Client Development How Teaching Differs From Coaching

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Client Development: How Teaching Differs from Coaching Did you miss the first Rainmaker Series session? No worries, here is a link to the recording. Two years ago I spent four weeks in Spanish Immersion in San Miguel de Allende. From 9-1 each day I sat in a class with five other students and teachers taught us grammar, conversation, and vocabulary. Most afternoons I spent one-on-one with a teacher/coach who focused on my individual needs. Like my experience learning Spanish, there are differences between teaching and coaching lawyers on client development. Teaching is aimed at all members of the class. Coaching is focused on the individual. Teaching is about giving the right answers. Coaching is about asking the right questions and giving feedback to the lawyer. At the beginning of the video, I suggested that participants write or type their takeaways from the first session and how they planned to implement them. That was because each participant is different. To illustrate how coaching is different I want you to use your imagination. Suppose we are having a coaching session today and you have told me you want to raise your visibility and credibility to your target market and you want me to help you figure out how to best do that by writing and speaking. Here are some questions I might ask you.   Writing and Speaking for Business Development Skills   Writing Articles and Blogging Once the article or blog post was completed, I would go over it with you and share my insights on how I think you might make it better. Presentations: I would then have the lawyer I am coaching deliver the presentation and we would go over posture, voice, gestures, eye contact, connecting with the audience.           I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.