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A Sure-Fire, 10-Step Formula To Get Started As A Coach Or Consultant
"My guess is first I'll need some zippy flyers and a tri-fold brochure" said an email from Matt last week. Sadly, he is not the only one thinking that the first step to building a professional business is printing fliers and brochures. After all, that's what everyone does, right? And it seems like a logical place to start, doesn't it? It's interesting that while most people who call me about my marketing mentoring services are well established practitioners looking for a new edge, Matt's message was one of the 14 emails I got last week from people who are just starting to build their practice. They all wanted to know the best way to get started fast but seemed to be fixated on getting their fliers and brochures ready. Fact is, "zippy flyers and tri-folds" are a bad idea when you are just starting out. They can be pricey if you want them to look sharp. But even worse - they are so "inflexible". If you are just starting out, I'm more than sure, that you will quickly go through several "adjustments". I've seen people spent thousands on the "zippy brochures" only to find them useless in a couple of months. So if getting brochures doesn't work what's the right way to go? Here is my sure-fire 10-step formula to quickly get started as a coach or consultant. And, if you are a well established practitioner, these ten tips may just give you the swift kick in the pants you need to re-invigorate your marketing. 1. PLAN. Yes, I know you've heard this before, but still too few people take the time to do this. Find out what makes you tick. Evaluate your own strengths, desires, skills. What are you really good at? What do you love learning about? If you've worked with clients before - what type of clients did you have best results with so far? If you don't have at least your "who" (your ideal client), "what" (the problems you solve) and "how" (your unique solution) figured out, don't even bother moving to step two. 2. Find a "hive". This is a critical step that most people completely overlook. You've got to find a market that WANTS what you've got (or what you want to learn.) Ideally, people in this market should already be aware of their problem, have a real desire to solve it and the money to do so. Evaluate if you can easily find and reach those people. Do they have an association, annual conference? Is there a list you can buy? If you can't find a hive - look for a different target market or change your offering. 3. Listen and learn. Talk to people you want to work with. Learn their language; how they communicate about their needs and problems. Ask them to tell you what solutions they are looking for and their preferred method of learning and solving problems. 4. Develop your Magnetic Marketing Message. Learn to describe what you are offering in 15 seconds or less. Make sure your message clearly communicates three things: who you help, their problem, and your unique solution. This message is about the people you work with not about you. This is where you get your business cards. I recommend you name your business in a way that communicates what you do and get some basic business cards to start. The ones from vistaprint.com are great. $10 or $15 will easily get you started, although I recommend you spring the extra five bucks and opt not to have their branding on the back of your cards. If possible, make your card an invitation to contact you. For example, my own cards advertise my free marketing report and invite people to download it from my web site. 5. Create attraction tools. Write a few "Top 10" articles and a "special report" that address the biggest problems your potential clients are experiencing. Here is a hot tip for you: if you don't think you have enough expertise on the topic you want to teach - start by interviewing a few experts. 6. Build a basic web site. Don't wait for months or years. All you need are a few simple pages that communicate your magnetic marketing message, give you a place to post your articles and invite your visitors to sign up for your electronic newsletter or ezine. Oh, I guess that would be step six and a half start your ezine! It's so simple to do, there is just no excuse not to have one. You can start with something like www.ezezine.com - it will cost your nothing to send a monthly message if you have fewer than 1000 subscribers. If you've got a large list already, use something like www.kickstartcart.com (the system I'm using.) 7. Start teaching! Offer free teleclasses and build interest around what you are going to coach or consult on. This is an important step; it allows people to get to know you and "sample" your services while it gives you an opportunity to test and tweak your content. 8. Help your first 5-10 clients. Coach a few people in your target market for free or trade services with them to get started. This will allow you to get your first success stories fast. Make it a habit to collect testimonials from every client. If you are having hard time getting your first few clients here is your clue - focus more on how to "create more value" for your clients and less on how to "get" clients. 9. Develop group programs. Selling open-end coaching or consulting engagements can be tough. It's often hard to get people to see what they will get out of working with you. You can overcome this by developing specific, close-end programs. They are easier to explain, offer more "tangible" outcomes and are more affordable since there are several participants paying for your time. Those programs can become your "great client incubator" a place from which your larger/individual assignments and projects will come. 10. Keep'em coming. Once you get your first few clients it's easy to get overwhelmed and stop marketing. But you've got to keep your marketing machine cranking at all time. Most successful coaches and consultants learn that continuous education-based marketing (marketing by sharing their expertise) can get them more than enough business and establish them as undisputable experts at the same time. You too can get similar results by writing and publishing articles, developing info-products and getting invited as a speaker to groups that attract your potential clients. This is obviously only a beginning guide. But I guarantee that if you follow those 10 simple steps in just six months to a year you too can build a successful practice. (c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski The Author, Adam Urbanski, a Marketing Mentor, helps Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more free tutorial articles, hot how-to tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com
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Business Management Passport to Passion Passion is a feeling of excitement and intensity. The energy of passion fuels a fulfilled life, and supports the growth and development of our personal purpose and potential. When was the last time you felt pure passion? Do you even know what you are passionate about? Would you recognize an opportunity to reconnect with your personal passion if one presented itself? Two Leadership Strategies: Don't Lose Your Mind & Be a Coach Are you feeling overwhelmed, a lack of confidence or under a ton of pressure? Are you trying too hard to make something work and focusing too much on trying to fulfill other people's needs and expectations? You may have "lost your mind!" 3 Tips for a Great Summer - Developing Life & Business While Having a Blast As the last day of school arrives I feel the same tendency I had as a child... to drop everything and scream "let's go play!" After all, extreme self-care is so important. I also wonder if we tend to use the summer as an excuse to procrastinate. So here are a few tips to integrate personal and business growth with a whole lot of fun. Lovers Remorse Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 29, 2002 4 Underused Hot Spots for Your Personal Branding Iron I'll never forget what my mentor told me: "Don't communicate in any way to any person without the stamp of your personal brand." 3 Keys to Making Small Talk Easy to Do Small talk used to be really hard work for me. I never knew what to say and I always worried about saying the wrong thing. A Visualization Exercise on Managing Expectations for Adults with ADD As adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), we often find ourselves excited by new ideas and plans, but overwhelmed by what it will take to reach the goals. Coaching Employees - The Chronic Excuser Most of us find coaching employees to be an effective, even enjoyable, approach to leadership and management. Coaching provides a way to help team members grow and develop, while achieving business objectives. But occasionally, we encounter a team member who has an excuse for every situation. How can we help team members like this accept responsibility and focus on solutions, rather than dwell on the reasons why things aren't accomplished? How can we ensure that we really gain commitment and consensus on plans, assignments, and projects Gullibles Travels A journey by a web-footed gull through a sea of sharks. Run to Win I was never much of an athlete growing up. Notoriously clumsy, I was ostracized by our school volleyball and basketball teams. Nevertheless, there was one sport in which I excelled - running. Year after year I won top prizes at school track meets. Courage and the Agony of Coaching Employees Coaching employees on sensitive and personal topics like performance or contribution to the organization can be as difficult and agonizing as telling a young son or daughter about sex for the first time. You end up playing the same mental games in your head over and over again: "What should they be told? How much do they already know? (Or how much do they want me to think they know?) How much detail should I go into?" If you are unable to answer any of these penetrating questions, you tend to put the task off for another six months. Eventually, you discover the harsh reality that there is very little they are unaware of, but a lot they don't know. Coaching for Success Coaching is perhaps the most effective method of increasing performance available to managers, team leaders, and colleagues. This article defines coaching and outlines a process for effective coaching. How to Make $100,000 Dollars as a Personal Trainer Part A for Attitude! My name is Greg Ryan. For the last twenty years I have counseled thousands of personal trainers, fitness directors and gym owners on how be successful in the health and fitness industry. No matter where I go in the world, no matter the size of the gym the biggest reason for their lack of success is all the same. My question is, "Do you want to be a mediocre Personal Trainer or do you want to be a GREAT one? The Art of Change We don't change. I imagine such a statement could find a lot of opinionated opposition if it implied a lack of growth, whether that be on a knowledgeable level, a logical or spiritual one, but in this case we refer to ourselves and who we are in relation to who we were when we decided to grace this world with our presence. Is Coaching For You? More and more people have less and less time, but have greater demands both personally and professionally. This situation has resulted in the emergence of personal coaching within four basic areas: Financial, Physical or Fitness, Life or Career and Executive Performance. 7 Steps to Take Control of Your Life Taking control of your life is getting in touch with your values, setting meaningful goals and identifying your vision. To be in control of where life is taking you means being more productive, dealing more effectively with stress, having the ability to solve problems, handing change and developing healthy optimism. Start with these 7 steps and you are on your way. A Coaching Secret I've told people for a long time that one of the "secrets" of coaching is forgiveness. Forgiveness takes your finger out of the dyke of the past so you can let the future flow. Buddha said, "forgiveness is giving up all hope of a better past." It is an act of total volition, requiring only a softening of the heart. But how do you forgive the unforgivable? Value Based Leadership Coaching What can I do to be a better coach? The Eight Step Coaching Model describes the process, yet too often the focus is on techniques only. "How can I say it to win my point, get others to do things my way, or convince them?" Focusing only on one technique is fundamentally manipulative. Good leadership coaching, like good parenting, is a way of being as well as doing. This way of being, or our values, drives our behaviors. Like Olympic figure skaters, coaches should evaluate themselves in two areas; skills and style, the expression of your values. It's All To Do With The Way You Wake Up Do you start your day with anger, frustration and annoyance at the alarm and the need to get up? Do you wake up hoping the day will go away and you can get back to sleep? Have you lost the fun? The confidence to have a go at things. Are you struggling along? Are you just going through the rituals of life? Are you just doing enough at work? Doing what is necessary because you think you 'ought, should, must do this for the sake of others? Do you feel all washed up and no one is interested in you? Do you feel devoid of vibrancy, and sense of purpose, an aimless victim buffeted by the winds of change? It's all to do with the way you wake up. How to Quickly and Easily Deal With Rude People Where I live there seems to be a a growing population of rude and vulgar people. And no matter how hard I wish for things to change it is not going to happen. It is up to me to change how I think and feel about these people. The same applies for you.
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