2012 - Inner Firewalking

Ernest F. Oriente’s Advice For New Coaches

The following is taken from David’s interview with Earnest F. Oriente in 10 Super Coaches.

What words of advice would you give to a coach starting out?

Have fun in your business, enjoy the clients you’re working with, and quite frankly, be the very best coach that you can be, because people in your hands are giving you their lives and they’re asking for your help. So be very respectful, always, of the work you’re doing.

Be clear on your passion. Have a passion for the work you’re doing. Recognize you’re touching the lives of people that you’re working with. Be clear on the work that you’re doing, that it’s fun, that it’s joyful, that you love the particular clients that you’re working with.

But never lose sight – this is sort of Covey’s principle ‘focus with the end in mind’. As you look to the horizon what’s the next step?

If I were looking at the horizon, initially: I needed to replace my income from my corporate days. But really from there it was, number one: subscribers. Number two, more subscribers. Number three, now I want to be in the magazines, the same magazines read by those subscribers. That was the next step. Then the next step, I wanted to have some alliances and even more exposure, speak at upcoming conferences. And then there was the next step, writing a book to tie it all together. I’ve always been able to look over the horizon twelve, fifteen miles in front of me and say ‘what does the next parade look like?’.

So I would encourage those coaches who are thinking about their business to work both in their business, but don’t forget to work on your business. Have a vision for what the bigger game is. Have a vision for what the next parade is.

Work Toward Inspiring Goals

The following is an excerpt from Top Coaching Techniques.

Instead of floundering around, you’re actually working on some exciting, inspiring goals. So, you start with what do you want, and help them. Some questions you can ask that might help elicit that are things like, ‘What’s one thing you’d love to change?’ ‘Is there anything in your life that you hate?’ ‘Is there anything in your life that you’d really love to have more of?’ Another good one is, ‘If there was a goal that might be even too big for you to achieve – but if you could have anything in the world, you’d probably go for it – what would that be?

Client: OK, yeah.

David: OK, now another way to break that down when people are having trouble, is to ask them about different areas of their life and go through the standard areas; relationships, finances, health, career. Go through that and just ask them to maybe score each one out of ten. That will tell you pretty quickly if the client is saying, ‘Oh, I just have no idea what I’d work on with a coach.’ That will tell you pretty quickly which area is not so hot.

Client: Yeah.

David: Then you can work with them on creating a goal. Now a lot of people can tell you what they don’t want. Part of your job is to spin it around. Haven them tell you what they do want that could replace that. So, no negative goals – no, ‘Oh, I want to get rid of my partner, or my relationship.’ You want to turn that around…

Top Ten Tips for Meeting Everybody!

The following is an excerpt from Top Coaching Techniques.

1. Make eye contact twice as often as you normally do.

2. Say “hello” to people on the street.

3. Introduce yourself ~first~ (don’t wait for them – they might be waiting for you!)

4. Hang out where the types of people you want to meet hang out.

5. Hang out with people who have lots of friends and associates!

6. Find out about them, not the other way around (OK, it’s obvious, but….)

7. Get their contact details, not the other way around.

8. If you want to build a relationship (business or personal), follow up with a call or email!

9. Organise get-togethers for your neighbours and friends

10. Remember, if you do get what looks like a negative reaction, it’s their stuff – it’s not about you!

You Have So Much To Share

The following is an excerpt from the book Get Paid For Who You Are.

Your passion, hobby, skill or life experience is valuable — literally. Whether it’s being married, or getting divorced. Whether having a child, or losing someone dear to you — it’s valuable. Whether you like stamp collecting, investing, riding horses, parenting or catering. Maybe you created a million dollar business, or failed at three start-ups. Perhaps you simply found a way to stick to your diet, or handle an angry spouse or upset child, or make pottery, or can help people find a fishing guide, or any of a myriad of skills, interests, or abilities — it’s all valuable.

If you already have a business, you’ll be happy to know this process is powerful for anyone with a product or service: professionals, small business owners, chiropractors, dentists, florists, potters, inventors. You can make more revenue and work less.

Now, i’m not promising you’ll make internet millions. it took hard work for me to reach $40,000 a month. I also won’t promise you a “4-Hour Work Week”. The author of that book and i work many more hours than that, although it’s entirely by choice. While it is completely possible to make a fortune and never work again by following the steps in this book, it’s also normal if you have some healthy skepticism. and i know not everyone wants to aim that high.

So let’s take a look at more down to earth goals that are easier to wrap the mind around.

How would your life be enhanced if you made an extra $3,000 per month while keeping your day job?

How would it feel to cut back to a job working only two or three days a week because your “how to” Cd or book is starting to sell really well?

What would it be worth to you to transition to doing something you really care about and receive five testimonials a week from people you have helped?

Leza Danly on Discovering Your Niche

The following is taken from David’s interview with Leza Danly in 10 Super Coaches.

What are your coaching niche(s)? How did you discover this?

In the beginning, I had a niche of actors and entertainment people just because they were the people I knew. I loved helping actors make successful careers for themselves. It had been my favorite part of being an agent.

Now my niche is defined not by profession, but by personal depth. I only work with people who know they are on a spiritual journey of embracing responsibility and magic, people who want to become skilled at transforming reality magically and powerfully.

How would you suggest coaches find their niche?

Look to your passions. What do you love? Who do you like to talk to? Who would you most want to support? It might be a particular group, like mothers or prisoners or artists, but I find that niches defined around BEING issues are more powerful than defining it by what one DOES.

Ginger Cockerham on Finding Initial Clients

The following is taken from David’s interview with Ginger Cockerham in 10 Super Coaches.

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

Referral Engine – I chose a niche of people who are generous, and let them be my advocates! My clients in the financial services industry are dependent on referrals to grow their own businesses, so they refer naturally, regularly and generously.

Media and Presentations – I love to write so I wrote a monthly column in Today’s Dallas Woman for two years with coaching themes. I presented and coached during those presentations to organizations, financial services companies, study groups for financial reps.

Networking – I became active in the coaching community and volunteered and took leadership roles, I gave back to my clients and community, I shared and received from many, many other coaches, I formed a networking group with other professionals and helped grow their businesses while they helped me grow mine.

Archive

Yearly Archive for 2012