Discover Your Coaching Niche

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Here’s a test to see whether this post from my iPhone will work.

Paul Lemberg shared this delegation process with Stompernet attendees in Atlanta earlier this afternoon.

There are five steps for effective delegation, all of them necessary.

1. What is being promised – get really clear on this.
2. The Conditions for Satisfaction – ie the acceptance criteria
3. Milestones, if the task is more than about a month in duration.
4. When will it be complete – get agreement.
5. How will we communicate on progress, and how often?

He also suggested guidelines for feedback for the delegation.  Paul suggested you ask the following questions to the person to whom you delegate, each time you communicate.
1. What is working?
2. What’s not working?
3. What’s missing – what do you need?
4. What’s next?

delegation, task management

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

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.

Tim Kenning is giving a presentation on NLP for Inspiration and Innovation on 19th April at the NLP one-day conference.

Tim says “This session is not about using the tools and techniques of NLP to become creative, it’s not about releasing your musical or artists talents, how to invent a ‘dog-walking machine’ or better mousetrap.”

“First and foremost this is about getting more from what you already have through a creative approach to NLP itself – this is a new look at the tools and techniques, from the perspective of the ideas behind them and even the ideas behind NLP.”

Although the conference is now fully booked, I’ve persuaded Tim to give a teleclass on NLP and Creativity on 19th March.  Have a listen to what he says about it below.

You can sign up for his teleclass, which I’m pleased to say I’m hosting via: http://www.nlpcreativity.com

This is a rare opportunity to learn from someone I consider to be the most creative person I know.  You should not miss this teleclass.  Oh, and did I mention it was free?

Why not sign up now?
http://www.nlpcreativity.com

Tim and I hope to see you there.

In the previous posts, we’ve stated that clients want leads rather than clients, and have outlined how coaches can get these leads.

7. So I Don’t Want Clients, I Want Leads? 

Absolutely. To recap, you want a means by which a large number of people from your target market can try you out on a low-cost, low-commitment, low-risk basis.

You want your low-cost product or service to be representative of you and what you offer. It should meet your prospects’ needs, and encourage them to want more from you.

8. So What Do I Do First to Get Leads? 

Locate your target market, and ask them what they want most.  Make sure you cover content and medium.

Listen to the answers. Then act on them!

Conclusion
 
In this article we’ve looked at why coaches should not be looking for clients.  We’ve argued that they should be looking for leads.

And we’ve laid out a process to follow that will ensure you get leads from your target market.

So the only remaining thing is to ask “What are you going to do next, as a result of reading this article?”
 
 
Alun Richards
Author of The BrandingYou! Workbook
Free Discover Your Coaching Niche Mini-Course available here:
http://www.brandingyou.org/ecoursesales.html

© Copyright Alun Richards 2007. 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.

in the first part of this article, we asserted that coaches don’t want clients – they want leads.  And we started to explore how coaches can attract leads.

4. That’s Quite a List – What Should I Choose? 

Well, rather than you choose what your target market might want, why not ask them?

Its always tempting to assume you know what your market want.  Sometimes it just seems so obvious.  But you can be surprised – it’s much better to ask, and act from knowledge, rather than guess, and act from ignorance.

And while you’re asking them what medium your product should take, do check that the content of the product is what they require, too. 

For example, you might believe that your target market need to know how to get clients. They might actually have a problem with converting prospects.  So ask! 

5. So They Tell Me What They Want – Then What? 

Now you have the most important information about your target market. You know what they want (the content) and what format they want their product or service.

Now all you have to do is produce the product (or service).  As you know it’s what they want, you should have no problem getting them to buy it.  Assuming you can produce the product – or get someone else to do it – you have a means to generate leads like they are going out of style.

Naturally, you’ll want a means to tell your target market about your product, to get it to them and to take payment, and you’ll want to keep your new prospects – your leads’ – details on file.

6. Why Do I Want To Keep My Leads on File? 

Because in the example we used at the start of this article, no-one is going to marry you straight off the street. (Or no-one you’ll be happily married to in a few years time, anyway.) They’re going to want to get to know you over a period of time.

So you’re probably going to have a few more interactions with these leads before any one of them commits and decides to buy your coaching services. Of course, several will drop out along the way. But that’s fine, as long as:
(1) they spend some money first, and
(2) there’s a queue of people to replace them.

This article continues in the next post.

Introduction

One of the biggest problems that coaches say they experience is getting clients.  In fact, their biggest problem is the thought that they need to get clients.  Read on to find out why… 

1. Don’t Get Clients! 

You heard me right – don’t get clients.  Look at it like this: do you, assuming for a moment you’re male and single, walk up to girls in the street and ask them to marry you?

No, of course you don’t!  That would be too big a step.  You want to take smaller steps first. You might want to go out for a coffee, to see if you might like to spend more time in each other’s company.

Well, it’s the same with clients.  If you have a mindset that you must get clients, you’re handicapping yourself from the start.

What you really want is leads. You want prospects who might be interested in what you have to offer, but would like to get to know you a bit better first.

2. Are You Sure I Want Leads? 

Yes. To many prospects, to ask if they’ll be a client – perhaps for a minimum of three months – is a step too far.  They’re going to say no, most likely. You’re asking them to commit time and money – and a lot of effort – with someone they’ve only just met.  How can they know if you and your services are right for them? 

Now, if there was a way to try out your services that was not such a commitment, then they might be interested.

3. But How Can They Try Out My Services? 

There are several ways, and savvy coaches are already employing a number of them. Basically, you want a low-cost, low-commitment product or service that a prospect can try out, and get to know you.

These may include offline presentations at your own, or other peoples’ seminars, exhibitions or workshops, where prospects can get a taste of what you offer. They could include your newsletter, e-courses delivered by autoresponder, e-books, specail reports, teleclasses or other low-cost products.

They could also include articles, recordings of presentations, your blog, podcasts, home study courses – the list is long and only limited by your imagination.

This article continues in the next two posts…

In this series of blog entries, we’ve been examining what we as coaches can do when we get a request to coach a group.  In the first part, we laid out the criteria for defining a group.  

Then we outlined the first two parts of the POES model – the Purpose and the Outcome.  Now we’ll move onto the Evidence and the Steps. 

Define the Evidence
Once we have a specific outcome, we need to know when we have reached it – we need the Evidence.

Get this Evidence in sensory specific terms – what specifically will you see and what will you hear when this outcome is achieved? Then as soon as what you see or hear indicates you have achieved the Outcome, you can wrap up the session.

Lay Out The Steps
Having defined the Purpose, Outcome and Evidence are vital precursors to the actual work in reaching your group’s Outcome. Now you need to know the Steps to get you the required outcome. These steps towards the outcome will either come from your knowledge of the problem domain, from another domain expert, or from your group.

So work through all the steps until you reach your outcome. Then pat yourself on the back and go and have a beer.

Anticipate problems
Sometimes working through POES is all you’ll need to do. Other times you may need to deal with common group-based problems.

A good facilitator will anticipate problems that can be caused by disruptive participants. A little thought beforehand about what could go awry – such as people arriving late or leaving early, one person dominating the session and dealing with low contributors can make all the difference.

Often, thinking about the potential problems and planning and agreeing the workshop rules accordingly can negate any problems.

But don’t be afraid to intervene to stop unhelpful group behaviour. As facilitator you’re the guardian of the Outcome – challenge any behaviour that is not taking the group towards their stated outcome.

Summary
So that’s it – work through the POES model, anticipate problems and challenge behaviour not moving towards the outcome. Now, step up, and offer to facilitate a group!

Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche. Discover yours with Alun’s free mini-course, “Discover Your Coaching Niche”,

Alun Richards www.brandingyou.org

ps There’s an excellent book for those who wish to develop their facilitation skills further – it’s “Managers as Facilitators” by Weaver & Farrell.
© 2007 Alun Richards.  All Rights Reserved

As a coach you may already have been asked if you would coach a group of people together. These requests often come from those who have not been coached before, and who are seeking what they perceive to be a lower-cost option.

People making these requests are not aware that coaching is inherently a 1:1 modality and its success relies upon the:

• Confidentiality of client issues
• Coach focusing their attention on a single client and their issues and
• A deep and trusting relationship built between client and coach.

This means that coaching is badly handicapped in a group setting. In a group setting you can’t possibly do justice to each participant and the quality of your coaching work will suffer as a result.

Don’t Coach Groups – Facilitate Them!
However, if you have a group with a specific shared interest or shared problems, you can use facilitation as a means to explore and resolve their issues.

Beware, though! A number of people together in a room with no inter-relationships, no working relationships, or no shared problems is not a group. Run, don’t walk away from these assemblies.

What is Facilitation?
Facilitation does have some similarities to coaching, but the addition of group dynamics makes different interventions and different styles of working necessary.

“But isn’t facilitation a skilled job” I hear you ask? Yes, but there are some guidelines you can use to facilitate a group effectively. Use the POES structure (Purpose, Outcome, Evidence and Steps) I outline below adding facilitation to your skillset!

Know your Purpose
What is your Purpose in facilitating this group? If the person asking for your services cannot give you a clear, unambiguous purpose, or tell you who can, you’re wasting your time and theirs.

So know the purpose, and get it clear, or do not proceed. Questions to ask include “Why are we meeting today?” “What is the intention behind our session?”. A skilled facilitator I know well consistently refuses to facilitate a workshop unless it has a clear stated purpose.

Know the Outcome
Having established the Purpose, determine the desired Outcome. This is the required end result of the session. Having this specific can considerably shorten and focus workshops. And a clear, unambiguous outcome makes finding the means to reach it that much easier.

In this article, we’ve covered the Purpose and Outcome of the POES process.  In the next blog entry, we’ll cover the next essential steps of the POES structure, and ensure you’re on your way to becoming a top-flight facilitator!