Tomorrow’s
Life Coach
Volume 3 Issue 7 - July 2004
In This Issue: In This Issue: Getting
Clients!
Upcoming Classes at ILCT
Pat’s Ponderings ~ Patrick
Williams, Ed. D., MCC
Editor’s Pen ~ Annette
Miller, MBA
The A.G.R.O.D. Formula for Marketing
Success! ~ James S. Vuocolo, MCC
Creating a Personal Brand ~ Debra
Valle, PCC
The Change Process and Coaching ~
Lisa Kramer, PCC
Keys for Effective Life Coach Newsletters ~
Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., CBC
Tomorrow's Life Coach is a professional
monthly online journal of the Institute for Life Coach
Training that nourishes the intellect, intuition and
inspiration of the personal/business coaching community.
TLC continues to gain in popularity among diverse
coaches and is highly recommended by Peer
Resources:
"One of the best free newsletters,
Tomorrow's Life Coach consists of well-researched,
informative articles on a variety of key topics for
coaches. While a publication of the Institute for
Life Coach Training, many of the articles are written
by other well-known coaches."
Upcoming
Classes at ILCT
Foundational Courses
Coaching Tools
and Skills
Practice Building
Courses
Coaching Applications/Specialties
Additional classes,
details and online registration at our course
section. Some schedules may change; check listing
or contact Edwina Adams, Administration/Registration,
at edwina@lifecoachtraining.com or
Diane Menendez, Director of Faculty and Curriculum,
at diane@lifecoachtraining.com
Pat's
Ponderings
Dear Fellow Coaches:
Getting clients...doesn't that sound
good? Wouldn't you like the magic bullet for doing so?
Remember that the principle of attraction in marketing
has ACTION as the last 5 letters. You must be in action
to attract paying clients. In this issue you will read
many ideas from some great experts. And don't forget
the section in my book Therapist as Life Coach on marketing
your business. That book is useful for ALL coaches,
not just former therapists.
NEWS ALERT: I will be sending an email
very soon about a training I am doing September 10-12.
It is an ONLINE event over three days called "Beyond
the HYPE: The truth about building a successful coaching
business". Since this is an online event, you can
check in from anywhere, any time and as often as you
want to participate, but the entire content will be
available at all times. There will be online dialogues,
lectures, breakout sessions, a bookstore and special
interviews as well. Watch for the email announcement
coming very soon and mark your calendar NOW. You can
spend a weekend with me without leaving home!!!
Happy Coaching!
Pat
Patrick Williams Ed.D., MCC
Chief Energizing Officer, ILCT
Department Chair, Professional Coaching
International University of Professional Studies: "Get
a PhD in professional coaching from a reputable university without
walls. Go to www.iups.edu...the
quickest and least expensive way to achieve a PhD in professional
coaching."
Editor's
Pen
Dear Coaches:
 It's
well know that one of the biggest challenges for coach
entrepreneurs is marketing. That led us to selecting "Getting
Clients!" as this month's focus. Read carefully
and gain wisdom from Jim Vuocolo, Debra Valle and Patsi
Krakoff on this hot topic! Also, you will enjoy Lisa
Kramer's article on the coaching process. Thanks go
to these successful coaches for sharing with our readers.
Keep an eagle eye out for our upcoming
issues: August--"Spirituality & Coaching" and
September--"Coaching Leaders." You are invited
to submit an article--see our guidelines at http://www.lifecoachtraining.com/resources/newsletter/guidelines.shtml.
As you experience life this summer,
we hope you take time for some fun and to be thankful
for the good things in life! Let us know how you are
using this newsletter to improve your coaching practice!
Wishing you summertime pleasures and
business success,
Annette
Annette A. Miller, MBA, Executive
Coach
Editor, Tomorrow's Life Coach
Graduate, ILCT
Member, ICF, CCN, IAC
Founder, LifeSync Coaching®
annette@lifesync.com
http://www.lifesync.com
Authorized Affiliate for Extended DISC assessments - Coaches
may join our teleclass "Understanding My Style" for FREE
or try out our most popular report for $49 and receive our Entrepreneurial
Style Report for FREE, on July 16 or July 29. Details at www.lifesync.com.
The
A.G.R.O.D. Formula for Marketing Success!
The difference between those who succeed in marketing
their services or products and those who do not is simply
this: members of the former group each have a “recipe
for success” or “success formula” they
follow exactly – something that unsuccessful marketers
never take the time and effort to learn and develop!
Marketers without any recipe or formula are easy to
spot. These folks scurry about from one networking or
training event to the next - from one brochure or web
site design to the next. They think in terms of taking
single marketing actions that are unrelated to one another
instead of having an overall strategic plan wherein
each act is one part of an entire vision.
Let me offer a simple 5-step process that many successful marketers
have adapted for use in their own situations. I call it the A.G.R.O.D.
Formula for Marketing Success – and here is how it works:
Step One is to Attract the Attention of the people in your
target market. This initial stage is where you clearly speak to
the interests and needs of the people you seek to attract, either
verbally or in writing, and offer a solution (think elevator speech,
headlines, public relations, etc.) This step requires knowing exactly
what and to whom you are selling. Without knowing this, you cannot
know how to “package” what you have to offer in ways
that appeal to your target audience – so take some time to
figure this one out! Hint: If you’re a coach, you’re
not simply offering coaching – so don’t seek to attract
people by “selling coaching services”. You’re
really in the human development business, offering personal and
business growth, development and change – start there!
Step Two is to Give Something of Value Away, i.e. something
that has perceived value by the members of your target market, yet
does not cost a great deal to produce and give away. Examples may
include reports, articles, audio cassette tapes or CD’s, assessments,
web site content, ezines, etc. In short, anything that enables people
in your target audience to better understand what you know and how
what you know and do can be made relevant to them. Successful marketers
know that to remain successful they often have to give people what
they want before they can give them what they need! Offering something
of perceived value for free is also a terrific way to obtain people’s
email or snail mail addresses for future follow up.
Step Three is to Remain in Contact with the people on your
list. Marketing successfully takes time and requires that people
get to know and trust you as a credible source they can turn to
for specific results. In short, remaining in contact enables you
to build a personal relationship with the members of your target
audience – and it’s precisely this relationship that
forms your business identity in the minds of others that enables
them to trust and purchase from you.
Postcards, ezines, letters, audio and video messages, etc. are all
ways that people can get to know you – and it may take as
many as thirty (30) different contacts to turn strangers into prospects
into clients. If you fail to gain someone’s contact information
at a networking or social gathering – or obtain it and fail
to follow up after one or two attempts, you have no effective recipe
for marketing success.
Step Four is to Offer Products or Services to your target
audience. Now that you have obtained people’s implicit or
explicit permission to remain in contact with them, you can begin
to offer specific products of services through your ezine or by
letter, etc. Examples may include the offer of a complimentary coaching
consultation, an invitation to attend a free or paid teleclass or
seminar, paying for and downloading something from your web site,
a trial month of coaching at a reduced rate or with a money back
satisfaction guarantee, etc.
Once you have Attracted people’s Attention, Given Away Something
of Value, and Remained in Contact with them, this fourth step requires
an ability to persuade people who respond to the Offers you make
that working with you is in their own best interest. Persuasion
is an art. It’s rooted in active listening that focuses attention
on the wants and needs of your prospective client, and then adapts
the services and/or products you have to offer in creative ways
that can meet these wants and needs in ways that are mutually agreed
upon by your new client and you. If you master the art of persuasion
by turning the people who respond to your offers into paying clients,
you will have a successful means of filling your practice!
The Fifth Step is to Deliver Your Product or Service. Once
people know and trust enough to purchase from you, it’s incumbent
upon you to do everything possible to keep them completely satisfied.
This requires a genuine commitment to ongoing customer service and
care so that you know you are delivering even more value than was
originally promised (we call this skill to under-promise and
over-deliver!). This is the way to produce “Raving Fans!” Delivering
quality is in the eye of the client – not the marketer or
coach. Take the time to look at your entire marketing system from
the client’s perspective; from the way you answer your phone
to the time it takes to reply to email inquiries, to the ways in
which you package and deliver your products and services. And remember – what
you think about these things counts a little; but what your prospects
and clients think about these things means a lot!
If you take the time to develop your own A.G.R.O.D. Formula for
Marketing Success, and then work to deliver quality products and
services, you will develop a steady stream of prospects, satisfied
clients, referrals, testimonials, and resources. In short, you’ll
find yourself in demand instead of in the wilderness!
Dr. James S. Vuocolo, MCC, is a senior faculty member and the
Director of Practice Development at ILCT. His 12-week advanced class, “Practice
Made Perfect: All You Need to Make Money As A Coach!” (based
on a 300 page eBook of the same name) starts on Wednesday, September
8 at 12:00 noon Eastern. Register with Edwina at ILCT.
"The best way
to predict the future is to create it."
~Peter Drucker
Creating
a Personal Brand
Building brand equity—making a “name
for yourself” that distinguishes you from competitors—is
the name of the game no matter how large or small the
enterprise. But developing a brand that “sticks” in
the mind of consumers requires deliberate and conscious
effort. What I observe is that most sole proprietors
spend little time thinking through their brand identity.
They operate on the premise “if I build it they
will come,” figuring an excellent reputation alone
results in a steady stream of clients. The sad truth
is that most such businesses go to their graves as the
world’s best-kept secrets.
Creating a Personal Brand Identity
To create a personal brand identity, you must first place yourself
squarely on the path of your success and consciously construct
and take responsibility for the vision, the business, and the
image you are creating.
At the core of your business sits an essential truth where your
specialized set of talents, gifts or strengths meets the needs (or
longing) of your customers.
It's important to understand the role
you play and value you add to the lives of your customers.
The quicker you lay hold to this value, the easier it
is to create and communicate a compelling message.
Four Easy Steps
The brand development process begins with research and planning.
You can start by…
1. Surveying loyal customers to understand
how these “raving fans” already promote
you.
2. Studying competitor services, pricing models, positioning, brand
messages.
3. Becoming clear as to how you want to be positioned (it is possible
to craft your reputation before you have one).
4. Looking beyond demographics to understand the wants, fears, desires,
and aspirations of your ideal customer.
Branding creates an emotional bridge
from the heart of your work to the heart of your customer.
You get there by exploring the functional, symbolic,
and emotional points of differentiation. What emerges
from completing these four steps is a selling idea and
a very clear brand story—the truth well told.
Getting Started
Your job as “CEO of Your Brand” is to discover how you
are currently positioned (or seen) in the eyes of your raving fans.
You begin by creating a personal focus group to help you better
understand your current brand position and your value in the marketplace.
1. Identify 8–12 clients or
associates who absolutely love you, continually call
on you for advice, or refer others to you.
2. Ask if they would be willing to participate in a small focus
group.
3. Explain that you are preparing to brand or “re-brand” your
business and that their insight is valuable.
4. If they agree, send them the following questions.
· When you approach me for
guidance or input, what do you expect to occur?
· What kinds of issues do you count on me to solve for you?
· What would you say is my special gift or talent?
· What would you say to someone else when describing what to
expect from me?
· How do you expect to feel following an interaction with me?
· What’s your sense of how I might be excluding potential
clients or opportunities?
· What measures could I take to create more opportunities or
a stronger identity/image?
Many people describe this exercise
as the most moving experience in the branding process.
Most are amazed that the attributes attracting others
to them are often the trait(s) they themselves take
for granted. Few have ever before realized the marketing
potential in their every day presence.
Important First Steps
Though you may not have a complete brand story yet, taking these
important first steps helps you better understand your value to
your ideal clients—plus you walk away with great testimonials,
an elevator speech, brochure and Web site copy, and straight from
the mouths of those most who know you best, you have some great
ideas on how to promote your business.
Primed with this information, you
can then confidently and consistently speak to what
it is you stand for, your “promise” in the
marketplace, the difference you make, and the overall
value you bring to table.
Debra Valle, PCC, business strategist
and president of Marketing U Inc., helps professionals
master the art of self-promotion--through the science
of branding, strategic planning and alliance development.
Students of ILCT get 20% off Marketing U teleclasses
with this promotional code--ILCT. Visit her website: www.marketingu.net.
"An inconvenience
is only an adventure wrongly considered;
an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered."
~ G.K. Chesterton
The
Change Process and Coaching
“You will have
wonderful surges forward. Then there must be a time
of consolidating before the next surge. Accept
this as part of the process and never become downhearted.”
~ Eileen Caddy
Coaching is a process
of action and learning. Clients come to coaching to
make changes in their lives. They take action, and then
pause to reflect on the impact of the action. Based
on the learning from this reflection, they take action
again. It is this cycle of action and learning that
sustains change over time. The change process evokes
a range of feelings from excitement to fear to joy to
frustration. The coaching partnership provides clients
with a safe environment to integrate these emotions
(energy in motion) to move forward and achieve their
goals.
From the very first coaching conversation, coaches can educate their
clients about the change process and prepare them for change. Clients
begin coaching with great enthusiasm---they’ve made an important
decision to move forward in their lives, and that decision alone
can be quite energizing.
At some point, typically between the second and third months of
coaching, there may be a dip in enthusiasm. Clients have been engaged
in the process long enough to realize that coaching is not magic,
and it is not a ‘quick fix’. In order for sustained
change to occur, clients have to do the work. While they may have
known this intellectually, experiencing it feels much different.
That is why it is important to establish an initial coaching agreement
of three to four months. It gives the client time to understand
what it means to be a client. I recommend a three-month check-in
to evaluate how the coaching is going. I email my clients a list
of questions and ask them to set aside some time at our next call
to discuss them.
The questions are:
What changes have I made since I started coaching?
What goals am I currently working on?
What has been most helpful for me in working with a coach?
What would I like more of from coaching? Less of?
Additional feedback, comments, suggestions
The three-month review is critical for a number of reasons: it provides
both you and your client with an opportunity to evaluate the coaching;
you, the coach, get helpful feedback from the client to use going
forward; and it honors the relationship as a partnership.
Some clients decide at the three-month point to end the coaching
relationship. Perhaps they came to coaching with a specific project
that they wanted to begin or complete and have reached that goal.
Or they may not be ready to do the work that is required to make
significant changes in their lives. They know the door is open to
pursue coaching again in the future. For now, they are ready to
take a break.
Fortunately, many clients decide to stay with coaching for a longer
time period. They recognize that they are on a path that requires
more time, energy and focus. Does that mean that coaching is smooth
sailing from here? Not necessarily. However an important milestone
has been reached. This milestone represents a kind of surrendering-to-the-process.
Clients now understand the power of the relationship in effecting
change, and they recognize that this power is a direct result of
their commitment to coaching and to their personal growth.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’d love your input for a chapter in
my book. What challenges do you face with your coaching clients
in assisting them to make changes in their lives? Please email me
at lisa@livingwithintention.com and
let me know what you would like me to address in my chapter on coaching
and the change process. Thanks!
Lisa G. Kramer, MSW, PCC, is a business and personal coach,
trainer and teleclass leader for ILCT. Lisa’s business,
Living With Intention (www.livingwithintention.com),
specializes in coaching, training and Coaching Mastery™.
She is the author of Coaching with Intention, the first book in
her Coaching Mastery series. She received her coach certification
from the Coaches Training Institute. Lisa teaches Relationship
Coaching with Couples at ILCT, and she will co-lead the Foundational
Coach Training later this year. You can reach her at lisa@livingwithintention.com.
Accelerate your
coaching skills and business growth
through ILCT's courses for professional coaches
Keys
for Effective Life Coach Newsletters
There is a lot of help
available for coaches wanting to create effective
newsletters and ezines. You can purchase content,
templates, email distributing systems – all
for relatively small fees. Ultimately, the coach is
responsible for putting their best “face” forward
and providing information that is useful, interesting
and professional to readers. Here are a few things
to keep in mind.
Make sure that your professional bio and contact information are
well-displayed on the newsletter. Providing your photo, and logo
with company colors is a good way to create a branding presence.
This assumes you are using PDF or HTML formatting for your newsletter
so that graphics are memorable.
If you are using text only, make sure your name and web site and
other contact information are all clearly displayed up front. Make
it easy for people to remember you. Catchy titles and subtitles
are very important, as it can make the difference of your ezine
getting opened and read or not.
And, always appeal to your readers. “Talk” about the
kinds of things that are really important to them, their success
and their world (hint: not yours!).
You can also ask them a question, or to rate your newsletter, such
as “how useful is this topic to you?” and provide an
email link. You can follow up with an email to ask if they received
the newsletter and if it was useful to them. In your follow-up email,
you can provide links to your web site, and tell them about programs
of interest to them.
The ideal newsletter is one that provides these three elements:
content, personal information, and asks for some sort of action
from readers. Some experts suggest that newsletters should be about
80 percent content that is useful to the reader, and only 20 percent
about you and your services. Getting the right balance is important
and may vary from time to time.
There is art and science in creating and distributing email newsletters,
and much to be learned in this rapidly changing marketing media.
The good news is that much of the work of newsletters can be outsourced.
Quality content for coaches is available for purchase. Autoresponders
and list managing services make the marketing work user-friendly.
The most important, however, is quality content that reflects your
knowledge and values.
Here are three styles of ezines to consider:
1. The promotional newsletter: This style of newsletter is all about
you taking some action. They encourage you to sign up for a free
report, attend a free telecourse seminar, download an e-book, or
offer valuable information for a fee. Some of them actively promote
six-month or two-year training courses for large fees, or directly
ask that you hire them. There is no doubt what they are selling,
and their newsletter content is quite obviously directed at you
taking some action. There may be some information or content, but
it is minimal.
2. The friendly newsletter: In the second style of email newsletter,
the professional “talks” about a particular situation
or dilemma that may be common to the reader, and then tells you
about how they provided solutions. The newsletter is designed to
show you how the writer has the answers to certain problems and
may be able to help you. The writer often talks about his personal
life as well, or the weather in their part of the country, and other
general topics the reader can relate to. The idea here is to create
a relationship and a connection in which the reader feels they know
the writer and would feel comfortable contacting them about their
own situation.
3. The content newsletter: The third style is the knowledge-based
newsletter. This is the most appropriate style for consulting services
providers. However, it too has its risks and disadvantages. They
can be managed, however, if you take the time to do so.
The advantage of a knowledge-based, full-content newsletter is that
you are truly giving your readers information they can use. This
is perceived as a free gift and a genuine service. It builds you
up in their minds as an expert on the subject. You gain credibility
and trust-worthiness because you provide them with information that
is credible and trust-worthy. You are an expert because you demonstrate
knowledge of the latest research, surveys and leading professional
publications. You also have an opportunity to share with your readers
your values and your heart-felt beliefs.
© 2004 Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., CBC
Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., CBC, is a psychologist, Certified Business
Coach, writer and editor, specializing in providing quality content
and PDF/HTML customized newsletters for coaches. She founded Coaching
Matters and then created Customized Newsletter Services (www.customizednewsletters.com).
You can reach her at patsi@customizednewsletters.com or
in Mexico at (52) 376-766-4803 (from the US you must first dial “011”.)
For a free report, The ROI For Coaching, and sample articles, send
an email to dr.patsi-45475@autocontactor.com.
For BizBook Nuggets, send a blank email to dr.patsi-57738@autocontactor.com.
"Most
people never run far enough on their first wind
to find out they’ve got a second.
Give your dreams all you’ve got and you’ll be amazed
at the energy that comes out of you."
~William James
Tomorrow's
Life Coach™
Patrick Williams, Ed.D., Publisher
Annette Miller, Editor, annette@lifesync.com
© 2004 Institute for Life Coach Training
www.lifecoachtraining.com
Phone: 888-267-1206
info@lifecoachtraining.com
If you wish to use any of our
content in a newsletter, magazine or other media
(whether public or internal), please request permission
from the editor.
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