2012 - Inner Firewalking

Practicing Your Speech

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

Firstly, go through it on your own, until you can finish it on time, and without looking at your notes too often.

Record your speech and listen to yourself; you’ll learn a lot and get several ideas of things to change.

Preparing notes is fine — you don’t have to memorise it. But, I recommend knowing your talk so well that with just a glance at a list of bullet points you can know what’s next, and then speak directly to your audience on each point.

It’s not critical that you deliver it word for word. What’s more important is the energy of your talk; that you’re connected with and passionate about your topic. Feel free to ad lib, as long as you stay within your time limit.

Once you have your speech ready, prepare a final bullet list of points — these are your notes, just in case you need them.

Invite some trusted friends over to hear your talk, and offer them dinner (even if you just pay for pizza). When the time comes — above all — let go of your attachment to the outcome!

Marcia Reynolds on Finding Initial Clients

The following is taken from David’s interview with Marcia Reynolds in 10 Super Coaches.

What top three methods, in order, did you use to get your clients in the first 2 years?

Public speaking: I worked hard to develop my skills and this part of my business so I would be hired as a keynot speaker for big conferences. This helps me to attract many possible clients at once. I have worked with speaking coaches, attended acting workshops, joined the National Speakers Association (where I get to see great speakers and learn marketing techniques) and began speaking everywhere I could to practice. I now coach people in public speaking as I think it is vital to success in most businesses.

Writing: I write articles, audio programs and books. People read or hear my ideas and contact me. Some of my products are in bookstores. Others are self-published. I sell them on the Internet and at my seminars and speeches. I give books away to potential clients…this works better than a brochure. My book is only 60 pages…a quick read that teaches as well as tells people about my outlook on personal and professional development.

Publicity: I learned how to attract reporters through emails pitches and press releases. This is how I received my first client that was not a referral from a friend.

Philip Cohen on Discovering Your Niche

The following is taken from David’s interview with Philip Cohen in 10 Super Coaches.

How would you suggest coaches find their niche?

I usually suggest letting a niche find the coach, instead of looking for one. Open yourself up to coach anyone and then look for patterns. This has several advantages: you might find yourself in a niche you never anticipated; you can build your business more quickly; you have an opportunity to coach a more diverse group of clients, which will add to your skill base.

When I started my coaching practice, I got a call from a person with a network marketing business. Before long, I had 6 or 8 clients in the same business. If I had decided to pursue it, I could have created a niche from there.

However, if someone comes to coaching with strong conections to a niche, then I would suggest they pursue it. For example, I had a client who was a new coach. Her previous job was executive director of a professional organization. She was on first name basis with all the significant people in her industry. She didn’t have to go through a gatekeeper because she had everyone’s direct phone number. I firmly supported her intent to create a niche in the market immediately.

Developing Marketing Engines

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

It’s one thing to have filled your practice by getting on the phone and offering lots of free or discounted sessions or consultations. But we don’t want you to be calling people for the rest of your life! We just recommend this to ramp everything up quickly — to build your confidence, expertise, public profile, and testimonials.

What you need now are Marketing Engines, which send you a steady stream of clients. In the next three chapters we’ll cover the most fun and productive strategies:

How To Get Clients Via The Internet

How To Get Clients Via Alliances

How To Get Clients Via Public Speaking

Caution: Don’t use all of these strategies. Doing a little of each will usually be a waste of time. You want to pick one or two, and go deep. Use them consistently for six months or preferably twelve — and you should see some great results. Once you are getting results from one or two engines, only then should you consider adding a third.

Anna Dargitz on Coaching Revenue

The following is taken from David’s interview with Anna Dargitz in 10 Super Coaches.

Approximately how long did it take you to generate US$30,000 pa in coaching revenue?

4.5 years…If I knew then what I know now, it would have taken half the time.

Over this period, on average how many days per week were dedicated to coaching?

Each year brought increasing responsibilities and opportunities. I worked on creating client programs when I wasn’t coaching and was available four days a week, three weeks a month.

But it wasn’t until I began teleclass teaching and working with SOC about 18 months ago, that I obtained high visibility and my practice really accelerated. Last month I cleared $5,000.00 US dollars and I worked 5-6 days a week. Passive revenue from client programs hasn’t kicked in yet and that’s what is needed to make more and work less.

Marcia Reynolds on Training and Certification

The following is taken from David’s interview with Marcia Reynolds in 10 Super Coaches.

Would you advice coaches to pursue certification?

Absolutely!! Certification is what distinguishes you from anyone who just calls themselves a coach with no training or experience. We have to uphold certification to keep our profession strong. It is important to join the International Coach Federation and become certified to help keep the integrity of our profession strong in the eyes of our customers.

The International Coach Federation is the only non-profit professional association that is recognized world-wide as credible and sound. It is not aligned with one school, so it is also seen by regulating organizations as a credibile representative of all coaches, regardless of their schooling and background.

Archive

Yearly Archive for 2012