Dec 28 2012

Recapping January – March 2012 guest posts

Category: Guest Post,site news — Jen Waller @ 6:30 am

Over the next few days I’m going to briefly recap the last years worth of guest posts that appear here each Friday.

Today we start by looking at the first three months of this year.

Image showing first January on a diary with pen on isolated color background with fine clipping path.

January

In the first post of 2012 Amber Fogarty shared how she is in the “habit change business” discussing something she talks about a lot with clients in “Developing Better Habits”.

Coach and trainer Lorraine Hurst then followed with a post that could be of use to both yourself and your clients. “Blue Monday – what colour will yours be?” was published just prior to the third Monday of the year – read the post to see the significance of that date!

Coach and author of “Secrets of Successful Coaches”, Karen Williams, shared her expertise and knowledge in the third guest post of the year: “How does your mindset affect your business?” Read how Karen believes mindset, marketing and business knowledge will affect a successful coaching business.

The final post in January saw Karen Wise sharing a personal experience in the post “Relationship drama.” How familiar is this incident in either your own life or with what your clients tell you?

Image showing 14th February a Valentine day with heart symbol & message.

February

As we started the second month of the year, coach Marie Yates turned her attention to the action taken to the goals and plans made at the start of the New Year. This post contains a series of questions to assist you to make progress. Read “The warm up is complete… It is time for the main event.” 11 months since this was first published – what would your answers to these questions be today?

Liz Scott loves bringing coaches together to share experiences and knowledge. Her post focused upon “Parallel conversations and coaching”, using her personal experience as a lesson to be used in coaching sessions.

Lenny Deverill-West shared how he has been practically incorporating other teachings into his own work with clients. Read more about what he is doing in “The Coaching Aha!”

Social Media coach Nicky Kriel discussed errors she’s seen coaches make attempting one particular marketing approach. Are you making any of the blunders featured in “5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking”?

March

March

Coach Richard Nugent invited you to “Explore Some Half Truths Of Coaching” with the aim of getting you to think about your own professional beliefs that could help you be more successful.

A coaching website is on many new coaches to do list, in the second guest post in March Mei Qi Tan shared her expertise and knowledge about what to focus upon. Read her post “Websites: It’s not just about content – it’s about users.”

Coach Angus MacLennan, who delivers practical Business Support to Business Owners, turned his attention to the subject that can have many new coaching business owners scratching their heads in the post “Niching Has Failed”

How to market your coaching is an often requested topic, in our next guest post coach Cindy Hillsey shared her expertise and knowledge in “Marketing and your Ideal Client”

In the final guest post in March Coach Toni Knights discussed what she considers to decide if it is necessary to refer clients for additional help, in her post “Identifying When Clients Need Counselling”

Visit tomorrow

Come back tomorrow for a post recapping April – June, or if you can’t wait, clicking here will bring a list of every post that has been published on this site labelled as a guest post.

January & Febuary image © Indianeye | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
Visit tomorrow image © Renata2k | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

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Feb 27 2012

The self-publicising cat

Category: General life improvement — Jen Waller @ 6:30 am

This was originally published as a bonus article in the Coaching Confidence weekly email during October 2011. To start getting your very own copy each week enter your details under “Don’t miss a thing!” to the right of this page.

The self-publicising cat

One of our cats appears to have developed a love for self-publicity and telling us what she is doing. When she goes for a drink she’ll meow to tell us she’s going, when she’s finished having a drink she’ll meow again.

As I sat down to write this message there was a meow from behind me – apparently to tell me that she had entered the room and now intended to curl up in comfort.

She is very considerate in sharing what she is doing and if she knows we are already watching, and already know what she is doing, she keeps quiet.

The vet says she is very healthy so it really does seem to be her way of attracting our attention, and sometimes getting our assistance so she gets what she wants – which in her case is usually a fuss or rearranging the bedding so it’s comfier!

Now, before you get any ideas that I’m about to suggest that you to take the example of the cat and squeal every time you enter a room, relax! By all means if that’s the approach that you want to take feel free however there is less extreme approaches you can use – or not use, as you see fit!

Last year I attended a training event where there was a mix of businesses represented. The organisers had purposefully included a section of the day to “network”. I got chatting to someone in the queue for lunch prior to the allotted time for networking.

He was busy sharing that he already knew that there was no point him staying to “network.” He only worked with large multinational companies in certain industries. From an exercise earlier in the day he knew that no one currently worked for a company that size and in the industries he wanted.

As it happened later that day I was talking to someone who had previously worked at a multi-national level in the very industry this gentleman would have loved to have connected with. I looked around to introduce the gentleman I had been talking to at lunch there was no sign of him. Presumably, because he knew there was nobody there directly doing what he’d wanted, he’d already gone home!

Does that mean that if that gentleman had stayed and met this second person a connection would certainly have happened? Well I’m certainly no psychic, so who knows what may have happened. I do know that it’s statistically more likely to have happened if that gentleman had stayed and then asked!

It appeared that the gentleman who missed making this new potential connection had ignored the fact, that we may have a friend, family member, former colleague etc who fitted his description.

This week I invite you to think about a goal/project that you are currently working towards/would like.

  • How many people know what you are doing/want to do?

And as a bonus follow-up question:

  • How many people have you shared how they can assist you with your goal/project?

Have a week full of questions, sharing and invites,

Love

Jen

About the Author

Jen WallerJen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

She has created a free 7 day e-course about how to create your own unique coaching welcome pack that works for you and your clients. Get your copy here.

 

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Feb 24 2012

5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking

Category: Guest Post — This is a post by a Guest Author @ 6:30 am

Today, coach Nicky Kriel discusses errors she’s seen coaches make attempting one particular marketing approach.

5 Big Mistakes that Life Coaches make Networking

By Nicky Kriel

You may not know this, but Life Coaches have a bad reputation on the networking circuit. Anyone can call themselves a life coach and start a business without any formal training or certifications. So many people feel that because they have undergone a crisis, it qualifies them to be a life coach. The reality is there are more people wanting to be a life coaches than there are people looking for life coaches.

(Using the Google Keyword tool to find out what people are searching for on the internet, shows that each month 368,000 people search for the phrase “How to be a life coach” vs. 2,900 searches for “How to find a life coach”.)

Now let’s assume that you are still reading this and you are serious about earning a living from helping others develop themselves. What can you do to come across more professionally at networking meetings? Well, here are some of the mistakes that give life coaches a bad name.

1. Not realising that you are running a business

You may feel that you have found your purpose in life through what you do, but if you don’t make any money from doing it, it is just a hobby. It is not enough to be a good coach. You also need to be good at marketing and selling your business otherwise you won’t have any clients. If you don’t have the business skill yet, then it is time to make the effort to learn. There are many people at networking meetings who can give you advice.

2. Bad Business Cards

You don’t have to spend a fortune on business cards, but handing out a cheap looking business card won’t do your business any good. Some of the worst business cards have been given to me by life coaches. Some indications that you don’t take your business seriously are:

  • Printed on a flimsy card,
  • obviously home-made,
  • blatant typos,
  • email addresses or numbers crossed out and corrected,
  • “free” business cards from companies such as Vistaprint
  • Email address is obviously a shared family addresses or a Hotmail or yahoo address

 

3. Saying you can help everyone

If someone doesn’t know what type of customers you are looking for, how can they help you? If you can’t be specific about what type of client you want to work with, how do you expect other people to know whether you are a good match for a friend or acquaintance that needs some help? You cannot help everyone with everything. If you are too general, you will end up with no business.

4. Assuming that everyone knows what life coaches do

Most coaches are good at talking in coach talk with other coaches, but most people in a networking meeting don’t know what life coaching is about. Be aware of any jargon you might be using and think about what other people might be interested in. Stop talking about you and start thinking about what your audience might need.

5. Coming across as though you need a life coach yourself

If you want people to trust their inner most feelings with you, don’t air your dirty laundry or share your latest crisis with people you have only just met. People need to be confident that their secrets are safe with you.

If you are passionate about what you do, you need to find a way to make a living from doing it. Be professional and learn the skills you need to grow your business.

About the Author/Further Resources

Nicky Kriel, Guildford’s Social Media Queen, is passionate about empowering small business owners to use Social Media to grow their business. Her background is in Marketing and Sales and she is a Master NLP Practitioner.

As a Communication Coach, she helps people remember the “Social” aspect of Social Networking: It is not all about tools and technology, but about people and human relations.

Aside from her private coaching clients, she runs Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook workshops for business owners and bespoke courses for SMEs. Nicky really enjoys helping business owners to level the playing field by harnessing the power of social media.

You are welcome to follow Nicky on Twitter or like her “social media for newbies” Facebook page

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May 20 2011

Successful Coaches – Observations From An Outsider

Category: Guest Post — This is a post by a Guest Author @ 6:30 am

What are the traits of successful coaches? In today’s guest post Andrew Ferdinando, who runs Hubworking, shares his thoughts.

Successful Coaches – Observations From An Outsider

By Andrew Ferdinando

Having never experienced coaching, the coaching industry was new to me when I set up my business Hubworking (www.hubworking.com) in 2006. Based in 3 locations in London we operate 3 centres where we hire out meeting rooms to business people on an hourly basis.

When launching my first centre I considered that we may get some bookings from coaches but I admit to being surprised when over time coaches became our biggest source of business.

Having now worked with the coaching world for 5 years as a service provider, I have observed hundreds of different coaches, many of whom are considered to be at the top of their profession.

As a complete outsider, I have noticed many common traits which they all exhibit and which have clearly led to their success. Below are my thoughts on what makes a successful coach, simply based on these observations:

Niche yourself:

Whatever form of coaching, the more successful of my clients seem to have cut out a niche in their particular field. In some cases they are even specialists within an already narrow field. A good example would be the area of presentation coaching where I have seen several highly regarded voice coaches who work with their clients on how to project their voices and “perform” in front of an audience. Each coach offers something unique to the next and advertises themselves as such so that the client appreciates they are hiring an absolute specialist.

Marketing:

My clients all have a good understanding of how to market themselves. For the micro business, which coaches tend to be, this involves networking, writing industry specific articles, creating a good website, blogging regularly and using social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook to grow their brand virally and indeed stay in touch with their clients and future clients.

Consistent customer acquisition/customer retention

It’s clear that the high level coaches have a strong mix of regular clients and new clients which I guess is down to strong marketing and a top class service.

Product range (1 to 1’s and workshops)

The majority of rooms that my clients book with me are 1 to 1 coaching rooms. However, there is a trend that they will also book a larger room for workshops around once per quarter. It’s obvious to me that they have a core coaching product which sits alongside a public training course which they will run on an irregular basis.

Customer mix:

Speaking to my clients they seem to have a good mix of customers including small businesses, government bodies, charities and corporates.

My name is my brand

At Hubworking I work very hard to build the brand of my business. In some respects, I avoid being seen as the person behind the business. For a company like mine, this is important because for us it is the systems, quality of service and locations which my brand needs to represent. With coaches it is the complete opposite. As a specialist coach it is all about building up a brand around your name and what you represent so that your name becomes synonymous with what you do. A good example is one of my clients Alan Stevens who is known to many as “Alan Stevens – Media Coach”.

Strong network of associates

It’s amazing how small the world of coaching is. Over the years I have seen many referrals from my existing coaching clients. It is a close knit industry and this becomes very helpful when a big piece of work comes in that requires more than 1 coach. The ability to call upon top level, trusted associates is gold and something I have seen on many occasions.

If you ever need to hire at coaching room in London, please do get in touch – andrewathubworkingdotnet

About the Author/Further Resources

Andrew Ferdinando runs Hubworking, a chain of 3 business centres in central London which hires out low cost, flexible meeting space to small businesses and specifically the coaching community.

For more info, visit www.hubworking.com or contact Andrew directly at andrewathubworkingdotnet  (andrewathubworkingdotnet)   or 07985 914034.

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Dec 10 2010

Networking For Coaches

Category: Guest Post — This is a post by a Guest Author @ 6:30 am

Coaches, do you have much success networking? In this weeks guest post Angus MacLennan shares some tips to improve your networking skills.

Networking For Coaches

by Angus MacLennan

Over the last few years I have found networking to be a great way to get new coaching clients. During this time I have met a number of coaches while out networking. Some coaches were great at networking and I learnt a lot from them. Unfortunately, some were not as good and found networking was not working for them.

It is important to realise that Coaching is a business and must be approached like a business. Networking is a great client development tool for any business if it is done properly. I suggest my clients focus on a few key points that help them get the most from networking. They are:

  • Your Niche: Have a clearly defined niche. Without a clear niche you cannot have a clear message. When you are out networking you need to have a clear message.
  • Your Message: A common mistake is to dilute the message with too many offerings. When you go out networking you must have a clear message. Make it easy for people to understand exactly what you do.

Most coaches are multi-skilled and happy to work across many fields. The problem is that this becomes confusing when you try to explain what you do. Most people will not get a clear understanding of what you do if you tell them you are a Life Coach, Business Coach, Hypotherapist and NLP specialist.

Even if you do use all of your many skills when helping clients I suggest you pick a niche and message and stick to it. Networking works best when you have a clear message that people understand quickly and easily, so don’t confuse them with your list of skills.

  • Business Cards: Make sure you only have one card that carries a clear message about you and your niche. I have met too many coaches who hand out multiple cards for multiple “Businesses” at networking meetings and it can harm your credibility.
  • Be Professional And Organised: Make sure you come across as a business person. Coaching may be your passion but if you are out networking then you are talking to people who are there to make connections and do business. They want to talk to other professionals who are serious about doing business. Making friends with them may come later but if you want other networkers to refer you on then they must have confidence in you as a business person.
  • Talk To People: Be friendly and open and make an effort to talk to people. As a Coach you are skilled at this part but a common mistake I have observed is that Coaches get talking to one person and get stuck. If you can, identify the people you want to speak to before you arrive and then target them. If you cannot do that then make sure you break rapport if necessary and move on. Talk to as many of the right people as you can. You don’t want to be seen to monopolise one person’s networking time so moving on will be good for both of you.
  • Follow Up: Always follow up with people who express an interest in you or your services. Make sure you develop a professional and focussed system for following up and it will become a habit. It could be a letter, email or a call but make sure you connect with everyone who expresses an interest.
  • Your USP: Have a Unique Selling Point clearly defined and put into a short simple message. This will come out of a combination of your niche and your strengths. What do you offer that is unique? With Six Billion people in the world the chances are your unique selling point is not that unique but make it something unique to you, your area or your particular offering. Don’t re-invent the wheel but have something interesting that will make people take notice and remember you.
  • Have A Sales Ramp And A Sales Process: You are in business and if you want to do business then you need to have a Sales Process to take your clients through. Link it to a Sales Ramp that allows you to sell different products to different people, to up-sell when possible and catch people who are not ready for your top product. Multiple points of sale are a great way to form relationships that you can build on.
  • Elevator Pitch: Create a 20 second pitch that answers the question: What do you do? Too many coaches I have met cannot answer that question in less than a minute or two. Create a short answer focussing on your niche and then practice it until it sounds natural.
  • Your 60 Seconds: Have a 60 second speech and practise it until it sounds natural. It should include the following:
    • Name, Company and Location (if relevant)
    • What you do – your niche
    • Why should they come to you – your USP
    • Who you want to meet – be specific about the referrals you want
    • Make an offer or have an anecdote – something to ensure they remember you
    • Close with Name and Company
  • Stay After The Meeting: Hang around and talk to people after the meeting. The primary purpose of networking meetings is to build relationships. Focus on building relationships by asking the right questions and listening to the answers. Remember that people love to talk about themselves so ask more than you tell. It is the relationships you build in the meetings and in the 1-2-1s that get you the referrals. People will only refer you if they like you, trust you and believe you have a worthwhile service.
  • Debrief: Always debrief yourself after the event – what worked and what you can improve on. Networking is a learning experience so make sure you learn from your successes and mistakes. Pay attention to the networkers who stand out and model some of their behaviours and phrases.

I have worked with a number of coaches who came to me to help them get better results from networking. The points above have enabled them to focus on what they should be doing. Start with the basics, practice and the results will follow. Networking is an important tool for getting clients so get out there and network.

Have a great day.

Angus

About the Author/Further Resources

Angus MacLennan works with motivated Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners. He has had his articles published in the UK, USA and Australia and has worked with clients across three continents.

His mission and passion is to deliver amazing value to his clients and help them develop their businesses – allowing them to have the work/life balance they really want.

Check out his blog and learn more at: www.coachingentrepreneurs.co.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/angusmaclennan
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/angusmaclennan

He loves what he does so get in touch and book a free session.

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