Quick Summary: Coach Referral Services (CRS) are the latest trend in the coaching profession to help coaches and clients find each other. This article describes the value of coach referral systems, details the advantages and challenges faced by such systems, identifies and analyzes the most important elements of coach referral, and concludes with a comparison of existing systems on ten key factors. (Skip directly to comparisons.)

First Edition: 2000
Second Edition: 2007

The Rapid Growth of Coaching
The coaching profession has grown dramatically around the world in the last few years, and various sources estimate the number of coaches in North America alone to be approaching 12,000. The interest in coaching has increased primarily because the general public and business executives and managers have greatly expanded their search for ways to achieve a variety of personal, professional, spiritual and business goals. The high demand for coaches has been accompanied by a parallel growth in coach training organizations. In 1999, for example, there were less than a dozen established schools, but as of 2007 there are over 250.

The Rise of Coach Referral Services
While this growth is helping to increase the supply of coaches, it has also led to a wide variety of coach qualifications, standards, training requirements, experience, certification and degrees. In addition there is no consensus as to industry standards nor is there any coach licensing, certification, or registration requirement of a legal nature in any jurisdiction in North America.

While such rapid growth can be heralded as contributing to better choices and options, it has also become more difficult for members of the general public, business managers and executives, and even coaches themselves to sort out the criteria to use to select the right coach. For example, a recent Internet search yielded, thousands of individual coach websites offering an extensive array of services, descriptions, and qualifications. However, just as the number of coaches and coach training organizations has grown, so also has a parallel industry: coach referral services.

Several factors have led to the development of the coach referral systems. First, because the coaching industry is entirely self-regulated a number of individuals have established coach referral services as a way to educate the public, pinpoint appropriate coach qualifications, and assist potential clients to find the best coach.

Second, since many coaches and clients connect via telephone or email only and never engage in face-to-face sessions, coaches anywhere have the potential for working with clients anyplace. Neither the coach nor the client is limited to a specific geographic location, thus widely increasing the pool of coaches from which to choose.

A more controversial reason for the increase in the number of coach referral systems is that many coaches believe they can coach anyone about anything. It is not unusual for a wide range of specialties to appear in a coach resume. While there may be some truth to this viewpoint, it may reduce the likelihood that an individual searching for a coach will learn that a different type of practitioner (such as a consultant, psychologist or counsellor) might be a more appropriate choice.

(Editor's Note: This article on coach referral services was originally written in 2000. As of 2007, several of the coach referral services have gone out of business, have their domain names up for sale, or even worse, have allowed their domain names to be used to forward visitors to inappropriate websites. In essence, the marketplace is helping to shake out those services that had inadequate business plans, provided too little to both coaches and clients, or never quite understood what coaching was about.)

How Coach Referral Services Work
The philosophy behind coach referral is simple: the better the match between the client and the coach, the more likely the coaching will be successful. Coach referral systems typically match client preferences and goals with coach qualifications and experience. But how this matching is accomplished and how the pool of potential coaches to be matched is determined varies widely.

Coach referral systems vary in the amount of client data they require before yielding the list of potential coaches. For example, some coach referral services require potential clients to enter a combination of personal data and coach requirements into an online form. Then with the click of a button a list of coach referrals is generated with descriptions of their qualifications and other details. In some cases users can speed up the process by selecting from a pre-determined set of coach characteristics, qualifications and specialties.

Other coach referral services only ask that the user enter keywords or phrases and like a search engine, a list of coaches is generated. Typically no information is provided as to why certain coaches were matched with the client data requests. A few coach referral systems merely provide a static list of coaches and their qualifications and encourage users to scroll through the list and note down appropriate potential matches.

This computerized method of matching is quick and easy, and a potential client can browse coach lists indefinitely at no cost and in many cases anonymously. However, it can also yield too many options and is subject to coaches padding their system information with many more "keywords" in order to appear in a greater number of client searches. Computerized matching also requires the potential client, who more than likely has little experience with coaching, to know and understand not only what he or she wants in a coach, but also which factors are most important in selecting a coach. Some sites assist with this dilemma by providing educational information about coach selection and readiness for coaching. However, in most cases this information is only about coaching and does not educate the potential client as to other options besides coaching.

An alternative to the computerized system exists that involves the potential client in a live, toll-free, no-cost, no-obligation telephone conversation with a coach referral consultant. The consultant engages in a personalized conversation with the client about possible goals, preferences, and other qualities. If, as a result of this discussion, the consultant and client conclude that coaching is appropriate, the service provides the client with a list and details of specific coaches who meet the client's preferences. The idea underlying this type of service is that a good match requires more than can be achieved through simple computer data connected to a warehouse of coaches.

Coach referral services vary in the extent of coach qualifications necessary to list each coach and the screening of the coaches in their database. Some sites have specific requirements and these requirements are clearly identified on the service website. A few sites mention that listed coaches must adhere to a code of ethics or professional conduct, but typically do not provide or describe any mechanism to monitor or enforce such a requirement.

Other sites have minimal requirements and provide no screening. In some cases membership in a particular organization or current or graduate status from a particular coaching school is required. However, these two "requirements" can be somewhat misleading because screening for admission to the school or minimum standards for membership are neither described nor practiced. Only one coach referral service details the facts about the number of coaches who apply to list their service and the number the referral service actually accepts. (For a discussion regarding the increasingly contentious issue of certification, see the comments associated with our poll on certification.)

Virtually all the coach referral systems do not charge clients for their matching service, and most do charge coaches a fee for being listed. Some services request that clients pay a fee to them for the coaching and they, in turn, will provide the fee to the coach. Others do not enter into any fee arrangement and merely act as a go-between to connect the client and coach and no fees are involved for client-coach matching or coach listings. At least one service provides a money back guarantee.

While not directly part of the coach selection process, sites vary as to the degree of additional services they provide. From money back guarantees and follow-up monitoring to a variety of articles about selecting a coach to newsletters or other support documents, to simply a list-only format, the coach referral services provide a wide range of value added services. In addition, the services vary as to how much information they provide about who owns, runs or maintains the service. Contact information for an accountable service should go beyond an email address and include the mailing address, telephone number and business name of the service ownership. In this way, potential clients and coaches have a better opportunity to determine the legitimacy and accountability of the service as well as have more transparency in resolving possible conflicts or dissatisfactions.

Does Size Matter?
With the growth of coaching there has been until now a fairly cooperative and friendly relationship between various coaching associations and organizations. Cracks in this veneer are beginning to show as Coach Referral Services (and they are not the only ones) begin to crow about the number of coaches included in their warehouse. A larger pool of coaches in a service can mean a higher likelihood of finding someone with the specific experience and qualifications sought by a potential client. But as Grey Owl has wryly pointed out, "No matter how much mayonnaise you put in chicken litter, it will not turn into chicken salad." Services that provide a large number of coach referral names often place the potential client in the position of the person who as the subject of a well-known story concluded: "there must be a pony in here somewhere."

The Source and Accuracy of this Information
For the most part the data in this table was obtained from each service website, and in some cases, directly from the service providers. Should your experience in accessing any of the coach referral services listed here differ from the information provided in this table, please inform us as quickly as possible so that we can ensure that the data contained here is accurate and informative. Send an email message to Rey Carr at rcarr@islandnet.com. All messages will be treated as confidential and please include your contact information.

Conclusion
We introduced this topic by generically naming the organizations listed in the table below, "Coach Referral Services." The popular understanding of this term would lead one to believe that they are services that match clients with coaches. However, from a thorough examination of the data, the term "coach referral service" does not accurately represent the nature of what these services provide. Only one service is truly a "coach/client matching service," while others are more accurately described as "coach listing services" or "coach referral services."

Over time clients and coaches will be able to provide feedback as to which services work best to meet their needs. Our goal in developing the table below and its continuous updates is to help coaches exercise caution about which services to use to help them find their ideal clients. We also want to assist clients to determine which services will actually provide them with their ideal coach.

Comparing Coach Referral Services
The following table, which was last updated on February 03, 2012, lists the most reputable coach referral sources available on the Internet. For an explanation of the various categories or criteria, refer to the narrative above.

www.lawyercoaches.com

(Manually Scan List)

www.teencoach.com/

(Computer Referral)

www.coachesportal.com

(Computer Referral)