First, browse our coaching tools catalog to see if a tool similar to what you are thinking of is already there. If so, you may simply want to purchase it. Why re-invent the wheel? Some of the tools featured here also grant full rights to modify and re-sell, so you can use one of those tools as a starting place to build your own.

If the tool you're looking for isn't there, follow these ten steps to create your own.

These ten strategies will help you create your very own coaching tools in as little as one hour.  Use the example to get your creative "juices" flowing!

1. If you notice that you are doing repetitive work with different clients, create a template or a worksheet that you can re-use in the future.  This will give you a systematized coaching process and bring efficiency into your business. 

Example: Selecting the right niche is a step that every new business owner goes through.  Create an exercise or a worksheet to help your clients determine the right niche for them.  Ask questions that are important in making this decision, give examples, and help them create an ideal customer profile.

Example: Conducting a one-day seminar requires a lot of planning and insider information.  If you have done such seminars before, write a planning guide or a checklist that covers every step of this process.  Your clients will use it to make sure they are well-prepared for their event.

Example: A lifestyle improvement book may contain twelve chapters of information and advice.  Create an action exercise,  which readers would have to complete after reading each chapter.  You can include these exercises at the end of every chapter right in the book, and also assemble them into a stand-alone file to send to clients as a workbook.

Example: There is a great book out there, called "How to Make It Big in the Seminar Business," by Paul Karasik.  If you coach your clients on marketing their business through conducting seminars, you could go through this book and create a dozen worksheets or templates based on the author's advice.  Again, you want to check with the author and/or the publishing company to make sure it's ok, and always give the author credit (e.g. "This worksheet is based on Paul Karasik's book, How to make it big in the seminar business").

Example: A coaching program titled "Divorce Recovery in 30 days" could come with a set of worksheets and exercises to help your clients take action.  Activities such as journaling, financial planning, prioritizing, and goal setting will make your clients feel structure and progress.

Example: Life coaching frequently touches the subject of self-esteem and self-image.  Create a checklist of all the things that a person should be doing to raise their self-esteem.  The checklist may include items related to health, money, relationships, career, parenting, past experiences and other areas of life.

Example: Launching a new product, starting a web site, writing a business plan, planning an event, or preparing for a career change, all could use a checklist of actions that need to be taken to accomplish these goals.

Example:  If you coach clients on cleaning up their work space, setting up easy-to-maintain systems, and manage their time better, you can document every step of the coaching process.  Keep in mind any obstacles and challenges your clients had when you coached them, and offer solutions right in the worksheet or the workbook.

Example:  Create a self-assessment called "Are You a Good Parent?" by listing everything that makes a good parent, and placing a checkbox next to each statement.  If the statement is true for your clients, they will check the box.  The more boxes checked, the better parents they are. You may also let them rank how each statement applies to them on a scale of 1 to 5.  Include a scoring key to explain what their score means. 

Example:  Wellness coaches are great candidates for using quizzes in their coaching practices.  Create a "Healthy Lifestyle Test," which will include questions related to eating, relationships, personality, fitness, and other areas of lifestyle.  The scoring key should identify the correct answers, and show your clients how knowledgeable they are on this subject.