Sep 12, 2018
As you navigate the early stages of launching your coaching business, you’re probably receiving a ton of advice … advice about marketing and client support, and, of course, about how to attract leads and convert them to clients so you can fill your practice.
You probably know that not all advice is created equal.
That’s why I wanted to share the single most important advice I received when I was starting my own coaching practice. It’s advice I’ve followed again and again throughout my career as a coach and as I launched and grew The Coaches Console alongside my business partner Kate Steinbacher.
But first, a story …
When I first started my coaching practice in 2003, I attended Coach U, a training school founded by Thomas Leonard, the official maker of the coaching world.
He’d died about a year before I started attending the school, but as part of my training, I was listening to a recording he’d made during a class run by one of the Coach U employees, Sandy.
In it, Thomas shared a formula that outlined how many people you had to talk to, in order to get a certain number of clients to sign on with you.
Although this isn’t the actual formula he used, here’s an example: If you want to get 10 clients, you have to have 20 meetings. If you want to have 20 meetings, you have to call 100 people.
He said, “The more people you meet with, the more yeses you get.”
And I realized: this advice wasn’t exclusive to meeting with people. It was bigger than that.
It was about consistency.
Specifically, by taking consistent, intentional action (in this case, meeting with a certain number of people), a business owner can create the results she wants in her business (in this case, filling my practice).
I decided to meet with as many people as possible. And, to increase the effectiveness of my meetings, I was sure to prepare in advance. I met with people who were potential ideal clients, or who could help me find my ideal clients. And I met with a lot of them.
Here’s how the process looked—and the results it yielded:
I set up an “office” in a local coffee shop, Roanoke Mountain Coffee Shop. Twice or three times each week, for three months, I’d spend four, five, or six hours at the coffee shop.
My first appointment would come in and meet me for coffee, and we’d talk about how I could help—whether it was through coaching, or referrals, or simply by sharing information. That person would leave, I wouldn’t move, and my next appointment would come in and have lunch with me. Again, we’d talk, that person would leave, I wouldn’t move, and my next appointment would come in.
As I mentioned, I prepared in advance for each meeting: I always researched the people I was meeting with, so I could learn what I could about them. Then, when we sat down together, we could dive into the meat of the conversation right away. And although I was looking to build my business, and fill it with clients, I focused more on generosity: seeking ways I could support these people in the challenges they were facing at the time.
That might mean giving them advice about a book or article I found helpful, or about another professional who might be able to help them. It might mean I introduced them to someone else. No matter what, I always offered value.
And because of that, they were quick to reciprocate and find ways to help me.
Some of the people I met with turned into clients, some turned into referral sources or JV partners, and others turned into friends.
When I heard, “No,” I didn’t take it personally because I knew my consistency would pay off.
It worked! Even though my hair and clothes constantly smelled like coffee, even though I drank so much of it I couldn’t even stomach it any more, it worked.
Person by person, referral source by referral source, client by client, I filled and built my coaching business. There was (and is) magic in the numbers.
This was MY system for converting and enrolling people, and because I employed the most important advice I ever received—be consistent!—my business growth flowed fast.
If you’d like to learn more about how to develop and use a system that works for you, I’d like to invite you to download an important, complimentary resource I designed to guide you in systemizing your business so you get the results you want! It’s called 12 Proven Strategies for Launching & Scaling a Coaching Business Now and you can download it here, now.
Sep 7, 2018
Brent Roy, Professional Life and Leadership Coach, was stuck.
He was coaching a few clients, but wanted to attract more. He wanted to take the steps necessary to turn his coaching hobby into a profitable business—and he was exhausted from trying (and spinning his wheels).
It would have been ideal to earn as much as or more than what he was making at his full-time job … because if he was coaching, he’d be doing what he loved to do!
But … he felt like a car stuck in the snow. The wheels were turning, but he wasn’t going anywhere (and he was wasting a lot of gas).
At the time, Brent wasn’t completely clear on his niche or how to begin reaching potential clients (or, what to charge when he did find them).
Although he’d invested money in coach training and mastermind groups, they didn’t provide the roadmap he needed to get his business launched.
So—he was scared and overwhelmed, and more importantly, he was on the verge of walking away from his dream of owning a thriving coaching business. (EEK! I know!)
That’s when he signed up for our Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp. At first, he was apprehensive about spending more money on anything to do with coaching, but when he saw one of his instructors on a Coaches Console Training, he reached out and asked how she liked it.
She said she loved it—so he joined Bootcamp and, he said, never looked back.
During the 12 weeks he spent in Bootcamp, he transformed from a hobbyist who enjoyed coaching but procrastinated on the hard things that would get his business systems in place into a confident business owner ready to launch his niche market!
Thanks to the Bootcamp’s step-by-step approach, Brent was able to put in place the pieces needed to attract, engage, and convert prospects so he could build his business.
He’s created his lead magnet, a huge list of potential clients, an online scheduling calendar, follow-up emails for clients and potential clients, and several coaching packages.
Most importantly, he’s thriving—and he’s helping his clients do the same.
If you’d like to read additional real-life success stories from other coaches who have used The Coaches Console and our Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp, download your complimentary copy of 12 Proven Strategies for Launching & Scaling a Coaching Business Now, here.
PS: Brent Roy is a Certified Professional Life and Leadership Coach who enjoys helping emerging leaders find balance in their life and work. In 2012, he received the IPAC President’s Award for Excellence in Professional Development through UNB’s Public Service Management Program. He provides flexible, personalized programs to individuals and classes that help them or their team reclaim a sense of balance. https://www.brentroy.com/
Sep 3, 2018
When Nan Reed Twiss launched her Coach for Higher coaching practice, she did it right the first time: she began using The Coaches Console from the start.
Nan believes doing so saved her from dealing with the challenges of automation and organization—and spared her from discovering the hard way what she didn’t know in terms of running the back end of her business.
Of course, all business owners face challenges, and although Nan skipped the technology-related ones, she did struggle with defining her niche. She wanted to be really clear about who she wanted to serve, so she could develop an effective marketing strategy.
This was several years into her coaching practice, and by then, the inner circle that had led to most of her clients wasn’t enough to fuel the larger business she wanted to build. She was afraid her client base might dribble away. And although business was steady, she knew that with the addition of online and group programs, it could be even better in terms of enabling her to be affordable for more clients, serve more people, and make more money—all while enjoying time freedom.
With that in mind, Nan enrolled in our Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp.
During our time together, Nan changed and refined her niche, and rewrote her website to reflect her new direction. As a result of this refined niche and marketing, she built her community—through networking, workshops, and increased business opportunities.
In addition to building her community, she built her client base! While she signed some clients right away, others came to her several years later—but she said all those new clients were directly traceable to what she did in Bootcamp.
As Nan began to experience the results she desired, she also experienced an expanded sense of optimism and possibility, she said, like, “Maybe I really can do this.”
She realized that as she grew her client base and added income streams to her business model, she was earning enough money that maybe she wouldn’t have to rent out her summer happy place on the lake, which meant she could spend more family time there.
The proof that Bootcamp worked for Nan is in the numbers: she nearly quadrupled her pre-Bootcamp annual income as a result of the changes she made.
In fact, she said that although she hadn’t compromised her family time at all, the increase in her income has allowed her to reserve an entire month for her family to spend at their lake house two years in a row.
Although Nan had our integrated software solution in place from the beginning, what she experienced in Bootcamp encouraged her to step up her game—to think bigger than she had been.
She said, “Bootcamp set higher goals for me than I had been setting for myself—and it worked.”
If you’d like to read more real-life success stories inspired by the Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp and The Coaches Console, download your complimentary copy of 12 Proven Strategies for Launching & Scaling a Coaching Business Now, here.
PS: Nan’s goal is to help her clients deepen their learning and produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses, and organizations. She brings more than twenty years of experience as a coach, consultant, facilitator, and educator. Her clients include senior partners at top management consulting firms, middle managers at Fortune 500 companies, small business owners, and gang kids in Oakland, California. Whatever the engagement, her clients become better at motivating, inspiring, and bringing out greatness in others – as well as in themselves – to make a positive difference in their world professionally and personally.
https://www.coachforhigher.com
Aug 26, 2018
When Jenifer Horvath, founder of Heart Lifted Coaching, was reorganized out of her corporate job, it was both a dream and a nightmare: she finally had the time and space to become a full-time coach, but she was also overwhelmed with ALL the aspects of setting up her coaching business, finding clients, and changing her career path.
Fortunately, she’d already begun her coaching education—because this world traveler had a dream of being able to coach women (moms) from wherever she was—but she was still in the very early stages: fiddling with a website, email service provider, and online scheduler … and she didn’t have any paying clients yet.
As a single mom, Jenifer wanted a successful coaching practice that provided a steady stream of income, as well as the lifestyle that would allow her to be both an entrepreneur and a hands-on mom to her daughters.
She spent the first two months of her post-corporate life struggling to get her business up and running.
During that time, she felt stressed about the technology, and about the fact that she didn’t yet have paying clients or the income that would result from them.
That’s when she realized she needed structure and support if she ever hoped to get her business launched and profitable—with all the details organized and streamlined!
At that time, The Coaches Console and the Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp came onto her radar. As soon as she saw the technology and the supportive structure of the course, she knew she had to do it.
This, she said, was the universe helping her out.
Since starting with Bootcamp, she went from what she called “zero everything” to 420 email list subscribers and 13 paying clients. The TCC platform and the support and knowledge she acquired during Bootcamp have helped her get and stay focused and gain momentum.
She went from stressed and overwhelmed to reaching her goals and loving her life!
She’s now in charge and in control of her time and business, and she loves the flexibility of working from home she can spend more time with her kids.
Jenifer said that investing in herself, in her clients, and in her future was one of the best decisions she’s ever made. TCC and Bootcamp gave her the structure, insights, and community she needed, and she continues to use the content long after Bootcamp is officially over.
On a recent trip to the Rocky Mountains for a girls’ getaway, she realized she was living her entrepreneurial dream: she was coaching a client from the balcony of the condo where she was staying. The moment washed over her. She was traveling and coaching, and she’d soon return home to be a work-from-home mom with the flexibility and the means to really take care of her daughters.
Ahh … bliss!
For more real-life stories from coaches who used The Coaches Console and Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp to transform their businesses and their lives, download your complimentary copy of 12 Proven Strategies for Launching & Scaling a Coaching Business Now, here.
PS! Jenifer Horvath, founder of Heart Lifted Coaching, helps women, who are mothers, overcome overwhelm, get rid of the bag of guilt, stop procrastinating, figure out what they want, and then make it happen, all with a family
http://www.heartlifted.com/
Aug 22, 2018
She’d been in business for five years, and Pediatric Sleep Consultant Joanna Clark, founder of Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching, was overwhelmed, disorganized, and exhausted.
She spent way too much time on the administrative functions of maintaining her business—we’re talking hours each evening after her daughter went to bed—and because this and coaching took up all of her time, she didn’t have any to spend on marketing and networking.
And while she was making some money each year, she wanted to go further, to earn more.
But because she didn’t have a systematic way to follow up with prospects or nurture clients (her contacts were listed in several different notebooks, and she had to copy, paste, and re-personalize each email she sent), business growth seemed improbable.
She wanted to feel organized and streamlined and portable, and she wanted to appear (and feel) professional.
Then she heard about The Coaches Console and our Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp. She attended an introductory informational call, and realized she was operating like a hobbyist—not like the professional she wanted to operate like.
And that was it: the moment she realized she couldn’t piece together all the elements of her business. She knew that to go further, she needed the right business solution: one that would reduce administrative efforts and leverage her time for more marketing, outreach, and continued education.
She signed up for TCC and Bootcamp immediately.
During Bootcamp, Joanna went “all in” and hired a VA to help her implement what she was learning.
By the end of Bootcamp, she had all her past clients and prospects in a single organized system, complete with contracts, autoresponders, and email templates!
She was up and running!
Not only did she feel more confident, professional, calm, and in control, but she also input more than 500 verifiable contacts, and has since gained more than 200 one-on-one clients.
Plus, in the first year she used The Coaches Console, Joanna earned 110% more than she had in the previous year!
Joanna explained that Bootcamp gave her the perspective she needed to work ON her business, pay attention to her list, and adjust her marketing to attract more prospects, more effectively.
It also gave her the guidance and support she needed to be successful—through interacting with Melinda and Kate, going through the modules, being part of the Facebook community, and joining the monthly coaching calls.
TCC and Bootcamp helped Joanna make the transition from hobbyist to businesswoman.
Joanna said she wishes she’d known about TCC and Bootcamp when she first started her business … she believes she’d be at an entirely new level if she had the power of the TCC software and the information she gained during Bootcamp from the beginning.
She calls TCC and Bootcamp “the best business investment she’s made so far,” and said she’d encourage any startup coach to join TCC today, because no other program compares in its depth and support, and no other software is as powerful or easy to use.
I’ve created an important (and complimentary) resource designed to help you determine which specific actions you can take and systems you can implement, based on your precise situation, to move your business forward with confidence and create your own success. It’s called 12 Proven Strategies for Launching & Scaling a Coaching Business Now and you can download it here, now!
P.S. Joanna Clark, founder of Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching, works with parents who are feeling sleep-deprived, cranky and overwhelmed because their babies and children still wake them up multiple times each night. With proven expertise, a gentle, signature process, and full-service support, Joanna helps parents tenderly teach the “skills of sleep” to their children (guilt-free gentle sleep coaching). The result: well-rested families who enjoy calm bedtimes, peaceful nights, and optimal sleep. Happy clients experience and rave about increased marital harmony, more confident parenting, and a renewed ability to enjoy daily life as a parent. Joanna has helped over 600 families, that’s over 2000 people sleeping better. Let her help your family sleep better too!
Aug 20, 2018
Rachel Dungan, The Pharmacist Coach, was working 80-hour weeks, spending more than 80% of her time doing back-end administration tasks—manually. This mother of three small children was chronically stressed, burning the candle at both ends: she stayed up late to work, and was cranky and slow moving in the mornings.
She knew she needed to generate more business in order for her coaching company to be financially sustainable. But she also felt completely overwhelmed with the day-to-day running of the business, and therefore, she wasn’t confident about seeking new clients.
Rachel’s coaching business, which at one point felt like a valuable way to create income, now felt like a slog! Yet, opportunity after opportunity slipped through the cracks as she did her best to get through each day.
She knew she needed to find a way to get Pareto’s 80/20 rule working in her favor—so she could do the most valuable work to generate the majority of her income and impact. She knew that would empower her to feel organized, in control, and financially secure, while creating business and family life that enabled her to live what she coaches: the excellent management of health and well-being.
And she knew the best way to do that was to implement an integrated, online business solution that helped her find and deliver value to her clients. She spent a year working with IT developers to piece together such a solution, but it just didn’t work seamlessly.
That’s when Rachel discovered The Coaches Console and Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp.
At the time, she had no list, sales pages, online products, automated calendar, client record system, email autoresponders, analytics, or online payment options.
What she did have, she said, was a dizzying array of Dropbox files with lots of one-off intellectual property, adding very little value to anyone she worked with.
Now, she has a list of more than 2000 prospects, two joint venture partners, 117 buyers, and several online programs (both self-study and live). She’s created a 12-month online medical coaching learning community, and she’s repurposed her flagship program for online delivery to complement face-to-face delivery.
Since using TCC to implement what she learned in Bootcamp, Rachel has transitioned from employee, to contract work, to full-time business owner.
She feels a strong sense of achievement, and is confident that her business is viable—that it can be financially solvent while making the positive impact about which she’s so passionate.
And because she utilizes TCC to handle all those once-overwhelming details, Rachel is now able to focus only on the important items, putting Pareto’s rule to work!
Personally, Rachel feels more in control, less overwhelmed, and handling the challenges of entrepreneurship and motherhood with increased energy and enthusiasm.
Rachel said that for coaches who aspire to convert coaching into a sustainable business, the simplest and most effective way is to use a proven system, specifically designed for coaches—such as Easy Breezy Coaching Business Bootcamp and TCC.
It’s important to spend time laying the foundation, and it takes effort and dedication to learn the ropes and implement the steps, she said. But it’s worth it to know you’re doing the right things in the right order to get the results you want!
And when you do run into roadblocks, she said, it’s priceless to know support is out there, from TCC co-founders Melinda and Kate to the community of coaches traveling the same path.
To learn more about how to structure your business so you’re able to spend less time on fewer tasks—and get better results in terms of finding more clients, giving them support, and earning more money—download your complimentary copy of The ‘Create Results NOW’ Checklist: Actions to Take, Immediately, to Get the Right Things Done now. In it, you’ll discover which things you should be spending your time on and which you shouldn’t, so you can ensure your efforts pay off.
You’ll also learn what you may be missing as you strive to take your business from one level to the next, and how to separate “must-do” tasks from potential distractions so you can move forward with confidence knowing you’re doing the stuff that will help you grow your business. Go here to get it!
PS! Rachel Dungan, The Pharmacist Coach, http://www.racheldungan.com/
Melinda Cohan
