Are you frustrated by the number of clients you have in your coaching practice? How would you like to double the number of clients you attract in the coming months? There's a simple way...

Double the amount of time you spend in front of prospective clients - flesh to flesh (in person) or ear to ear (over the telephone). This is a simple change but it could make a big difference to the long-term stability of your coaching practice.

The mistake I see too many coaches make is getting busy on other less important things. Things such as... creating your stationery, reorganizing your filing system (again!) and don't forget sharpening your pencils too - you get the idea.

Are you majoring in the minor things?

Sure, the activities above are part of operating your practice but most crucially do not do them at the expense of being in the presence of people who could be potential clients in your coaching practice.

You're not avoiding potential rejection by doing these other minor activities are you? You too huh ;-)

Remember - More contacts create more clients

Here are some things to keep a note of in the months ahead:

1. Overall time usage - How much time are you putting into your coaching practice on a monthly basis? This will include time for serving clients, promoting your service, planning, administration, etc.

2. Flesh to flesh time - Keep a record of the amount of time you spend in the presence of potential clients for your coaching practice. By this I mean qualified people in your target market - not just anybody and everybody.

Include activities where you are presenting yourself to potential clients in person, over the phone or in print.

3. Minor time - Where else are you using your time in your coaching practice? Note down the other activities you find yourself engaging in over the coming month. Are these essential activities or could your time be better used in the presence of people who could be clients in your practice?

4. The flesh ratio - Work out the percentage of time you spend flesh to flesh (or ear to ear) in the presence of live and preferably qualified prospective clients. Divide the flesh-to-flesh time by the total amount of time you give to working on (rather than working in) your coaching practice. This does not include time coaching existing clients.

This is a crucial figure. If you want to double the amount of coaching clients you attract, focus on doubling your flesh ratio.

Keep a track of these figures on a monthly basis and you'll become more aware of how you're using you time in your coaching practice and how you can better utilize it in the future to attract more coaching clients.

Shaun O'Reilly is the founder of Authentic Practice and works exclusively with coaches to help them to build successful coaching practices.

He is also the author of The 5 Biggest Mistakes Coaches Make in Marketing and How You Can Avoid Them. To get your free copy just go to:

http://www.authenticpractice.com/