Start your practice...
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David
Wood, PCC |
 |
"Welcome
to our 758 new subscribers!
Now 12,677 subscribers in 90 countries"
CONTENTS
1.
Announcements/Offers
2. FEATURE: 'The Secret to a Thriving Practice'
3. About the 'Mentor Monthly™' Newsletter
5 Minute Survey, and a Thankyou Gift
Which of our 6 new really cool coaching product ideas should make it to the production line? Which do YOU want to see?
Take this interesting 5 minute online survey (my R&D team is filling it in right now), and as a thankyou for your time I'd like to give you something hot off the press! It's a great tool you can use it with your clients - or use it on yourself to take control of your own life.
Take the 5 minute survey and collect your gift here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=51353317760
Business Building Teleclass for Coaches
Would you like to join 100 coaches from around the world, as we discuss everything you need to know about building a successful practice?
While the public will pay US$39, as a valued newsletter subscriber, you can still join the CoachStart™ teleclasses for fr'ee! It's my way of getting to know my subscribers, and connect with you using more than just email.
(Tip: to hear my favourite 5 minutes of the last call, get the Power Snippet here!)
2. FEATURE ARTICLE: 'The Secret to a Thriving Practice'
Are you busy building a web site?
Would you say brochures are the answer? Business cards? Advertising?
Many coaches you try this route in the beginning, only grow their practice very, very slowly. They do what all the marketing books say. But why isn't their business booming?
I'm going to give you the answer right here in this article.
The Vicious Cycle
99% of coaches lack confidence. And rightly so! It can be very daunting to put on the hat of 'coach' and offer to change people's lives.
Building a web site or designing a brochure are great down the track. But while you're still scared to coach - you'll subconsciously find a way of turning away clients.
Here's the vicious cycle: Having little or no clients which means no exp'erience, which leads to a reluctance to extend the invitation for trial sessions, which leads to no clients, which leads to no exp'erience, and so on.
The Secret
The answer is quite simple - forget the money, forget your pride, and get your experience up - no matter what it takes. And the fastest way to do that? "Coach 50 Clients!".
Free, paid, 1 session, 1 week, 3 months - I don't care. Just get those initial sessions.
As I explain in depth in my speech, choose your target list of likely prospects, craft an invitation that feels comfortable you, and do your initial, exploratory sessions - yes, with 50 people!
Each client, fee or no f'ee, 3 months or 30 minutes, is "gold" to you. And I'll tell you why...
What Every Client (or Practice Client) Gives You
- the feeling you are really a coach, not a fraud
- a practice that looks busier
- the potential for more referrals
- free training
- more and more confidence with each client
- possible revenue, either right away or down the track
- a testimonial
Starting Out!
It's O.K. to be nervous when you are starting out, but do those sessions anyway. The next ones will seem easier. So, coach a lot!
Even if you are doing sessions for free, you will be gaining the confidence and practice to allow yourself to start charging for your work. You will see how you are helping others. You will be able to convince yourself of the importance of coaching in people's lives.
(By the way, if you're concerned about where to find your prospects, how to craft your invitation, and how to motivate yourself to get moving - then relax. I'll give you a link at the end of this article to the speech I delivered at the ICF conference - which explains in detail how to go from ZERO to FIFTY CLIENTS.)
Conclusion
In the beginning, don't distract yourself from coaching with longer-term marketing methods. Could you be trying to avoid coaching by working on your business cards or web site? Work through your confidence issues and explore coaching with your current network.
Once you have about 10 clients you can work with your mentor coach to find more sustainable marketing methods. By this time, your practice will begin to grow naturally in the number of clients, how long they stay and your inc'ome.
******
If you want to get started, and find out exactly how I've helped over 60 coaches walk this exact path, I highly recommend you listen to the speech I gave to the ICF conference called 'Getting Your First Fifty Clients'. I'm really happy that coaches are getting outstanding results from applying these principles.
You can access this online and on CD at www.firstfiftyclients.com
Enjoy!
David
www.firstfiftyclients.com
www.coachstart.com
3 . ABOUT THE 'MENTOR MONTHLY™' NEWSLETTER
TO SUBSCRIBE, and for fr'ee information packs on coaching, visit: www.news.lifecoachingresource.com
Please forward this newsletter to anyone you feel might make a great coach!
TO CANCEL, click the link at the bottom of this email. You can then choose to exit either from just this newsletter, or my entire database.
I encourage you to share, replicate or forward this newsletter as long as the subscription, author links, attribution, and copyright information are kept intact.
LifeSkills Coaching
www.firstfiftyclients.com
www.coachstart.com
David Wood is a personal and business coach, and founder of a global coach training company. He is a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF) based in Washington, D.C.
David has coached people in 13 countries via telephone and email. He calls his clients once a week and does whatever it takes on the phone to help them move forward. He works with professionals on career direction and personal issues, with small business owners, and managers/executives. He also helps coaches start or accelerate their coaching practice via the CoachStart™ Mentor Program, found at www.CoachStart.com/Mentor.htm
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