The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Will you e-mail the groups? Followed by a call? Cold call? Letter plus call? Note: You might score a speech/lunch time talk, particularly if you mention a solid fee and let them know you would discount if they provide a testimonial and couple of referrals if they are pleased with the talk.
But likely — if they are willing to put your information on file — you will get a call down the track or be considered for their conference. See if you can find out when they will be thinking about a speaker for their conference or event, and make a note in your diary to call then.
Write out your action plan, and include ‘by when’ you will complete each item.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Philip Cohen in 10 Super Coaches.
What was most disheartening for you while building your practice?
Going through the training and having a coach of my own let me see the power of coaching. I expected everyone would see what I saw and would immediately want to be coached.
I needed to learn two important lessons: some people will take longer to see the benefits of coaching and some people never will. Once I understood this, I learned to be more patient with prospects. I also learned to spend my time with qualified prospects instead of everyone I met.
What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?
As a CPA, I worked closely with clients. But there were certain parts of their lives that weren’t part of our conversations. As a coach, I began working more holistically with clients and the results were great to see.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Ernest F. Oriente in 10 Super Coaches.
What do you feel is the biggest key to your success?
Far and away, getting so very clear that I wanted to identify my perfect clients and live in their world. The clarity I had on that has been unwavering. It just got better and I got better at doing it, and building better alliances.
I never have lost that focus, I’ve never changed that which is to say ‘here’s who I want to serve, how deep can I live in their world’, and the deeper I did, the more business that came and the more services we provided for them. And the more referrals that came from that. That success has been a formula.
Testimonials are easy to get.
And — they serve a couple of purposes. Obviously, they help a prospective client see that you have helped someone else, which is likely to give them more confidence in signing up with you. This is particularly valuable in the first couple of years while you may be working on a certification.
But secondly, they show YOU that you have helped others, and that you really do make a contribution!
In this section, I’ll ask you to get three clear testimonials that you can use to promote your credibility, your confidence, and your services. Note it can be as simple as a couple of lines from someone you have assisted. Of course it must be their words and you need their permission. It’s ideal if they are willing for you to put identifying information such as their full name, job title, company, city, and even e-mail address at the bottom. And who knows, maybe even age? This allows a potential client to better relate to the situation. And — if their company is known, and/or they have a professional-sounding title, it gives you added credibility. I also like to ask for a scanned photo so people can see it’s a real person.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Don’t get too hung up on the charging issue for your first twenty clients. Don’t worry if it doesn’t come smoothly. The first skill to practice is inviting people to do Exploratory Sessions and getting “yeses” to that invitation. The second skill to practice is agreeing on a time commitment to their goals and the coaching relationship: i.e., having the sign up for a coaching structure for one to six months. The third skill to worry about is to comfortably negotiate and charge your fee.
And you don’t have to learn/practice these skills all at once! Take your time.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Sometimes all it takes to set up the session is for you to invite them to have one! (I know — rocket science, right?). It might sound something like.
“What I usually do for people who are interested in coaching is to set up a 20-30 minute chat to talk about their goals and give them an experience of being coached. I don’t mind if they become clients or not; it helps me develop my skills, and it’s one way I develop referrals. No charge. Would you be interested in that?”
Exercise
Practise your hot invitation at least once this week. You might be in a store, at a bus stop, talking to the telephone information service, or at a party. When someone pops that magic question: “What do you do?” — be ready.
Note: In both the Warm and Hot Invitation you might notice we found a hot button/area, extended an invitation, and removed any obligation or pressure to continue with coaching. That’s the secret formula!
