I’m currently looking to schedule at least the next 6 months worth of guest posts – if you’d like to be one of them contact me via here.

Want to know more info before making an offer to be a guest poster in 2012?

Topic/content

I am very flexible about the topic of the Friday guest posts – I ask that it is something that you think will be of interest to coaches.

I love the fact that this has produced a range of topics, approaches and opinions. I know that this is a very broad brief so if you want a bit more guidance I also offer a list of questions that you can use to act as a catalyst to spark some inspiration about what you want to write your post about. (After all I am a coach and we do like questions )

The only other request that I make is that you show respect to others views. It’s perfectly OK to discuss why you like a particular approach as long as you don’t throw insults at those who don’t agree with you.

I’ll also mention at this stage I don’t impose any word limit, I allow my posters as many words (or few) that you need to say what you want.

Date

You’ve probably noticed that the Friday guest post is posted on a Friday (normally around 6.30am UK time). So I ask that guest posters send me over their copy by the Wednesday lunch (UK time) allowing plenty of time to make any tweaks you want and generally schedule the post to go live.

If there is a particular Friday you’d prefer a post to run because it helps to promote an event you are running, etc I’ll do my best to accommodate that request. In the event I have two people wanting the same date I think the fairest thing to do is schedule them on a first come first served basis. If that does happen I will make sure that I’ll communicate this with you and offer alternative available Fridays.

Bio

At the end of each guest post you may have noticed an “About the author” heading, this is where we put your bio. I think this gives the reader the opportunity to find out more about you and your background. I also like it to include ways (ie a link(s) ) for anyone who wants to find out more about your work etc to easily do that.

Experience

While some of the fantastic guest posters of 2010 and 2011 have decades of coaching experience we have also had some who are just establishing their coaching practice. So do not rule yourself from being a guest poster because you don’t think you have enough experience. As far as I’m concerned it’s that mix of perspectives that makes the Friday guest posts what they are.

What are you actually committing to?

1. Providing a guest post via email by the date agreed
2. Providing a bio to be included on your guest post, again by the date agreed.

That’s it – if you are on twitter and you let me know your username then I can include that in any promo about your post.

Want to be a 2012 guest poster?

Contact me via the form here. If previous occasions when I have issued an open invite is anything to go by do act quickly if you want a specific Friday.

Still got questions?

Ask me either by adding a comment below or dropping me an email.

Thanks and a Happy New Year!

A mix of different topics providing support and solutions for a range of problems and questions were deliberately selected. You’ll notice that there is a mix of books, audio and other products spaced throughout the 12 days. Some will be more appealing if you are new to coaching, whilst others will be more attractive if you have more experience.

I invite you to explore the following and decide which one is most useful for you.

Day 1 – “The Life Coaching Connection: How Coaching Changes Lives” by Steve Chandler

Day 2 – Get Clients in 30 Days by Elizabeth Purvis

Day 3 – Playing Cards For Happy Managers & Happier Employees

Day 4 – The One Page Business Plan: The fastest, easiest way to write a business plan by Jim Horan

Day 5 – “Effortless Success” by Michael Neill

Day 6 – “The 8th Habit: From effectiveness to greatness” by Stephen R. Covey

Day 7 – Time Trade

Day 8 – “Coaching for performance” by Sir John Whitmore

Day 9 – Maestro Conference

Day 10 – “Get Unstuck & Get Going … on the stuff that matters” by Michael Bungay Stanier

Day 11 – From Non-Coach to Coach Discovery Session

Day 12 – Adopt A Word

There are many other coaching resources out there, like on this list, some are complimentary and others require an exchange of money. Coaches, if you were to add one extra coaching resource to this list what would you add and why?

Feel free to share you thoughts in the comments box.

As a child one of my favourite Christmas songs was the 12 days of Christmas something I have loosely taken as a theme for daily posts in the run up to Christmas.

Starting tomorrow, each day for the next 12 days I will be posting about a different coaching resource. I intend to include resources that are in different mediums, covering a mix of topics and in a range of different prices (including some complementary resources.)

Depending upon your coaching experience and style I suspect that you will find some resources more appealing and attractive than others. As you read each post I invite you to consider which one(s) would be most useful for you. I also invite you to share your own thoughts in the comments section.

Scheduling wise, the site will also still have the daily quote of the day posts and the personal development and guest posts will be returning after Christmas.

The 12 days of coaching resources

I think it is such a waste that I keep talking to individuals who have developed their coaching skills and knowledge yet are not doing anything with them.

They have fallen in love with coaching but are afraid to take that next step by working with a “real person” outside of that safe training environment.

You have invested time and effort into training and practicing; you may even have a bit of paper that declares to the world that you are certified. Yet I keep meeting coaches where something is holding them back from coaching “real people”.

Now I understand the fear and/or procrastination that can happen – even to coaches! We can get caught up in our thoughts – full of what if’s and negative suggestions about our own capabilities and value.

This often results in either not taking any action or keeping busy “just” doing yet another course or task before actually doing any coaching.

Today may be Halloween, a day traditionally associated with scary stories, but I want to offer an alternative to any fear of using your skills and knowledge with “real people” you had.

I invite you to share your skills and knowledge with others. I understand that may seem a huge task to do on your own. So I have designed a special program to make that easier – “Start coaching ‘real people’ in 90 days”

It is a program that when you show up powerfully and take action you will be coaching real people and so much more comfortably than when you started. If you want to have your own coaching practice this is also a program that will move you forward much quicker.

This will be a program that supports you as an individual coach. Here are just some of the results that are possible for you in our time together:

• Actually be coaching real people!
• Overcome your fear about coaching
• Feel happier with the prospect of someone giving you money for your coaching
• Identify how to charge for your coaching
• Move closer to becoming the coach you really want to be
• Have created a Welcome Pack that you are using with your coaching clients

For full details about how you could “Start Coaching ‘Real People’ in 90 Days” click here

To read the recap of September – December 2010 click here. And for the second recap covering January – April 2011 click here.

May 2011

May began with Frederique Murphy sharing a post about how you, as a coach, can know how effective you are with your clients. Read “Chuuut… Watch out” here.

Marketing was the focus of our next post as the “Marketing Goddess” Elizabeth Purvis provided valuable advice in “What to say when they say ‘Yes, but …’”

Andrew Ferdinando runs Hubworking, based in London that hires out meeting rooms to business people on an hourly basis. Ideal for use by coaches it’s probably no surprise that coaches are one of his biggest sources of business. In his post “Successful coaches – observations from an outsider” Andrew shares the things he’s seen work for coaches.

“What the Belbin!” was our next post by Liz Scott. In a post she discusses a framework that she utilises in her coaching.

June 2011

“I ‘Sell’ Coaching” was Billy Moyer post about what he considers is the most important thing that we do as coaches.

Karen Williams, experienced coach, mentor and author of “The Secrets of Successful Coaches”, shared her thoughts and expertise in “become a confident coach”.

Our next post invited you to have fun as Andy Lucas shares his expertise and experience in the post “Games and surprises.”

Practical advice and expertise about “What to include in your email newsletter” was shared by Djanira Cortesão.

July 2011

What should a coach have if they want to succeed? Angus MacLennan’s “Coaches Need Coaches Too” provides his thoughts and observations about the Business Essentials.

Our next post saw Karen Wise, an organisational development consultant and coaching psychologist, share “5 tips when starting a new job.”

Cindy Hillsey asks about your coaching business in our next post “Does your coaching business reflect the YOU of today?”

A question that many coaches and those entering the profession ask was what Steve Chandler answered in “How to get coaching clients.” In this post Steve also generously offered a pdf of his book “The life coaching connection”.

Elizabeth Purvis also addressed the issue of finding clients in her post “How to get high-end clients when you DON’T have a big list (yet!)”

Lenny Deverill-West rounded the month off for us with his post “How to use lessons about spaghetti sauce in your coaching”

August 2011

August guest posts began as Jeff Thompson asked us “You do what with your hands?”

“Your coaching services needs YOU!” urged Marie Yates as she shared her expertise with practical advice and pointers for coaches.

Anja Schuetz shared her thoughts about “Loving Communications: A coaches view.” What do you notice as you visit her post about the communication discussed?

Amber Fogarty completed a fabulous year of guest posts with a piece about “Knowing versus doing.”

I’d like to thank all the guest posters for taking the time to share their thoughts and expertise. There are also some more superb guest posts lined up for the remainder of the year.

If you have been reading this and thinking you’d like to be a guest poster than drop me an email and you may be reading about your post in next years recap.

Today’s post covers the months January 2011 – April 2011.

January 2011

In our first guest post of 2011 Dr Anne Perschel shared one particular experience with a client in the post “The Experiment.”

Karen Wise then asked the question “Is there a public misperception about coaching?”

Melani Luedtke-Taylor then shared how the experience of starting her own coaching business reminds her of one of her favourite movies, The Wizard of Oz. Find out how in the post “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.”

Janis B. Meredith’s guest post discussed what she wants from one specific type of coach – how many of these are similar to what the people who use your coaching want? Read 9 Traits Parents Wish for in Their Kids’ Coaches here.

February 2011

Dave Doran discussed some potential risks he sees in running a coaching business as he asked, “Is your coaching business at risk?”

The week after young coach, Marlon Fihosy shared his experience and lessons learnt so far with the post “How can we guide what we have no plan for?” This is a post that focuses upon building coaching clients and overcoming initial hurdles.

In “One String to the Bow: 5 lessons for the Two-Dimensional coach” David Lurie used his observations of working with a lot of coaches over the past couple of years.

At the end of the month Merlyn Sanchez discussed the subject of testimonials and coaches in “Testimonials.” Covering feeling uncomfortable asking for them, how to ask for a testimonials and what to do with them once you have them.

March 2011

March began as Chris Morris returned with a post sharing more valuable thoughts from his coaching experience and approach. In a post that talks about how Chris works and introduces you to his dog Barnaby – not sure what the connection could be? Read “Defence is the first act of war” here.

The next week discussed social media as Nicky Kriel shared “The perks and pitfalls of Social Media for Coaches.”

Jeff Weigh’s “Keep checking the view” shared thoughts about goals and reflecting.

Cindy Hillsey asked “Who is your ideal client and why do you need one?” Containing advice and questions about how to identify your ideal client and why that’s important.

April 2011

In “Making the Most of Your Brand: YOU!”, Jennifer Holloway discussed the mix of things that defines who you are and what you’re all about – your own personal brand.

Richard Nugent invited coaches to consider congruence in coaching with “Are you walking it?”

Communication skills in coaching were the focus of the next weeks post as Beverley Ireland-Symonds asked, “How effective are your communication skills?”

“The Black Box” is Lenny Deverill-West’s post about memory and how new discoveries in neuroscience can be helpful to coaches and change workers.

The month ended as Amber Fogarty shared her thoughts and experience with those who are uncoachable and unapproachable in “Am I Uncoachable? Am I Unapproachable?”

Thursday will see us finish recapping a year of guest posts as we cover the months May – August 2011.

Missed part one where we looked at posts from September – December 2010? Read it again here.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every guest poster who has already taken part. As always there is some fantastic posters scheduled for future weeks.

I know for many coaching often focuses upon the present and the future rather than looking back – however I wanted to draw your attention to the guest posts that we have had over the past 12 months.

So in the first in a series of 3 posts running this week I invite you to explore ones you may have missed when they were first published or re-visit one you have previously read to see what new insights it will give you now.

September 2010

Our very first guest poster Liz Scott started with a post about what is, for her, the most important coaching skill. In “Listening” she shared three levels of listening.

Chris Morris then shared a note to his younger self. I wonder what advice you would share with a younger you? Find out what Chris wrote here.

Our third poster Jeff Weigh picked the subject of  “Discover your Passion“.

“Get it Done” was the subject of our next guest post as Stever Robbins shared a question and answer session all about 9 steps to work less and do more. Procrastination, conquering technology and managing interruptions were all touched upon.

Clean language and x-ray listening expert, Judy Rees provided our last guest post of September 2010 with a post that discusses the impact phrasing language can have. “The power of parrot-phrasing” can be found here.

October 2010

“Let’s talk about context” was the invitation from Lenny Deverill-West who shared what context is and about Context and Exception mapping.

Sue Sharp, our next guest poster, specialises in marketing for start up businesses and provided a guest post all about “Marketing for Coaches“.

In “The Source of Personal Power?” Andy Lucas, who assists clients to empower themselves, discusses the topic of empowerment in more detail in this post.

Richard Nugent has spent time with some of the very best coaches on the planet – and is highly skilled himself. In “The evolution of a coach” he reflects upon his coaching journey so far.

Frederique Murphey used her first guest post to tell us a story and discuss metaphors in the post “Once upon a time …!”

November 2010

“Supercoach” Michael Neill got November’s guest posts off to a fantastic start with a post that discussed “Transformative Coaching” It’s a post that gives details about how changes that transformative coaching leads to can be usefully viewed in three levels …

Terri Carey is a Virtual Assistant to the world’s finest coaches and shared her expertise about creating your own biography in the post “Biographies for coaches.”

Our next post saw Dr Colin Clerkin sharing a technique he likes to use in the post called “What would you see as the credits roll …?”

In the final November post Nicky Kriel shared tips of how to run a successful coaching business in the post “5 Ways to Make your Coaching Business Successful.” How many of these points are you doing?

December 2010

“How you Act is What You Will See or Read: Coaching tips for a good relationship with the Media” was our first December post. Jeff Thompson shared his expertise, including a simple formula of how he handles media inquiries, including a few key points.

Angus MacLennan then shared some tips to improve your networking skills in the post “Networking for coaches.” How many of these points do you use?

Karen Williams provided the final guest post before the festive and New Year celebrations. “The secrets of successful coaches: What stops coaches from running a successful business?” shared her experience and knowledge about running a successful coaching business.

Tuesday will see us recapping over the guest posts from January – April 2011 with Thursday covering May – August 2011.

Here is some information for those interested:

Topic
Your choice, whatever you think will be of interest to coaches/those interested in coaching.

I know that’s a broad brief so if you are struggling to choose a specific topic let me know and I can send over a list of questions specifically designed to be a catalyst for a spark of inspiration.

Word count
As many (or as few) as you feel you need to say what you want!

If it helps, the average guest post word count falls in the 250-500 range. You’re welcome to use that figure as a guide, just remember it’s not a rule – If your guest post is outside of that I’m not going to refuse to publish.

When for?
The post itself is published at 6.30 am (UK time) on the agreed Friday (that’s 1.20am EST). I ask that I have the copy to format by noon UK time (which is 7 am EST or 4 am PST) on the Thursday.

I assign Fridays on a first requested basis and do my best to coincide and accommodate any promo schedules for events/product launches you may have.

Dates often go fast, if this is something you’re interested in doing my advice is to contact me sooner rather than later.

Bio/links
I’ve taken the view that readers like to know about the author and have the option to click through to find out even more/get in touch/ sign up for offers etc. So I do ask that you provide a bio.

If you want to include a photo that is fine – you are responsible for ensuring there are no copyright issues with any pictures you send. i.e. only use photos you either own or have permission to use in this context.

Experience

While some of the fantastic guest posters we’ve already had have decades of coaching experience we have also had some who are just establishing their coaching practice – so do not rule yourself out from being a guest poster because you don’t think you have enough experience. As far as I’m concerned it’s that mix of perspectives that makes the Friday guest posts what they are.

Who is the audience you are writing for?

• Coaches/ those interested in coaching.

• Generally they have a range of experience from just starting to think about possibly becoming a coach through to established coaches. Likewise, a broad range of niches are represented by those who visit and read the site.

• The majority are UK based with the US being the next largest geographic region readers come from. However, there is an international readership, useful to know if you are considering referring to something specific to your country – i.e. a particular TV program, local event or local dialect etc, a brief explanation will make it easier for all. 

Promo

I’ll mention at this stage that there will be various tweets scheduled to go out throughout the actual Friday that the guest post is scheduled for – these will probably show up in your mentions feed as they do normally include your twitter username.

Interested?

I’d love to hear from you – fill in your details here.

Still got questions?

Drop me an email and let me answer them

You may also have deduced that Coaching Confidence, the coaching blog, is entered in the Best Coaching Blogs 2011 competition. Obviously I’d love if you would spare a few moments to vote for us.

I’d thought I’d spend a few moments sharing why I started this blog. The final “push” was when I read an “advanced” coaching article that advised coaches to interact with their coaching client during the actual coaching session.

At first I was convinced that there was a typo somewhere and what I was literally reading was not actually the authors meaning. However, it was repeated several times and I could spot no other interpretation so had to come to the conclusion that this had to be the actual “advanced” message.

I cannot begin to imagine how anyone can coach without interacting with a client. In my mind, even non-verbal communication, such as nods, raised eyebrows etc are interactions. It certainly isn’t what I class as a piece of advice for advanced coaching.

Having got on my soap box to a friend and colleague about how much better quality information could be given than interact with your client I realised I was “preaching to the converted”.

One of the possible explanations I’d looked for in that post was if the author had been advising about increasing interaction in general. Whilst I’d found no evidence that was the intended meaning, I did think it sounded a fun approach. As I am so passionate about supporting and nurturing coaching skills and talents creating my own coaching blog would be one ideal way to do this.

I was also keen to have a regular guest post feature. For three reasons:

1. I believe that having an exposure to different approaches, opinions and techniques give coaches a greater flexibility when they coach. Something that, in my mind, helps you to be a stronger coach so you can adapt to the individual in front of you.
2. I don’t expect that my approach to coaching will be every other coaches approach – yet I still wanted to provide a space where all coaching styles could get an opportunity to share. I want to credit my audience with the intelligence but also have the responsibility for deciding which ones appeal to them.
3. I wanted to provide an opportunity to support the guest posters by providing a space to connect with a new audience.

I know that my work is about supporting, nurturing and encouraging coaching skills and talents for all levels of coaching. It’s what I love doing. It’s also what I check if a particular post has the potential to do when I sit down to blog.

Technically it could be classed as part of a marketing strategy; however, I did not wake up one morning and think, “I know, I’d love to start a marketing strategy!” I did come to the realisation I enjoy writing for this blog – I enjoy this form of interaction.

I have never claimed to be a marketing expert yet the one piece of “marketing advice” I give to coaches when I’m asked is to find strategy(s) that you enjoy doing – rather than ones you hate. You are far more likely to do something that you enjoy more than something you hate. The best conceived marketing strategy and knowledge in the world is not going to create clients if you don’t put it into action!

You’ll notice if you click through to the best coaching blogs 2011 nominations that there are other coaching blogs there. If you enjoy this blog I’d love you to vote for us. If you have the time, why not have a look at the links to the other blogs at the same time. You never know when that right comment may just give you the nudge to take that next step!

After all, who knows if and when I’d have started this blog if I hadn’t read about interacting in a coaching session!

Click here to vote for us in the Best Coaching Blogs 2011.

They’re often busy focusing upon what they think they “should” be doing. They either miss the chances to serve (and even profit) from opportunities already waiting for them or they are too scared to take the next step.

I love to be of service to coaches, particularly those who are just starting out on their coaching journey! So I’ve created a special 1 hour session to help with this problem, my From Non-Coach to Coach Discovery Session.

Scheduling wise I can only offer a set number of these sessions a month but they are open to all.

Your consultation will be laser-focused on one thing, and one thing only: You becoming the coach you want to be.

You get my expertise, loving strong coaching, AND specific action steps to move you forward quickly. Together, we’ll …

Create a crystal-clear vision of exactly what being a coach means for you and how it fits with your business and lifestyle goals.

Identify exactly what’s been holding you back from making that transition to become a coach and why you are not already serving clients.

Create a detailed action plan for you to easily make that transition from non-coach to coach

I’ll lay out specific action steps for you, and finally, I will make at least one coach’s request to you to get you going. And the best part?

Your 60-minute From Non-Coach to Coach Discovery Session is absolutely FREE

If you are longing to step up, get out there, start getting clients, start making money AND be of greater service to the world …you can see what a tremendous opportunity this is!

The only “catch” is … you have to act fast to get one of this months sessions!

To claim one of these FREE sessions, here’s all you need to do:

The first of two steps to booking your from Non-Coach to Coach Discovery session is to visit here and answer a few simple questions.

Once you have done that you will be transferred to an external page that will let you schedule from a selection of available time slots.

Remember I only have space to do a few of these per month so if you want to get the benefit of a session I suggest you act now by clicking here.

How to coach via the phone so you can make a big difference to your clients – and even get paid for it!

In This 6 Week Training, You Will …

1. Discover how you don’t need to be able to physically see a client to be able to ask insightful questions and have meaningful coaching conversations.

One of the questions I get asked most by coaches who don’t coach by phone is “how do you do that if you can’t see the clients reactions?” Over these 6 weeks we will ensure that you not only know how you do this but you get plenty of practice so that you can comfortably relax into these newly developed skills.

2. Actually coach via the phone

You will have plenty of opportunities to very quickly start coaching via the phone. This is not a training where you sit passively taking in lots of knowledge that you are left on your own devices to implement.

3. Learn how to transfer the magical coaching you already do face to face to coaching over the phone.

This is all-important. All coaches are not created the same – which is good because all clients are also not created the same! This training is about you developing skills and transposing the things your clients already love about you so you offer them a new way to be of service to them.

Warning: It is entirely possible, if you’ve turned up and participated fully, that this amount of focus and practice will result in you ending the 6 weeks making even more of a positive difference to your clients – regardless of which medium you are coaching!

4. Start collecting testimonials and feedback

Prove to yourself and potential clients the value that you provide while coaching via the phone.

RESULTS and OUTCOMES are what you are investing in

Here’s just some of the results you can expect when you show up powerfully, do the work required and invest yourself fully in our time together …

• Increase your trust in your own abilities
• Eliminate geographical restrictions on finding your ideal clients that you’d love to work with
• Give yourself the option of an additional stream of income without the overheads of renting a room space and more private than a coffee shop.
• Stop wasting the time and money you’ve already invested and start using more of your existing coaching knowledge and skills
• Learn how to take your own face to face coaching style so that you make your phone coaching your own
• Manage your fears so that you can “do it anyway” and move forward
• Get clear on the incredible results you provide and the value of these so that you start charging or even increase your fees for phone coaching.
• Start collecting a bank of feedback and testimonials that you can use to prove to yourself and potential clients just how good you are.
• Claim your BRILLIANCE – your talents, skills and offerings – and stand fully in your power as a business owner and a force for positive change in the world
• Experience accountability so that you can make powerful decisions and take action towards creating and offering a phone coaching business

Here’s What You’ll Receive As A Participant In This Transformational Training Program …

6 x Two hour Practical and Interactive Training Calls

Yes you read this correctly this is a training via the phone. This is a practical and interactive based training – you certainly will not be sat listening to information for the entire call. Nor will you have the opportunity to multitask, check email, do housework and do whatever else you may have done in the past during teleclasses!

Great learning takes place in context – and using the latest technology we will have the ability to immediately split up into groups and go and practice and experience the skills as we cover the knowledge.

This is not a training where you take lots and lots of notes and are expected to go and put that into action all by yourself. You will immediately put into practice and develop these skills with the support instantly available if you wish to ask a question or get on the spot feedback.

Because we are using fantastic technology you will get the same experience you would have with a live face to face training but you also get the same context that you will be coaching real life client in via the phone.

Action Assignments

This is a program designed to get you using the content so that it makes a difference to you, the way you coach and your clients. You will be given regular action assignments to move you closer to offering phone coaching to paying clients.

Course Handbook

Containing information and exercises from the course as well as additional material. You may want to make the occasional additional note to remind you of a specific thought but the course handbook is there to allow you to focus fully on your understanding and skills development – not in transcribing each word spoken!

You’ll Also Receive The Following Bonuses …

2 x Two hour Group Practice calls

Practice your new found skills in a safe environment with feedback readily available. This will give you the opportunity to increase your confidence and comfort levels coaching via the phone.

Before you start coaching via the phone check list

Make it easy to start coaching via the phone and have everything that you need to comfortably coach via the phone. Allow yourself to be fully focused on your client not be distracted by missing something you need.

When You Choose The Full Payment Option, You’ll Automatically Qualify For This Additional Valuable BONUS:

Make working from home, work for you teleclass

Most coaches who work via the phone work from home. This can have many benefits but also produces it’s own challenges. This teleclass will take you through some potential pitfalls and discuss how you can make working from home, work for you.

About your trainer, Jen Waller

I’m on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

The bulk of my coaching is carried out via the phone so the skills and knowledge I will be sharing on this course is an integral part of my work. For years, I have been getting strange looks from a proportion of coaches when I say I work mainly over the phone. I can tell you that it really is easier than it may first appear, even easier if you have someone prepared to guide you.

Prior to setting up my own coaching practice I worked in training and development in the corporate world. I spent several years delivering training in contact centres and have taken hundreds of new members of staff and taught them skills and knowledge I have incorporated into this training. Our contact centre training was recognised for it’s high standard and I was integral in the team being finalists in a European training award.

For more details about some of the trainings I have attended and what others have said about me click here.

Interested in how to coach via the phone so you can make a big difference to your clients ?

If you’ve read this far then you are probably interested in the investment for this training. When I was looking at pricing this training I wanted to put a price that would allow you to quickly get your return on investment back when you start coaching clients this way.

Each coach who charges for their service will have their own price structure so the number of paying clients you will have to coach via the phone will be unique to you depending upon how you charge. As part of this training we will focus on the value you provide and encourage you to set an actual figure on what you want to charge for phone coaching.

Click here to pay in full for £189

Click here to make two monthly payments of £99.50

I invite you to say yes to your coaching and yes to developing your skills.

That’s why I offer you my personal happiness guarantee – If after the first two calls you are not happy with “Uncover the hidden phone coach in you training” just let me know and I will happily refund your money out of my own pocket – no hassles, no problems.

Why am I offering a personal happiness guarantee?

Firstly, you have PLENTY of time to make an informed decision, yet still take action now. One of the things that can get in the way of coaches building successful practices is not taking decisive action.

I’m on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond. If you truly feel that I haven’t delivered on the training I’ve promised you in this letter, then I don’t want your money. Like you, I started my business to be of service to people I care about. It really is that simple.

You can figure it all out on your own… spend many hours and money on developing these skills on your own… but I’m willing to bet that you’d rather spend that time doing what you love.

Let me help YOU help more people and show you how gratifying and empowering coaching via the phone can be!

Click here to pay in full for £189

Click here to make two monthly payments of £99.50

I’d love to assist you to develop an additional service to offer to your clients so you can make a bigger difference – If you still have some questions or are uncertain about if this is for you than drop me an email.

Love

Jen Waller

PS: You can “figure out the phone coaching thing” all on your own, or .. I can support you to quickly develop skills and knowledge for a fraction of the cost of working with me one-on-one. Imagine all the time and energy you will save by having someone who is passionate about coaching as you are to guide you step by step developing new skills and doing those first phone coaching calls.

PPS: Remember I offer a money-back happiness guarantee! I invite you to join this training specifically designed for coaches. If after attending the first two calls you truly don’t believe I am delivering the value I promise here and more, simply let me know and I will give you a refund out of my own pocket.

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You may have read Dave Doran’s guest post a few weeks ago that asked Is your coaching business was at risk? If you read that nice and early you may have missed the discussion that then took place in the comments section.

As you will see as you read the comments it’s a conversation that concerns the UK government potentially regulating coaching. Having now heard back from the relevant government department I wanted to publish the whole thread as a post in chronological order.

1. Peter Tate says:
   February 7th, 2011 9:54 pm  

   I understand that some coaching sectors are to become regulated in UK, and very soon. I’m involved in Career Coaching and am aware that the UK Government is very keen to regulate this area, with a kite-marking programme being developed as early as April 2011.

   Regulation creates 2 issues. The first is a major threat to many in the industry that they are not operating in a professional enough manner anyway and should be heeding the good advice in this article; but the second is the level of input that the whole profession (if we can call it that yet) has to the accreditation process. How does the government decide what level of education and experience is required – which standards do they use?

   The Career niche is about to be closed down to a lot of very good professionals because the majority of participants in the group that are deciding on the accreditation are from the old school of Careers Guidance which is largely academic and reflecting the public sector. Consequently, if as a coach do not have a qualification based on the academic careers counsellor standards you could well be shut down until you have spent the time and money to become certified.

   This is a very serious topic that all coaches should be watching closely.

2. Jen Waller says:
   February 8th, 2011 12:56 pm
    

   Hi Peter,
   Thanks for taking the time to comment.
   You said that: “I am aware that the UK Government is very keen to regulate this area, with a kite-marking programme being developed as early as April 2011.” Can you share the source of this knowledge?
   For years now I have seen stories and heard rumours that coaching is about to be regulated – normally when I track the original source of a story down it turns out to be a training/accreditation provider who also happen to be selling a training/accreditation they imply would meet these “new regulations”.
   I’m not for one minute suggesting that this is the case here. I don’t work specifically as a career coach and as it could be something niche specific I could easily have missed such announcements. I’ve just learnt over the years that it can be very easy to get panicked by such stories about regulation and the impact it can have on your business without checking out the origins.
   I look forward to hearing from you
   Love
   Jen

3. Peter Tate says:
   February 8th, 2011 7:16 pm  

   Hi Jen

   I am a member of the Association for Career Professionals International and sit on the interim board. ACP International is the only member organisation representing private sector career professionals that have not taken Career Counselling qualifications as the route to their practice involved in the government discussions. I’ll paste in our most recent communication but not sure how much your comment will hold – mail me if it gets cut short!

   Dear Career Professional.

   You are probably aware of the move towards regulation of the Careers Profession.

   John Hayes (MP Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning ) is overseeing this and working with the Careers Profession Alliance (CPA) to make this happen. Private sector Career Professionals are represented on the CPA by the Association of Career Professionals International

   Duncan Bolam (current ACPInternational chair) met with John Hayes’ senior civil servant leading this project last week and was left in no doubt that the minister is determined to ‘professionalise and regulate’ the career profession in the UK. The private sector not participating is not an option. Both the Department for Business Innovation and Skill and the Department for Education are collaborating on this unprecedented initiative to achieve this goal.

   It is essential that ACP International (UK Network) can demonstrate a significant body of membership so that registration of career professionals and/or a license to practice (whatever mechanism is chosen) can take into account the prior experience and alternative qualification pathways that are relevant to independent career professionals.

   The bottom line is – those of us seeking to make our livelihoods out of this industry can continue to do so in the future.

   If we cannot demonstrate a significant body of membership we are likely to be left out of discussions and have ill-fitting regulation forced upon us which may not be fit-for-purpose to career professionals operating in the private sector – which includes outplacement.

   The cost of joining is currently USD 80 (equivalent approx. £50) and this IS your clarion call to join TODAY. Don’t leave it another moment, join here: http://portal.zzeem.com/acpi/Registration/tabid/1167/Default.aspx

   — Cut a piece about membership benefits —

   Most recent developments in the Careers Profession Alliance:
   · The CPA has won a bid for £40k funding for Phase 1 to regulate the industry. This first phase ends on 31/3/2011.
   · A programme manager, Ruth Miller was recently appointed by the Careers Profession Alliance’s newly-appointed Chair, Ruth Spellman, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute.
   · In turn, Ruth Miller has appointed her own team of Project Managers to deal with the following workstreams:
   1. Development of Common Professional Standards – industry-wide
   2. Career Progression Framework for all career professionals – public and private sector
   3. Plans to progress to a Level 6 profession
   4. Review of initial training and all access routes into the career profession
   5. Review of CPD
   6. Progress to an overarching national ‘kite-mark’ for the career profession
   7. A Business Plan – to be produced by Chief Executive of PARN (Professional Associations Research Network – http://www.parnglobal.com )

   ACP International (UK Network) will in future distribute communications and questionnaires regarding your professional journeys to date, which professional Code of Ethics you subscribe to, how you regulate yourself and what accreditation standard you stand by when selling your services to the public. There are alleged to be in excess of 9,000 career professionals operating in the UK. Approximately 7,500 of that number are members of professional bodies contributing to the Careers Profession Alliance. ACP International is the only private sector-orientated body and we are massively under-represented in numbers.

   There is a sizeable risk that the prevailing language of ‘career guidance’ will swamp the exciting contribution that we all know to be achievable using dynamic and commercially savvy career coaching methods. Not only do we owe it to ourselves to leverage these invaluable insights into the wider careers landscape, we owe it our consumers as well.

   There is also the key consideration, why would any practitioners operate outside of their professional community and not put their weight behind an initiative aimed at raising standards for career professionals and their customers? To be called a truly bona fide professional one has to demonstrate to the world that:
   · Your practice is based upon empirical evidence.
   · You are signed-up to a rigorous Code of Ethics.
   · You obtain regular supervision – all too often ignored
   · You operate with utter impartiality and with complete confidentiality.
   · You are able to demonstrate your ongoing and continuous professional development (CPD) – annually.
   · According to the new qualification frameworks and levels of achievement, you hold a minimum of Level 6.

   So the case remains: If you care about your profession, please join ACP International NOW. Many people, several in particular, have given considerable amounts of their own time for free to ensure that you are represented in these important talks. This really is the final call.

   If there is no significant increase in membership, then there are clearly not enough people like you interested enough in our sector having a voice and, whilst ACP International will continue to grow and benefit its members, we will all have to react to regulation that is imposed upon us, rather than being involved in its creation and professional principles driven by us for us.

   If you are already a member of ACP International (UK Network), please sign-up to our member forum on LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3568610&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

   Thank you for your support – please pass this notice on to interested colleagues and help us generate real momentum.

   Members – ACP International (UK Network) Interim Board

4. Jen Waller says:
   February 9th, 2011 2:04 pm 

   Hi Peter,

   Many thanks for providing such a detailed response. It was very informative and interesting to read ACP International (UK Network), news. I see that understandably, given the described situation, ACP International (UK Network) is looking to grow their membership.

   Because this can also be viewed as a sales letter I have contacted John Hayes (MP Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning ) and asked him to confirm that this is something he is working towards. According to the autoresponse I have recieved I should hear back within 15 days – I will let you know what I hear back.

   Love

   Jen

5. Peter Tate says:
   February 9th, 2011 2:36 pm 

   Thanks Jen

   I completely understand your desire for corroboration and yes there is a sales component because it’s critical that ACP International membership increases to be deemed credible as part of the process that the Careers Professional Alliance are undertaking. There is further discussion on this in a LinkedIn group – the Career Coaches Forum run by John Lees. Given that the CPA will report back on March 31st there is not a lot of time. If you or any of your connections are attending the National Career Guidance Show at Wembley 8/9th March ACP International will have a stand and more information and so will many other organisations that are part of the CPA such as the Institute of Careers Guidance.

   A lot of this stems from a speech made by John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, when he announced the creation of an All-age Careers Service for England last November. You can read it at http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/john-hayes-icg-conference – and take special note of

   “So we will revitalise the professional status of careers guidance, looking to the Careers Profession Alliance to establish common professional standards and a code of ethics for careers professionals.

   We will implement the recommendations of the Careers Profession Task Force. In doing so, we will consider the Taskforce’s recommendation on levels of qualification, particularly the speed at which we could move towards establishing Level 6 – equivalent to an Honours degree – as the minimum standard for practising careers advisers within the service”.

   He later referred to this as a “Licence to Practice” Its happening fast and independent careers professionals (coaches etc.) may well face a closed niche while they re-certify. I’m not trying to scare people into membership so much help them wake up to the threat and see a route to being involved in the process.

6. Jen Waller says:
   February 10th, 2011 9:54 am  

   Hi Peter,
   Many thanks for the extra information and your understanding. I want this site to provide valuable information for coaches so felt I had a duty to corroborate.

   You are doing a great job at educating and spreading the word. I don’t work in this particular niche and had heard more about a potential first step to regulation in Australia (with a draft publication of a “handbook”) then I have about this in the UK.

   If there is anything else that is important to know regarding this situation feel free to share it. In the near future I will make sure that a series of tweets goes out throughout the day to allow more people to become aware of this discussion and the situation.

7. The S4P Blog » Blog Archive » Coaching: Government Regulation or Self-Regulation? says:
   February 19th, 2011 9:48 am edit 

   [...] more interesting is that a post on the Coaching Confidence site “Is Your Coaching Business at Risk?” had a comment from Peter Tate suggesting that some areas of Coaching are in the sights of [...]

8. Jen Waller says:
   February 28th, 2011 3:44 pm  

   I have had a response from John Hayes department:

   “Thank you for your email to John Hayes of 9 February 2011 about the careers profession, which has been passed to me to reply.

   In October 2010, the Careers Profession Task Force published its report, Towards a Strong Careers Profession [http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00550-2010]. The report made fourteen recommendations to improve the quality of careers guidance and to raise the status of the careers profession. As part of recommendation fourteen of the Task Force report, the 2011 report on progress will be taking place on the 28 March 2011 directly to John Hayes, the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning responsible for Careers Education. This will include an update on the move towards regulation within the careers profession, through the establishment of common professional standards and a code of ethics, of quality standards that will underpin the new all-age careers service, of a career progression framework for careers advisers, and of clear expectations for initial training and continuing professional development. All of which will help to strengthen the profession so that it is better able to adapt and respond to future challenges.

   The Department for Education is currently working with the careers professional bodies, through the Careers Profession Alliance, to implement the recommendations, as we know the success of future arrangements for careers guidance will depend largely on the quality and professionalism of the advisers who work within it. The Careers Profession Alliance have a specific remit around standards, ethics, a progression framework and the national kitemark as part of taking forward recommendations from the Task Force report.

   [An individuals personal contact details is then given for further details on the Careers Profession Alliance (CPA). Until I have that individuals permission I will not be publishing those contact details.]

   I hope this has helped to clarify matters for you.

   Yours sincerely,

   Saqib Ahmed
   Quality, Support & Guidance Division”

Since these comments have been posted I have had a phone conversation with someone from the CPA who I hope will be sending additional information. As soon as I get that information I will happily post an update. They did state that there is also the Institute Career Guidance who represent the private sector.

UPDATE: An added comment

Dr Deirdre Hughes says:
March 3rd, 2011 5:32 pm

This blog begins with a really helpful outline of key issues relating to possible new regulation measures for careers coaching and its allied professions. Are we on the cusp of major change in establishing a strong careers profession or is this another short-term initiative that might eventually fizzle out? Let’s briefly consider the facts:
Firstly, the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning in England has announced his intention to support a regulated careers profession that can operate freely within an ‘open and free market’.Without this, government is at risk of failing to deliver on services for the public good.
Secondly, findings from the Careers Profession Taskforce in England highlighted a fragmented careers sector which causes missed opportunities for both end-users and those working within and across the careers sector.
Thirdly, major reviews of public, private and voluntary/community careers services in each of the 4 home countries of the UK have indicated the need to build on best practice in having a Code of Ethics, Professional Standards and a Career Progression Framework for people coming into the sector with differing qualifications and experiences.
In response, six careers professional associations came together to form a Careers Profession Alliance (CPA). The Chair of the CPA is Ruth Spellman OBE, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI)who is responsible for bringing together the associations to work on a plan to achieve Chartered Status in the next 3-5 years, linked to the creation of a professional register of practice or licence arrangements. This will build on the work of 6 careers professional associations in which at least 2 are private practitioner orientated, namely, The Institute of Career Guidance (ICG – the UK and Europe’s largest careers professional association)and ACP International as described above.
The six careers professional associations are working together through the Alliance and we will be publishing key findings at the end of March 2011. If you want to feed into the discussion then email your view points to us at ICG and/or ACP International. We all want to ensure the voice and requirements of private practitioner’s are fully captured.
At the heart of the debate is how best to serve and protect, where necessary, the interests of the client. We’re learning lessons from other sectors and we’re building a dynamic framework which hopefully will inspire and help create a stronger UK careers profession.Watch this space for more news in the coming weeks.
Deirdre

In addition Dr Deirdre has also provided a copy of the latest CPA update to ICG members. You can read it on this page

I’d personally like to thank everyone who has so far contributed to this discussion and will welcome any other contributions

Feel free to add your thoughts and comments below.