2012 - Inner Firewalking

Do I Charge for the Teleclass?

The following is a transcription taken from Explode Your Practice.

David: No, use it as a service for blended families. Let me lay out what I think you need. In your different levels. From no cost to higher up. The teleclass is easy to run and you can do a free report. Maybe an ebook but they take too long to write. Write a free report from your seminar with bullet points. Make it of value. At the bottom, promote your teleclass and newsletter and say forward it to those that can use it. And you can go to this web page for this seminar. Ask them to fly there. People are flying all over for things these days. Corey Rudl gets an international audience to hear him speak. You have a more limited market in seminars though. That’s why you need teleclasses.

Michael O. Cooper on Building a Practice

The following is taken from David’s interview with Michael O. Cooper in 10 Super Coaches.

What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?

Three things, really:

Watching clients arrive out of nowhere!
Clients wanting to hire me even before experiencing a sample session/collaborative interview!
Watching passive revenue dollars add up in my bank account – when I’m out at the beach or on vacation!

Boundaries Between Life and Business

The following is an excerpt of David’s interview in Top Coaching Techniques.

Ingrid: Hey David, you mentioned that you have a couple of balls in the court – a couple of different businesses. When you have your own business, how do you stop that from encroaching on your whole life?

David: That’s a very good question and what some people say is, you really have to devote six days a week, minimum. I was reading that Dick Smith and other people say, ‘Get stuck into it and have no life.’ Now, I don’t actually believe that’s necessary. You can actually start a business with two days a week. If you have a job already, you don’t have to just quit and go on and start something new. Again, take the guy making chili in his backyard – spend two days a week starting to develop the business and then get a small profit. Make a small profit and then you start expanding it. So, you may initially be working two days in the business, and then you expand it to three, and then four, and eventually do it full time. But, as I said, you start making systems out of the business and start hiring – for example – a high school student. Then maybe someone else who’s more qualified for another role, and build it up. You don’t have to be working in the business. That’s a job, not a business.

Excellence In Coaching

I could rave to you about how to ‘do’ great coaching, but I won’t.

It’s excellence in our own lives that counts.

Who are you?

Who are you as a person – that someone would want to work with you?

That they would want a ‘piece’ of your energy? That someone would say, “That’s the type of person I would like to become.” “I want a life like that.”

Are you:

Loving your life? Can you find gratitude, are attractive to be around, and things keep getting better?

Responsible for your life? Instead of complaining about what happened, you say, “What did I do to create this, and why?” You forgo excuses and blame.

Feeling all your feelings honestly? Without letting them rule you, or on the other hand suppressing them?

Going for everything you want? Or at least being honest where you’re not?

Risking in your life? Saying the things you’re scared to say, even at risk of losing a relationship? Doing the things you fear? Thinking bigger? Letting go of your safe nest for what is next?

Taking care of yourself? Are you giving you what you need? Do you exercise and eat well? Do you rest when you need to?

Keeping your own standards of integrity? Paying ALL the tax you know you should? Do you pay for software and CD music? Are you on time? Do you let go of the clients you know you’re not helping? But don’t stick to my standards; stick to yours!

Setting Prices

The following is an excerpt of one of David’s coaching sessions in Top Coaching Techniques.

David: Think of the cost of them not getting their stuff right. The cost is unbelievable. You probably use that in your sales, but whatever they’re paying is worth it, because the cost of them not getting their stuff right is astronomical.

Client: It’s significantly more. This is why the top executive search firms charge about 33% of salary and we charge 12½ to 15%.

David: Why is that?

Client: Good question. It’s like selling Porsche or Rolls Royce. They have absolute market reputation and they’re dealing with the organizations that can afford to pay that. However, we were a long way from there, so we started at 12% so we could be competitive and get in the door. Raising the price to 15% was the easiest thing I ever did. No one even said anything, and it gave us a massive increase in profits. The reason we do 12½ is because we realize that there’s some value in customers who work with us exclusively, so we give a discount and some other benefits.

David: Imagine if you charged 18 and discount to 15 or 12½. You have just created a bigger discount, a bigger value for them. Then they’ll be saying, ‘Wow, I can get 5 ½ percent.’

The Challenges of Starting a Business

The following is an excerpt of David’s interview in Top Coaching Techniques.

Ingrid: Know what David? I’m going to put my cynic hat on here. That is, what about all that paperwork and guff and BAS statements and paying the bills that come for you, if starting your own business?

David: Yeah, there’s a lot that comes with it. One of the traps that people fall into is, they start working in the business and they take on something, and then they find that really, this is just another job where they’ve got ten times more responsibility. Ten times more work and less pay than before. So what’s really important is, once they get started in the business, you start setting up business systems so the business starts running itself. Start bringing on employees and people to help so that you don’t just have a job anymore, but it actually runs as a business instead of a job.

Archive

Yearly Archive for 2012

Do I Charge for the Teleclass?

Michael O. Cooper on Building a Practice

Boundaries Between Life and Business

Excellence In Coaching

Setting Prices

The Challenges of Starting a Business