Taking your coaching business to China: Lessons from Shanghai

Shanghai is an awesome city. The pace of growth is immense. I was going to say that the urban skyline has changed considerably over the last 20 years. Well, substitute 20 years for 5 years. Indeed, I’m sure the new buildings were going up 2 levels a day!

 It is a centre of finance, trade and industry. It is a modern city with strong traditional roots, but a city of change, ready to embrace the best of Eastern values with modern psychological approaches and ways of the West. It is probably the most cosmopolitan of Chinese cities.

Understanding the Chinese market

Susan Chan and Associates at New Horizons are specialists in working with top executives and leaders to ease their stress of high-powered executive jobs.

People who despite success at a business and professional level, may feel stressed, with a poor work/life balance. The mind and body may be out of harmony with a low level of personal happiness. These problems can result in a decline in performance, relationships and wellness.

The Chinese market is challenging to enter. We found limited support available in Scotland. The problems encountered include language, culture, distance and costs.

Building relationships and trust

We established trust and strong relationships with our Chinese associates. This is crucial. This takes time.

We investigated the existing competition and businesses in our area. In Shanghai, there are plenty of hypnotherapists, NLP specialists, as well as motivation coaches. Research indicated that there was a market, that there is a client base, there is money and an openness to embrace the new. We needed a brand and a unique selling point with appropriate courses and packages.

Understanding our clients

We established an accommodation base in the French Concession area and met potential clients in a variety of venues, including private clubs and Wellness Clinics. T

The venues needed to reflect the expectations of our target audience and provide a professional environment.

Our research showed that our potential clients were successful, confident and motivated. They were particularly interested in topics such as:

• wellbeing
• stress management
• work-life balance
• relationships
• mind and body health

Adapting Our Approach

To establish trust (from our partners and other key people), we offered group workshops and individual consultations. We were delighted with the positive response from our partners and clients to our sessions.

We were not sure whether successful people would welcome workshops (they did) and whether language would be a barrier. It need not be. There was a level of understanding, but we also used fully briefed translators. We are also now learning Chinese!

Reflections

In conclusion, our business, our style, approach, ethics and content can transfer to China. The perceived barriers of language, culture and distance can be overcome with research, commitment, drive and marketing of a strong programme.

We return shortly to build on our client base and develop our relationships with the media.