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.
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.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Don’t get too hung up on the charging issue for your first twenty clients. Don’t worry if it doesn’t come smoothly. The first skill to practice is inviting people to do Exploratory Sessions and getting “yeses” to that invitation. The second skill to practice is agreeing on a time commitment to their goals and the coaching relationship: i.e., having the sign up for a coaching structure for one to six months. The third skill to worry about is to comfortably negotiate and charge your fee.
And you don’t have to learn/practice these skills all at once! Take your time.
The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.
Sometimes all it takes to set up the session is for you to invite them to have one! (I know — rocket science, right?). It might sound something like.
“What I usually do for people who are interested in coaching is to set up a 20-30 minute chat to talk about their goals and give them an experience of being coached. I don’t mind if they become clients or not; it helps me develop my skills, and it’s one way I develop referrals. No charge. Would you be interested in that?”
Exercise
Practise your hot invitation at least once this week. You might be in a store, at a bus stop, talking to the telephone information service, or at a party. When someone pops that magic question: “What do you do?” — be ready.
Note: In both the Warm and Hot Invitation you might notice we found a hot button/area, extended an invitation, and removed any obligation or pressure to continue with coaching. That’s the secret formula!
