Operations
During summer downtime for our clients, we use our additional capacity to evaluate the business strategically and operationally. We combine this with a review of external trends and market shifts. This allows us to notice and amplify what we do well, innovate, and increase our effectiveness. Ultimately, our findings may lead to critical business changes that enable sustainable growth. – Neena Newberry, Newberry Solutions
14. Expand And Engage Your Pipeline
Engaging clients and prospects is essential, particularly during summer months when many people slow down and unplug a bit. I have been sending messages, texts and video messages to clients and prospects to stay top of mind; share relevant info (not sales pitches); and simply check in on them. I am receiving tremendous feedback, especially on my video messages, and am building an engaged pipeline in the process. – Kristin Andree, Andree Group
15. Connect With Clients
I am reaching out to every client to ask them for ideas of things they’d like to see, as well as making an effort to show compassion and understand what they are going through now. Also, I’m strategizing with my staff to strengthen and develop our individual niches to increase our efficiencies and create a beautifully working machine as we gear up for the overwhelming number of clients in the fall. – Michelle Anne, MichelleAnne.com
16. Make Time For Personal And Professional Care
Downtime and reflective thinking—which often leads to strategizing—will ensure that I make meaningful use of extra time for personal care and professional care. Over the last few years, this has enabled me to plan how to position my business beyond the summer holidays and consider emerging themes for my clients. It creates excitement and even greater love and care for the work undertaken. – Arthi Rabikrisson, Prerna Advisory
17. Review Important Data And ROI
I will evaluate the data and ROI on my service types (packages versus yearly contracts versus hybrid learning) to optimize them for more niche positioning and higher conversions. Also, I will educate myself on the latest technologies (including artificial intelligence and large language models) that affect consumers’ habits and mindsets. I get a lot of extreme fear from my corporate clients who are facing dealing with AI and other transformations that impact their work. – Alina Trigubenko, Profi
18. Don’t Take Your Foot Off The Gas
We double down on consistency. We don’t let off the gas. The most successful individuals and businesses don’t have off seasons. If you don’t slow down when everyone else does, you’ll be ahead of the competition by the time they pick back up again. Likewise, if you stay consistent in your efforts all year round, there is no need to change things up while others are slowing down. – Ryan Stewman, Break Free Academy
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