The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Create product
Once you’re out there speaking, you’ll want products to sell. Create a tape series, book or video. Also partner with someone else who has something you don’t sell, so you sell their product and they sell yours. Give away one from the platform as a prize. If you have a speech, you have a tape. Once you get your talk perfect, go into a recording studio and record it, or even better – record it professionally during a live speech. Have it professionally packaged and sell it in the back of the room at all your talks.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
What can you offer the speaker-seeker? (e.g., free talk, talk with a money back guarantee, talk in exchange for a testimonial, workshop, keynote for conferences?) Most talks in the beginning are free to service groups, associations and such.
Also offer to supply an article or a series of articles, for the organisation or company newsletter. What a great way to consistently get in front of an audience — and for free! It also gives the audience a chance to warm up to you before you speak to them.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Firstly, go through it on your own, until you can finish it on time, and without looking at your notes too often.
Record your speech and listen to yourself; you’ll learn a lot and get several ideas of things to change.
Preparing notes is fine — you don’t have to memorise it. But, I recommend knowing your talk so well that with just a glance at a list of bullet points you can know what’s next, and then speak directly to your audience on each point.
It’s not critical that you deliver it word for word. What’s more important is the energy of your talk; that you’re connected with and passionate about your topic. Feel free to ad lib, as long as you stay within your time limit.
Once you have your speech ready, prepare a final bullet list of points — these are your notes, just in case you need them.
Invite some trusted friends over to hear your talk, and offer them dinner (even if you just pay for pizza). When the time comes — above all — let go of your attachment to the outcome!
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
It’s one thing to have filled your practice by getting on the phone and offering lots of free or discounted sessions or consultations. But we don’t want you to be calling people for the rest of your life! We just recommend this to ramp everything up quickly — to build your confidence, expertise, public profile, and testimonials.
What you need now are Marketing Engines, which send you a steady stream of clients. In the next three chapters we’ll cover the most fun and productive strategies:
- How To Get Clients Via The Internet
- How To Get Clients Via Alliances
- How To Get Clients Via Public Speaking
Caution: Don’t use all of these strategies. Doing a little of each will usually be a waste of time. You want to pick one or two, and go deep. Use them consistently for six months or preferably twelve — and you should see some great results. Once you are getting results from one or two engines, only then should you consider adding a third.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
I said earlier in this book that you should not let fee stand in the way of a client when you are starting a practice. However, I did not say you should give coaching away for free.
If I approached you and said: “I really want you to be my client. Please be my client, I won’t charge you anything, and you need to spend 30 minutes per week with me”, how attractive would that sound to you? There is no sense of value in this for you; it’s all for me.
However, if I said: “My regular coaching fee is $300 per month, but my coach has told me to take five people on at a big discount for my own training and development. How would you feel if I charge you only 50% of my fee for the first two months?”
Another thing: the act of paying money is a great way to demonstrate commitment or that the client is willing to take the coaching seriously. If you offer the coaching for free — aside from it not sounding attractive — you may have problems with the client sticking to the coaching sessions, doing his or her fieldwork etc. Basically, it’s an issue of respect.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Will you e-mail the groups? Followed by a call? Cold call? Letter plus call? Note: You might score a speech/lunch time talk, particularly if you mention a solid fee and let them know you would discount if they provide a testimonial and couple of referrals if they are pleased with the talk.
But likely — if they are willing to put your information on file — you will get a call down the track or be considered for their conference. See if you can find out when they will be thinking about a speaker for their conference or event, and make a note in your diary to call then.
Write out your action plan, and include ‘by when’ you will complete each item.
