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Successful Coaches – Observations From An Outsider

20 May 2011 in Guest Post tagged Andrew Ferdinando / associates / brand / business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching rooms / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / customer acquisition / customer retention / executive coach / Hubworking / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / networking / niche / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / product mix

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 – an****@********ng.net

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 an****@********ng.net or 07985 914034.

What to say when they say “Yes, but…”

13 May 2011 in Guest Post tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / client / client enrollment secrets / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / Elizabeth Purvis / executive coach / I don't have the money / I don't have the time / I need to think about it / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / marketing goddess / nlp coach / objections / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / sales

Coaches, what do you say when they say “yes, but …”? In this week’s Friday guest post Elizabeth Purvis shares some valuable advice.

What to say when they say “Yes, but…”

By Elizabeth Purvis

So you’re sharing your fabulous program with a potential client. You both know it’s perfect and you can feel her getting excited about the transformation within her reach! You say your new higher fee (without choking – yeeha!) and…

… the next words you hear are “I’d love to, BUT…”

“… I can’t afford it…”

“… It’s not the right time right now…”

“… I need to check with my spouse…”

“… I need to check with my gut – can I get back to you?”

First things first: don’t freak out! The “yes, but” is a concern, or objection… and you’ll hear them around 80% of the time. (Remember, where there’s massive transformation afoot, there is also fear.)

Many spiritual solopreneurs get wiggy about objections, but they’re actually a great thing. They mean that your client is really interested. They know you’re offering them an opportunity to change their lives and they want to step into it. Problem is, they’re just a little afraid. And they need you to support them through it.

Now here’s the secret behind objections and what you MUST do when your client says “I’d love to, but…” (This is the key to smoothly sailing through concerns so that they can embrace the transformation they truly want…)

Their “Yes, BUT” is the real reason why they’re on the phone with you today, right now. That’s what they really and truly need support on, in this moment. Because no matter what “yes, but” may be… it has stopped them before, and it is showing up somewhere else in their life to stop them over and over again. That’s why coaching your potential clients on their “Yes, BUT”’s is actually a tremendous gift. Here’s how to sail smoothly through the top 3 (make that only 3) “I’d love to… but”s so they can say yes to the transformation they truly want…

1. “I’d love to, but… I don’t have the money.”

Most solopreneurs take the money objection at face value, without realizing that “I can’t afford it” is rarely, if ever, really about the money. Your job in that moment is to find out if it’s really about the money, or it’s about something else. (Again, 90% of the time, it’s the latter.)

Here’s the question that will instantly give you your answer:

“Assuming money wasn’t an issue, is this something that you’d like to do?” If they say “yes” hesitantly… then it really isn’t the money. You can just say, “You sound hesitant, is there something else?” This will open the door to discovering the real issue… and coaching them through it.

2. “I’d love to, but… I don’t have the time.”

We all have the same 24 hours in a day, so the time objection is really about priorities. You can find out if they’re truly swamped (or just a little scared) with this question:

“If I waved a magic wand and created all kinds of time in your schedule, is this something you’d want to move forward with?” If they say “Yes, absolutely,” then they only think they don’t have time. You’ll help them by exploring what’s eating all their time and get clear on what’s really important to them.

3. “I’d love to, but… I need to think about it.”

You need to be careful with this one, because without your love and support, because the fear your client is undoubtedly feeling can quickly take over during “thinking time.” And that would be tragic.

If your program is a fit for them, “I have to think about it” usually means “I’m afraid” or “I don’t know if I can do this.” To open the dialogue, simply say, “What is it that you need to think about?” That might sound a little blunt, but when delivered with sincerity and grace, your client will actually breathe a sigh of relief. They will know that you care and that they need not be alone with their fear as they take this powerful next step.

Bonus tip: don’t be afraid to say what you really think and feel.

Remember, your client’s “yeah, buts” are what they need healing on, in this moment, to move forward with their dream. Being fully present and pointing out what you see is blocking their success is a gift of caring, generosity and love.

Further Resources

Do you struggle to attract clients who are ready to pay your fees? When you talk about your programs, do you hear a lot of ‘Sounds great, BUT… I can’t afford it’ or ‘I have to think about it?’ Discover how to attract committed clients who are HAPPY to invest high fees for the transformation you provide at http://www.ClientEnrollmentSecrets.com .

Chocolate Pudding and Coaching

14 April 2011 in Coaching tagged business coach / business coaching / career coaching / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching content / coaching courses / coaching description / coaching model / coaching preparation / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / confidence / executive coach / Free resource / leadership coaching / learning / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / performance coaching / personal development / questions / sales / selling coaching

My first full time jobs out of education were all in the hospitality industry. Working as a manager it was obvious that some waiting staff were taking more orders for desserts than others. One of the main differences between those who were selling more was with the way they were describing the desserts.

For example, imagine that you are dining out and at the appropriate time your waiter/waitress came to tell you “Today’s special desert is a chocolate pudding.”

That may sound appealing and you may even place an order. However, now, imagine the same scenario but this time your waiter/waitress tells you that:

“Today’s special desert is a must for chocolate lovers It’s a moist chocolate sponge, with a gooey dark chocolate filling that oozes out when you cut into it, topped with a white chocolate sauce. It is served warm with homemade smooth and creamy vanilla ice-cream that really compliments the chocolate-ness of the pudding.”

If you do like chocolate, which one of the two descriptions is going to have you drooling at the prospect of eating? Which conversation do you think will encourage you to say yes please?

(As a side note I think it’s important to add that both descriptions actually match with the dessert that was served)

One of the other things that those who sold more desserts did was that they did not take “no” personally. They knew that some people don’t like chocolate so are never going to order a chocolate pudding for themselves. They also know that sometimes a guest was just not hungry enough to have anything else. It didn’t mean that they were any less “worthy” as an individual.

I invite you to consider the description that you use to describe your coaching/work that will cause your potential ideal clients to drool at the prospect of working with you?

Making the Most of Your Brand: YOU!

1 April 2011 in Guest Post tagged behaviour / beliefs / brand / business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / executive coach / image / Jennifer Holloway / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / reputation / selling / skills / value

In this week’s guest post Jennifer Holloway shares her expertise about what is your personal brand and some of the benefits you can get from personal branding.

Making the Most of Your Brand: YOU!

By Jennifer Holloway

Everyone has a personal brand – whether they know it or not; that mix of things that defines who you are and what you’re all about, including:

Your Values – the principles by which you live your life, the rules you use to define right and wrong. Think of these as the foundations on which your personal brand is built. For one of my clients, his values centred around an overarching desire to be genuine and honest whilst still showing empathy to others.

Your Beliefs – what you hold to be important to you, the things that motivate you to do what you do, that drive you to succeed. It could be money, it could be fame, it could be a wish to make a difference. So for instance, I had a client who felt you should always take responsibility and act as if someone is looking, even when they’re not.

Your Reputation – in a nutshell, what you’re known for. Looking at this in more traditional marketing terms, you might call this your strapline. I’ve generated a reputation as ‘The Antidote to Yes Men’ – saying what needs to be said and making things happen.

Your Behaviour – what you say and do that is an outward communication of those deeper values and beliefs. You could think about it as the three words they’d use to describe yourself. Just some of the words used by my clients have been ‘trailblazing’, ‘larger-than-life’, ‘dynamic’, ‘inspiring’, ‘rebel’, ‘connector’…the list goes on.

Your Skills – your strengths, your natural talents, the things you excel at doing. One way to think about this is to look at the things that others come to you for. When I worked in an office I became the ‘go to’ person for writing copy because of my way with words and a love of language (plus a qualification in editing which helped!)

And last, but certainly not least…

Your Image – not just how you look but how you sound as well. This tells people an awful lot about you and will usually tie back in to all the previous things. For instance, one director I worked with used his quirky cufflinks to add a bit of individuality, while another added a large sports watch to his pinstripes to give a hint to the fact he was a keen cyclist.

Put all those layers together and you have your personal brand and the great thing is that if you take the time to define exactly what that brand is and then learn how to promote that to your audiences, you’ll get payback – BIG TIME! Here are just 10 of the benefits of personal branding:

Defining your personal brand gives you the confidence to be yourself.
Being yourself is a lot easier than trying to be someone else.
By focusing on what’s great you add clarity to your brand.
You can also pinpoint the thing that really makes you stand out from the crowd.
Promoting your personal brand helps you sell your benefits to your audiences.
By selling the benefits people know what they’re buying into.
Doing this consistently helps people to trust what they’re buying into.
People like to put things into neat little boxes in their mind, so you give them the box to put you into.
By having you in a neat box, it’s easier for people to sell you and your benefits to others.
If you don’t do all of that, you’ll get left behind.

So do you know what your personal brand is?

About the Author/Further Resources

Jennifer Holloway With a career including 15 years in the strategic PR and communications, Jennifer knows a thing or two about promoting a personal brand – she did it every time she picked up the phone to a journalist. The result? She stood out from the ‘press office crowd’ and got her stories on the front page as well as national TV.

When not making headlines Jennifer was mentoring and coaching colleagues and, sensing she had discovered a new passion, was inspired to change careers entirely, setting up her own personal brand coaching business, Spark.

Today, she is a personal brand expert, using her knack for spotting someone’s USP and her way with words to help them promote that in everything they say and do. Known as ‘The Antidote to Yes-Men’ her down-to-earth, straight talking, honest style delivers real value by helping today’s leaders discover how, by being themselves, they can be even more successful.

And when she’s not doing all that, Jennifer is living her version of The Good Life, pottering around the garden in her anorak and wellies, keeping bees and feeding chickens – and occasionally sipping a nice glass of Rioja while listening to The Archers.

Visit Jennifer’s website at www.sparkexec.co.uk

Who Is Your Ideal Client and Why Do You Need One?

25 March 2011 in Guest Post tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / Cindy Hillsey / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / communication / executive coach / ideal client / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / niche / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / sports coaching / target market / Virual Partnering

As a coach do you already know who is your ideal client? In this week’s guest post Cindy Hillsey shares her thoughts and expertise about how to identify your ideal client and why that’s important.

Who Is Your Ideal Client and Why Do You Need One?

By Cindy Hillsey

The topic of the Ideal Client is being discussed more and more frequently these days. Look around you. How many times have you read an article, attended a teleseminar, and/or had a conversation with someone where the topic turned to, “Who Is Your Ideal Client?” Why do you suppose this is? In fact, you may have gotten to a point where you’ve heard this question posed so often that you dismiss it with a wave of the hand and think, “of course I know who my Ideal Client is, who doesn’t?!” A truism in business is that if it’s a recurring theme it means that it’s not only important, but that it’s not being done by the majority. If everybody was doing it, there would be no need to discuss it.

If I were to ask you right now, “Who is your Ideal Client and why?” what would you tell me? Would you be able to do it without hesitation and in a crystal clear and concise manner? Would you have to pause before you answered the question? Very few people can answer this question without hesitation and pause. If you can answer without hesitation and pause, I want to congratulate you. Keep doing what you’re doing! For the rest of us, the ability to answer this question could mean the difference between having clients and not having clients.

While this seems like a very simple question, it really is not. It is a question you should spend a significant amount of time thinking about and getting very clear around. Let’s take a moment and review some essential elements of the Ideal Client:

It’s counter-intuitive in the sense that it is most effective when your Ideal Client is highly specific and narrow.
When you try to be everything to everybody, you end being nothing to anybody.
There is a common center of interest and/or lifestyle of your Ideal Client.
Your Ideal Client exists in a sufficient quantity.
Your Ideal Client has the ability to pay you.

What does having an Ideal Client do for you and your business?

An Ideal Client provides you with a clear vision and an obvious focus.
It enhances your credibility and your reputation.
It increases the demand for your services because of the specialized market.
It greatly simplifies marketing and increases your return on investment (ROI).
It provides a firm base from which you can expand your business.

I do want to take a moment to make certain you understand we are not talking about a Target Market or a Niche Market. Your Ideal Client is different from your Target or Niche market. People get stuck in the Target Market/Niche Market terminology. As a matter of fact, many times you will hear someone use Ideal Client, Target Market, and Niche Market all in the same sentence. Talk about confusing! Discovering your Ideal Client goes far beyond the Target Market/Niche Market terminology. Knowing who your Ideal Client is at a deep core level is one of the foundational pieces of your business.

It is important to remember that a Target Market/Niche Market is not your WHO. It’s a classification system. Just because you identify someone as an Ideal Client who is in a particular Target Market/Niche Market, it does NOT mean that ALL members of said Target Market/Niche Market are YOUR Ideal Client! It’s more foundational to identify the qualities and characteristics that you want to work with in a person than it is to identify some broad classification, because ultimately no matter what business you are in you end up dealing with individuals, right?

In fact, Target Markets/Niche Markets are actually derived from the more fundamental Ideal Client piece. For example, here are some of the characteristics I look for in my Ideal Client: Female, age 35-45, Service-Based Entrepreneur, who is positive, energetic, and honest. They respect my knowledge. They are do’ers. (This is not a comprehensive list, but will give you a feel for what I’m talking about.) From my clients who fit this criteria, I can clearly identify two Target Markets: Virtual Assistants and Coaches.

Note that I started with the Ideal Client and their characteristics NOT the Target Market/Niche Market. Conversely, let’s suppose for a moment that I insisted that I wanted to pick a Target Market/Niche Market, and I chose Coaches. It stands to reason that because I’m choosing a classification many of the coaches that come to me would not be my Ideal Client, because my Ideal Client is based on attributes and characteristics.

So, how do you go about determining who your Ideal Client is? I would suggest you write a story about your Ideal Client. Give him/her a name, an education, a family life (single or not), a social life, a business, and a problem they have in their business that you can help them with. Get very detailed. Let me repeat that…get very detailed. I want you to know this person like you know your family!

These questions should help you begin to craft your Ideal Client:

What are the basic characteristics of your Ideal Client? (demographics, age, gender, salary, education, location, etc.)
Who are your clients? Are they business executives, artists, small business owners, micro business owners?
What kind of values does your ideal client have? Do these values match yours?
What exactly do your Ideal Clients do? How do they need your help? (Be very specific in your answers to these two questions.)
How do your Ideal Clients treat you? Do they pay on time? Do they understand you are a business owner and treat you as such?

Whether you know exactly who your Ideal Client is or not, please take the time to answer the above questions so that the next time you are asked, “Who is your Ideal Client? you can answer them without hesitation!

About the Author/Further Resources

As a Business Coach, I work with Service-Based Entrepreneurs, and I specialize in working with Virtual Assistants. Visit http://virtualpartnering.com for my FREE mini e-course on, The Six Basic Keys Every Business Should Have, along with other free resources.

Connect with me:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VirtualPartnering

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cindyhillsey

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyhillsey

The Perks and Pitfalls of Social Media for Coaches 6

11 March 2011 in Guest Post tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / executive coach / Facebook / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / LinkedIn / marketing / Nicky Kriel / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / sales / social media / Twitter

This week, communications coach, Nicky Kriel shares her thoughts and expertise on the use of social media for coaches.

The Perks and Pitfalls of Social Media for Coaches

By Nicky Kriel

Are you using social media for your coaching business yet? If you are, how is it working for you? And if you are not, what’s stopping you? Social Media offers you a great opportunity to get more clients and build up relations with existing ones. Social Media is not about the Tools and the Technology; it is about people and relationships. And as a coach you are already good at that! If you have enough clients and are making enough money from your coaching business, you can stop reading now, but if you want to grow your business, I have listed five perks and pitfalls for you to consider.

Perks

1. Connect with a far greater audience than you could by networking or asking for referrals. Networking is fun and can be buzzy if you are extroverted, but exactly how many people can you meet at each meeting and how much time is it taking up? Networking online can allow you to make real connections with real people. I am writing this guest blog because I met Jen Waller through Twitter, I have never physically met her although I plan to have coffee with her when I am in her neck of the woods. Within two weeks of being active on Twitter I had my first coaching enquiry. I have never met anyone yet that I haven’t liked in real life after gelling with them through Social Media first.

2. Raise your profile both online and offline – Have you Googled yourself recently? Who does Google think you are? Have you had strangers walk up to you and say “You are……… you are a coach, I love your blog/tweets/Facebook page/website”? Have you been invited to do podcasts about your business? Or radio interviews? Or been quoted by someone else as an expert? All these things are possible without spending a penny on public relations. I know because they have all happened to me last year and they could be happening to you too!

3. Potential clients can get a taste of what you are like before they commit – Your personality comes through even in 140 characters and potential customers can sample bite-size pieces of what you offer. You build rapport before even meeting or talking to people. People feel connected to you if they can read your thoughts and opinions, see pictures of you, hear your voice or watch a video of you.

4. Meet like-minded people – I have met so many supportive wonderful people who are willing me on to succeed. Like attracts like. There are many people out there who will like what you are doing if your intentions are good.

5. Learn – Twitter has provided me with a wealth of information. There is so much information about how to do almost anything and most of it is freely available. YouTube is brilliant for learning how to do things too.

Pitfalls

1. It’s a marathon not a sprint – Things don’t tend to happen instantly. For Social Media to work for you, you need to be part of the community, which means you need to show up consistently. You don’t need to spend hours each day on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, but you do need to be there.

2. You can’t hide behind a corporate image – People do business with people they know like and trust and you will get further revealing your personality than using stiff marketing language. More people will connect with people than businesses.

3. There is no simple formula – If someone suggests you automate everything, please don’t pay attention to them. There is no substitute for personality. You need to build up your own quality network, engage with your audience as a person and not a robot. Anyone who thinks that simply feeding inspirational quotes into your feed is going to bring you business, needs to consider this: there is only one you. Why use the words of someone else when you can say it yourself?

4. Need to be conscious of what you make public – What you broadcast online becomes public and visible to a large number of people. Don’t put posts you wouldn’t want your family to read or to see as a headline in a newspaper. If you are a coach, telling people you are depressed is probably not a good idea. You always need to be conscious of how you market yourself.

5. Easy to get overwhelmed by Social Media – It is very easy to be overpowered by all the possibilities. It is good to start with a big picture of where you would like to be and have a clear intention in mind of what you want to get out of using Social Media. But remember this; you start all journeys with a single step. It is better to get to know one tool well before moving onto the next rather than trying to do everything at once and giving up.

If you would like to know more about Social Media, I write about Social Media regularly on my blog http://www.nickykriel.com/blog and I have started up a page on Facebook called Social Media for Newbies.

About the Author/Further Resources

Nicky Kriel came from a Marketing and Sales background before she retrained as a Master NLP Practitioner. As a Communication Coach, her passion is empowering people to reach their true potential. Aside from her private coaching clients, she runs personal development and social media courses for business owners. www.nickykriel.com

This is the second guest post from Nicky Kriel. To read her first one, 5 ways to make your coaching business successful, click here

Testimonials 3

25 February 2011 in Guest Post tagged business coach / business coaching / charging / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / credibility / executive coach / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / Merlyn Sanchez / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / selling / smart business owners / testimonials

In this weeks guest post Merlyn Sanchez discusses the subject of testimonials and coaches.

Testimonials

by Merlyn Sanchez

One of the challenges coaches and consultants face when marketing their products and services is the issue of credibility. Prospects have a natural wariness which only increases with higher priced items and services. If they aren’t familiar with you and your company, the decision process can take much longer or even stall.

There are a few ways to overcome skepticism but one of the best is using endorsements from satisfied clients. Unfortunately, many coaches often neglect this simple but powerful tactic. Well-written testimonials create believability, credibility, and a sense of security for your prospective client. They set you apart from other coaches and help you break down buyer resistance. It’s no longer about you telling your prospects how great you are, now they have a recommendation from objective, third-party individuals who have invested in your product and service.

“But I feel uncomfortable asking my clients for testimonials”

Many people are uncomfortable asking for testimonials. But it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. In fact, testimonials can be incorporated into your business process as part of the regular check-in that you should already be doing with your clients. Additional benefits include:

o Customers become active partners in your business which can further your relationship and lead to repeat business and referrals.

o Asking for testimonials keeps you proactive in ensuring that you’re delivering outstanding customer service.

“How Do I Ask for Testimonials”

There are several keys to asking for compelling and effective testimonials:

1. Strike while the iron is hot, ask for testimonials as soon you’ve provided your service or sold your product.

2. Ask for specific details of how your business or service has positively improved their situation or solved their problem. Request specific “before and after” measurements.

Here is an example of a testimonial which offers specific details about the benefits they received:
“We were able to sell our house for $20,000 more than other houses in our neighborhood and we credit our real estate agent, Jane Doe. She brought us qualified, motivated buyers and our house sold even sooner than we expected. We can’t say enough about Jane’s professionalism and hard work.”

3. If at all possible, include your client’s full name, industry, profession, and location. Testimonials by “B.K.” aren’t as believable as one by “Barbara King of Seattle, WA”.

4. Always make sure that you ask for permission before you use a testimonial. Most people will agree but it’ll prevent any problems with clients who might not want to have their testimonial used for promotional purposes.

5. Thank your clients for their recommendation and let them know how important their support is to the growth of your business. If appropriate, send them a gift card or small token of appreciation.

“I’ve got testimonials, now what?”

There are countless ways to use your testimonials for maximum leverage. Here are just a few:

1. Use testimonials on your website. One option is to have a separate page on your website for testimonials. This can be very impressive, particularly if you have many testimonials. However, it’s also a good idea to include one or two on all the pages of your site. For example, if you have a testimonial about your ezine, include it on the sign-up page.

2. Include testimonials in your advertising. People are skeptical of ads so having a success story can significantly increase your response rate.

3. Create a “brag” book. You can keep this at your business and use it during sales presentations.

4. Include a link to a testimonials page in your email signature.

5. Testimonials will increase the impact of all your marketing material, including brochures, direct mail pieces, proposals, and public relations materials.

Famous advertising guru, David Ogilvy said that “Testimonials increase credibility and sales”. Make a commitment to ask all your clients for a recommendation and find more ways to use them to grow your business. The results will be worth it.

About the Author/Further Resources

Merlyn Sanchez, Business Coach and Marketing Consultant teaches coaches, consultants, and other solopreneurs how to attract more clients, make more sales and have more time to enjoy their lives. For a free report outlining the “8 SMART Strategies that Successful Business Owners Use to Attract More Clients”, visit: www.smartbusinessowners.com

5 Ways to Make your Coaching Business Successful 3

26 November 2010 in Guest Post tagged brand / business / business coach / business coaching / charging / cheerleaders / client / clients / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching courses / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / executive coach / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / marketing / mentors / money / Nicky Kriel / nlp coach / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / success / successful business

So you’re considering turning coaching into a business? Perhaps you’ve already taken that step. In this weeks guest post. Nicky Kriel shares tips of how to run a successful coaching business.

5 Ways to Make your Coaching Business Successful

by Nicky Kriel

You are a coach. You have found something that you absolutely love doing, haven’t you? Don’t you love those light bulb moments when you see your client’s face light up? You love helping people to get to where they want to be. You love the feeling of making a difference in someone’s life. You have a real passion for what you do and you feel that you have found your calling in life.

So everything is rainbows and kittens, isn’t it?

The reality is a little bit different isn’t it? You have spent a substantial amount of money and time on your training, you have had very positive feedback from people you have coached; people should be lining up for you, shouldn’t they? So where are they?

There are a few coaches who become very successful and make a good living from coaching, but there are substantially more who find themselves taking a job to make ends meet. There is plenty of advice out there for coaches to deal with their clients. There is advice on how to get rapport easily, what questions to ask and techniques to use. There is very little advice about setting up your coaching practice as profitable business. The best advice for work is find something you love doing and then get someone to pay you to do it, but if you are not earning a living from what you love doing; it is a hobby, not a business!

1. Resolve any issues you have about money

So many coaches I know have an issue about charging money for something that they love doing. They undervalue their service or feel guilty about accepting payment. As a coach, you probably know quite a lot of coaches. Who would be a good person to help you clear out issues you have about money? How can you stop limiting yourself? What are your issues you have with money? Are you self-sabotaging? It is easier asking someone to help you with an issue than trying to resolve it all by yourself. Just because you can coach someone through their money issues doesn’t mean that you can do it on yourself.

2. Start thinking about coaching as a business

If you are working for yourself, you need to learn how to be a good marketer, sales person, public relations person, bookkeeper, accountant, administrator and IT specialist. What skills do you already have in these areas? Who can help you develop these skills?

I found the best way for me to become more business orientated was to network with business people. I have learnt so much by the questions people asked me, especially the ones that completely stumped me. You don’t have to know everything to get started, but you must be willing to keep learning and keep improving as you go along. When you network, you will find plenty of people who will give you free advice and help.

Read books about business. One book that I would recommend is Dee Blick’s “Powerful Marketing on a Shoestring Budget “ which has good practical advice for small business. There are many good books available. What skills do you still need learn? Are there people who could help you in these areas?

3. Think of your business as an object

If you are your business, it is sometimes hard to think of your business objectively. I had an “Aha!” moment, when a business adviser asked me how I was marketing my business. I was getting quite defensive about it. Knowing that I came from a marketing background, he asked if I had a tin of baked beans, how would you market it? I knew instantly! I realised that I had to start thinking of myself as a tin of baked beans! Not literally, of course! I had to think of myself as a product or an object.

What is your brand? Can an outside person tell what you are offering or is it all in your head? Find someone neutral (not family or close friends) who can give you an objective viewpoint on how you are coming across at the moment. Are you coming across the way you think you are?

4. Resource yourself

As a coach, we are used to asking our clients what resources they need to help them get to where they want to be. So, what resources do you need to make your coaching business successful? Here are some of the ways that I think you might need to support yourself.

Mentors – People who are already where you want to be and are willing to guide you along the way, they could be fellow coaches or successful business people. They are the people who have been there, done that and got the bruises along the way.

Coaches – All coaches need coaches. Nobody is perfect, if you believe in coaching you should be developing yourself through coaching as well. Who is helping you to get to where you want to be?

Cheerleaders – You need people who are on your side, who are cheering you on and keeping you motivated, especially at times when you feel disappointed or frustrated.

People who can help you in your business – Do you need to do everything yourself? Are there people who can save you time by doing tasks that you don’t know how to do or don’t like doing? The most precious commodity you have as a business person is your time. Could you be spending more time doing tasks that generate money, by paying people to help you?

5. Think from your client/customers viewpoint

What ratio of “you” to “I” words are you using when you talk to someone? If you have a website or a blog, what is the number of “I”, “me”, “my”, “our” and “us” vs. “you” and “your” that you are using? It is a quick indicator of whether you are focussed on things from your viewpoint or your customer’s viewpoint. When you meet someone find out what their needs and wants are before selling yourself. Offering your toolbox of skills is meaningless to a potential client, they are interested in how their needs can be met.

If you really want to be a coach, you need to make coaching work for you as a business. So what are the changes that will make a difference?

About the Author/Further Resources

To read a second guest post by Nicky Kriel, “The perks and pitfalls of social media for coaches” click here.