Do you have a way with ladies (or with the gents)? Does it genuinely excite you to help other people hit it off and possibly find love? If so, then being an online dating consultant may be the right fit for you.
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A career as a dating consultant could be rewarding in more ways than one; you can earn a steady income, as there’s no shortage of people wanting to date, plus you get immense satisfaction from helping two people connect with each other.
In this article, I discuss how you can become an online dating coach and play cupid every day.
Skills Needed to Become an Online Dating Consultant
At the very least, you need to truly care about people and relationships in general.
Dating is an interpersonal activity, and you’ll need to be good at how the dynamics of dating work.
Being an online dating consultant is a very personal type of consultancy.
You’re likely to end up knowing plenty of sensitive things about your clients, and you need to be able to remain neutral and non-judgmental as well as keep these things confidential.
You’ll also need to understand that many people find it difficult to identify what exactly they’re looking for in a potential partner. They might say they want one type of person while pursuing another type of person. You’ll have to be patient and relentless in finding out what they really want in a potential mate.
Being friendly and approachable are traits that will definitely give you an edge in this career path, as well as being systematic and organized in dealing with your clients.
You’ll also need to be able to dish out honest advice in a subtle, tactful way that doesn’t alienate your client. They hired a dating coach to tell them honestly what needs to improve, not to nag them and call them names.
To develop your skills, you can start out working as a paid date so you’d understand what certain people look for in their dates.
Becoming an online dating consultant is also a great segue from being an online dating ghostwriter, where you can learn and hone your writing and conversational skills.
What Education/Training Do You Need to Become an Online Dating Consultant?
You don’t need to have a particular degree or certification to be a dating coach, but having a degree in psychology, social work, communication, or marketing can all help you do the job correctly and increase your credibility with potential clients.
Even if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree, you can take up certificate courses in counseling, sexuality, and other related subjects that can certainly help you in your career.
You can also attend conferences, such as the Online Dating and Dating Industry Conference.
What Duties Should You Expect as an Online Dating Consultant?
Hold in-depth, one-on-one sessions.
At the very beginning of your relationship, you’ll need an in-depth session wherein you delve deep into your client’s issues with dating, relationships, and intimacy.
Get to know what your client is looking for in a date, what kind of relationship they’re looking for, and what good qualities they have to offer to their potential mates.
Knowing their strengths as well as their problem areas will help you help them, so to speak. It gives you a more complete picture of which areas need the most improvements and which areas they’re doing well in.
This allows them to get the most out of the service and makes your job as an online dating consultant much easier.
From time to time, as your client goes on various dates, they might want to touch base with you and realign their goals and what they’re looking for in a potential partner.
Create or make over online dating profiles.
Some dating profiles are simply more attractive than others, and it’s your responsibility to make your client’s dating profiles as appealing as possible to the type of person they’re looking for.
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This shouldn’t mean you’ll have to post a fake photo or false information about your client. It should be more about presenting the truth in a way that’s desirable to others.
Manage dating site accounts.
You’re going to commandeer your client’s accounts on dating sites, which means you’ll be the one messaging potential matches, and setting dates with them.
You’ll handle their email alerts and notifications, go through private messages through the dating sites they’re a member of, and collect phone numbers and contact information from their potential matches.
It’s likely that you’ll be asked to compose and reply to text messages as well, either through the dating app or through actual SMS.
This also entails knowing your client’s personal information, so make sure to be extra vigilant in keeping this confidential. If any of this information leaks, even if you didn’t mean to, you may be held legally liable for any losses or damages.
Look for potential dates outside of the usual dating websites.
Maybe the dating sites or apps your clients are signed up with aren’t a good fit for them. Maybe all the matches on those sites are duds.
In this case, you’ll have to find potential dates that aren’t on the usual dating websites. You’ll have to find other dating sites that aren’t as popular but may meet your clients’ needs better.
Prepare clients for dates.
Some clients need extra help preparing for their dates for various reasons; either they feel they can’t communicate effectively, or they’re sending the wrong “signals,” or they simply lack the confidence.
It’s up to you to get them ready for their dates. Brief them with various conversation topics, coach them about their body language, and even plan their outfit for them.
Monitor relationship status.
Follow up with your clients and see whether they’re satisfied with their matches and their dates.
You’d want to know your success rate for your credibility as an online dating consultant.
Also, it’s good to maintain a good relationship with your clients; not because you want them as repeat clients (your job means you’re obsolete when they find their match), but because you want them to speak highly of you to other potential clients.
How Should You Price Your Dating Consultancy Services?
Like any other consultancy business, figuring out what to charge is a bit tricky.
How can you help your clients while being compensated fairly for it?
Some online dating consultants normally provide lower-priced “quickie” sessions to allow the client to gauge if they’re comfortable with them or if they want to get a dating consultant at all.
You can offer a 15-minute phone or video call, or an email consultation that allows clients to ask a predetermined number of questions (3 to 5 questions may be enough).
Eventually, you can set up a weekly one- to two-hour consultation over phone or video call, whichever way the client is comfortable. You can offer this as a one-off or a package at a discounted rate.
In the beginning, you can start charging $50 to $100 an hour, which can eventually go up to $300 when you build up your client list and have plenty of positive feedback from past clients.
Can You Start An Online Dating Consultant Business?
If you think you’re ready to spread your wings and offer your services from your own company, you certainly can!
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Draw up a business plan, register as a business, market your business, and you’re off!
At some point, if you want to grow, you’ll probably have to shift from being a consultant to overseeing two or more dating consultants, so consider that as a possibility. Or you can remain lean and continue offering your own services independently.
You can also niche down your business. For instance, you can focus on elderly dating, dating after divorce or bereavement, or dating for busy people.
You can also branch out into relationship coaching, where you can counsel couples to strengthen their bonds and work on their problems.
How to Increase Your Profits
Here are a couple of things you can do to make your online consultancy business become more profitable.
Go into other income streams
One-on-one consultations are your bread and butter, but holding group sessions or seminars can help you charge more per hour, promote your service to more potential clients, and give them a way to get advice from you for a lower rate.
Eventually, as your consultancy business grows and you have people working under you, you have the time to teach or mentor others who want to be online dating consultants.
Learn about dating trends
You don’t want to give outdated advice. Learn about what different age and social demographics are looking for in dates and potential mates.
This may mean you need to sift through a few sociology research studies and surveys.
Keeping yourself informed also means you need to use dating apps yourself to find out what’s out there.
Try to learn about dating scams as well; your clients’ safety and well-being should be a priority.
Are you ready to be an online dating consultant?
Being a dating consultant is a huge responsibility.
Someone’s love life is in your hands, and they may either find everlasting love or they may get their heart broken. If you’re ever going to be successful, you’ll need to take this responsibility seriously.
But being a dating consultant can also be a satisfying and fulfilling career when you consider all the people you can help.
Have you always wanted to be an online dating consultant? How would you like to help other people find love? Share it with us in the comments!
