Discover Your Coaching Niche

Archive for the ‘Promotion’ Category

In the first part of this article we looked at what a testimonial is and why we as coaches should collect them. We examined what makes testimonials powerful – and when Cialdini’s Social Proof is highest.

Good and Bad Testimonials

Dan Kennedy distinguishes ‘Good-guy’ testimonials from ‘Outcome’ testimonials. ‘Good Guy’ testimonials say what a great guy Alun is, but are non-specific. They may be flattering to you, but they’re next to useless as a testimonial.

Outcome testimonials, on the other hand, are most effective when they:

1. Are based on the specific results your clients gained.
2. Focus on what happened differently after you coached them.
3. Are quantified in terms of money, time or both.
4. Are genuine, and appear genuine.
5. Are relevant to your target market.
6. Are made voluntarily.
7. Are made publicly.

So you want outcome testimonials in this form:

“I did X (a relevant thing for your clients to do) with Alun and the result was (saving of specific amount of money, time etc.)”
– Full name, location, contact details

Your Testimonials Must Appear Genuine

Now, of course, I’m sure you’ll be using genuine testimonials, but they must also appear genuine – so the more specific you make them the better.

For example:
“I made £17,312.53 in extra coaching income from just one of Alun’s ideas” is more believable than “I made £16,000 after attending Alun’s course.”

Also a client ‘AJ from Texas’ is not specific, and sounds made up. Anthony Jackson, Bank Teller, Fort Lauderdale, tel: 605-224-1817 does, however, sound credible.

When to Ask For Testimonials

Robert Cialdini says there are certain moments when his principles of social influence are greatest. So we can make use these moments when we ask for a testimonial.

He says that one of the best times to ask is after your client has paid you a compliment. Just ask immediately if they’d mind putting that in an email. Or if requesting an email is not appropriate, ask them to write it on a piece of paper.

Other times to ask, according to Cialdini, are after you’ve completed a specific piece of work, or after you’ve achieved a notable result. So this might be at the end of a seminar, teleseminar, coaching programme or client breakthrough.

How to Get Testimonials

So now you know what factors make a good testimonial. And you know when to ask for one. So what’s next?

Ask for them! Yes, you do have to ask. And consider obtaining an audio testimonial.

But if you’ve done a good job, most people are happy to supply you with one. Just guide them to be specific. And once you have the testimonials, in writing, or in audio form – use them, and build your coaching business!

Summary

1. Testimonials can be a powerful means to build your coaching practice.
2. You have to ask for testimonials – ask after your client has paid you a compliment.
3. Ensure you get specific outcome-based testimonials, not ‘good-guy’ ones.
4. Make sure they are, and appear to be genuine.
5. Get testimonials from clients representative of your target market.
6. Make getting and using testimonials a part of the way you do business.

Copyright Alun Richards 2008, all rights reserved. You may use this article as long as you include thi s copyright line and my resource details below.

Alun Richards helps coaches find and reach their coaching niche. Discover yours with Alun’s free mini-course, “Discover Your Coaching Niche”, available from http://www.nichecourse.co.uk

Technorati Tags: testimonials, Alun Richards, build your coaching business, get more customers

Why Use Testimonials?

Many successful coaches build their coaching practices by using testimonials. But many others either do not use them, or use them poorly. The fact is, a well-crafted, relevant testimonial can be a potent influence on your prospects.

But only if you know how to use them effectively. Read on to find out how…

What is a Testimonial?

A dictionary definition is:
“A statement, usually written, in support of another’s character or worth; a personal recommendation.”

Or more succinctly:

A testimonial is a statement from a client that details the benefit they gained from working with you.

OK, So Why are they Important?

Testimonials are important as they rely on Social Proof – one of Dr. Robert Cialdini’s potent factors of social influence. “Social Proof” is a psychological phenomenon that occurs in ambiguous social situations.

Under these circumstances, people who are unable to determine the appropriate way of behaving look to others for clues as to what is appropriate.

What is Needed for Social Proof

Social Proof is one of the most potent factors of influence and involves seeing what others around you are doing.

We’ve all seen it before – we choose restaurants that are popular over ones that are nearly empty. The logic is that if the restaurant is full then it must be good.

The power of Social Proof is greatest, Cialdini argues, when three things are true.

1. You find yourself in conditions of uncertainty.
2. Many people can be seen engaging in a particular activity.
3. You believe these people are similar to you.

Therefore, the more people there are engaging in a given activity, the stronger the social proof. Likewise if the people are like you (dress like you, appear to be part of your demographics or psychographics etc.), their actions will be more persuasive.

Social Proof & Coaching Testimonials

We can utilise social proof via client testimonials to gently persuade our prospects to buy our products and services. If we use these testimonials appropriately in our marketing, we can leverage the legitimate social influence inherent in our client’s recommendation to grow our business.

Making Testimonials More Persuasive

Knowing what we now know about social proof, we want to use testimonials that our audience can immediately relate to as coming from members of their group. In our case this would be people like our target audience.

People who have already attended one of our programmes, gained value and recommend it to others are likely to influence the others by their testimonials. So these are the people we want to ask.

But what makes a good testimonial? Read the next part of this article to find out!

Technorati Tags: testimonials, how to use testimonials, build your coaching business, Alun Richards

This is an extract from an interview with Peter Johnson, where Peter asks me about how to Achieve Expert Status.

Peter: Hi, it’s Peter Johnson here and I’m looking forward to interviewing Alun Richards. Alun is actually going to talk to us in some depth about how to grow your expert status in 90 days. Now, I find that incredible – expert status in 90 days!

Please Alun, just give an overall outline as to what this is all about?

Alun: Okay. Well, Peter, the way I see it, if you are working in professional services, if you are delivering professional services, whether you are a coach, whether you are a consultant, whether you are a therapist, whether you are a trainer, whether you are NLP practitioner – you are delivering personal professional services. And you need a way to attract customers to you if you are doing that.

Being perceived as an expert means that people are actually coming to you, rather than you having to go to the people. So, it’s in your interest to be portrayed as an expert within a particular field and then you’ll get people coming to you.

Peter: So, that is why we should be an expert.

Alun: Absolutely.

Peter: Now, you talk about 90 days. Now, we obviously got a journey to go through here. Could you outline some of the key steps in connection with that?

Alun: Absolutely. Now, one thing I will say before we start. It’s now possible to do that, I believe, within 90 days because you can leverage a number of the technologies that are available now, that weren’t simply available 10, 12 years ago.

So, you can leverage the internet, you can leverage personal data recording devices, one of which we are using now that, you know, simply did not exist a number of years ago. And these are increasingly affordable and accessible to everybody out there. So, I’m going to take people through what they can do in various different areas.

Peter: That would be very useful. Great. So what is an expert?

Alun: Well, an expert is somebody who has got skills, knowledge, and experience within a specific narrow field. And I am saying narrow field because, let’s be honest, unless you are Leonardo da Vinci, you haven’t really seriously got expertise in more than one or two or maximum three fields.

You know, Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance painter. He was a scientist. He was a researcher. You know, Renaissance, the archetype of Renaissance man. Typically, people aren’t like that anymore, but you can have specific in-depth knowledge in a narrow area and if you have that, you can be highly sought after by your clients.

Peter: That is great. So, you maintain it’s necessary to be an expert and have a niche particularly. First, explain what a niche is, a real niche, and why is it important to be an expert in this field?

Alun: Well, a niche is simply a small part of a much larger market. So, for example, a mass market might be a market for people who buy washing liquid or washing powder for their clothes. That will be a typical mass market product. Now, when you are talking about a niche, you are talking about a very, very narrow area.

For example, if I tell you what my niche is – I provide services to coaches to improve their marketing. So, it’s specifically for coaches although, a lot of this stuff works for other professional service providers as well; but I concentrate on coaches who want to find their own niche, funnily enough, and then leverage that by understanding what marketing can give them and allow them to bring in more business. So, that’s my niche.

And when anybody specialises in a niche like that, you can quickly get formal credibility and authority because of what you know and what you are able to deliver to your target market.

Technorati Tags: Expert, Achieve Expert Status, coaching marketing

Expert Audio

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.

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

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

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

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.

Hi, it’s me, Alun Richards writing to alert you about a LIVE! 65-min. Masterclass teleseminar held on Tuesday 18th March at 8pm GMT, (12pm PST 3pm EST).

The topic is Get More Coaching Clients in 2008 and you can sign up here:
http://www.getmorecoachingclients.co.uk

(Sorry non-coaches, this teleseminar is FOR coaches ONLY).

This is the first time this Masterclass has been held this year, and judging by the demand for the article it was based on it will sell out fast!

When you attend this LIVE! 65-min. Masterclass, you’ll discover…

• The 7 MegaTrends that are changing the coaching
• industry and how you must respond!
• The One Key Step you must take to be successful as a coach
• How to Talk so your coaching prospects will listen!

And much, much, much, more!!!

REMEMBER: This Masterclass is limited to first 200 coaches who register. And registrants will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sorry, no exceptions

You may bring a friend to this teleseminar Masterclass, but please NO non-coaches!

See you there!

Alun Richards
Sign up here: http://www.getmorecoachingclients.co.uk
07808 822342