Coach Training Q & A

Money continues to be a leading cause of suffering, divorce and stress in our country. The practices we use and the conversations that most of us have about money, wealth and finances - even the monetary systems in which we must operate - all have inherent scarcity. As a result, most individuals experience fear, stress, and anxiety when it comes to creating and managing their financial life and are often stopped in building a powerful, workable, fulfilling financial future.

Transforming these fear-based conversations and offering alternatives to the greed and scarcity models is the passion and mission of the rigorously trained and highly skilled Certified Financial Coach™.

A Certified Financial Coach helps individuals understand and relate to money and wealth in a way that makes life more meaningful, fulfilling and rewarding. The rigorous training, the broad financial knowledge and the coaching skills and practices that a Certified Financial Coach receives allows them to relate to their clients with a level of professionalism, personal regard, and effectiveness that is unsurpassed in the industry.

What Is a Certified Financial Coach?

Certified Financial Coaches are the gold standard of financial coaching. They are trained to work with others around their concerns and challenges with money. The Certified Financial Coach is given the education, coaching, tools and skills necessary to help their clients:

Break their personal addiction to money
Stop devouring the planet out of the fear of "not having enough"
Transform their money personality and re-enroll them in the creative power of their own life
Expand and deepen their understanding of and relationship to true wealth
End the "pursuit of happiness" and be happy

The training to become a Certified Financial Coach is rigorous; the standards and ethics reflect the highest in the coaching and financial fields. You must become financially aware so you know the landscape in which your client must operate. You must also be skilled at ontological coaching so you understand how to work with clients to "shift the observer they are" with regards to money, wealth and finances.

READ ON FOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS… regarding training for New and Experienced Coaches.

#1 – What does it take to become a Certified Financial Coach^TM?

This special training program for coaches consists of three phases;

Phase 1: an on-site 3 day conference where you learn what it is like to be part of a Financial WealthCAMP
Phase 2: virtual long distance training to receive credits recognized by the International Coach Federation to help you attain ACC ICF accreditation (or if you are already a certified coach, you will attend a shorter program and receive continuing education hours)
Phase 3: additional, individually designed virtual coaching and learning to be sure you have specific knowledge necessary for your Certified Financial Coach license.
CERTIFICATION: Licensing of the Certified Financial Coach is awarded by the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors. To receive certification, you will be required to have documentation that you have passed each phase of your training, you will apply for certification and supply three tapes demonstrating your proficiency in coaching the "money conversation" based on ICF standards

#2 – What specifically will I be doing in each of the phases?

Curriculum and the length of each phase of the Certified Financial Coach training varies depending on your past experience.

Phase 1: ON-SITE CONFERENCE: This in-person conference is a full three days. The training is powerful and transformational. If you are a non-financial person, you will experience the same three day experience as members of the public who take our full 12 week Financial WealthCAMP. The first three days of the FInancial WealthCAMP starts you on the road to develop a powerful relationship with money. If you already have financial skills (as a qualified financial professional), your on-site conference starts by immersing you in a three day coaching experience. You will attend the first part of your coach training with other financial professionals attending the three day conference called "Coaching Skills for the FInancial Professional".

Phase 2: Following the three day conference, you begin your Coaching Intensive -- a series of virtual training webinars and audio tele-conferences training you with the necessary coaching skills to become a Certified Financial Coach^TM (CFC-I^TM). The CFC-I is awarded only to coaches who have demonstrated an understanding and commitment to the ethical standards of the International Coach Federation. They must also demonstrate ICF coaching competencies to receive their certification. If you are not already a certified coach, the 60 hours of ICF credit earned during Phase 2 of this training is important if you are to get an ACC designation (demonstrating coaching compentency) from the International Coach Federation. To receive your Certified Financial Coach license, you are required to earn 60 hours of ICF approved credits towards your ACC. These credits are provided by Newfield Network, an internationally recognized coach training company. The CFC-I designation is described as the gold standard of financial coaching. People receiving Certified Financial Coach licensing can be proud that they have been trained to the standards of the ICF. They must also demonstrate a commitment to quality coaching and to maintaining a high code of ethics in order to receive and continue to hold their license.

If you are new to the area of coaching are NOT a qualified coach, Phase 2 of your coach training will last 20 weeks. If you are already a qualified coach, your training will last 8 weeks and will focus on giving you new and powerful competencies around the money conversation.

Upon completion of your phase 2 of your training, you will be finalizing your Certified Financial Coach training requirements directly with WEALTH STRONG International.

Phase 3 of the Certified Financial Coach training focuses on your own personal financial relationship with money and ranges from 3 additional weeks (for the qualified financial professional) to 12 weeks of virtual sessions to be able to qualify for the CFC-I certification.

CHOICES FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS: At the beginning of phase 3, the Financial professional is encouraged to move to the CFC-R and CFC-Pro track. However, the financial professional does have the choice to just finish their CFC-I training and move on to the certification process. Phase 3 training for the financial professional wishing to only complete the CFC-I certification will receive two additional virtual training sessions and will be instructed on how to apply for their CFC-I certification. They will apply for certification as a CFC-I from the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors as a CFC-I.

Financial Professionals choosing to move on to the CFC-R or CFC-PRO track will move directly into the Business of Financial Coaching program (a virtual marketing training program which begins within 8 weeks after Phase 2 is completed. Choosing the CFC-R or CFC-PRO track allows the financial professional to receive individual coaching and practice sessions to prepare for the CFC-I certification at no extra cost**. The financial professional who completes the CFC-R or CFC-Pro track will receive specialized training and authorization to use financial and coaching tools only available to the financial professional with this advanced designation.

## Our goal in the CFC-R and CFC-Pro tracks is to assist you in developing the confidence and skills to apply for CFC-I certification within 6 weeks after the completion of phase 2 -- to do this additional group and individual sessions are provided.

Only CFC-R and CFC-Pro licensees are qualified to directly use Certified Financial Coach with both the begin the testing and then choosing to also have access to proprietary products and services with these financial professional certifications.

Your distance learning activities that include coaching, reading, practices and facilitated conversations designed to support you in generating a more powerful and healthy relationship to money and wealth both for yourself and your clients.

#3 – I'm already a coach or have coach training. Why would I want this certification?

We find that many coaches are very uncomfortable (and often silent) in discussing money issues with their clients. We believe that they are doing a disservice to their clients. We all know that what we believe about money impacts all of our choices in life and that money is one of the great sources of stress in our society. If you want to enhance the service you provide to your clients you need to increase your competence to help them generate a healthy relationship to money and wealth.

In this program you will learn how to do that. You will also reveal and work with your own barriers and limitations to experiencing greater wealth. By signing up for the Experienced Coach Program through WEALTH STRONG, you not only receive a powerful learning and coaching around your own personal finances, you receive 20 coach training hours to use for your ICF credential or continuing education requirements.

#4 – Who teaches this program?

Phase 1 and Phase 3 of the Certified Financial Coach training program is designed and taught by WEALTH STRONG International, an organization formed by financial professionals who are also trained coaches. These financial professionals realized that making financial recommendations to their clients was often insufficient to get the clients to act on those recommendations. The missing ingredient was a coaching approach to support the clients into addressing the underlying concerns and beliefs that were keeping the clients from taking the recommended actions. The coach training program (which awards 60 hour of ICF credit and is required by the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors) is co-designed by WEALTH STRONG and Newfield Network and taught directly by the Newfield Network. .

Together, these two organizations are committed to creating a coaching professional who is competent to work with others in improving their relationship to money, wealth and finance and to address much of the suffering that comes from our current worldviews and misunderstandings about what money is.

#4 – When, where and how much?

We suggest you follow the links to the following pages to learn specifics depending on your previous experience level:

Experienced Coach

Financial Professional

No prior experience in either field

#5 - What is the structure of the three day Conferences and how would my experience differ from the programs held for the public or financial professionals?

Let's begin with the public Financial WealthCAMP. As a Certified Financial Coach, you will be able to take coursework that will allow you to teach this program in your community.

Here is how the Financial WealthCAMP is structured: The Financial WealthCAMP begins with a three day WEALTH STRONG EXPERIENCE opening conference. During this three days, participants examine and remove barriers to a healthy relationship with money.

The three day opening conference is followed by 12 weeks of distance learning where participants:

-Further clarify what they want out of life and, using strengths, taking new steps in managing resources so they can make dreams a reality.

-Learn new perspectives about how money works from both a transactional and cultural view and learn to manage its impact on choices they make

-See how long their financial resources will last based upon current habits of financial management, then they learn how to optimize (through a proprietary artificial intelligence model) what they can do differently to extend those resources.

-Take new steps to make a difference in their relationship to money and wealth through the support of individualized and group learning and coaching.

·
#6 – What do I need to do to become certified?

You must complete all the assignments of this training program and attend the three day conference. Upon completion of the program, you will submit two recorded financial coaching sessions that will be assessed by the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors - Certification Panel. You will be assessed against the International Coach Federation’s (ICF) core coaching competencies at the ACC level, in addition to the financial coaching competencies developed by WEALTH STRONG and the Newfield Network.

#7– Why is this field emerging now?

The recognition that both these areas are intrinsically tied together is why the field of financial coaching has emerged. In 2004, professionals in both the coaching and financial fields joined together to develop a licensing program for the Certified Financial Coach. The curriculum and tools they developed have resulted in an evolutionary school of thought and programs which help people find clarity and provide a reality check for their financial future.

People need help in their relationship to money and wealth. They need to better understand the underlying concerns that drive them, consciously and unconsciously, when it comes to their relationship with money. They need to work with a coaching professional who can help them with their emotional issues relating to wealth and money, one who is familiar with the financial marketplace and landscape who can help them bridge the gap between what they can do and what they will do with their resources.

The growing need for the Certified Financial Coach professionals is evidenced by the following statistics and information:

Money has been identified as the #1 area of stress in a person’s life. The Health Insurance Institute states that stress related illnesses consume the greatest number of dollars in health insurance claims.
The 2002 Census showed that the median amount of savings put away for retirement for the average 65 year old is only $59,000.
Financial incompatibility is the number one reason for divorce in this country.
78 Million Americans identified as baby boomers are entering the retirement stage of their life; few of them feel they are adequately prepared.
A new term “date of ruin” is becoming a buzz word regarding an individual's date in their lifetime when they will run out of money and all financial resources. It is expected that a large number of baby boomers will be faced with a “date of ruin” within their lifetime.
The expectation that government programs will take care of the baby boomer generation is becoming less likely because of our national debt and because of shifting economic conditions in the world.
The largest demographic group in this country who will be affected by a poor relationship with money are baby boomer women.
In a recent survey of professional women making over $100,000 a year, over 50% stated that they feared running out of money during their lifetime and ending up as a bag lady.
In the year 2035, it is projected that anyone who lives until that year will reach the age of 100 in their lifetime.
The monetary system itself is built on scarcity and this hidden, but powerful, fact impacts everyone’s relationship to money and wealth.

As a Certified Financial Coach you will not offer financial advice to anyone (unless you are also a trained and licensed financial professional). Rather, you will become affiliated with financial professionals who can help your clients when they need to transact financial instruments. Certified Financial Coaches will partner with financial professionals so they jointly provide a full-service and holistic approach to serving the financial needs of their clients. Those holding the Certified Financial Coach license with the special CFC-R or CFC-Pro designation have additional ethical training and disclosure requirements and are asked to provide a statement of their coaching contract to the Certified Financial Coach Board of Governors for review).

#8 – Who can I talk to if I have more questions?

Click here to have Bobbi Paley, Director of Participant Enrollment contact you or call 303-564-3221 to talk directly with Bobbi.

The Certified Financial Coach training is a blockbuster program! For me, to be enabled to transcend my own fears, and to be equipped to aid others, will provide me with depth for my Executive Coaching practice. To say that this is needed for my clientele would be an understatement! I am grateful to be the recipient of such rigorous and disciplined training that is so needed. One has only to hear the voices lamenting the finances of the "middle class" to know that we can help and guide our clients in an impartial way to achieving more stability and abundance. What a wonderful training for me! ~ Dick McCollum, Westerly, RI