The following is a transcription taken from Explode Your Practice.
David: So lets talk about setting up the game and what the elements of a coaching career might be. Now I know you understand that week to week there will be a lot of improvising.
They are driving the car.
David: Yes they are driving it and a lot of things are going to come up and your job is not to tell them what to do but to simply question and help them along the path. I understand that you understand that. Now on top of that what we want to do is give an overriding structure so they have some kind of order. It’s like how do you play soccer without lines drawn on the field, that’s really silly. So let’s draw some lines and then they’ll play the game and then we will improvise as we go along in the game.
The following is a transcription taken from Explode Your Practice.
Suppose you had an alliance with the society of accountants. And you were providing them with something that would serve accountants and through that you formed an alliance with many many accountants who could forward your newsletter to their clients and have their name on the top of it. Maybe it’s an email newsletter that comes courtesy of Anderson Accountants.
Once a month, so they get something to provide their customers. It makes them look like they are providing more value. And building their relationship with customers. Their name is in it so they are keeping themselves in front of people more often. If it’s not your newsletter it might be your article. Which goes into their newsletter, which is probably even better. But, by going through the society of accountants if you can get that, that’s what Ernest Oriente, the guy that wrote SmartMatch Alliances, would call ‘hunting the big elephant’. And he says don’t spend too much time hunting the big elephant because you can get a very profitable alliance right under your nose.
The following is a transcription taken from Explode Your Practice.
David: OK, great. So let’s just go through a few simple steps then to sort out your brand. Or at least, get you going in this session. Firstly, who is your target market? Describe your ideal customer.
My ideal customer is somebody who is living a pretty good life and would like to have richer, fuller relationships. And also feel they have better skills around relating to their partner or potential partners.
David: OK, so that’s what they want – a fulfilled relationship and skills. Now what kind of demographics do these people have? Do you have a specific group in mind? Are we talking men or women to focus on? Who’s going to come and buy this service?
Well, what I have found so far, is it seems to be mostly couples in their early 30’s. I’ve found that people in their 20’s don’t seem to want to be worrying about it too much, whereas people in their 30’s have been through the ringer a few times and have gotten the idea that maybe with a little more information or skills they could do a better job.
David: Great, and I guess also there’s more pressure for the women who want to get married. They want to have a baby. The clock’s ticking. And it’s actually quite important for women to maybe spend money on having a relationship running smoothly.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Marcia Reynolds in 10 Super Coaches.
What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?
Learning to trust that the flow and speed of building my business is perfect. Even when I had cancellations, if I didn’t get scared and just accepted that the cancellation was making room for something better, I found that my business developed in the form and at the speed that was best for me. And the more I focused on learning and practicing, the quicker my business grew.
Also, I gave up on the idea of having a business plan. I offer corporate seminars and public speaking services as well as coaching. When business goes down in one area, it often picks up in one of the other two. Therefore, I always have work. I’m never sure what the balance will look like at the beginning of the year. I just go with the people and opportunities that appear and my success has grown every year.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Andrea Molloy in 10 Super Coaches.
What were the biggest doubts you had in your early months?
My biggest fear was not getting enough clients to make a living – I focused on my business plan and kept positive! Sure, it was a process, I didn’t launch my practice and then immediately get inundated with clients on day one, it was a process of carefully building up public awareness and trust.
What was most disheartening for you while building your practice?
Often I met people who were cynical and disinterested in coaching, dismissing it as a new-age warm fuzzies fad. I had to consciously hold my head high and be confident abou the power of coaching and remind myself that these people were not my ideal clients, while not judging them in return.
What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?
The success stories! It’s an incredibly rewarding career (especially when you partner with a client on their road to success), and it also allows you a flexible, autonomous work environment. This has enabled me to write my first book, whereas if I had been in a regular full time ‘day job’ I doubt I would have progressed so quickly in my own creative goals.
The following is taken from David’s interview with Philip Cohen in 10 Super Coaches.
What was most disheartening for you while building your practice?
Going through the training and having a coach of my own let me see the power of coaching. I expected everyone would see what I saw and would immediately want to be coached.
I needed to learn two important lessons: some people will take longer to see the benefits of coaching and some people never will. Once I understood this, I learned to be more patient with prospects. I also learned to spend my time with qualified prospects instead of everyone I met.
What was the most interesting or exciting thing for you about building your practice?
As a CPA, I worked closely with clients. But there were certain parts of their lives that weren’t part of our conversations. As a coach, I began working more holistically with clients and the results were great to see.
