Archive for April, 2008
How to Avoid The Five Fatal Marketing Mistakes Made By 80% of All Coaches – part 3
Mistake 5. Not Taking Action
Finally, there are a number of coaches who have come this far only to be paralysed in not taking action. You must, you must take action. It’s the one thing that differentiates the successful from the also-rans.
As you’ve read thorough this report, you’ll have begun to identify what actions you need to take next. Write these down and set a deadline for their completion.
Identify whether your next step is to gather the information you need to complete the action, whether you need access to someone or something to proceed, or whether it’s simply about blocking out the time to do it.
But make sure you plan and are committed to do it. Then just do it.
Summary of the Five Fatal Marketing Mistakes
This report has examined the five fatal marketing mistakes made by 80% of all coaches.
In summary, they are:
Mistake 1. Not Having a Niche
Mistake 2. Not Knowing Their Biggest Problem
Mistake 3. Not Having a Solution to Their Problem
Mistake 4. Not Knowing How to Reach Your Niche
Mistake 5. Not Taking Action
It is very likely that one of these mistakes is seriously impeding your ability to dramatically grow your coaching practice.
Just by identifying this and committing to taking action, you will be ahead of the vast majority of coaches, and on your way to having a successful coaching practice.
Taking Action
We said earlier that one of the biggest problems for coaches with their marketing is not taking action. Commit to take action now as a result of reading this report.
What are the three actions you can take this week that will begin to resolve the marketing problems you face? Write these down.
For each of these, what is the very next step you must take? Write these down. Yes, write them down even if they are very straightforward.
Now commit to doing these this week.
© Copyright Alun Richards 2008. All Rights Reserved. You may freely distribute this article providing you do so in its entirety; ensuring the copyright and contact details above are included.
Technorati Tags: coaching marketing, five fatal marketing mistakes
How to Avoid The Five Fatal Marketing Mistakes Made By 80% of All Coaches – part 2
In the first part of this article, we examined the first two fatal marketing mistakes coaches make.
These were:
Mistake 1. Not Having a Niche
Mistake 2. Not Knowing Their Biggest Problem
We continue with fatal marketing mistake no. 3
Mistake 3. Not Having a Solution to Their Problem
The next biggest mistake is not having a solution to the problems experienced by the members of your niche.
Of course, you may already know a solution to their biggest problem. Or you may not know, and may have to work to create a solution.
Whatever situation you are in, identify the next steps to having a solution for your niche.
If you need to create a solution, consider what resources are available to you.
Here are some ideas:
- Import ready-made solutions from other disciplines.
- Use friends, colleagues or family members for ideas.
- Consider what previous business acquaintances could help you.
- What skills and knowledge from other areas of your life are relevant to the problem?
For other sources of ready-made solutions, consider what other people may have ready-made solutions to the problem. These may be within your niche – in which case you might consider a joint venture.
Or they may be from outside your niche, in which case you could consider adapting the solution to make it more specific to your niche.
Mistake 4. Not Knowing How to Reach Your Niche
You must be able to reach your niche effectively, either online or offline, and preferably both.
Reaching them implies knowing where to go to meet them, online and offline. Offline this means special interest groups, associations, networking groups, trade shows and the like.
Online this means forums, online lists, social media sites, membership sites and discussion groups.
If you don’t know where they meet, it’s research time. Ask other members of the niche where they hang out.
If you do know where they meet, it’s action time for you! Get involved with your niche, and get known!
This article will continue in the next posting.
How to Avoid The Five Fatal Marketing Mistakes Made By 80% of All Coaches – part 1
There are five fatal marketing mistakes that are made by at least 80% of all coaches. Are you strangling your coaching practice by making these mistakes? Read on to find out.
Mistake 1. Not Having a Niche
By far the biggest mistake made by coaches is not having a niche. Admit it, you’ve heard this many times, but you may not have taken action on it yet.
According to my research, 67% of all coaches do not have a niche. Many claim to not want one – “they like the variety.” The fact is that the most profitable coaching practices are those that do have a niche. And the coaching practices that have a niche find it the easiest to market to their target market.
So what is a niche?
A niche is a small, distinct part of a larger market. It’s one that has a definable set of members that are distinct from the mass market. The niche will be homogenous but distinct from the mass market in several important ways. These may be geography, psychographics, demographics, buying and other behaviour and will certainly include their preferences.
This means that understanding the makeup and preferences of your niche is likely to be a profitable activity.
Mistake 2. Not Knowing Their Biggest Problem
Members of a niche have specific needs and wants, and they have a small
number of specific problems that are similar within the niche but
different to the mass market.
You must know – or be able to find out – the problems that are commonly experienced by your niche. Whatever niche you have, there will be common problems experienced by most members of the niche.
If you don’t know the biggest problem (or problems) experienced by your niche, you will not know what they are most willing to pay good money to resolve.
If you do know their biggest problems, you’re half way to a solution. You need to be able to define the problem succinctly and specifically.
As well as asking what the biggest problems are, as why this is a problem. This will get you good quality information that you can use in creating a solution to the problem.
Technorati Tags: coaching marketing, coaching niche, five fatal marketing mistakes
Alun to be a Published Author
Yes, it’s true. I am currently writing a book called ‘The Ultimate Success Secrets For Coaches’.
I’ve co-written it with Dan Bradbury and a number of other successful coaches.
The book is packed full of inspirational stories about coaches taking action and succeeding. It charts how I and others went from where I was to becoming a successful coach. And it has the relevant key hints, tips, solutions and learning points that helped me through.
It’s highly practical, with Dan’s sections having a blueprint on exactly how to succeed in today’s coaching environment.
The book is made up of around 20 short chapters and has a ‘Chicken Soup For The Soul’ style.
Be the First to Get Your Hands On It!
It will be available shortly for £20, and I am taking pre-orders now via alun@brandingyou.org .
Send me your name, postal address and I’ll let you know how to pay!
Technorati Tags: The Ultimate Success Secrets For Coaches, Alun Richards, coaching success book, coaching author
Euro Coach List Conference – Bristol 20th September
The Euro Coach List is hosting a coaching conference in Bristol in September 2008.
It is open to all coaches, whether list members or not, and I will be one of the presenters.
My presentation
I’m delighted to announce that I will be giving a presention on The Seven Coaching MegaTrends and how they will affect your coaching practice.
This will be an expanded version of the article I have published in this blog, and the subsequent teleclass given on the Coaching MegaTrends.
My presentation will be immediately after the conference keynote speech, and will be in the largest venue at the conference.
I’d love it if you were to attend – see sign up details below.
The Conference
This is the first conference held by the Euro Coach List, after successfully hosting a vibrant coaching membership site and list for over 10 years.
If you’re a coach and can get to Bristol, on 20th September, this is a no-brainer. It’s affordable (read cheap), and you get to meet and interact with some highly qualified coaches who are by their nature helpful and friendly.
Benefits of the conference
- Get up to speed with the latest dynamics and thinking in the coaching industry
- Meet and interact with coaches you may have only met online
- Gain tips on expanding your coaching practice
- Network and make new contacts
- Spend the weekend in a relaxed atmosphere in Bristol
The Core Conference Programme
Registration opens at 9am, 20th September, and throughout the day there will be presentations by Euro Coach List members and other conference delegates.
Many of the presentations will be highly interactive, so expect to dive in and join in
There will be plenty of time between the presentations to continue chatting and deepen the connections
You can register now, at www.eurocoachlist.com/Events/ECLConference08
The conference fee is only £99, with a £10 discount for Euro Coach List
members and a £15 discount for registrations by Friday 18th April.
Technorati Tags: Seven Coaching MegaTrends, Euro Coach List, Conference, Bristol, Alun Richards