Client profile
Theme tune
Gimme!, Gimme!, Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) by Abba
Favourite films
Pretty Woman and Nine to Five
Favourite objects
Peroxide and lipstick (it doubles as a blusher)
Role models
Edie from Desperate Housewives and Samantha from Sex in the City
This type of client has worked her sexuality to the full. She knows just how to turn men and women into dribbling idiots. But don’t be fooled into thinking her feminine guiles are her only attribute. Not only has she got to the top but she has stayed there – and that takes more than a few eyelash bats.
Coaching this person is quite a different issue. For a start, she will have had to admit that her sensual techniques may have failed her. So be careful of her need to check that these still work – you may be the guinea pig!
She will, of course, twist the meaning of a “chemistry meeting” and see it as licence to check out sexual chemistry. Once you have got over the embarrassment of that, you will begin “check in”.
All good coaches know the importance of checking in with the client as a way of building rapport. For this lady, it is an opportunity to pitch herself above your comfort zone. Think, the detective in Basic Instinct who had to keep wiping his brow when Sharon Stone did that leg thing.
Foundation: Deterrent
The best chance of survival for a beginner is a medical invention that distorts your reaction to what she is saying. Botox is your friend. It can neutralise your face so that even an impression of Munch’s Scream is impossible to pick up. Also, try nasty smelling aftershave.
Intermediate: Cilice
If you have watched or read The Da Vinci Code, you’ll know all about the cilice. It’s a pretty horrific contraption with the sole purpose of inflicting self-torture. This clearly has a place in the coaching toolkit (we will look at the application of this on clients at a later stage). It makes any improper act or thought impossible as you are so focused on the excruciating pain.
Practitioner: Swinging
Tell her you are a swinger. The shock on her face would be prize enough but imagine the fun you can have knowing that you mean swinging between the EMCC and the ICF, while she thinks you mean something else.
Master: Business development
A client such as this is a gift to an old dog like you. The networking back scratching that you can do to further both your causes opens immense possibilities. She will have left a sea of damaged people in her wake (or potential clients as we like to call them), all waiting to benefit from the wealth of your experience.