Yearly Archives: 2016

Walking & Talking in Nature

 in quote  tagged Anna-Marie Watson / coaching / neuro-science / outdoors / performance / technique

 In today’s guest post performance coach Anna-Marie Watson shares some of her experience and knowledge.

Walking & Talking in Nature*

By Anna-Marie Watson

"Walking & Talking in Nature" by Anna-Marie Watson

Do the following questions strike a chord for your clients or maybe just you?

Working 11, 12, 13 or more hours a day cooped up inside and permanently attached to a computer?

Struggling to hit 10,000 daily steps to satisfy the FitBit?

Mentally fatigued juggling 101 dead lines and demanding clients who add to a never-ending “to-do” list that regularly spirals out of control?

Was that a resounding “Yes!”; grudging “Maybe”, niggling “Sometimes” or resolute “No”?

For most of us who fall in the “Yes”, “Maybe” or even “Sometimes” bracket, the perfect yet often overlooked antidote to modern life is nature.

The simple act of stepping beyond the four walls of our work spaces and spending time in the natural environment improves creativity and productivity, reduces stress, aids mental clarity and encourages a wider appreciation of different perspectives. Our human brain with unique cognitive skills was developed over hundreds of years in the presence of permanent movement outdoors. From an evolutionary perspective our bodies are designed to walk up to 12 miles per day, unlike our current obesio-genic environment where on average we remain stationary for over 8 hours (Medina, 2014). Taking our clients outside for coaching sessions creates a physical shift from immobile to active and provides natural inspiration to stimulate cognitive thought to support our genetic heritage.

Neurons image

Neurons image

Just take a moment to appreciate your brain with its approximate eighty-five billion neurons that constantly wire, fire, re-wire and re-fire to process and transmit information. This 1.4 kg tofu-like mass weighs a mere fraction of our total body weight yet devours over 20% of our daily energy needs to maintain essential chemical and electrical processes way beyond the scale of any other human organ. The amount of energy needed on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis that’s necessary to navigate a myriad of tasks is simply mind-boggling.

The physical, biological and chemical interactions to process our thoughts, make decisions, silence our internal critic, organise daily tasks, unconsciously regulate the immune, cardiovascular, muscular, skeletal, endocrine, digestive, lymphatic, nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems, and then remember to email our accountant the end of year figures, are endless. Ultimately the brain, or more specifically the prefrontal cortex, like any other muscle becomes fatigued and needs time out to rest, relax and recover then return fully recharged with resilience boosted to increase productivity and reach optimum performance.

The routine dual attack and constant over stimulation from external sources and internal rhetoric can be turned on its head by stepping outside into nature*, taking a deep breathe, placing one foot in front of another, stilling the mind and living in the present moment. These recommendations from the global scientific community are reflected in British government policy with the advice to move from a sedentary position every thirty minutes and engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of 3 lots of 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise sessions per week (Public Health England, 2014).

From a coaching perspective the combination of physical movement, different environment and mental exploration leaves the client feeling refreshed, restored and with improved mental performance. Walking & Talking coaching sessions inevitably facilitate the creation of different states, energy and perspectives, which in turn influences subsequent outcomes and results compared to a traditional static conversation. Next time you’re scheduling a client coaching session cancel the conference room or confines of a café and opt for an urban venture outside the four walls hemming you in to reap physical and mental rewards.

I’ll conclude with the succinct and simple words of Elizabeth Hurley “spending time outdoors makes you feel great”.

Note*: Nature literally exists on our doorsteps and is best accessed on two feet.

References

Medina, J. (2014). Brain Rules. Pear Press, USA.

Public Health England. (2014). Everybody Active, Every Day – An evidence-based approach to physical activity click here to read Accessed 6 Sep 16.

Williams, F. (2016). This is Your Brain on Nature. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/call-to-wild-text Accessed 4 Sep 2016.

About Anna-Marie Watson

Anna-Marie WatsonAnna-Marie is a performance coach who draws from NLP, sports psychology, neuroscience, positive psychology and mindfulness theory to craft industrious and dynamic coaching partnerships with clients who yearn for more and desire balance within their life. Anna-Marie’s specialty is “walking & talking” where the Great Outdoors inspires facilitates deep level insights, encourages different perspectives and ultimately optimises performance. She integrates Analytic-Network (http://www.analyticnetwork.com) and mBraining (http://www.mbraining.com) methodologies to unlock and unleash transformational change.

Anna-Marie has been at the forefront of leadership and personal development for over 16 years working with high performing individuals and teams across three continents. Anna-Marie’s core values of growth, balance and energy are reflected in her business Reach for More. where improving yourself is an all round experience.

Reach For MoreFor more information on Anna-Marie’s performance coaching services, visit www.rfmcoaching.com

 

Connect with Anna-Marie on Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RFMCoaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RFMCoaching/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awatson4

Google+: https://www.google.com/+AnnaMarieWatson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rfmcoaching/

Are You Primark Or Harrods? Pricing And Positioning Is Your Choice

 in quote  tagged business owners / coaching / freelancer / premier positioning / premium pricing / price / price levels / profits / small business / Vicky Fraser

When you are starting a coaching business one of the early questions you have to answer is how much you will charge. In today’s guest post Vicky Fraser discusses price …

Are You Primark Or Harrods? Pricing And Positioning Is Your Choice

By Vicky Fraser

"Are You Primark Or Harrods? Pricing And Positioning Is Your Choice" by Vicky Fraser

Man, we have a lot of hang-ups about money. And a lot of false beliefs, too.

I’m gonna share possibly the most important thing nobody’s ever told you about money:

Price is elastic.

What do you think people consider most important when deciding to buy something? Actually, I can’t tell you the answer to that, because it depends on the person, the product and their reason for buying.

I can tell you, though, only a tiny proportion of people make their decision solely or mostly based on cheapest price. You might be sceptical, but think about it for a second and you’ll realise I’m right.

If everyone bought on price alone, the only clothes shop would be Primark and we’d all be driving Dacias (Britain’s cheapest car) and shopping in Poundland.

Do you think someone buying a Rolls-Royce gives price any consideration at all? I can tell you now: they don’t. People who want a Rolls-Royce want one because it’s a Rolls-Royce, not because they need a car to get to work or take the kids to school.

This is important to you because it means you get choose how to run your business, too. You can charge whatever the hell you want, because “the going rate” is a dangerous myth.

“But wait!” I hear you cry. “All my competitors are around the same price range. I can’t possibly go against that can I?”

Yes, you can. This sameness in pricing is great for you, because you can let those sheep get on with it.

Look, industry norms are meaningless to your business.

It’s really common, when starting a business, to look at what everybody else is charging. I did it. I’m sure you did it – and perhaps still do.

We look at what others are charging and pick somewhere in the middle. Or even near the bottom if our confidence isn’t up where it should be.

It’s a crazy way to sell for a couple of reasons. I mean, if you came to your prices like that… most other people must have done the same thing. Right? Which makes pricing completely arbitrary.

Dan Kennedy, marketing genius, puts it like this: “Understand that everybody else has arrived at their price decisions through the same foolish process as you might now. It’s price incest, which works like regular incest: over time, everybody gets dumber.”

So how do we set prices? Honestly? Get a dartboard, stick some numbers on it, and chuck darts at it. See how your sales go. Include “safe” numbers that keep you in your comfort zone… and include “I can’t possibly charge that!” numbers too – the ones that make your hands all sweaty and set you on edge.

Then go with the number the dart lands on, even if it scares the bejeezus out of you.

I’m being deadly serious here. Because… you don’t have any competitors. You really don’t, and when you get your head around this, your business will become much more fun. And much more profitable.

Your business is different from everyone else’s in the sense that it has you. How you structure your business, how you package your product, how you sell it, how you deliver it… all this means you can price it differently. It makes direct comparison impossible.

Which means: you can wave goodbye to the price buyers!

Most business owners live in fear of pricing – don’t you be one of them. A bit of healthy awareness is fine… But any business decision made out of fear is a bad one.

Fear drives people to needlessly under-price, to avoid raising prices in time (if at all), and to ignore opportunities to sell the deluxe version.

Fear leads to Comparison. Comparison leads to Discounts. Discounts lead to the Dark Side.

I’m not kidding: discounts will destroy your business if you succumb to them. I’ll explain how in my next article.

But first, I really want you to understand that you can choose your position. Are you Primark, John Lewis or Harrods? (If you’re not in the UK, Primark sells cheap stuff, John Lewis is mid-range, and Harrods is… well… Harrods.)

If you’re Primark and you’re happy, that’s cool. As long as you’re comfortable with your positioning and it will get you closer to your goals, that’s great. I’m not judging – not everybody can be Harrods! People buy at different price levels.

My point is: you don’t have to settle for average and you don’t have to compete on price. In fact, you shouldn’t.

Competing on price is a dangerous game.

The really successful business owners understand this.

If you can’t be the cheapest and make that your USP, there is no benefit at all in being at the bottom of the barrel with the rest of the “almost cheapest”. That is truly rubbish positioning.

So choose your position. Make a decision. Take control of your own profits.

I really want you to understand the importance of getting your head around pricing and positioning, so I’ve got something for you: a free chapter of my book, where I dig really deep into pricing and positioning. You can download it at http://www.businessforsuperheroes.com/free-preview-chapter-4

About Vicky Fraser

Copywriter. Entrepreneur. Ran away with the circus.

Vicky Fraser has built her business up from a few hundred quid a month to six figures a year – and counting. She’s author of the book Business For Superheroes, runs the prestigious Small Business Superheroes Inner Circle, and publishes free daily marketing tips on her website.

Article Source: Are You Primark Or Harrods? Pricing And Positioning Is Your Choice

Ezine Articles Expert page: Vicky Fraser

So You Want Results? Here Is the Formula

 in Guest Post  tagged action / business / coaching / evaluate / Janet Zaretsky / plan / results / success

In this week’s guest post coach Janet Zaretsky shares some of her knowledge and experience in:

So You Want Results? Here Is the Formula

By Janet Zaretsky

"So You Want Results? Here Is the Formula" By Janet Zaretsky

As I was talking to my client, Sarah, she is complaining that she is working very hard and is not getting the results she wants. So, we get into a conversation about why that is and discover that she was doing great, producing the results she wanted in her business for months, and then… she simply stopped doing the activities she was doing that led to the results in the first place. Light bulb moment… she said, “I thought I did enough and now I could just coast!”. When she saw that ‘coasting’ cost her results, the fix was easy and turned her business results back around.

I find this is a common scenario and in all the work I do with my clients about their success, I have identified a formula that works brilliantly. Here is what I have identified and what you can do to produce results.

First, I know that most likely you ‘know’ this, but it is critical that you operate with this principle in mind: The only things that produces results is Action. Good intentions, good thoughts, wanting, thinking about it, hoping, does not produce results. Really. The only thing that produces actual, tangible results is action. Once you get yourself settled about that fact, the other 3 things that result in a failure to produce results are a function of:

1. Not making promises for results

2. Not taking sufficient amount of action

3. Ineffective actions

Let’s look more deeply into this:

1. Promised results:

a. You need to make promises and create some way of being accountable to someone, other than yourself to honor your promises. Why? Do a bit of an honesty check here- most of us are not reliable to honor promises to ourselves but are much more likely to honor promises when we have to tell someone else. This can be a coach, an accountability partner or a manager.

b. Promise results, not actions. After coaching thousands of people, one thing I know for sure- we, you and I, have good intentions. If you promise actions, you may fool yourself and do what you said, but not do what is needed to produce results. When that happens, you may get stymied as to why you are not producing results. I find it very effective to promise the result- which then has you in action and thinking creatively as you go along to produce the result.

2. Insufficient action:

a. You promise the result, then make a plan. You execute the plan. Then you evaluate the plan (depending on the promise you want to evaluate frequently). When you evaluate, you see that the actions you took were effective, but you did not take enough of them.

b. Easy fix: Build in more of the same actions.

3. Ineffective action:

a. You make the promise for the result. You create a plan. You execute the plan. You evaluate the result and you are not getting the desired results.

b. Evaluate the actions and see what actions were not effective.

c. Create a new plan of actions.

If you take the time to do this simple, yet powerful, strategy whenever you want to produce results, you will always have the power to create and produce what you want!

As always, I love to hear from you. Email me at ja***@***************ss.com

About Janet Zaretsky

In all my years of coaching people one thing I know for sure; you are committed, brilliant and talented and …… sometimes, you doubt yourself, sometimes you get stopped and stuck. Sometime you just need a partner in having you succeed.

I started The Zenith Business to support you in getting everything you REALLY want, in your business, and your life.

I am not fluffy. I tell you like it is. I have a no-nonsense, direct and practical approach. I provide laser, intentional, results-producing business success coaching for entrepreneurs who are up to a big game. If you want someone who is powerful and effective in your corner, I am your coach.

My background includes my first career in large corporations and state agencies, as a Registered Nurse, where I did direct care, management, design and implementation of systems and teams for 21 years.

My second career, as a professional coach, launched in 1996 in the infancy of this industry. This suited me- my mom was right when she said I was a rebel and loved a challenge! Now, almost 20 years later, I have had the privilege of coaching, speaking, designing and leading workshops and courses to over 31,000 people.

I love coaching people to be the best “them” they can be. I have discovered how great people are and how easily we all get stuck and even stopped from achieving our own potential.

I am good at what I do. One of my favorite things someone said about me as a coach is “You are a rare piece of art that cuts through the junk and has people be at the source of manifesting their life by design. You are a master of distinguishing, recognizing, motivating people to see, create, plan and take action in their life and those things that matter to them.”

Connect with Janet Via:

Website: http://www.thezenithbusiness.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thezenithbusiness

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thezenithbusiness

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thezenithbiz

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXT5BGdpx2RUr-gbNZXy3EQ

 

Article Source: So You Want Results? Here Is the Formula

Ezinearticles expert page: Janet Zaretsky

 

10 Easy Ways You Need To Know To Grow A Business

 in Guest Post  tagged business / coaching / growth / Leslie Hassler / marketing / success

In today’s guest post coach Leslie Hassler turns attention towards actually establishing and running a business as she offers:

10 Easy Ways You Need To Know To Grow A Business

by  Leslie Hassler

"10 Easy Ways You Need To Know To Grow A Business" by Leslie Hassler

How many months have you been investing in your business to see no results?

Here’s the interesting thing I’ve learned from being in business and coaching other small businesses to grow.

All the marketing and sales strategies work… in their own time.

Chances are that you have worked hard and doing the ‘right’ things to grow your business. You just have focused on the big sexy strategies that bring in business in the long-term, but have you hearing crickets in the short-term.

If that’s you, know this – you aren’t alone. In fact 85% of the businesses I work with are doing the same. If they can change things around and see results in the next 90 days – you can too. Here are the top 10 ways you can grow a business easily and quickly.

1. Balance out your marketing mix to include short-term (results in 90 days), medium (results in 90-180 days) and long-term (results in 180+ days).

2. Be more active in your marketing. If you wait for your phone to ring, you need to do more marketing that boosts your “Know, Like & Trust Factor”. The fastest way is through being were your clients are and talking to them. If you need to grow your business, don’t wait for business to come to you!

3. Build Out Your Circle of Influence. Have you ever played the game ‘6 degrees of Kevin Bacon’? Think of the people who through the course of their work touch your ideal client. Seek out partnerships and alliances with those businesses who best represent how you like to do business. Developing relationships with a few key people is a quick path to cash

4. Ask Your Clients To Buy Again. It’s easy to focus on getting new clients and new projects in the door, but your existing clients are more profitable. Reach out to any previous client who hasn’t purchased in the last 6 months or a year. Let them know how valuable they have been to you and see if there is anything you can do for them now.

5. Ask Your Clients For Referrals. If you love your clients, then you’ll probably love their referrals. Always be asking for referrals as a course of business, but even if the client you just called in #4 doesn’t have work for you, Then ask, “Who do you know who… ?”

6. Raise Your Price. I know this seems simple, but most people don’t adjust their pricing in accordance to their costs. I had a client who lost 20% in gross profits because she unknowingly she had undercharged. The change in her business puts $100,000 to her bottom line. I know this is a sensitive area, but know most buyers won’t even register a 10% increase in price.

7. Re-evaluate Your Profitability Priorities. It’s easy to say yes to subscriptions and little extras in your business – but you could be nickel and diming yourself to death. Cancel any unused subscription no matter how good of an idea it might be, trim back on the nice-to-have expenses and create cash to put into the growth of your business.

8. Stop Being Busy, Start Being Effective. Take a good hard look at what you do with your day. The top three things an entrepreneur or small business owner needs to do is 1.) Find The Money, 2.) Sell The Money & 3.) Serve The Money. How much green is in your calendar? If it isn’t a revenue generating task – dump it or delegate it.

9. Stop Doing It By Yourself. Gone are the days when small businesses can be successful in a silo, You get no trophy for doing it on your own. Invest in people who want to invest in you through accountability partners, masterminds or coaching. You will leap-frog your competition when you stand on the shoulders of giants.

10. Don’t Make It Harder. Simplicity and ease is what wins in business. If it sounds to hard, it probably is – especially if you are doing it alone. It’s better to keep things simple when putting together a growth plan for your business. Doing small things every day add up to a big result in the end. The easier things are, the easier they are to be consistent and sustainable. Most businesses stall out because they can’t sustain their efforts – don’t be one of them.

Use one or all of these strategies to kick-start the growth of your small business!

About Leslie Hassler

Leslie Hassler, business coach and owner of Your Biz Rules, helps women business owners to become the HERO in their business in a way that gives them more freedom to grow their business and be with their families. As a business growth coach Leslie helps smart businesses across industries avoid the pitfalls, get real results quicker in a way that is about working smarter, not harder. In her practical and grounded approach, you learn how to zero in on what works, generate results and create a business that is a win for your clients, for yourself and your family.

Contact Information:

Leslie Hassler

Your Biz Rules

Dallas, TX

972-892-3385

 

Article Source: 10 Easy Ways You Need To Know To Grow A Business

EzineArticles.com Expert page:  Leslie Hassler

 

 

Principles, coaching and spirituality

 in Guest Post  tagged 3 Ps / coaching / Liz Scott / spirituality / three principles

Many experienced coaches will tell you how their coaching has changed since they first started. In today’s guest post experienced coach Liz Scott shares a bit about how her’s has evolved.

Principles, coaching and spirituality

By Liz Scott

"Principles, coaching and spirituality" By Liz Scott

A few years ago my life transformed. It didn’t transform in a snappy, flashy ‘fireworks’ kind of way, it was more like a gentle defrosting of icy beliefs and fears. Once these beliefs had dissolved I was left standing in mental health, freedom and wellness. Don’t get me wrong. I still experience the full range of human emotions. I feel sad, happy, angry and frustrated. It’s just that I no longer dwell and wallow in these emotions; instead I fall out of them and into peace.

It all started when I came across the Three Principles behind life. When I say principle I don’t mean ‘good idea’ I mean the fundamental spiritual facts that are at the root of the whole of the human psychological experience.

Understanding these principles has been profound. I have shifted my business and life around what I am learning, my husband is too.

If you are reading this with a half skeptical ‘yeah, ok tell me what these magic principles are’ kind of attitude then I wouldn’t blame you. In fact I’d recommend you keep a healthy skeptical mind.

On one level The Three Principles (which are mind, consciousness and thought) are just words. It’s when we understand and experience for ourselves how they operate, that the real shifts begin. These principles point towards the common denominator of the human experience; they point towards the spiritual, creative potential that is in us all.

The other night I looked up onto the moon and my heart filled with awe. I momentarily tried to imagine all the people who through the ages had gazed up at the same moon.  It was too much for my brain to compute – instead I felt a sense of wonder and connection. This feeling of wonder and connection is the birthright of all human beings. I don’t have to gaze at the moon to experience it. When I’m coaching others this is the space I want to be coaching from. It is this space of creative potential that I want to point my clients to.

Another word for it would be spirituality. This is about reconnecting people with their spiritual nature. When we are plugged into this creative infinite potential then navigating through life is more fulfilling and easeful. Life makes more sense.

As coaches I believe we are here to point our clients back to this space. I want them to reconnect with a part of themselves that they have temporarily forgotten.  There is incredible richness for us all to be in touch with this.

About Liz Scott

Liz Scott is a successful business and leadership coach. She co-founded www.coachingconnect.co.uk and is running a one-day event with some of the UK’s best known facilitators and coaches on July 29th  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/top-3p-facilitators-in-devon-coaching-connect-tickets-25648079095

 

Coaching “By the Book”?

 in Guest Post  tagged clients / coaching / coaching style / Jeannette Attryde / technique

In today’s guest post coach Jeannette Attryde shares an insight about coaching.

Coaching “By the Book”?

By Jeannette Attryde

"Coaching 'By the Book?'" By Jeannette Attryde

So much has been written about coaching. In fact, I did a search on Amazon.co.uk for books on coaching and it returned 43,367 results. If you narrow the search to just paperback books (to remove the duplication of multiple versions in hardback and Kindle) it still gives 26,786 results. So when you start coaching and you want to try and make sure you are doing it “by the book”, which book should you be doing it by?

I have a huge hang up about making sure I do things “right”. So when I first decided to start up my coaching business I felt I needed to know what the “right” way of coaching was. The fact that I had been successfully coaching people for over 20 years, with over 18 years of that having coaching as part of my job description too, almost fell by the wayside. In my head, there was some definition, or some model, out there which was “the” way to coach somebody and to be a “proper” coach I needed to learn and practice this way.

Having already read widely on the subject of coaching I already knew that there were multiple models out there but my obsession with “right” meant I was still looking for validation of a specific path to being a “proper” coach. My next decision was to look for an accredited coaching course because if it’s accredited it must be “right”, right?

It was on that course that the scales fell from my eyes. In essence, the only “right” is what works for the person you are coaching. The “right” I had been searching for was the wrong one. I had been looking for a process, a tool or methodology. What I needed to be looking for was an understanding.

The understanding and recognition of when the person you are coaching needs to be challenged, or reassured, or probed, or encouraged to reflect. Everything about coaching is about the person you are coaching and the outcomes they are looking for. How you achieve that will be different for each person because each person is different. Not only is each person you coach different but the relationship, the dynamic, between you and the person you are coaching will be different to the relationship between them and a different coach. Even if the same tools and techniques are used, you each bring something unique to the conversation and you will have a unique way of reaching the desired outcome.

Once I surrendered myself to this truth, I felt authentic again in my coaching. The coaching I had done throughout my career before starting my business, had been organic. It had been about me trying to find the best way possible to help a person achieve a goal. And at its heart that is what my coaching will always be. So whilst I will continue to read widely on the subject I have decided that the “right” way won’t be in any of the books I read, it will be a book I write with every coaching session I hold and every outcome my clients achieve.

About Jeannette Attryde

Jeannette AttrydeJeannette Attryde runs Different Perspectives, Coaching and Consultancy. She has over 18 years’ experience in leading and managing teams of varying sizes in a range of organisations including Blue Chip Financial Services companies. She specialising in Leadership and Management coaching, helping people to unlock their leadership potential. With her help, clients identify and implement action plans to overcome their challenges and be a more effective leader of a motivated, high performing team. Sessions are conducted face to face, by phone/Skype or online messenger.

Jeannette loves connecting with people and can be reached in the various ways below

Website – www.different-perspectives.co.uk

Twitter – @DP_Jeannette

Facebook – www.facebook.com/differentperspectivesuk

LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/different-perspectives