A Simple Coaching Model

It’s helpful to have a model for the coaching process when you’re first getting started. The model below is simple for good reason. Your attention should be fully on the client instead of on what you’re doing and saying.

Coaching flows through these steps naturally. If these steps are not clear to you now, don’t let it hold you back from offering sample sessions to prospective clients and enrolling them into your practice. When you’re fully present and listening deeply to your client, this model will come alive for you without you having to “get it” cognitively. You will integrate it easily into an effortless process with your clients.

1. Clarify the Agenda

This phase of the session sets the stage for a successful and satisfying coaching session.

After you welcome your client, they will begin to share what’s on their mind. Ask open-ended questions to uncover these three aspects of their agenda:

• The specific topic they want to explore in this session.
• Any important details about the topic.
• What exactly they want to take away from this session. This may be a shift in perspective, solutions or next steps.

Before you can proceed with coaching, all three pieces of information should be crystal clear to you. If not, ask more questions to clarify the agenda.

2. Seize the Coachable Moment

Once you’ve clarified the agenda and if you’ve been listening closely to your client, you may have an “aha” about what’s at the center of their topic. Often, in the first few minutes of the conversation, your client supplies clues about how best to coach them. These clues point to “coachable moments”. Coachable moments are potential roads to travel with the client to eventually arrive at their desired take-away for that session. Key in on what seems like the best road to explore first. As the conversation unfolds, you may explore multiple coachable moments, but not necessarily all that are presented. Do not rush the client towards solutions. Take your time and allow the session to feel spacious by asking direct, open-ended questions as you listen deeply and respond intuitively to your client. Your goal is to let the client’s wisdom unfold as a catalyst for their transformation.

3. Invite the Shift

With one or more of the coachable moments explored, the client is likely to experience a shift. They may have new understanding about something, a renewed sense of inspiration, motivation, commitment or direction. A whole new world of options may have opened to them. You will “invite” the client to acknowledge their shifts, and encourage them to use their new awareness to spark new possibilities.

4. Frame the Masterpiece

Endorse the client for their new perspectives, ideas, self-awareness, clear understanding – whatever came out of the coaching conversation. If appropriate, help them develop next steps, goals or strategies. Close by asking the client something to the effect of: Where did you find value in today’s session?

See a Coaching Session Transcript that illustrates each step of the Simple Coaching Model.

In the Flow

Like a river emptying into the ocean, coaching ultimately takes the client to a bigger place, a better life, a more profitable business. Masterful coaching flows like a river. There’s a source – the client’s agenda – from where the session originates. There’s the end point – new perspectives and, possibly, next steps for the client. And in between the source and the end point there is the current with its occasional eddies and forks. Those are the coachable moments. Some are more dynamic than others. The shift is the rapids. It’s where the flow really takes off and carries significant volume way down stream. As you become more experienced, you’ll discover the most direct routes to convey your client further faster. Think about every wonderful conversation you’ve had. It’s like a river. It flows. Coaching is a powerful conversation, with the focus entirely on your client that carries them to a more expansive place.

Client Welcome Packet

(See http://www.coachesandmentors.com/cta-customtemplates for easy-to-use templates to make your own Welcome Packet.)

Your new client just said YES to coaching with you! Now, what?

It’s time to set up the co-creative relationship and officially enroll your client into your practice. Before you begin ongoing coaching sessions (but after the sample session), have your client complete your Welcome Packet (also called an Intake Packet) and collect their first month fees.

Your Welcome Packet doesn’t have to be fancy and it shouldn’t be too laborious. The idea is to gather the initial information you need from your clients and to establish a positive professional relationship.

For easy-to-use-and-alter Templates for Your Welcome Packet click here.

In any case, we suggest you create your Welcome Packet documents in Microsoft Word and then convert them to Adobe pdf. Have your clients fax you their Credit Authorization and Coaching Terms and Agreement before you begin coaching with them. It’s not safe to have these documents sent back to you by email. Make sure your documents include:

• Your branding – your company name and/or logo, your name / title
• Contact info – your email address and website

Your Welcome Packet should include:

Coaching Terms and Agreement

• Explain how the co-creative relationship works
• State the services they receive, your fees and how/when they are collected.
• List your policies and session procedures, such as how you handle cancellations/postponements/no shows. The number they call for sessions, etc.
• Consider adding a caveat that you’re not a licensed therapist unless you are.
• Have a signature block to acknowledge they have read and understood the agreement.

NOTE: This is not a legally binding agreement.

Credit Authorization
If you’re accepting credit cards for payment of your services, and we recommend that you do, you’ll need this form completed. For security reasons this information should be faxed or mailed to you but not included in or attached to an email.

Client Profile
Here, your client provides contact and other info about themselves. Collect their name, physical address, phone/fax numbers, email address(es), website addresses, social networking profile addresses (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), spouse and children’s names, current occupation, birthday, hobbies, etc.

You may decide to include other items to learn more about your client while you also help them begin to strategize about how they’ll utilize your services.

Client Questionanaire
This is an example of a short survey that helps you get to know your client better. Of course, you’ll eventually develop your own questions that you want to ask. We’ve included an example.

SMART Goals
You've done this yourself in this Accelerator program. Now you can gather the same information from your clients.

Assessments
This isn’t necessary if you don’t have any assessments created or you’re not yet utilizing any. You don’t want to overdo this, but including one or two initial processes to help catalyze your work with clients can be powerful.

Free Resources
This could be a few choice articles you’ve written, links to your other programs or resources.

If you’re mailing out your Welcome Packet, you can always include a business card, if you have them. But, it’s more efficient to send your Welcome Packet documents as attachments to an email.

Remember that most anything you create for your coaching business is a work in progress. Don’t get hung up in perfectionism with these. Get it to “good enough” and get out there and enroll clients! Later, you’ll realize things you want to change, delete or add to your Welcome Packet. Your clients will help you learn what works best for you.

Coaching Terms & Agreement

Dear New Client:

Welcome to the magic of coaching! I look forward to working with you.

Please read through this entire document and let me know if you have questions. The last page is the Coaching Agreement. Please fill that out as directed, sign it and fax it back to me prior to our first session. (Coach – add your fax number here.)

The Co-Creative Relationship

The relationship between a coach and client is Co-Creative, meaning that we are equals. I am not a therapist, counselor or consultant. I am a trained coach using honed communication skills to support you as a thinking partner. Together we create more power for you to effect meaningful change and take dynamic actions towards your goals.

Your Role

• Please take time before each session to determine what you’d like to take away from the session. This is called the “Client Agenda”. Please email me your agenda and any background information needed 24 hours prior to each session. (Coach – consider creating a session prep questions template for your clients.)
• Treat our coaching as the valuable investment that it is. Protect your investment by showing up to every session on time and setting an intention to be centered, ready to engage and take meaningful actions.
• Give me feedback in the moment about your coaching experience.

My Role

• I will listen closely to you, respond to what I hear and ask questions. If I hear something in your voice or language that sparks an intuitive thought, I’m likely to ask you about it. Often, it is the small moments that bring about big shifts. If I’m not on target, just tell me. I’m not attached to being right.
• At the end of the session, if you do not set specific actions you are ready to take, I may make a coach request. I ask clients to stretch themselves, deepen the work done in the sessions by writing, taking some action, resolving relationships or things that feel incomplete. You are always free to negotiate, accept or decline.

Extra Time

Between sessions, if you have questions, a brief update, or want to bounce some ideas around, please contact me by email. If it seems best, I may suggest a brief phone call or to add that as an agenda item for our next session.

Ways You Can Get More From Your Coaching Experience

• Make our coaching sessions a priority. Come to every call with a specific agenda.
• Complete what you agree to do in between sessions. Integrate what you learn.
• Be open-minded. Try new approaches. Experiment.
• Be willing to change your beliefs and patterns if they do not serve you anymore.

Fees (Coach – we highly recommend you take credit cards to make it easier for both you and your client.)

• My coaching fees are paid as a retainer. Your card will be charged automatically at the beginning of each month that we agree to work together. You will receive a receipt by email at the time of the charge. Print and keep these for your records. These fees may be tax deductible as a business expense. Please check with your CPA.
• (Coach – state your fees and how many sessions are included here.)
• I accept and prefer Visa or MasterCard payments. If you must pay by check, please send checks for several months in advance. If we discontinue coaching before they are used, the checks will be returned or shredded.
• Please budget for this investment.
• I do not accept late payments. Please make certain funds are available. If your credit card expiration date or number changes, please let me know.

Session Procedures

• Please call me at (Coach – add your business phone number here.) for sessions.
• If you call in for your session and get my voice mail, please call back after one full minute.
• Please do not leave a message and wait for me to call you back. I might not receive your message between clients.
• If you do not call in within 15 minutes of your scheduled session time the session will be lost.

Schedule Changes/Vacation/Business Trips

• We will set a mutually agreed upon time for our sessions.
• Please give our call high priority and arrange your schedule to honor our agreed upon time.
• I require a minimum of 24 hours notice to reschedule a call. In any case, if you must miss a call, let me know as soon as you are able. If something must change temporarily or permanently, I’ll offer other times, if available.
• If you forget a session or do not call in, that session will be counted as a completed session under our agreement and will not be rescheduled. However, I will consider emergency situations case-by-case.
• If you have planned vacations or business trips that will conflict with our sessions, please notify me of these as soon as you have an itinerary and we will discuss when to reschedule. I will do the same with you when I plan trips.

First Call Preparation

Prior to our first call, please read and send back the five welcome packet documents. Also, complete and email your answers to the Session Prep Questions, sent to you as an email template. Keep this template for future sessions. I’m Looking Forward To The Magic In Our Coaching Relationship!

Credit Card Authorization

I authorize (Coach – fill in your name & your company name here) to charge my credit/debit card for the amount shown below each month for coaching services, until I discontinue services.

Client Name:

Name as it appears on card:

Billing Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Email:
Card Type: Please check one (Coach - add card names if you are set up to take them.)[ ] MasterCard or [ ] Visa Card
Number: Verification Code (three digits on back of the card):
Date MM/YY: Amount: $ (Coach - enter the amount to be charged per month.)

Authorized Signature Date _____________________________________________________

Please fax this form before your first scheduled session to:
Do not email as your credit information will not be secure.
Never ask client to transmit this data through email, it’s not secure.)

Coaching Agreement

Dear new client: Please sign below and return this page to reflect your agreement:

I understand that (coach’s name) is not a licensed therapist and that I am responsible for all my decisions, actions and feelings.

I agree to pay my monthly coaching fees on time, at the beginning of each month. (Coach – state your monthly fees for how many sessions and what length for each session. For example: $500 for three one-hour sessions each month).

I have read the coaching terms and agreement. I understand my role and my coach’s role in our co-creative professional coaching relationship. I will ask questions and clarify anything I don’t understand. I am committed to doing everything I need to do to get 100% from my coaching relationship.[Please put your initials next to each statement you agree to below:]

_____ I give (coach’s name) permission to release my name, phone and email address as a client to the International Coach Federation (ICF), a professional association and accrediting body for coaches. This information is given for credentialing purposes only and will be held confidential by the ICF.

_____ I give (coach’s name) permission to record my sessions. At any time, I can ask for a session not to be recorded. I understand she (or he) may share or discuss these recordings with her (or his) own coach for peer review or credentialing purposes. Otherwise, they will be kept safe and held confidential. Client

Signature Date ____________________________________________

Client Profile

Dear New Client: The following information will help us develop a rich relationship. Please fill out the personal information to the degree that you feel comfortable sharing the details. Once it’s complete, email this form back to me as an attachment. Your information will be held in confidence. Thank you!

PERSONAL INFORMATION Your Name/Nickname: Your Birthday: Hobbies: Favorite Books or Movies: Partner’s Name (if applicable): Names & Ages of children (if applicable):

CONTACT INFORMATION Street Address: City: State: Zip: Home Phone: Cell Phone: Work Phone: Fax: Primary email: Alt. email:

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION Occupation: Title: Company or Employer: Times/Days at Work: Website Address: MISCELLANEOUS Is there anything else you want me to know about you at this time?

What are your strongest beliefs about yourself and the world?

What bits of wisdom/life lessons would you like to share with the world?

When in your life have you felt most creative?

When in your life have you been most committed to something/someone?

What are the greatest accomplishments of your life so far?

About what have you taken the strongest stand?

What does prosperity mean to you and when/how have you experienced it?

What energizes you?

How might you sabotage this coaching process? What do you want me to do if I notice sabotaging behavior?

How will you know how effective coaching has been for you?

Your Ideal Client Profile

You’ve created the Picture of Your Practice, now add to that by beginning to craft a picture of your ideal client. Knowing yourself well and the kinds of people you enjoy most, imagine that you are designing the best coaching client for you. Start by creating a short bullet-pointed list identifying the most important characteristics that describe the individuals you would like to coach. Don’t worry if this is not crystal clear yet. Write what you do know now and keep updating this profile as you know more. Doing samples sessions and enrolling full fee clients will best help you learn about your ideal client. First, consider their gender and other demographics. Also, think about aspects of their personality, values and beliefs. For example: Professional career women that . . .

• Have ambitious long-term goals
• Are intuitive and spiritually based
• Are highly committed to their own success

Then consider their abilities, availability – anything that might affect your working relationship.

• Are financially sound and happy to invest in their development
• Are savvy computer and Internet users
• Are active on social networks
• Available for sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9am – 3pm ET

Now, if you’ve decided your niche (your target market or specialty) then you may also know some of the following details. List the answers to these questions to round out your profile. Or leave this blank and come back to it when you have decided your niche. Who is my target market or the population I want to serve? What are their biggest challenges, opportunities and goals? What problems are they looking to solve? What are three ways I can easily and inexpensively reach groups of them? Lastly, put the key points into a short paragraph. Read this paragraph often. Eventually, it will be fully fleshed out and you’ll be able to share it with others without referring to this page.

Sample Ideal Client Profile:

My Ideal Client is a mompreneur – a stay-at-home mom with her own home-based business. She’s serious about contributing significantly to her family’s income, but not at the expense of her family time. Because time is her biggest obstacle, she has to find creative ways to grow her business and raise her children. She is computer and Internet savvy, utilizing social networking as one method to build her business. She’s guided by her own integrity and spiritual beliefs. Primarily, I connect with mompreneurs through social networking, blogging, my own Blog Talk Radio programs and other live events. I have a “tribe” of mompreneurs that share and support each other. My core suite of offers includes one-to-one coaching, mastermind groups and eventually a membership program.

Use this space to begin assembling your Ideal Client Profile:

________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Pro Bono and Barter Coaching

Pro Bono Clients Established professionals, including coaches that are financially sound usually give up to 10% of their services for free. Pro bono means “for good”. Once you have an established practice, you have an opportunity to give back to your community in whatever way you choose. If you’re just getting started as a coach and you’re eager to feel yourself coaching, you may decide to offer your services pro bono to a client or two for a month or so. This might be a good way to get experience at the outset. But don’t use that as an excuse to avoid engaging fee-based clients. It’s an important step to tell clients what your fee is and stand confidently by it. Until you cross this threshold, you won’t know that you can. The sooner you do, the easier it is to fill your practice.

Consider This

Providing pro bono coaching to a client and expecting them to eventually pay you a fee can be tricky. Without a clear understanding of the arrangements and expectations, the perceived value of your coaching will be established at zero. After all, that is exactly what they are paying you. When clients pay your fee they are investing in themselves. If they never have to pay you a fee they might never fully engage in coaching. Fees encourage an emotional investment. Think about how you treat the things you get for free as opposed to the things in which you invest. Many coaches start their practices by charging significant fees right out of the gate. Do whatever will help you take steady steps towards professionalism as a coach.

From Free to Fee

When you do arrange a pro bono coaching relationship, make it clear to your client exactly how many sessions they will have that are free. Discuss precisely when the relationship will go from free to fee and how that will work. Also, ask for something in return during the free coaching. Ask your pro bono client to provide you with feedback, referrals and testimonials. Most pro bono clients are not only willing to do this, but are excited to be able to do something for you in return for your coaching with them. It doesn’t hurt to have all the details and expectations written down in an informal agreement and provide a copy to your client. When you approach this mutually beneficial arrangement with professionalism, so will your client. Stick to this agreement even if the client decides they don’t want to continue. Don’t sell yourself short by continuing a pro bono relationship beyond the agreed upon length of arrangement. You are providing a service of significant, if not life-changing, value.

Bartering

Barter is an age old tradition of exchanging one product or service for another. It can be a feasible solution with some clients. But again, be sure bartering is a strategy you use in addition to, not in lieu of, enrolling full fee clients. Bartering is a special circumstance for when both parties, you and your client, have something of equal value that you each want from the other. For example, you and your web designer exchange coaching for design.

If a potential client asks to barter with you, be sure you really want what they have to offer. Otherwise, it will feel like you’re giving something for nothing, and that will interfere with the co-creative relationship.

Example: An individual approaches you saying he can’t afford your coaching fee but wants to barter for bio-feedback training. These questions will help you decide if bartering is right for you at this time:

• Am I interested in this service at this time?
• Is there potential for enough longevity in this relationship?
• Is this potential client offering a professional service?
• Do I feel I can make this arrangement with integrity for the right reasons?

If you can’t answer all ‘yes’ to all of these questions, it’s best to let the situation go rather than trying to make it work just to have a client or not disappoint someone. And, you may need to ask yourself this question…

• Am I inclined to take this opportunity because I don’t trust the value of my services and want any client under any terms?

A ‘yes’ to this question indicates you need to take the plunge and enroll fee-based clients, rather than continuing to look for free or barter situations.

Designing for Win/Win

Assessing the value of the trade can be a bit uncomfortable. It’s helpful to know what you want in advance and set the barter relationship up for win/win. One way to approach this is to ask yourself now:

• What services am I willing to barter for?
• What is the correct exchange for each type of service?
• How many barter clients am I willing to have concurrently?

Unless it’s not your intention to earn income as a coach, consider allowing only one barter and one pro bono client at any given time. If you know the answers to these questions before the barter opportunity arises, you’ll be able to respond from your integrity every time.

Setting Clear Boundaries

It’s important to set clear boundaries with all barter clients. For example, don’t coach your client while she’s giving you a massage. Set up specific times where you each receive services. And just like pro bono, set up the parameters at the beginning. Have an agreement to review the arrangement after a short pre-determined period of time. Experiences with pro bono and barter can teach you to value yourself and your services. When your clients perceive value, they get more out of your coaching.

Your HUB Statement

Your Hottest Undeniable Benefit (or HUB) Statement is the first sentence you say out loud when describing to people what you do for a living. It will be the most prominent sentence on your web site and other marketing materials, and you can even include it on your business card.

Your HUB is the critical first piece of your branding. It is the centerpiece, or hub of your marketing. Take the time to develop your HUB Statement and then use it! And it’s okay if you change it later. You’ll want to as you learn more about your ideal clients.

A HUB Statement is also referred to as a Unique Benefit Statement or value proposition.

If you simply say that you that you are a business or life coach and then tout the virtues of coaching, prospects will likely smile, but quickly lose interest. Similarly, broad lofty statements like this won’t attract professional clients:

I help people have a more fulfilling and passionate life!

Why won’t this attract clients? It’s abstract and non-specific; it’s meant for no one in particular; it isn’t compelling enough to inspire action.

A HUB is not:

• About you
• About the features or virtues of coaching

In fact, it doesn’t mention coaching at all. Surprised? Instead, your HUB is a single sentence that specifically conveys:

• Who you work with, and the
• Benefits they receive from working with you.

Your HUB Statement is all about your prospects. That’s why it’s helpful to narrow your niche and find out what that specific group of people really wants (and would invest in services to help them achieve). The more of a generalist coach you position yourself as, the more difficult it will be for you to craft a compelling HUB Statement. Powerful HUB Statements:

• Are simple, direct and specific
• Use a maximum of 15 words - or even aim for 10 words
• Are written in non-formal, conversational language
• Provide a clear solution to your market’s most urgent challenge or goal
• Do not contain technical babble, jargon, or legalese

Take a look at the following HUB Statements for other types of service providers.

A HUB for a Financial Planner:

I help families reach financial independence on their current salaries.

The statement above is succinct and all about something the market really wants. This is so much more compelling than a statement like the one below, which focuses on the service provider, rather than his market.

I am a financial planner and I represent more than thirty quality investment vehicles. My specialties are optimized annuities with automatic annual rollover and short and long term debentures.

Boring!

Here are two more HUB statements that really rock:

A HUB for a Publishing Consultant:
I help people get their book out of their head and onto bookshelves.

What’s great about this HUB is the way it describes going from a challenge – the book out of the head, to the desired outcome – onto bookshelves. Ultimate success is implied.

A HUB for a Marriage Counselor:
I help couples find a safe place to love.

This HUB is so punchy because it’s so short. The challenge – finding a safe place to love – is also the desired outcome.

In each of these HUB statements above, notice the clarity of the populations served and the specific benefits they receive.

Now take a look at HUBs for coaches with various niches:

I help women executives reach financial freedom by transforming their relationship to money.

Notice that even though the coach is focusing on women executives as her target market, she’s not saying she’s going to help them be better executives. Instead, she’s targeting this group with a very specific specialty – helping them attain financial freedom. If you have a special set of skills, you too might opt for a specialty and target a market who would most benefit from that specialty.

I help college administrators make significant contributions to their institution by matching their strengths to their best opportunities.

This coach has drilled down to a narrow market – college administrators – but see how a life coach could easily help people in this market use their strengths to accomplish something very key for them?

I help women sales managers create an inspired sales force and bring in their most profitable year yet.

For this target market, the coach has zoomed in on the single most challenging aspect of a sales manager’s job. Can you imagine how a coach would help people in this niche create an inspired sales force? Remember, coaching is all about drawing the wisdom from the client. You do not have to know more than your clients.

To create a powerful HUB statement:

1. Choose your niche. Come up with a brief description for the group you serve = WHO
2. Describe the most compelling and specific challenge plus the desired outcome for that particular group = BENEFIT. Sometimes the outcome implies the challenge.
3. Put this together in a succinct sentence of about 15 words - or even aim for 10 words.

• Use syntax that is easy-to-read and understand – the fewer prepositional phrases used, the better.
• Eliminate formal phrasing or unnecessary words.
• Choose words and phrases for their impact and clarity.
• Avoid poetic language or abstract concepts.
• If you can, use metaphors.

HUB Sentence Structure

I help (WHO) ________ to (WHAT) __________________.

What’s wrong with this HUB?

I help people in transition (niche not narrow or specific enough) to achieve balance and follow their dreams (abstract and non-specific).

It’s time to make a strong statement about how your clients benefit from your services.

As you develop your HUB, remember that:

1. Everything you create in your coaching business is a work in progress. It’s not written in stone. It’s best to craft one now and improve upon it by using it in the real world, then tweak it as you learn more about your market.
2. Your goal is to stand out in the crowd in a way that will have your ideal prospects paying attention and asking for more information or engaging in next steps with you.

Steps to Craft Your HUB Statement

First, outline these key pieces of information about your niche:

What are the most critical problems people in my niche face? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

What are the most important and specific goals they want to achieve? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

What is the most important and specific benefit or outcome my prospects will receive by working with me? (Hint: See above. Make sure this is based on what they really want rather than what you most want to coach about.) ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Now, begin to play with words and phrases to craft a compelling HUB that is evocative, easy to say, and highly relevant to people in your niche.

Ask yourself these questions to test the completeness of your HUB:

1. Does this HUB describe in concrete terms (rather than abstract or non-specific language) what I do so that anyone can understand it and refer clients to me?
2. Does this HUB distinguish me from other coaches?
3. Does this HUB give me several great ideas about where I can find my ideal clients and how to market to them?

If you answer ‘no’ to any of the above, go back and hone the WHO and WHAT further.

Other phrases that you have written that don’t make the grade for your HUB statement might be appropriate in your 30 Second Intro or other collateral marketing, such as your web site. These might be more complete descriptions, details, steps, your philosophy, etc.

Common Concerns About Niches and HUBs

Marketing and coaching are two separate things entirely. The coaching skills you are learning in this course are to be used in sample sessions or with enrolled clients. Marketing is the way you attract your clients. Don’t confuse the two.

When you choose a niche, it’s for ease of marketing and attracting a steady stream of clients. When you craft your HUB, it’s an attraction device as well – meant to engage the curiosity and interest of people in your niche.

• You always get to decide who you enroll into your practice. If someone approaches you that isn’t part of your niche, no problem! Give them a sample session and if the fit is right, enroll them into your practice.
• Your client always gets to decide their agenda for each session. Even if you choose a narrow target market (for example financial planners), it does not mean that all you’ll coach about is financial planning. In fact, it’s unlikely you’ll ever coach about that. All people in all markets are diverse and individually complex. No matter what niche you focus on, your clients will bring all manner of issues to coaching spanning topics in every territory: life, business, relationships, careers, self-esteem – what have you.

Enjoy your discovery and commitment to marketing yourself distinctively!

SMART Goals

When you want something new to happen in your life, commit to make it happen. Do whatever it takes to bring the result you want. You’ve made the commitment to enroll in a comprehensive coach training program. Now, it’s time to commit to the steps that will bring you a successful coaching business. Have some fun creating SMART goals. Don’t allow questions of “how?” or self-doubt to stop you from setting the goals that will get you where you want to go. Every SMART goal has each of these five elements. SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Risky (require taking some risk)
• Time Limited

As you create your goals, keep these things in mind:

• You are in the perfect place in your life now... exactly where you need to be.
• Whatever you need to get started will surface.
• The point of power is in the present moment.
• You create your own reality. You are infinitely powerful.
• Simply decide what you want and move toward it.
• Choose success and switch to feelings of abundance RIGHT NOW.
• Success is a decision. Have no doubt you can do it.
• 100% commitment is easy. 99% commitment is hard.
• Now is the time to start. Take action that will move you forward every day.
• Wins come with “failures”.
• Each effort is a chance to learn and rediscover yourself.
• You are capable. The answers you seek are already inside you.
• You are worthy of your ideal. Make your goal worthy of you.
• Trust your intuition. Persist. Make it happen NOW!

Strive for Balance

Include goals for all facets of your development as a coach.

• Skills/Tools
• Experience
• Income, Number of Clients
• Knowledge
• Support Systems, Community, Professional Associations
• Personal Growth, Overcoming Personal Obstacles

Success Starts In Your Head

Whatever you focus on E X P A N D S and what you give energy to will become your reality. Take a risk. Stretch yourself and allow your imagination to take over for a while.

If a goal doesn’t make you a little uncomfortable, consider raising the stakes.

Imagine a successful, more joyful you. The only limits placed on you are the limits you place on yourself. Imagine, with all your senses, living the life you dream of. Hold onto the vision that feels right to you and GO FOR IT!

How to Set Goals That Are S-M-A-R-T

Create a minimum of three and a maximum of ten SMART Goals that you want to accomplish in the next 6 months, so that you will achieve what you intend from this program.

Examples of 10 SMART goals:

• Give 2 sample sessions with potential clients every week, 20 by Week 16
• Set up my business checking account and credit card systems by Week 2
• Attend local Chamber of Commerce meeting by Week 3
• Join the local ICF Chapter by Week 4
• Decide on my coaching niche by Week 6
• Interview people in my target market by Week 10
• Enroll my first four full fee clients by Week 10
• Design a Group Coaching program to launch by Week 15
• Launch my website by Week 20
• Have made enough coaching income to pay for this course by Week 22

Bite Size Goals

After you put your SMART goals together, delineate them into smaller “bite size” goals to support your ability to accomplish them. For example, with the goal – Launch my website by Week 20 – smaller delineated goals are:

Interview and select web designer by _______

Find examples of websites I like, choose colors, graphics, and style by _______

Have all text written and emailed to web designer by _______.

Your SMART Goals, like many other documents you’ll create, are works in progress. Update them often. Plan your work then work your plan each week and you’ll find yourself where you want to be much sooner.

Bite Size Goals

After you put your SMART goals together, delineate them into smaller “bite size” goals to support your ability to accomplish them. For example, with the goal – Launch my website by Week 20 – smaller delineated goals are:

Interview and select web designer by _______

Find examples of websites I like, choose colors, graphics, and style by _______

Have all text written and emailed to web designer by _______.

Your SMART Goals, like many other documents you’ll create, are works in progress. Update them often. Plan your work then work your plan each week and you’ll find yourself where you want to be much sooner.

The Internet and social networking has changed the way we communicate. If you want prospects to listen when you tell them how your services benefit them, even when speaking to an audience of one, express it in a succinct and compelling way.

The formula for successful communication is: Short and To The Point.

1. Begin by giving them your name and company name.
2. Next, give them your Hottest Undeniable Benefit – this is the single sentence that evocatively describes who you work with and specifically how they benefit from your services.
3. Next you want to restate, using different words, what you do and the benefits of doing business with you in one or two sentences. By restating, you are doing the person you are being introduced to a favor. You are telling them what is important for them to remember. Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself when you restate your key points. Your contacts will thank you for it by remembering you.

I’m Lara Galloway, The Mom Biz Coach. I help mompreneurs define success on their own terms and create a sustainable business that fits their family life. Moms need to accomplish a lot in little time, so I show them how to take a passive approach to earning income and an aggressive approach to spending quality time with family. I help moms turn the business they have into the business they love.

Warm Letter Sample

[Your name, title, company name, phone number]

[Date]

Dear ___________, [Consider customizing each letter or email.]

[Consider having a more personal sentence here to connect with the person.]

You are one of the first people to hear about my new business.

I help mompreneurs (moms with home-based businesses) define success on their own terms and create a sustainable business that fits their family life.

Moms need to accomplish a lot in little time, so I show them how to take a passive approach to earning income and an aggressive approach to spending quality time with family. I help moms turn the business they have into the business they love.

Why am I telling you about this? Three reasons:

1. I’m very juiced up about what I’m doing and wanted to stay current with you.
2. I imagine that you know some moms with home-based businesses that you could refer to me.
3. I’d like to show you exactly how I serve others.

I’ll give you a call soon to catch up. I’d enjoying connecting with you and offering you a sample coaching session so that you can see what I do for mompreneurs. We’ll find a topic that’s relevant to your life so you come away with something valuable.

In the meantime, check out my website at www.__________.com and bookmark it so that you can send mompreneurs my way.

Warmly,

[Your signature, title, company name, phone number]

P.S. My business is growing quickly through referrals. Please keep me in mind whenever you’re talking with friends who are moms and business owners.

More and more commerce is being transacted on the Internet. And communicating through email can be so fast and efficient.

Choose your use of this medium wisely, however. Never hide from difficult conversations by using email. Email volleys do not occur in real time and written words don’t fully convey meaning. Sometimes the tone of your voice makes all the difference in the world.

Many situations are best handled through voice-to-voice communication rather than email.

In your business, we suggest you opt for voice communication:

• Whenever there’s any possibility of misunderstanding, such as a difficult conversation with a client or colleague. This promotes and preserves good relationships.
• When you are enrolling a client into your one-to-one coaching or a small group program where fit is crucial.
• When thanking someone for a referral.

There may be other situations where it’s wisest to opt for real time voice communication, face to face or on the phone. Balance the fast and easy benefits of high tech communication with the high touch skills of personalized communication. You will create a feeling of availability while still approaching situations with good boundaries and professionalism.

Let’s say . . .

Your new client writes you an email saying she’s confused about the coaching fee – she thought you gave a lower quote. Is this an email or voice conversation? VOICE

A colleague sends a message saying you mistakenly used some of her copy on your website. Email or voice conversation? VOICE.

A current client sends a testimonial by email. Email or voice response? VOICE

Give them the high touch. Always give your gratitude for referrals or testimonials by voice or a handwritten note sent through regular mail. People will value you for it.

These personal touches don’t have to take much time. Think of the time and embarrassment it will save by sidestepping a possible misunderstanding with a client, prospective client or colleague. The personal approach makes a positive impression and shows a sense of integrity.

For every agenda your client presents, there are five points of reference to listen for throughout the session:

1. Choosing the Destination
   Where does the client want to go?
2. Packing the Bags
   What do they need with them on this journey?
3. Anticipating the Hurdles
   What obstacles may get in the way and how will they move beyond them?
4. Finding the Short Cut
   What is the most direct route to get them where they want to go?
5. Enjoying the View
   How has the client’s perspective changed?

Where does the client want to go?

Listen for the client’s current challenges or goals. This relates to Step 1 of the Simple Coaching Model – Clarifying the Agenda. Make sure you hear the topic, details and takeaway directly from the client. This will set the main focus for the session and tell you how they want to be coached.

If their agenda is not crystal clear to you, ask questions until you fully understand what they want. This is the most critical step in any session. Do not proceed into the session until you have clarity of focus.

What do they need with them on this journey?

Listen for what is missing for the client. This and the next two reference points relate to Step 2 of the Simple Coaching Model – Seize the Coachable Moment.

Do they need perspective, options, confidence, skills, support, energy, ideas or a plan?

They may need several of these during the session.

Remember, your role is not to supply what your client needs but rather catalyze them toward their own solutions.

Coaching assumes that the client already has access to the resources they need within them to reach their destination.

Offering your own perspectives and ideas might help to open your client’s mind. Own that it’s your perspective and know that it might not be the “right” one for your client.

Encourage them to brainstorm.

What is the most direct route to get them where they want to go?

Listen for possible solutions. Clients will almost always give you clues to their own solutions. Help them to see the merit in their own ideas so that they can buy in. Endorse them. Appreciate them for their intelligence, creativity, and wisdom when you see it.

How has the client’s perspective changed?

Listen for the upbeat in the session. This reference point relates to Step 3 and 4 of the Simple Coaching Model – Invite the Shift and Frame the Masterpiece. Acknowledge when your client has successfully opened their mind and generated energy toward their goals. Endorse your client for their new perspectives and awareness. If they don’t come to it on their own, make a coach request that supports their next step or a strong point of inquiry to deepen the process.

End the session by asking them to share what of value they received from the session. Even if there’s still time in the session, end on an upbeat rather than take on a new agenda with too little time to explore it.

What obstacles may get in the way and how will they move beyond them?

Listen for current or possible pitfalls, stumbling blocks, resistance, doubts and fears. Assist your client in putting these things into proper perspective and moving into action. Often that requires changing focus and re-commitment to goals.

Fears and doubts are often like cardboard walls without real substance. Encourage your client to trust their ability to move right through them.

Sometimes a session will move back and forth between reference points 2 and 3 a few times.

(What is the obstacle? And what resources or support do you need to help you move through that obstacle?)

The most effective type of question to use in coaching is an open-ended question that begins with Who, What, When, Where, or How (or could be rephrased that way). Take a look at these questions. Notice how each one is simple and direct.

Who do you need to be to reach this goal?

Who will you ask to help you with this?

What do you want to take away from coaching today?

What would you like to have happen now?

What is your immediate goal or objective?

What are you willing to change in order to achieve it?

What is missing for you right now?

What new skills, attitudes or knowledge do you need to succeed in this situation?

When will you make that call?

When will you feel you have enough?

Where do you feel stuck?

Where is your focus now?

How do you want to proceed from here?

How did that feel when you said that?

How much is it costing you to keep that up?

How would you like to be coached around this issue?

Rarely is it useful to use a why question in coaching. Why do you think that is? It’s because why can have an accusatory or defensive tone. Why questions often focus the client on the problem at hand, rather than solutions. Why is it so hard to get past this point? We suggest you train yourself away from using why questions. As you gain experience, you may find the perfect timing for an occasional why question. Otherwise, stick with Who, What, When, Where and How.

A closed-ended question is one that encourages a short or single-word answer such as yes or no. Most people tend to use closed questions much more than open-ended questions, perhaps because the closed question keeps control of the dialog with the questioner.

An open-ended question turns over control of the dialog, and encourages a full, meaningful answer from the respondent’s own perspective. Open-ended questions allow for a spontaneous, unstructured response – which makes them far more useful in coaching.

Occasionally, you’ll use a closed-ended question to punctuate something for your client. But, aim for open-ended questions because they will draw out more details, and more surprises, from your client.

Do you get along with your boss?

is better asked this way . . .

Tell me about your relationship with your boss.

Are you complete with the session?

is better asked this way . . .

Where did you find value in this session?

Ah. . . balance. Everyone is seeking it, but it’s a moving target. No wonder we’re all seeking it. The fast pace of the 21st Century makes balance even more elusive.

But make no mistake about it, balance is found and found again internally, not externally.

Balance, as defined by Webster, is:

1. to bring into harmony or proportion
2. physical equilibrium

Balance is a moving target. From day-to-day, our own point of balance can change depending on how much energy we have available and where our focus is. And, like the juggler who keeps throwing another ball into the air, the more things we have going in our life, the more difficult it is to keep it all up without dropping the ball.

If you know the point of balance,
You can settle the details.
If you can settle the details,
You can stop running around.
Your mind will become calm.
If your mind becomes calm,
You can think in front of a tiger.
If you can think in front of a tiger,
You will surely succeed.

- Mencius

The ability to find and maintain balance is a skill. One of your roles as a coach is to help your clients learn this skill. For many clients this will be a long-term process. For some, it will be a matter of giving them a few tools and encouraging them to apply the tools.

Your clients may tell you that they want your help to establish more balance. If they don’t identify it for themselves, keep an eye out for the tell-tale signs of imbalance:

1. Continual stress, poor health
2. Their voice sounds heavy during sessions
3. A pattern of overwhelm and feeling stuck
4. Difficulty in making progress on goals
5. You feel stressed just listening to them

If a client is chronically stressed, overwhelmed, or sad, it’s possible they would be better served by therapy and/or medical attention. However, most people have occasional periods of stress or sadness and coaching may be supportive to them.

Listen closely to your clients. Watch your own integrity and be certain that you are coaching clients within the level of your training. Be ready to refer a client to a therapist if you feel you are out of your realm.

Sometimes stress is palpable. You can feel the anxiety over the phone lines. When you notice that, check in with yourself. Is it your anxiety? If you’re clear that it’s not, let your client know what you’ve noticed.

“Let’s slow down for a minute. Take a few deep breaths. Talk more slowly.”

Just breathing consciously has an amazing effect for many clients, especially if you do it too. Then, when you sense they’ve calmed down, ask them to describe their current state. Metaphors are illustrative.

“What are you feeling right now? Can you describe it visually as in a metaphor?”

Simplifying life is the easiest way to find and maintain balance. The fewer balls in the air, the easier it is to juggle. When there’s open time to rest, to contemplate what’s gone before and what’s next, it’s natural to come back to center.

When we’re centered, we can operate from integrity and make conscious choices. Centering creates room to breathe. The concept is so basic that’s it’s easy to forget. Remind your clients to breathe and to take time out.

1. Start by asking clients to under-obligate their future so that they have some space in their schedule.
2. Explore whether they can let go of any current obligations or delegate things to others.
3. Ask them to make a list of only 5 – 7 areas in their life that are important to them. Have them put energy each week into all of those areas, especially the ones that are being neglected.
4. Encourage your clients to make conscious choices about where they dedicate time and energy.

Balance is about returning to the center. Living in the extremes is okay for the short term. In the long run it creates health problems and keeps us from achieving what we most want in life.

Where are your clients are living in the extremes? Show them the other side. Eventually they’ll find their center – their balance. There are many ways to look at balance:

Balance intensity with lightness

Balance working with playing

Balance planning with spontaneity

Balance acquiring with letting go

Balance giving with receiving

Balance ending with beginning

Balance living with earning a living

Balance becoming with being

This is an opportunity to pull together all that has happened so far on this journey. No doubt you’ve experienced a mix of excitement, fear, uncertainty, and satisfaction. This is all expected and normal. You’re learning to be comfortable with traveling into the unknown.

For now, take time to regroup. In this Open Challenge Forum you will:

1. Learn how to determine what’s holding you back.
2. Understand the process to push yourself forward.
3. Discover the challenges you create the moment you set a goal.

Many people don’t finish what they start. The fact you’ve come this far demonstrates your capacity for success and your ability to achieve. We know it hasn’t been a walk in the park. If it were easy, anybody could do it. You are special. You were called to be a coach.

Congratulations on sticking to your commitment to yourself. You are now in a perfect position to launch your coaching career.

Here are some of the things coaches have shared with us that hold them back:

• Not feeling ready to step out.
• Lack of confidence in trying something without knowing if it will work out.
• Comparing themselves to others without appreciating their own strengths.
• Paying too much attention to their inner critic.
• Fear of failure and rejection.
• Buying into creative avoidance techniques – the “bright shiny object” syndrome.
• Not being fully committed.

If you are not sure you’re ready to step out, it’s probably the best time to take a leap. Trust that the net will appear, and it will, if you’ve done your groundwork.

Waiting for confidence is like waiting for a ship to come in that has never set sail.

Stop comparing yourself to others. You cannot give what you do not have. Determine your uniqueness and boldly share it with others.

Your inner critic ‘plays it safe.’ It will attempt to convince you not to try anything new or step out of your comfort zone.When has ‘playing it safe’ gotten you what you really wanted?

Take action without being 100% certain things will work out. Be willing to experiment and learn as you go. This experience will be priceless when working with clients who are also stretching for their dreams.

You may hear a voice in your head that SOUNDS rational but tends to take you away from your goal. This may be your scared and uncertain self taking over in sneaky ways. You may be creatively avoiding what needs to get done.

Get fully committed. You’re overdue. 100% committed is a lot easier than 99.9%. Find at least one area in your practice in which to be fully committed.

By nature, coaches are very giving people. We’ll share just about anything with anybody . . . even with our closest competitor. But there is one thing coaches don’t talk about: the number of clients they have. It’s just not done.

Don’t take this to heart.

The fact is the majority of people with the title COACH on their business card do not have a full stable of clients. It could be a fear of success, a fear of failure, or reluctance to take a risk.

If you’re not coaching the number of clients you set as your goal, what’s holding you back? What action will you take to put yourself at the top of your game AND stand out from the crowd?

The number one secret to enjoying a sustainable practice is creating awareness in your market that precedes you.

What do we mean?

Developing a reputation through your writing, speaking, networking, and promotion that establishes you as an expert in your niche. You’ll know you’ve reached this pinnacle when people you meet for the first time say, “Hey, I’ve heard of you!”

Recognize the importance of your ongoing learning in growing your coaching practice. Treat your Life Long Learning plan with the commitment you deserve.

http://www.coachtrainingalliance.com/LifeLongLearning/

You get to decide how you’re going to respond to this Open Challenge Forum. What was your intent when you entered this program? Are you where you wanted to be at this halfway point? What is your commitment to yourself now? That’s what really matters.

The only difference between successful people and less than successful people is the successful ones do the things the others don’t like doing. It’s not any more complicated than that.

People who make it happen will tell you it wasn’t easy. People, who think it should be easy, won’t make it happen. Successful people experience setbacks just like the rest of us. The difference is they persist, take consistent action, and make course corrections until they achieve their desired result. Once they’ve done that . . . it looks easy.

Now, revisit your SMART Goals and determine your next logical step. Focus only on that and when it’s done, go to your next step. We’re going to venture out into the world of opportunities on the next leg of this journey:  Becoming a Client Magnet.

To leverage means to make something more powerful and effective. Leveraging allows you to get better results with less expenditure of resources. Create leveraged marketing and enrollment systems so you can spend less time marketing and more time coaching.

Here is how to leverage your time to create a successful coaching business faster:

1. Choose your niche.
2. Find out what these people most want to achieve/solve.
3. Design programs and products that are highly relevant to them.
4. Have each of your offers lead naturally to the next one.
5. Connect weekly with large numbers of people in your niche.
6. Show how your services benefit them and solve their top challenges.
7. Continually build a list of pre-qualified leads.
8. Create opportunities every week to enroll new clients.

As you develop your Client Attraction Plan, keep asking yourself:

How do I become the go-to person for my niche while utilizing my strengths?

Consistent marketing is easier and more effective because you are delivering a congruent inspiring message to a distinct group.

To be congruent in your marketing, integrate who you are – your values, talents and skills – into everything you do to raise awareness about your services.

• Value yourself and your services.
• Know your strengths.
• Listen closely to the people you serve.
• Align those things with what you’re offering.
• Stay visible and connected.
• Enjoy your prospects and clients.
• Become their “go-to person”.

In the 21st Century, most every company and entrepreneur is taking advantage of the free and nearly free ways to get the word out about their products and programs through the Internet. Every day, new companies, systems, and networks emerge designed to provide easy online ways to connect with people in your niche. Some stick around, some go as fast as they arrived.

You will want to get into this game and learn how to use it to your advantage. Plan on it.

Think about how you found out about this program. Chances are it was through an Internet search. Or, maybe you saw a listing for a teleclass called Becoming a Coach. You might have followed a link forwarded to you by a friend that came from an ezine (electronic newsletter) about coaching. All of these are Internet-based methods of marketing.

The best part is that you received the information you wanted about a topic you were interested in IMMEDIATELY... on-demand. And upon finding exactly what you wanted, you took action. Now here you are, reading this.

That’s exactly how you’ll be able to use the Internet to spread the word about your coaching services. If you don’t feel computer savvy at the moment, take some steps to learn more about how to use your computer, email and the Internet. You’ll be glad you did, because it will make the task of getting and keeping clients easier and less expensive.

We’ll start with the simplest ways to raise awareness about your services, and move into a few that will take a bit of research and learning on your part to implement.

• Action email Signatures

  This is an easy one and very effective. Just add contact information and a brief promotional message to the signature of your emails. Here is an example of one of the authors:

  Rhonda Hess

  Coaching Business Success Strategist

  Founder of Prosperous Coach®

  720-652-7227

  Want a soul-satisfying coaching business?

  Choose and CHAMPION Your Ideal Coaching Market

  and watch the clients line up to work with you.

  http://www.idealcoachingmarket.com

  The link at the end gives readers immediate access to more information.

  Use your email signature to say whatever you want, but it’s not necessary to give your physical address. Keep it short and give the best info for now. Then, set up your email program so that your email signature automatically drops into every business email you write. Change it up from time to time. If you don’t have an offer or website yet, add in your HUB Statement. [internal link]

  Blogs & Ezines (Electronic Newsletters)

  These are probably the best vehicles for offering value to your readers and building a pre-qualified leads list. And writing is one the fastest ways to build credibility with your niche. If you feel you’re not that good at it now, you’ll be surprised how quickly your writing skills improve as you use them. Every great writer started as a mediocre writer.

Blogs

These days, many coaches are using blogs in place of a static website. Their site still has plenty of information about them and their coaching programs. However, a blog allows them to build a relationship with prospects without pushing for a commitment (a purchase or sample session) right away.

Consistent blog posts build credibility and ongoing visibility with your niche. And because of their ever-changing keyword rich content, blogs are easy to optimize for search engines, so you can attract traffic that is searching for services like yours on the Internet. Plus, you can easily “feed” your blog to social networks, other websites and newsletters, which means you leverage that effort and get in front of more prospects.

Ezines

Ezines are similar to blogs in that:

1. They provide relevant and usually free content to your niche.
2. Visitors sign up for them on your website.

Ezines are sent out through an email campaign system, such as Aweber or Constant Contact. It’s easy to set them up and blast them out to your list. And you can include a bit of marketing for a product or program you’re currently promoting.

Both blogs and ezines will help you:

Build a leads list.

Stay connected to your leads.

Create a library of your own writing, which may later be re-purposed into an ebook, book or other product.

Produce short and sweet articles of 300 – 800 words max that get right to the key points, giving your reader a tip, technique, or thought to ponder. Don’t do too much self-promotion. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Once you’ve chosen your niche, do an Internet search to find blogs and ezines on topics of interest to your niche, to see what your “competitors” are doing. Then, figure out how you can specialize and stand out in the crowd.

As an example, check out this ezine and blog: http://www.coachingcompass.com/

Websites

Your website is your online brochure. (This could be a “static” website, or a blog with static pages included.) Your site can help you build your leads list, attract clients and sell your products and programs while you sleep – depending on how it’s designed, what content you include, and how you drive traffic to it.

You’re able to provide more information in an online brochure than you would in a printed piece. A printed brochure rarely brings a return on your investment, but a website is a great investment. You can continually change and update it, as you learn more about what makes people in your niche tick.

It’s critical that your website do a good job holding the attention of your ideal clients. When you surf the web, you know that millions of things attract you, and distract you from your purpose. It’s important to create a site that’s tailored for your niche, so that when they arrive, they feel like they are home. You want them to stay and get to know more about what you’re offering them.

It’s About Your Ideal Client

A common mistake coaches make on their websites is putting too much up front about themselves and the wonderful features of coaching. If you want your website to work well for you, be sure that the site appeals to your target market or specialty. On the Web, you have only a few seconds to engage your visitors so that they’ll stay. People like to feel understood, so your content should be full of keywords and concepts that are important to your niche.

• Your home page essentially tells the visitor about themselves – a few concise paragraphs that describe their “pain points” and what they’re trying to achieve. These paragraphs will, in effect, point to your services as a potential solution.
• In a prominent place on the home page offer a “freebie” – an immediately downloadable resource that provides real value to your visitors, while it helps to build your credibility and raise awareness about your services. To build your email list, require your visitors to fill out a web form to get the freebie.
• You’ll also have pages for your bio, a description of your services, and a contact form.

Examples of well designed and written websites, including blogs:
http://www.craniosacralsuccess.com
http://www.integraladvisor.com/
ttp://www.mombizcoach.com

Notice how each of these sites was designed for and speaks directly to the most compelling issues of one niche.

When you gather a group of your target market together, it’s a great way to add value, generate awareness, and develop community. Some programs you design will be free – to enroll or promote a fee-based program as a follow-on to the free call. Some will be fee-based from the start. It’s your choice. Watch what others do and try different approaches. Before you do this, determine your niche. Then, outline a topic that will attract your niche and showcase your strengths.

• Promote the program to your list.
• Post on social networks about it. (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.)
• Announce it on different websites that reach your audience.
• “Joint venture” with other entrepreneurs who target your audience but don’t compete with you. Let them do the marketing for you with their list.

Need a Bridgeline?

Try http://www.freeconferencepro.com or research others as there are many services out there with various bells and whistles for you their client.

Need a Webinar Service?

Try http://www.gotomeeting.com

Social Networking Another boon for the 21st Century. . . If people in your niche are engaging in social networks, then you’ll want to be as well. At first, the social networking culture was young and purely “social”. But now it’s for everyone, including businesses.

Social networking leverages the concept of “six degrees of separation” and the viral power of the Internet to help you get in front of people that you could never otherwise meet. Think about it – if your message is compelling and people like you, your message can spread to thousands of people in seconds!

That said, the world of social networking requires an explorer’s attitude and a strategy. So get in there and play for now. After you’ve chosen your niche and gained some experience with your favorite social network, you can start to develop it as a method of promoting your coaching business.

For more information see Social Networking in Related Articles.

Internet Audio and Video

Publishing audio or video content on the Internet has become as easy as publishing your writing online. Now anyone can produce their own mini-movies and radio shows for free! The possibilities for promoting your coaching services are endless.

The dominant player in Internet video is YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/

Online audio broadcasting is a more diverse and fragmented marketplace. One mainstay is Blog Talk Radio, a service that allows you to launch your own radio talk show. http://www.blogtalkradio.com

Both YouTube and Blog Talk Radio are free and surprisingly easy to use. Amateur work is the norm for online video and audio, so don’t let lack of experience stop you. The best way to learn it is through practice, and even a “good enough” audio or video could give your marketing a viral boost.

Now, using the information in Twenty Marketing Approaches, begin to conceive of a marketing strategy that uses a combination of high touch, low touch and Internet-based marketing approaches.

You will design and execute your year-long plan in 90-day segments by taking daily actions.

Step #1: To the best of your ability, plan out the next 90 days of activities to build your visibility and credibility with your market.

Step #2 Delineate that plan into bite-sized tasks and actions that can be completed in one day or less.

Step #3 Then, create another 90 days of activities and another and another until you have a full year planned. Add to this plan as you know more.

It’s important to get into a discipline of:

• Planning your work and then working your plan.
• Marketing in little ways on a daily basis.
• Marketing in more significant ways on a weekly and monthly basis.
• Setting up sample sessions with people in your niche.
• Giving sample sessions and enrolling ideal clients.

An example of a 90-day Client Attraction Plan follows.

Week 1

• Contact 3 Brokers. Set up coffee or lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk ASAP. Ask about other opportunities to connect with Realtors.
• Send out warm letter.
• Set up at least 10 sample sessions for next 5 weeks.

Week 2

• 2 Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee or lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. At luncheon, remember to ask for sample sessions & invite all to sign up for my blog (launching week 4).
• Follow up calls to 20 people who rec’d warm letter, ask if they’ve worked w/ a realtor. Ask for email or phone introduction. Send out quick thank you notes to those people and ask for more referrals as they come across realtors.
• Contact Century 21, find out if they allow guest articles in their newsletter. Agree on best topic now for realtors. Write & send it. Offer freebie for Realtors as gift that they can get when they sign up for my blog.

Week 3

• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee or lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Pick Broker’s brain about best places to connect with Realtors and ways to help them/help Broker.
• Investigate national real estate conferences. Decide which I’ll attend based on which ones I can speak at and/or have a booth. Watch budget!

Week 4

• Set up profiles on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. Do search for Realtors, make connections at rate of 20 - 100 per week for each network. Engage some people directly each week.
• Launch blog. Connect Blog RSS to social networks.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee or lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Continue to ask about other opportunities, publications, conferences the Brokers know about.

Week 5

• Do social network search for more Realtors, continue to make connections at rate of 20 - 100 per week for each network. Engage 10 Realtors this week directly.
• Publish blog post.
• Research 3 places where I can post guest blogs and comment on blogs for Realtors. Contact authors to set up guest slots.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Ask for sample sessions & invite all to sign up for my blog.

Week 6

• 1st sales meeting gig at Broker’s office. Prepare! Set up at least 5 more Sample Sessions. Collect biz cards from all. Talk to Broker about top challenges Realtors face. Offer a workshop on topic for fall. Preview with Broker.
• Continue to make social network connections at rate of 20 - 100 per week for each network. Engage 10 Realtors this week directly. Invite sample sessions.
• Publish blog post. Promote my social networking profiles/invite followers/friends.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee/lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Preview idea of teleworkshop with them. Ask for sample sessions & invite all to sign up for my blog.

Week 7

• 2nd sales meeting at Broker’s! Set up at least 5 more Sample Sessions. Collect biz cards. Talk to Broker about top challenges Realtors face. Tell about teleworkshop this fall. Preview with Broker, arrange for ways to promote.
• Continue to make social network connections at rate of 20 - 100 per week for each network. Engage 10 Realtors this week directly. Invite sample sessions.
• Publish blog post. Promote Teleworkshop Preview Call.
• Research 3 more places where I can post guest blogs and comment on blogs for Realtors.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Ask for sample sessions & invite all to sign up for my blog. Tell about and leave fliers for teleworkshop.

Week 8

• Do social network search for Realtors, makes connections at rate of 20 - 100 per week for each network. Engage 10 people directly, invite some to sample sessions.
• Publish blog post. Promote Teleworkshop Preview Call.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee/lunch ASAP. Ask about ways to promote teleworkshop. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Ask for sample sessions & invite all to sign up for my blog.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Research 3 more places where I can post guest blogs and comment on blogs for Realtors.
• Put comments on other blogs.

Week 9

• 3rd Sales meeting at Brokers! Set up at least 5 more Sample Sessions. Collect biz cards. Talk to Broker about top challenges Realtors face. Give incentive to sign up for teleworkshop. Find other ways to promote it.
• Continue to make social network connections at rate of 20 - 100 per week for each network. Engage 10 Realtors this week directly. Invite sample sessions.
• Blog post. Promote Teleworkshop Preview Call.
• Put up daily Tweets and post for all social networks in Hootsuite.com about teleworkshop preview call.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee/lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Ask for sample sessions & invite all to sign up for my blog.

Week 10

• TELEWORKSHOP Preview Call. Enroll people from call into 6 week fee-based program starting in two weeks.
• Continue to engage 10 people daily in social networks. Put up daily Tweets and post for all social networks in Hootsuite.com about teleworkshop.
• Blog post. Promote Teleworkshop 6 week program.
• 2 more Sample Sessions
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee/lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Invite to Teleworkshop.

Week 11

• Make calls to Realtors I’ve met that have not yet enrolled for teleworkshop.
• Continue to engage 10 people daily in social networks. Put up daily Tweets and post for all social networks in Hootsuite.com about teleworkshop.
• Blog post. Promote Teleworkshop 6 week program.
• 2 more Sample Sessions
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee/lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk. Invite to Teleworkshop.

Week 12

• TELEWORKSHOP Launch Day! Record Teleworkshop to create product. Tease the Mastermind they can enroll in at the end of the six weeks.
• Continue to engage 10 people daily in social networks.
• Create Facebook Fan page. Invite FB friends to “Like”.
• Blog post. Promote Facebook Fan Page.
• 2 more Sample Sessions.
• Contact 3 more Brokers. Set up coffee/lunch ASAP. Schedule sales meeting luncheon/talk.

Below is a transcript of a coaching session, beginning to end. Each step of the Simple Coaching Model is illustrated in this dialogue. As you read this session, see if you can identify how the session flowed through these phases:

• Step 1: Clarify the Agenda
• Step 2 Seize the Coachable Moment
• Step 3 Invite the Shift
• Step 4 Frame the Masterpiece

Coach: Hello Greg. Welcome to your session. How are you?

Client: Feeling anxious to talk to you . . .

Coach: (pause) Okay. Let’s get to it. What are we talking about today?

Client: I’d like to talk about my work.

Coach: (pause) What exactly do you want to discuss about your work today?

Client: All my life I’ve vacillated about my career. My wife says I could wallpaper my house with all of my business cards. I’ve always been a creative entrepreneur. But, I think it’s time I grew up. I get excited about something new and add it to my list of business ventures. I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going.

Coach: You just said you thought it was time you grew up. What did you mean by that?

Client: Well, it’s time to go out and get a job.

Coach: Really? What makes you think that?

Client: That I’ve got too many interests. There’s no one thing I’m known for.

Coach: I get it. So, before we move forward, can you tell me what you’d like to take away from this session?

Client: A more grown up direction for my livelihood that I can enjoy and that will satisfy my income needs.

Coach: I hear you. Let’s take a look at what you’re doing now first. Is that okay with you?

Client: Sure.

Coach: Tell me, how are you feeling satisfied by your life and income now?

Client: Well, I’m doing well financially. That’s not a problem. I have lots of different income sources but I really like getting up each day and deciding what I want to do. It’s a little overwhelming sometimes but I need variety or I’ll get bored.

Coach: So, you enjoy what you do and you’re doing well financially. You like your lifestyle and the freedom to choose what you do each day. What’s not grown up about that?

Client: It seems more grown up to join the ranks of the employed.

Coach: Hmm. Tell me, where is that idea coming from?

Client: I was at a dinner party the other night. Everyone at the table is gainfully employed by a corporation with benefits packages and paid vacations. I feel like they look at me as if I’m a kid playing with my toys – all my various businesses. I feel sheepish telling people what I do. And they don’t understand because I’m in a different world.

Coach: You may not realize this, but for many people you are living the dream life. Lots of folks wish they had your entrepreneurial skills and courage. But what’s truly important is whether YOU get joy out of it.

Client: Yeah, I really do. I laugh sometimes when I get paid these commissions for my art projects or I get a consulting gig for some municipality that just seems like a piece-of-cake way to make money for me. But . . . you really think other people want what I have?

Coach: You bet! There are more new entrepreneurs in the world than ever before. The question is: what’s missing for you?

Client: Good question . . . It’s just me out there. I don’t have a boss or colleagues. I’ve got to make all the decisions and, really, I’m just flying by the seat of my pants most of the time. I think I’m missing a sense of belonging.

Coach: It sounds like you want to be part of a professional community. What do you think?

Client: I’ve always kept to myself, but that’s just because I have a wacky free form schedule and everyone else is off at “work”. Community sounds good. It would change things for me.

Coach: What about networking with other creative entrepreneurs?

Client: That’s never occurred to me. How would I do that? I’m not really interested in the Chamber of Commerce. Too many suits!

Coach: That’s not the only way to go. You could gather a group of other artists together into a mastermind group. You could collaborate on projects or just share resources – whatever the group wants to do. It could just be a social group, if you prefer.

Client: It would be amazing to just hang out with some other creative types and share stories, commiserate, do some projects together. I still don’t know where to find these people though.

Coach: One of your ongoing businesses is your handmade furniture. What about talking to the people where you get your wood working supplies? Invite some people to gather once a week for coffee to share resources and ideas.

Client: I know what I could do. I’m part of an Artist’s Guild. I’ll let people there know what I want to do. I already know a bunch of artists there! I just haven’t reached out to any of them before.

Coach: It’s a great idea. And I hear a lot of energy in your voice. How do you feel about this?

Client: I’m jazzed. I can imagine five or six professional artists getting together on a regular basis. Who knows, we might even learn something from each other. Spark some collaborations.

Coach: It’s really wonderful to have a close network of people in your field. So, when will you start pulling your group together?

Client: I’ll do it this week. My wife will be thrilled I’m not moping around by myself in my studio every minute of the day.

Coach: Good. I can tell that you’re already sparking some ideas. What do you think about writing down your vision for this? Paint a picture of it in your mind so you know what you’re going for.

Client: That’s a good idea – strike while the creative juices are flowing. Could I run it by you through email?

Coach: I’d enjoy that. Let me know what kind of feedback you want, if any.

Client: Will do.

Coach: Great work! Where have you found value in this session?

Client: I’m really in a different place than when we started. I really didn’t want to go work for a corporation. I guess I just needed to see my situation from a new perspective and get “permission” to keep doing what I love to do even if it’s not traditional. You also helped me see that I need more interaction with people – my own colleagues. And that will keep my perspective fresh. I have a plan now and that feels good.

Coach: All good things. Okay, I’ll hear what happened when you talk to your Artist Guild friends next week and look forward to receiving your email.

When you feel passionate about something, you immerse yourself into it, mind, body and spirit. You find a way to make it your own, to bring your own style to it.

Think about a leader you respect or your favorite celebrity. The quality of their work and presence in the world is singular, distinctive and authentic. Some people become famous for a way of being, but what’s more important is that they know for themselves what sets them apart or what makes their work theirs.

Put a personal touch on your coaching. Bring yourself fully into this field. If you want, become known for a certain style. Let your coaching be defined by who you are.

Below are a few anecdotes from experienced coaches about their personal coaching magic. These aren’t used in marketing necessarily, but express the personalized approach each coach takes to working with coaching clients.

In the beginning of the coaching partnership I work with my clients to create their Vision. Everything we do after that is a reflection of that Vision. It becomes our point of reference. As they define and work through their goals and actions, any resistance or obstacles are managed by referring back to their Vision. Each step they take in any area of their lives is vision centered. This keeps my clients focused on moving toward what they want in their lives. They create momentum quickly and experience lasting, sustainable results from the coaching process.

Laurie Cameron – Coach-Speaker-Catalyst

Our bodies have an amazing intelligence that is comparable in depth, wisdom, and power to that which we access through our brain. During a coaching conversation, I often check with my body to see what it feels, at a very visceral level, about the client’s concerns, breakdowns, or opportunities. Does it feel tense, relaxed, heavy, light, balanced, fluid, expansive, restrained, etc.? Most of the time, the body knows the answer, the best decision, the right question to ask, or an area to focus in the conversation before the brain does.

Eddie Marmol – Master Coach

I consistently ensure masterful coaching by starting each session with a centering prayer that acknowledges the coaching session as a Mastermind alliance. In that centering, I set an intention with the client that we expect wonderful things to come from the session and therefore they do! My entire job involves staying extremely present and allowing Spirit to guide me in supporting the client.

Ann Strong, Spiritual Coach & Mentor

 I believe in people. I find their intelligence and wisdom to be vast and awesome. In every session, I look for my client’s brilliance and reflect it back to them, to show them who they’ve become and the seed of who they most want to be. When they see it for themselves, it’s as if their heart grows larger. Their ideas and beliefs become more expansive. Their actions are far reaching. And their results are better than they ever thought they could be.

Rhonda Hess - Coaching Business Success Strategist

Expectations are amazing things. I expect my clients will exceed their goals and hold that intention for them throughout the coaching relationship. When they first establish their objectives I nudge them to set “the bar” higher, just beyond their perceived capabilities. Even if they miss the elevated mark they exceed their original expectation of success. This allows us to set the bar even higher the next time with increased confidence and momentum.

Will Craig, MA - Knowledge Guide & Entrepreneur

by Fabienne Fredrickson

People get into coaching for different reasons. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of working for yourself, maybe you’ve been coaching for years and feel it’s time to finally charge for it. Perhaps you’re looking at coaching because you want to reduce your hours to be at home with the kids.

Whatever it is, you’re in it now, or are transitioning into your own coaching practice. And chances are, there are as many definitions for success as there are reasons to become a coach.

For me, it was a combination of a few different reasons. One, I’ve always dreamed of having my own business, whatever it was, since childhood. Just a yearning for it. Maybe it’s not too far-fetched if you know that both my parents worked in their own businesses at one point or another. The bug got me too. But it was also, and more importantly, the fact that I wanted to call my own shots, to work the hours I wanted to work, to not have to answer to anyone and to make as much as I wanted to make, not what someone dictated to me. Besides, in the corporate jobs I held (and there were many!) I could only take 2 weeks of vacation per year. Now I take 14 weeks. Enough said, right?

Figure out what success in business means to you (before you begin!)

When you look at being a coach and successful, what does that mean to you? Write it down because it’s important. There are too many sole proprietors that are miserable. I’ll bet you they never defined what success meant to them as a business owner. And when you don’t know what to look for, you may not know when you’re far from it (or close to it.)

List the reasons you got into (or are getting into) coaching. Once you’ve done that, write down the things that would make your practice feel successful (a dollar amount, a feeling, a passion fulfilled, etc.) If you’re already in business, how far are you from these measures of success? If it’s far, you have a lot to do to fix it and get back on track.

Get clear on what you want your practice to look like

It’s also important to write down the everyday details of your coaching practice as you’d like it to be (this is especially helpful if you haven’t started your business yet.) How many hours do you want to work per day? What’s your work environment like? What types of clients are working with you? How much do you make per month or year, etc.

Spend some time writing down the vision of how you want your business to operate, what you want it to look like. When you have a clear idea, you know what to work for. That’s what we call goals. And goals are more attainable than anything vague.

What do you need to make per month (minimum)?

OK, now that you’ve got a good idea of what you want your coaching practice to look like, it’s time to get clear on the cold hard facts: numbers. Unless you’re lucky, you’re probably not independently wealthy, so what’s the sense of having a business if you don’t cover your expenses? Let’s find out what you NEED to make to survive (we’ll worry about what you WANT to make a little later.)

Tally up all of your monthly fixed expenses, disposable income needed, etc. Figure out what you need to survive and then what you need to live comfortably on. Then take into consideration what you’re making now if you still hold a full-time or part-time job. This should help you with a dollar amount you need to get from new clients. Congratulations, you’re on your way to getting really clear about what you need.

Include realistic Measurables and Tangibles

Many people jump into coaching without really stopping to think about what they’re shooting for. They have no specific short-term goals or well-defined long-term goals. When working with clients to grow their client base, this is one of the very first questions I ask them.

Practically speaking, it’s important to get clear on the details of the business you want to build, even details of the short term. I call these the Measurables and Tangibles. You can also call this “How-muches and By-whens.”

• How many clients do you have now?
• How many clients do you want to work with?
• How long will it realistically take you to attract these clients and turn them into paying clients?
• How many clients will you have next month, in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, next year at this time?

Now, remember: it usually takes a few months for the momentum to kick in, so keep it at a number you think you can achieve – this also helps with not getting discouraged too quickly.

Take a pad of paper or spreadsheet on your computer and map out a rough idea of what number of clients you can safely (and realistically) achieve each month of the following year. Take into consideration holiday periods and that some clients will leave sporadically, for whatever reason.

Set a maximum number of clients you can handle without losing your sanity!

I speak from experience on this one. I’ve been known (more than once) to take on more clients than I can realistically handle. Now, I know that it may seem like a good problem to have, but truthfully, you’re doing yourself and your clients a disservice when you run out of time, mental capacity and energy to serve every one of them the way they deserve to be served. Worse, things start falling through the cracks, big things, and you can begin to look bad.

So it’s really important to set a limit, in a service business, to how many clients is too many clients. And then to stick with that number until you find another solution, no matter how good the money looks.

Is your goal for a number of new clients appropriate for your schedule? Take into consideration a minimum of 3 to 4 hours of marketing per day the first 6 months to a year; don’t forget networking time, follow-up and actually working with the clients. Start out conservatively. You can increase that number as you go, and it’s important to do that, but keep in mind how many you can handle and keep it realistic. It’ll keep you from deflating your ego or feeling hopeless and helpless.

When you identify your intentions before you start your coaching practice, you have a much better chance of filling it with clients more quickly than you would without a plan, or with a vague idea of what you want to do.

Copyright © 2002 -2010 Fabienne Fredrickson, Rainmaker Business Coaching

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time...guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more
high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your in.come, visit http://ClientAttraction.com/

by Cedar Barstow, M.Ed., C.H.T.

What is your relationship to power and authority? How do you hold your power? How does your use of power impact others? How are power and ethics related?

Right use of Power and Ethics

In my work with ethics, I consider that the right use of power and influence is the use of power to encourage, support, self-correct, inspire, and collaborate. It is also the use of personal power to express compassion and kindness and to be of service by manifesting one’s purpose and gifts.

This level of integrity is the heart and soul of ethics. Ethics in this context focuses not simply on identifying behaviors and attitudes that may cause harm to clients, but also on behaviors and attitudes, which will empower clients.

We have the capacity for such magnificence in the right use of our power and influence. We are capable of powerful acts of wisdom, compassion, goodness, altruism, peacemaking, courage, relationship repair and love–for healing, for connecting, and in the service of something greater.

And yet we have also been profoundly wounded by misuses and abuses of power. We have been wounded by people in positions of trust (teachers, therapists, supervisors), who have power over us. We have also, inevitably, misused or underused our power and caused harm while in positions of power. We’ve made decisions and developed habitual responses, both unskillful and skillful, to power–others power and our own–based on these experiences. While basic goodness is inherent, the right use of power is learned through becoming more informed, conscious, accountable, and skillful with your power.

The Foundation of an Ethical Orientation

I’d like to focus here on the foundation of an ethical orientation–the power differential and its impact. When you are Coaching, you enter into a relationship in which, by virtue of your role, you have a particular and greater power and influence than your client does. This inherent difference in role-related power is referred to as a power differential.

Getting a Felt Sense of the Power Differential

To get a felt sense of the experience of this power difference, please take a minute to either imagine or, with a partner, role play this scenario so that you each have a chance to experience each role.

1. Imagine yourself in your role as Coach. In this role you have training and skillfulness to offer, you are in service to your client, you are getting paid and you keep the time boundary.
2. Turn your awareness toward your experience, noticing your posture, your attitude and feelings toward your client, your intention, your sensations, the kinds of thoughts you are having...get the fully embodied sense. Stay in this experience and self-study for a bit.
3. Now, slowly and mindfully, let this role go. As if you were taking off a robe, notice again what shifts and changes in your experience as you return to neutral. Take a breath.
4. And now move to a different chair, move your chair to a different spot, or switch roles if you are with a partner, and mindfully settle into getting a felt sense of your experience as a client. Imagine that this is your first Coaching session. You need or want something from this relationship, you know you may feel vulnerable and may be revealing information about ways in which your life isn’t working so well, you will be paying for this service, and you hope you’ll be able to trust your Coach.
5. Check in with your posture, your feelings–maybe vulnerability, excitement. Notice how you feel toward your Coach, your sensations, your thoughts, impulses.... Gather the information and self-study.
6. When you’re ready, once again notice what shifts as you let go of this role and return to neutral.

What kinds of power accompany each role?

What kinds of increased power and influence do you have in your Coach role?

How could acknowledgement and sensitivity to this power differential be translated into your Coaching work?

Power Differential Responsibilities

Here is a summary: Of course, both Coach and client are 100% responsible for the integrity, satisfaction, and success of their Coaching relationship, the role power that accompanies the Coach role means that as Coach, you are 150% responsible for the relationship.

You are responsible for:

• maintaining boundaries
  • physical
  • emotional
  • sexual
  • financial
  • social
  • time
  • role
• protecting trust and being trustworthy
• creating safety
• staying in charge
• holding the larger container of wholeness and hope
• inviting and being responsive to feedback
• keeping your own personal life in the background so that you can be fully in service to your client
• tracking and attending to the relationship and resolving difficulties

Sensitivity to Impact

In my years and years of experience with ethics and ethical grievance processes as a psychotherapist, I have found that almost all ethics complaints are the result of the practitioner not understanding the impact of the power differential. Most often, practitioners (being devoted to service and equality and often, unfortunately, associating power primarily with force, manipulation, disrespect, and hurt) tend to underestimate or deny their power and influence and thus unconsciously misuse it. These misuses range, for example, from causing harm by getting sexually involved with a client because the practitioner didn’t understand the trust importance of holding appropriate boundaries–to a more subtle level of disclosing too much personal information and unconsciously creating a feeling that the client needs to take care of the practitioner.

Like bread and butter, going hand in hand with increasing your sensitivity to the impacts of the power differential in your Coaching relationships, is increasing your skillfulness at tracking for (noticing) signs of difficulty in the relationship. This means tracking for signs that:

• your impact may be different than your intention
• there is a misunderstanding
• your client is feeling upset or angry or hurt

Your client will be letting you know, sometimes quite clearly and directly and verbally, and sometimes non-verbally, passively, or unconsciously, for example by facial or postural information, or being late, overly nice, awkward, or silent. As your skillfulness in tracking these signs increases, as you become less defensive, and as you understand that difficulties (when acknowledged and attended to right away) can be used to clarify, resolve, and even deepen the relationship, your Coaching practice will become more and more successful and effective.

Those who learn to use their power consciously, caringly, and skillfully:

• are familiar with contemporary ethics issues,
• have done personal work with their power history and beliefs,
• are willing to be held responsible for their behavior and can self-correct
• know how to track for and resolve difficulties whenever possible within the therapeutic relationship,
• have proactively assessed their ethical challenges,
• understand dynamics around power,
• are actively engaged in the empowered and empowering use of power for the good of all.

The journey to mastery in the use of power is numinous and potent and brings personal development and soul work into form through creation, accomplishment, and service. Use of power in the development and full expression of Self is both a right and a responsibility.

Copyright © 2002 Cedar Barstow

Cedar Barstow (cedar@rightuseofpower.com) is an ethics consultant and teacher. She has developed a resource manual and training program in the Right Use of Power that teaches and inspires high integrity use of power that is informed, conscious, caring, and skillful. Cedar also teaches Hakomi Body-Centered Psychotherapy. Click here to learn more:http://www.RightUseOfPower.com

by David Herdlinger

You will encounter many types of clients in your coaching practice. Many will aspire to be leaders. Most people relish the idea of being in charge–guiding people and organizations to great success. But many are not leader material.

How do you help your clients recognize their own potential–or lack of potential–for leadership? How do you guide them to identify and set appropriate goals and aspirations for themselves–whether those be leadership-related or in another role?

Coaching, of course, is all about guiding, encouraging, and fostering the individual’s personal development.

The key, then, is to help your clients recognize and understand their own personal power–their own ability to change their lives in the ways they desire.

But power is directly proportionate to responsibility.

Each and every choice or decision an individual makes will create a direct or indirect result. Sometimes the result will be crystal clear. At other times, we can make predictions about the possible results that might occur from our choices, but we cannot know with certainty what the result will be. Sometimes we will have only a vague guess about the result. Regardless, we are responsible for the outcome.

We must be prepared to accept the responsibility for our choices and decisions and the results of those choices–whatever they may be–whether we like them or not.

Yet some of the people you will encounter in your practice are accustomed to playing the blame game or identifying themselves with the role of victim. They are unaccustomed to making conscious choices and decisions and then accepting responsibility for the outcome.

How can you help your clients recognize, understand, and utilize their personal power?

1. Verbally walk through a typical day with your client. Notice–and point out–the many choices and decisions he makes throughout the day, often automatically, without any conscious thought. Discuss daily routines and challenge your client to make conscious choices that will break those routines, noting how he feels about those choices and recognizing that in doing so, he is exercising his personal power.
2. Dialogue with your client. Explore the reality that many of the things we do every day are prompted by our desire to “fit in” or conform to societal expectations. Identify some of those “expectations” and challenge your client to support or refute them.
3. Play the devil’s advocate. Dispute some of the commonly held notions that most of us unconsciously accept as the norm–particularly those that don’t seem to fit your client’s present needs and goals in life. Identify an area your client wants to change and challenge him to defend his desire to make this change. Why does he want to change this? How does he want to change this? What is prompting the desire for this change? Does the client desire this change for himself or to conform to someone else’s expectations?
4. Draw an analogy between childhood and adulthood and the amount of personal power and responsibility that accompanies each stage of life. (i.e., children have little personal power and little responsibility; adults have greater personal power and, therefore, greater responsibility)
5. Ask your client to identify those areas of his life he wants to change–and specifically identify the desired changes he seeks.Examine any past attempts to make a similar change and whether it was successful or not. Guide the client to examine the role of taking responsibility for the choices and decisions he made during that process and how it affected the outcome.
6. Brainstorm with your client: In order to make the desired changes, how will this time be different? Coach your client to make a list of all the possible choices they might face and the correlating potential or probable outcomes of each choice.
7. Finally, challenge your client to consciously choose one of the choices he identified. Start with something small so your client can explore the concept without any significant risk if he makes a poor choice or decision. Discuss the fact that “not deciding” is in itself a choice and a decision.
8. Discuss the outcome of the choice or decision and hold the client accountable for the result. Discuss whether the action taken or the decision made was a wise one or a valuable learning experience. Talk about how it felt to make the choice and how it felt when the outcome became evident.
9. Identify and discuss areas where your client may be playing the blame game and assuming the role of victim or giving his personal power to someone else. Discuss the ramifications of this behavior. Remind the client that his personal power is his–to keep or to give away. What would happen if he took his personal power back in this area of his life? How would his life change? What would he need to accept responsibility for? How would that feel? Why has he tried to avoid accepting responsibility in this area previously?
10. Particularly if a client aspires to a leadership role, encourage your client to imagine that he has achieved the desired goal. It might be very helpful to have him write about it–describing in detail what living that goal or role would be like. Identify the changes and choices required to achieve this goal and the resulting responsibilities. Help your client evaluate whether he is realistically ready, willing, and able to make those changes/choices and accept those responsibilities. Be sure your client is examining his own motives and not merely acquiescing to the expectations of others.
11. Study and examine the other great leaders your client admires. Discuss with your client the choices each made and the responsibilities each bears in conjunction with their power and success. The greater the power, the greater the price each paid to get where they are.

It is important that anyone who aspires to a position of leadership recognizes and acknowledges that they–and they alone–are responsible for the choices and decisions they make–all the way from the small, everyday things to the big decisions in the board room. The small, seemingly insignificant decisions are just as apt to change lives and circumstances as the larger decisions, and all should be made consciously and with forethought and clear understanding of the probable outcomes.

If your clients want to be leaders, they must act like leaders. And they’ve got to pay the price.

Responsibility = Power

Power is directly proportionate to responsibility
in all areas of a person’s life.

The key to your success in coaching your clients to a better life–in whatever areas they wish to change–will be directly proportionate to your ability to help them recognize that responsibility equals personal power. They must clearly recognize that if they feel their life is lacking in any area, they can take control of that area of their life and change it. They have the power. They can make the change. The moment people decide to consciously take more responsibility for themselves and their actions, they will have the power to change them–in any area of their life. It’s that simple.

Copyright © 2010 David Herdlinger

David Herdlinger is Founder of Kashbox Coaching. david@TheCoach.biz http://www.KashboxCoaching.com “We Don’t Deal In Small Change”

by Jackie Black, Ph.D.

Most of us become coaches because we want to help people do one thing or another.

Most coaches don’t realize that coaching, whatever kind of coaching they do, is a business. Success in business is never automatic. Success depends primarily on good planning, preparation, organization, commitment, foresight and perseverance.

Imagine practicing archery with your eyes closed or throwing a football with a blindfold on. In both cases, being prevented from seeing your target would make it nearly impossible to hit it. It’s exactly the same in business.

Building your coaching business without knowing who your target market is and without clearly articulating your compelling message will prevent you from reaching your objectives: attracting your ideal clients, enrolling ideal clients, building visibility and credibility in your niche or area of specialty, starting up your referral engine, and rolling out programs and products that your target market is clamoring for and is ready to buy from you today!

Prospects are people who don’t know you and don’t know anything about you. Your prospects are only asking one question:What’s in it for ME?”W I I F M (pronounced whif - hum).

The underlying idea is that people are best motivated by self-interest and when they clearly understand the direct personal benefits that result from hiring you, their “decision to buy” will be set in motion.

What is the difference between Features and Benefits?

Features describe the physical characteristics of the product or service; what the product or service does:

1. Dr. Jackie understands the different challenges facing people living with life-threatening or chronic illness and those who love them.
2. Coach Dawn recognizes the disconnection everyone can feel in a blended family.
3. Coach Brad knows firsthand that to get where you’re going in business you need a plan.
4. Coach Roberta believes you can be a good parent and have your own needs too.
5. Coach Edward was a successful corp. exec who struggled for years and finally figured out how to uncover “what’s next!”
6. Coach Diane knows many ways to help people be more successful.
7. Coach Marlene is committed to helping women feel better.
8. Coach Bob is an expert when it comes to relating to highly motivated people who are looking for more balance.

Benefits describe how the product or service will help the client solve his/her problem; what s/he will gain by enrolling in your service or buying your product.

1. Partners of those living with Alzheimer’s will get the support you need so you can promote your own physical and emotional well-being to whatever extent possible under the circumstances; and effectively control the stressors that tax and deplete you.
2. Couples blending their families learn to make choices based on values, love and respect, and create a family that everyone feels they belong in.
3. Gen X male corporate executives gain clarity about their life’s ambitions; harness their natural talents; and provide financial security for their families.
4. Moms who are committed, involved, and joyful parents can also pay particular attention to their own legitimate needs and burning desires, and stop sacrificing themselves in the name of “good parenting”.
5. Folks who are too young to retire find creative solutions to living a full and satisfying life after formal employment.
6. 30-Something entrepreneurs maximize their creative juices and analytical problem-solving skills to consistently increase their productivity and exceed their revenue goals.
7. Health conscious women over 40, exhausted from years of neglecting themselves, create and implement self-care strategies and insure an alert mind and strong body for years to come.
8. Corporate Executives improve their leadership effectiveness by identifying leadership gaps and creating strategic solutions.

When you want to capture your prospect’s interest, speak to their need or to solving their problem (the thing that makes them want to hire you), and clearly articulate the benefits, not the features of your coaching service.

Let’s use the electric drill as an example, and I’ll demonstrate exactly what I mean by clearly articulating benefits:

Nobody is going to buy an electric drill just to have one. People buy electric drills because they want holes: clean holes, deep holes, accurate holes, fast holes, holes of many sizes, holes in different materials (all compelling benefits).

Most people don’t care what the drill is made from or how the circuitry is toggled–they care that it makes the holes they want to make (benefit). They might also care that the drill is light-weight (but spare them a discussion of the space-age aluminum alloy casing (feature), or that it is maneuverable (feature), UL approved (feature), has a super-long cord (feature) and that it comes in its own carrying case (feature).

People who want to buy an electric drill only care about the features of the drill because they add to the fact that the drill makes precisely the holes they want/need to make (the compelling benefits).

Or take lipstick, as another example:

A woman does not care that a tube of lipstick contains tetroboxomanganite hypoperoxidase (I’m making this up) unless the ingredient, by itself, is a major selling point (think Spandex™ - ok, not for lipstick, but you get the point). What is going to grab her interest is that the lipstick makes her look more attractive (benefit); stays put longer so she doesn’t have to keep reapplying it (benefit); doesn’t smear or “kiss off” so she doesn’t have to worry about curling up against someone’s shirt (benefit). Less fuss, fewer worries, and great look–these are the compelling benefits of this lipstick.

Clearly articulating the compelling benefits of the value you deliver to your clients is the way to make prospects wave their credit cards in your face and want to hire you.

People buy benefits not features!

Are you talking about what you do, or are you talking about the compelling benefits your clients receive when they work with you?

And finally, two important points to remember:

Don’t worry about excluding potential clients by defining a very narrow target or niche, and clearly articulating the compelling benefits. This aspect of marketing is counter-intuitive. The opposite is really true! The narrower your target is, the clearer your message is, the more compelling your benefits are, the bigger the magnet is drawing more prospects to your coaching business–NOT fewer.

And lastly, don’t confuse marketing efforts with enrolling efforts. They are NOT the same. You may enroll and work with anyone you want to. You are marketing to a very narrow target, sending a powerful message, clearly articulating compelling benefits, keeping a steady flow of prospects coming into your pipeline so you can spend more time doing the work you are meant to do with clients, and less time marketing.

Copyright © 2010 Dr. Jackie Black, Ph.D.

Jackie Black, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized relationship expert, educator, author and coach and serves clients who are pre-married, newly-married, couples in trouble, couples facing illness and those grieving the loss of a loved one. She is a CTA Certified Coach, a graduate of International Life Coach Training and the Relationship Coaching Institute, and is a Licensed Coach for Singles and Couples.

Dr. Jackie is also a Mentor Coach for private practice professionals and supports them to build the infra-structure of their business, repurpose their intellectual property and develop products and services. http://www.DrJackieBlack.com

by David R. Meyer

Of all of the challenges that face the small business owner or solopreneur, the biggest challenge may well be the isolation, both physical and mental from those around you. Being a solopreneur can be a wonderful, exciting and freeing experience that opens you up to whole new worlds of possibilities that you never knew existed. But it can also put blinders on your thoughts and creative process that can hinder you and your business and allow you to become sheltered from your clients and stagnant in your thinking. A well structured and well designed Advisory Board can help break down those barriers and can be one of the most powerful tools in the solopreneur’s arsenal.

Sitting alone with our thoughts and ideas in a quiet place can sometimes allow thoughts to grow and expand, but we’ve all experienced the rush of excitement and ideas that come from brainstorming with others. One simple idea takes on a whole new life as different perspectives and thoughts allow the idea to grow, and change and transform into something entirely new and delicious.

This is part of the power that an Advisory Board can bring to your business.

What is an Advisory Board?

An Advisory Board is a small group of individuals who come together to provide advice, guidance, insight and support to a small business owner, or in this case, a coach. Advisory Boards are generally small in size often having between 3 and 7 members with most if not all of the members coming directly from the target market. They often have a wide variety of experiences and successes on their own and are willing to share their thoughts, ideas, and expertise to help you grow your business. They serve as a sounding board and much more. Because a well constructed Advisory Board brings talent and expertise often not found within the coach.

You became a coach for your own reasons. Often these reasons are related to your personal experience that you want to share with others, specific knowledge of a field or situation, or maybe just a simple passion for helping others. In any event, you brought with you to your practice a wide variety of skills and talents. But if you are like most people by yourself you do not have all of the skills and talents to truly be successful on your own. While you may be an outstanding coach you might find that you are not comfortable with the idea of placing a value on your time and energy. As a result you may find yourself constantly undercharging for your services. Or you know that you would like to open up multiple streams of income but are having trouble defining what products your clients would be attracted to. Or maybe your natural modesty prevents you from creating marketing material that truly represents the value that you are bringing to your clients. Whatever it is, a properly structured Advisory Board can help you by allowing you access to talent, skills and insights that you do not already possess.

Let’s take a look at the examples above and talk about how an Advisory Board might help you with these problems. Let’s imagine that you are an Executive Coach looking to work with newly promoted executives who need help adapting to their new roles and responsibilities. You start out charging $350 a month for your services and find that you are having trouble attracting clients. In a meeting with your Advisory Board you mention your struggles and state, “I’m trying to make myself affordable to bring some clients on board, but I’m just not having any luck. Maybe my rates are still too high and I’m chasing my clients away.”

With an Advisory Board made up of people inside of your target market you will likely get an entirely different perspective. Instead of discounting your prices your Advisory Board would likely tell you that executives equate price and quality. By promoting such a low price you are effectively telling your potential clients that your quality is low and really don’t have much confidence in yourself.

That’s not likely a perspective that you would have picked up on your own. So instead of reducing your prices even further you increase your price to $900 a month and suddenly your potential clients start to take you seriously.

In another session you approach your Advisory Board about creating multiple streams of income. After all, the idea of just trading your time for money is not something that appeals to you in the long term. You’ve come up with a couple of ideas and present them to your Advisory Board. Because they are already in your target market they can tell you how much appeal your different products will have. Your idea of the “How to be an Executive Workbook” doesn’t pass muster with the board. But their idea of monthly audio recordings that the executive can listen to in his car on the way to and from work sounds like a real winner. After all, executives are very busy people and making good use of their commute time has strong appeal to your client base.

Lastly, you’ve had some excellent results from your clients but your natural modesty prevents you from bragging too much on your website and your marketing materials. After all, you just weren’t raised to blow your own horn. But with the help of your Advisory Board you decide to interview 5 of your top clients and ask them a few simple questions.

• How has our coaching helped you?
• What kind of challenges do you bring to your coach?
• Would you advise other new executives to hire their own coach, and why?

Suddenly the answers to these three questions provide you with a mountain of real life testimonials that tout your coaching and your results with your having to say a word. By interspersing the answers from the questions on your webpage potential clients suddenly have a whole new perspective on the concept of hiring a coach, and specifically on the concept of hiring YOU as their coach.

The mission has been accomplished with nary a toot from your own horn.

I use these examples because they are quite personal to me. These are just a few of the problems that my Advisory Board has helped me solve over the years. By providing not only an outsider’s perspective, but the perspective of the potential clients, my Advisory Board allows me to stay focused on the client and their needs. They remind me to speak in terms of client benefits rather than coaching features, and they help me understand quite clearly the most current concerns of my clients in the very words that they, my clients will use.

In other words, my Advisory Board supplies me with the very insights that my clients are looking for in a coach.

Who should be on your Advisory Board?

The first criterion should be that they fit into your target market. You want people who clearly understand and think like your clients. Secondly, they should have a variety of perspectives. Having multiple people who think exactly the way you do won’t give any new thoughts or insights. Thirdly, they should bring a variety of talents to the table as well; especially talents that you yourself lack. If creating visuals is a challenge for you, have someone on your board who has a clear visual eye. If you tend to skip by the details, make sure your board contains at least one member who wants and will demand every detail of your plan. Lastly, they should care about you and your success. Not only should they want you to succeed, but they should want it bad enough that they will tell you the truth about your ideas and your business, no matter how much it hurts.

With a strong Advisory Board in place you are positioned to help and connect with your clients in ways that are just not possible for most solopreneurs. You can get expert advice and guidance from people who know what your potential clients are looking for. And you get a clear view of your business from the outside in.

Copyright © 2010 David R. Meyer All rights in all media reserved.

David R. (Dave) Meyer (CTACC/CBC/EQP/CBABP) is a
graduate of the Certified Coach Program and a Mentor Coach
for the Coach Training Alliance. An Executive Coach and Trainer with a specialty in human behavior, Dave is a certified DISC
expert, the author of Management Essentials: A Guide for Today’s Emerging Leaderhttp://www.ecilearning.com/managementessentials and the Fusion Blog http://ecilearning.blogspot.com/Dave is also a principal at ECI Learning Systems LLC, a Denver Based Coaching and Training Company.

by Kathy Sparks

Virtual Assistants = Virtual Assistance:
Virtual: Existing or resulting in effect though not in actual fact.
Assistant: To help, aid.

You might say that a virtual assistant / entrepreneur partnership is somewhat like a distant friendship. It takes the right chemistry, the right set of skills, and a common goal to make working at a distance successful. Distance, yes, distance. A virtual business partnership can be as close as two blocks away or in another country.

If you are not familiar with the concept of a virtual partnership, you are missing a most incredible and efficient method of working or getting help with your business without hiring a person. Why? Based on unfailing trust, each partner works in his/her personal business, yet works with each other as if they are combined as one business; one complimenting the other. Working virtually works without the need to manage or be managed, hire onto a payroll, purchase equipment or provide space because these two people maintain individual businesses and because they are professionals and trustworthy.

Key ingredients for a virtual partnership are honesty and professionalism. Since both partners own their own businesses a common respect for the challenges and skills that each possess is set forth in the beginning of the relationship and built upon as time goes by.

Virtual partnerships work best when there is a commitment to maintain a long-term relationship, enabling a rapport between partners to build and work toward a common goal. Long-term partnerships are more efficient than short contract projects or short term partnerships because of the knowledge gained through constant communication. Think of this as working at one company for many years. A long term partnership can almost become automatic when communication is maintained.

We call this a partnership because the virtual assistant provides equipment, insurance, software, office space and most importantly, professional skills that enhance and compliment the business arrangement. Likewise, the successful entrepreneur wanting to bring a VA into his/her business has their own complimentary set of skills and requirements relating to his or her business, namely expertise in the business, a personal office and the need for help to become even more successful. These needs and skill sets provide the foundation for a successful virtual relationship.

Of course, in the VA partnership, the biggest difference is skills. The skills the VA brings to the partnership are usually those skills the business partner considers as tasks getting in the way of doing what he or she really loves to do. These tasks can be anything from building a web site to personal shopping. The skills the successful entrepreneur brings is expertise in a business, the ability to delegate and ongoing succinct communication.

When speaking about a virtual assistant partnership, there are always concerns relating to working at a distance. The two biggest concerns are, “how do I know my VA is putting in the hours she/he is billing me” and, on the VA side, “if I spend 10 hours for this client, how do I know I will get paid?” This is where the trust part becomes essential. VAs are professionals and it is okay to ask for project updates, remembering that it’s almost impossible to second guess the amount of time a project takes someone else to complete.

A professional VA will always have an efficient time measurement system and will be very diligent about keeping accurate records. From the VA point of view, it is of utmost importance that the entrepreneur requiring services pay for those services the VA has provided. After all, no one works for free and a VA is maintaining an office to do projects for you and supports you 100%.

A virtual business partnership can only work if both partners ‘get’ the concept and are willing to communicate, ask, coordinate, discuss, confirm and above all, trust each other.

If you are not convinced that a Virtual Assistant partnership works, read what some people have said about their VAs:

• “You are my most valuable team member (not to mention champion nag and motivator!”
• “YES! The new e-commerce setup works beautifully, and I am more than happy. I think you walk on water!”
• “I want to thank you for your outstanding work. I think the website you put together for me looks great!! I am THRILLED to have you working with me!!”
• “You are wonderful. I love having you with us!!!! thank you thank you thank you for all that you do for us!”
• “Very good idea. Thanks for literally putting the spark underneath us.”

Virtual assistants are masters at their skills and their partners are successful entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level. Before entering into a VA partnership, it is important to make sure you understand the concept and requirements. To help with the process of learning about VAs, I’ve provided a free assessment on my web site to see if a VA partnership is for you.

Kathy Sparks began building her Virtual Assistant practice after being certified with AssistU. She has partnered with successful professionals in a number of professions, including online Internet entrepreneurs. She publishes Connected Virtually, a monthly newsletter for virtual business partners. Her background includes information technology, market research, management and administrative assistance.
http://www.yourvirtualresource.com

kathy@yourvirtualresource.com

by Will Craig

At the turn of the last century, department store magnate J.C. Penney acknowledged, “Fifty percent of my advertising doesn’t work.” When asked why he continued to do it all, he replied, “Because I don’t know which half isn’t working.”

If you are in business for yourself, you know the feeling all too well. Advertising and marketing can seem mysterious. You may not be sure what works; you just know you have to do it.

Regardless of what business you are in, you probably got into it because you have a talent for it. And, chances are, if you’re good at dentistry or interior design or welding, you’re probably not as good at marketing. That’s okay. You can’t expect to be good at all things.

“Me Too” Marketing

What normally happens when we go into business for ourselves – and come to the realization that we must market – we start looking around to see what others in our profession are doing. Then we commit to a version of that, close our eyes, cross our fingers, and hope it brings in customers.

Here’s the rub . . . good advertising and marketing is making your prospect aware of your product or service in a unique and exciting way that motivates them to take action on your offer. So, if you’re doing “me too” advertising, how unique and exciting is that? If you were a prospect for your service, would you be motivated to respond to your marketing?

One way to differentiate yourself in the marketplace is to turn your marketing plan upside down.

The Old Model

For most businesses the key to making money is the sale. Selling comes first in the list of priorities. If the customer buys, then thought is given to providing subsequent service. This is where many business owners consider themselves victorious in the game of marketing. The rest of us might go on to offer other products and services to the same customer. Some shrewd business people even attempt to build a long-term relationship and consider the “lifetime value” of a customer.

The old model looks something like this:

Sale

Service

Other Products

Relationship

This system has been in place for more than 100 years since the days of Mr. J.C. Penney. But how unique and exciting is it in THIS century? Just for grins, let’s flip this formula on its head and see if it works any better when it is upside down.

The New Model

What if we developed a relationship with a potential client FIRST? What if we showed an interest in them, added some value to their life in a unique way, and did that in a consistent manner over time? During this “getting to know you” stage, what if we also shared with them all of our products and services so they were informed about the total breadth, and scope of our value to them. What if we, then, provided them with a sample of our services – free of charge – just so they could see what it might be like to do business with us?

When that prospect has a need for our product or service, do you think there will be any question as to who gets the business? We have “top of mind” awareness. We have an educated consumer who already knows our product line. We have a prospect who already knows what we are like to do business with. And most importantly, we already have a relationship with this client. The sale is automatic. We do nothing. The sale comes to us.

Here’s the new Upside Down Marketing model:

Relationship

Other Products

Service

Sale

For the skeptic in you, this sequence may appear to take more time and energy. You may be right. The fact is, you have not made one sale at the end of this cycle. You have started a long term relationship with your new client/customer from the point at which most businesses will never reach: familiarity, trust and credibility.

With Upside Down Marketing, there’s no question as to which half of your marketing dollars are working. They are all funneling your prospects to the point of sale. Mr. Penney would be pleased and proud.

Copyright © 2002 Will Craig

Will Craig (Will@CoachTrainingAlliance.com) is a Knowledge Guide and President of the Coach Training Alliance. He is co-author of the “Coach Training Accelerator” and developed of the “Fill Your Coaching Practice” system. In his private practice he works with self-employed professionals helping them reach their potential and exceed expectations. Learn more: http://www.FillYourPractice.com

by Laurie Cameron

Although pubic speaking is one of people’s biggest fears - right up there with death and divorce - it’s also one of the most efficient ways to leverage your marketing efforts and promote your coaching business.

Public speaking leverages your time. Speaking to 50 people for 30 minutes can be much a better use of your time than speaking for 30 minutes each to 50 individuals - that’s 1500 minutes - just over a full day!

Public speaking leverages your credibility and expertise. When you’re speaking in front of a group, there’s a perception of expertise that’s automatically afforded to you. Of course, it’s even better when you can live up to that perception once you open your mouth!

Public speaking leverages your revenue potential. One 30-minute talk can be expanded into more in-depth coaching programs, workshops, retreats, seminars, and classes. It can also be developed into print and electronic books or courses, as well as other informational products that generate passive revenue.

Most coaches who want to integrate public speaking into their overall marketing plans truly understand all these benefits, but the question they often ask is: “Where do I find places to speak?”

The simple answer to that question is another question:

Where is your target market?

If your answer to that question is “I don’t know”, then you might have to back up a bit and make sure you’re clear on who it is that you coach before you can go out and speak to promote your coaching business.

Begin Your Search

Once you’re specific enough on your target market, it will be easier to know where to find them, and from there create a strategy for getting in front of them.

You can begin by asking members of your target market these questions:

• What groups, associations, or other organizations have been created to support your specific needs?
• What conferences, expos or other events do you attend in order to share information, resources, and build community?
• Where are your favorite places to network?

You can also do an Internet search for organizations, conferences and events designed for your target market. For example, if you work with nurses, you might search for

“nurses associations [your city or state]”

If you work with “sales and marketing professionals”, an internet search will yield numerous national and international associations that might use speakers at their meetings, conferences, and events.

There are also lists of associations, clubs, and organizations who want speakers that people have researched and complied that you can purchase.

Getting Your Foot in the Door

Once you’ve identified specific organizations, conferences and events that support your target market, the next step is to determine who books the speakers.

Speaking at Regular Meetings

For professional organizations and associations that meet weekly or monthly, this will be the program chair or program director. Call or email the contact person for the Association and ask for the name, email and phone number of the program director.

Association lists that you purchase typically include program chair contact information, and that information is usually updated on an annual or semi-annual basis.

Most of the people who have taken on the program chair position in an organization or association are very open to being contacted by potential speakers - it makes their job easier when you show up and offer to speak!

Make the call brief and to the point (you can develop and tweak your own call script as you get more experience).

“Hi, [their name], is this a good time to talk? My name is [your name] and I have a 30-minute talk titled [your brilliant, compelling title that highlights the benefits of the program and makes it clear that it’s pertinent to their membership]. If this is a topic that you feel would interest your membership, how far out are you booking your speakers?

The program director will likely ask for more information about you, your program, and your background to present to their committee, or to make the decision himself or herself.

In your call script, have simple bullet points about the benefits and the “take-aways” for the audience. This will help you keep your conversation brief, concise and on track. A lot of wandering, “ums,” and overt selling of your topic will more likely come across as unprofessional and lacking confidence.

Also be sure to have at the ready:

• Program description - a benefits-focused paragraph that very clearly states what their members will take away from the program, learn, or be able to do better afterwards.
• Your bio - another paragraph with your most pertinent credentials, your passion for your topic, where you’ve already presented this program, etc.
• Professional photo in digital format - they will frequently add it to the program listing in their email meeting announcements.

Once they have approved your topic, you can then clarify the logistics - day, time, location, typical number of people at each meeting, average demographics, audio/visual setup, stage, podium, and seating (theater, classroom or round tables).

It can help both you and the program chair to have a simple contract or confirmation sheet that you can email or fax to confirm the terms and logistics you agreed upon.

It’s also very helpful to visit the meeting space beforehand, in order to get a feel for the room.

Then you spend the time until the program date practicing, refining, and practicing some more!

Speaking at one-time events

For a conference, expo or other one-time event, you will likely be required to submit a speaker proposal. Most organizations will have speaker proposal forms posted on their conference websites.

Many will require a video of program samples. If you don’t have this yet, plan on arranging to have a future talk videotaped and edited by a professional videographer.

Speaking at a conference is often a much longer lead time because they want to have keynote speakers and breakout session facilitators confirmed before they put their marketing out to their members.

This kind of speaking opportunity is great to work up to. You can build your confidence quickly if you “cut your teeth” on the smaller organizations, clubs and groups first.

Creating your own opportunities to speak

The two previous examples are considered “captive audience” programs: your ideal clients are already a part of a cohesive group, and you show up and present your program to them.

Another way to use public speaking as a promotional tool to build your coaching business is by creating a free or very low cost public talk and inviting your target market to you.

This is more labor intensive because you’re the one in charge of securing the room, doing the marketing, handling the registration, clean-up, etc.

Many coaches prefer this format because they like having this level of control over their programs. It’s really up to you to decide what works best for you!

Free or Fee?

Although some groups do pay their guest speakers, the majority of associations and professional organizations that meet weekly or monthly have little or no budget for speakers. It’s assumed that the value of the exposure and the marketing is payment “in-kind.”

Many coaches have built full, thriving practices in a few months by doing only free talks - but doing 3, 4, or 5 a week. There again, it’s all about leverage, and about being consistent and persistent.

Likewise, a speaker who facilitates a break-out session at a conference will not always get paid, but they might instead be given a free ticket to the rest of the conference, a reduced-fee or complimentary booth, or perhaps even access to the list of conference attendees to use for marketing their coaching and other programs.

So, just as you do not get paid directly to go to networking events, consider every speaking gig as an investment in improving your visibility, credibility and confidence, and in building your client base.

Working with a coach who can support you in making these decisions and creating engaging, compelling talks can also be a strategic investment in your business development.

The key is to decide if public speaking is a good strategy for you to employ to promote your coaching business. If it is, then get out there and SPEAK UP!

Copyright © 2010 Laurie Cameron. All rights in all media reserved.

Laurie Cameron is a Coach Training Alliance Certified Coach and Trainer, and a Master Certified Relationship Coach. In the last 12 years she has trained and mentored over 700 coaches around the world. She’s taught public speaking at a technical college, has assisted some of the top speakers in the country, and has been using public speaking to promote her coaching business for over a decade. She loves to work with professional coaches who want to add public speaking to their coaching businesses, both as a marketing strategy and as an additional service and source of revenue. She can be reached at Catalyst@LaurieCameron.com.

by Suzanne Falter-Barns

The Technical Revolution has done a lot for us coaches – we merely have to pick up a phone or send an email to conduct business. Yet, there still is no substitute for live, personal appearances when you want your teaching to count, and that’s why I love workshops. Your participants benefit from the short-term intensity of the experience, and you benefit from actually seeing your principles and exercises in play.

If you’ve got the solution to any problem that’s out there, you can deliver it in workshop form. Here are some steps I’ve developed in my years of designing and delivering self-help workshops:

1. Put together a workshop people actually need. What’s the biggest problem your target market faces – and what do you know about solving it? This is the key to filling your workshop. Find the problem you are uniquely qualified to solve. Do not rely on vague promises like “improving your life” or “boosting your creativity”. Offer us something we can really use, such as “How to Create More Time for Your Dream.”
2. Decide Where and How You’ll Lead the Workshop. Basically, you have a choice: you find a location and hold the workshop yourself, or you pitch and sell it to a larger venue, such as an adult ed learning center. If you hold the workshop yourself, you will have a bigger job, but you potentially could make much more money. If someone else holds it, your audience may be more certain ... or it may not. Also, it may be hard to place your workshop with a larger venue if you don’t already have a track record doing such – unless your idea is so ‘killer’ that learning venue can resist. There is no ‘right’ answer here. Test the waters to find the best solution.
3. Choose a great location. Nothing is more depressing than a workshop in a dimly lit church basement painted an institutional green. Instead, look for a sunny, fresh environment that makes you (and them) feel good. When holding your own workshop, look for inns or even B&B’s that have a meeting room or living room available. Often such places will provide a room for free if they are catering your event. For shorter workshops, look to grand old libraries that have seminar rooms, or churches or temples that have recently renovated or offer more upscale facilities.
4. Plan the day around food. Believe it or not, this is key. A workshop has to have an air of retreat to it, or it won’t have nearly the impact you want. That’s why I like to hold longer, full-day workshops that include a nice lunch and afternoon tea and cookies. This gives your participants the sense that they’re really getting away from everyday life and nurturing themselves, which facilitates breakthroughs. At the same time, you can offer more benefits, and thus a more valuable workshop package.
5. Structure your day with lots of play. Give these folks some things to do that get them out of their usual routine, right off the bat. In my own How Much Joy Can You Stand? workshops, I have people come to the event with a ‘no-name’ tag – something they can comfortably wear that expresses their essence without using their name. It’s a fun way to get everyone on level playing ground. This sort of hands-on exercise can be used at least two or three times during the day to make your points more effectively. To create exercises, simply think about what sorts of activities would really move you to have fun, and think outside of the usual box.
6. Combine teaching with feedback. Don’t just preach; ask. During your lecture time, take occasional breaks to ask for their ideas, observations, questions, etc. You can also drive home points by creating front-of-the-room lists on a flip chart, or by having brief writing exercises, which they can share afterwards. I like timed writing exercises, quick top of the mind lists, and written responses to questions.
7. Don’t be afraid of group meditations. If you’re doing work that is at all spiritually attuned, guided meditations can be fantastic tools. Most people will give them a try, even if they’ve never done so before. Be sure to speak clearly throughout the meditation, and urge people to sit on cushions or chairs, but not recline. Some may be willing to share what they observed, which is often quite powerful.
8. Let them guide you. Sometimes you need to put aside your plan for a while, and let a powerful group conversation take over. Be sure to design your day with an extra half-hour to hour (if it’s a full day) for such tangents to develop. That way, you won’t be a slave to the clock, and can allow for spontaneous insights to occur.
9. Start with a group of friends ... and get evaluations. Your very first workshop can always be held with friends, or your R&D group, right in your own living room. Offer it for free, in exchange for detailed feedback on what worked, and what didn’t. Then be sure to have the evaluation forms ready to fill out at the end of the workshop – before anyone leaves. In your evaluation, also include a place for enthusiasts to leave glowing testimonials, for use in your promo materials. (Include a request for a signed okay for use of their name and quote in your form.)
10. Experiment. You’re going to get a lot further leading workshops if you can view this aspect of your career as a grand experiment. Some things will work; some things won’t. Your job is to find out which is which, so your workshop becomes the very best it can be ... and that’s the best way to fill them up!

Suzanne Falter-Barns is the author of How Much Joy Can You Stand? (Ballantine Wellspring), and has led workshops across the US and Canada. She also trains coaches on how to create, book, fill and lead their own creativity workshops in her How Much Joy Can You Stand? Facilitator’s Course – a new course is just starting. Details are at http://www.howmuchjoy.com.

by Jackie Black, Ph.D.

The question is:

What is a legitimate coaching business model, that takes the same marketing effort as one new one-to-one client that leverages your time and your earning potential, and is highly profitable?

That’s right! Group Coaching!

We used to believe that group coaching was an extension of one-to-one work with our clients. We believed that we could only fill groups with the folks who were already in our “base.”

The truth is that Group Coaching is a legitimate business model. It takes the same marketing time, skill and effort to market, enroll and fill an entire Coaching Group as it does to get one new one-to-one client!

Group Coaching is the best way to leverage your time and earning potential as a coach; meaning you serve more clients, in less time, for more dollars.

When you facilitate small coaching groups you ...

• Position yourself very competitively in the marketplace;
• Create demand for your expertise;
• Deliver accessible, affordable and tremendously valuable services;
• Charge group clients less than your one-to-one clients;
• Greatly increase your own hourly earnings in the most highly profitable coaching service you can include in your mix of services.

Group Coaching is far more complex than you might imagine! It isn’t as simple as putting several people on a bridge or in a room and coaching them as if you were coaching one-on-one; or delivering fast-paced, high-content material as if you were facilitating a Teleclass.

There are specific design and development elements, and facilitation skills that are the backbone of any successful coaching group. There are five specific kind of coaching group structures and when you design your group you will do so around one of the specific structures.

Facilitating a coaching group means creating an experience for each member; and being people-focused and experience-focused. Coaching groups are NOT content-driven like teleclasses, workshops and seminars. In a coaching group the coach’s roll is to birth or surface each member’s personal wisdom and intelligence for the good of the group and for the benefit of each individual collectively.

In today’s economic environment people need our services more than ever before and we have an obligation to be available to support our clients. Group Coaching is a delivery system that allows us to do just that, at a price point that people can afford, and in a format that will leverage our time and be highly profitable.

I wish you well on your journey to Be, Do and Have
everything in your life that supports and affirms
your best and most brilliant, passionate Self!

Copyright © 2010 Dr. Jackie Black, Ph.D.

Jackie Black, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized relationship expert, educator, author and coach and serves clients who are pre-married, newly-married, couples in trouble, couples facing illness and those grieving the loss of a loved one. She is a CTA Certified Coach, a graduate of International Life Coach Training and the Relationship Coaching Institute, and is a Licensed Coach for Singles and Couples.

Dr. Jackie is also a Mentor Coach for private practice professionals and supports them to build the infra-structure of their business, repurpose their intellectual property and develop products and services. http://www.DrJackieBlack.com