Mega Teleclass: The Future of Business From the Minds of Ten Top Professionals

Date: Monday, July 14, 2008 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Eastern

What happens when you get ten top professionals on a call together to discuss the future of business and leadership? You walk away inspired to change the way you think, live and operate in business. Join Bea Fields as she shares this open call with her partners from EDGE: A Leadership Story for a call you don’t want to miss. Fields will be joined by Michael Gerber, Michael Port, Corey Blake, Dave Buck, Carol Dickson-Carr, Eva Silva-Travers, Kimberly George, and Roger Dewitt. Each professional will be asked a question they have never been asked before about the future of business, and you don’t want to miss their answers. This is BIG!

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Learn about the presenters here.

Do you remember M. VEM. J. SUN. P.? The planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

ROY G. BIV? The colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

Or some of the crazy stuff we put to music in our heads so we would remember?

I found the SEO Rapper today and I am rolling on the floor. Brings back memories of childhood, when I put the state capitals to music so I could remember them all. LOVE IT!

By: Janet Slack

There is a lot of information available about how to market a coaching business and yet many coaches still struggle.  How do you know which idea to follow and how to make it work for you?  The answer is in what I call the “pre-marketing” work that needs to be done to build a successful coaching business.  At the heart of your pre-marketing work are “The Four Questions”.  This is the contemplative work that you must be willing to do as you begin your business and again periodically throughout the life of the business.  The four questions lead you to know how to market what you do because they are at the core of your business.

First let’s address who you are as a person.  This is the “Who Are You?” question.  It is a tremendous help to know yourself inside and out in order to succeed in the coaching business.  If you know yourself well there is less chance that “your stuff” will get in the way of the client so you will be a better coach.  As an entrepreneur, knowing yourself well allows you to get the most out of your abilities and compensate where needed.  What are ways to describe your own uniqueness?  What is the combination of experiences, personality traits, history and values that makes you who you are?  “Who Are You” is the vital piece that makes YOUR coaching business different than the other thousands that exist.

“What do you do?” is the second question.  This addresses having the ability to talk about coaching and what it is.  If you can describe your work in a genuine, impactful way, you will be seen as attractive by those people who you are trying to reach.  The more practice the better in terms of learning to talk about coaching.  Make sure to talk about coaching with anyone who will listen,  research what others say about coaching, read widely about coaching and get your own coach so you truly understand its impact.  What you are doing is collecting knowledge so that you can express the results that your potential clients can expect to get from coaching.

“What do you have to offer?” is the third question.  This question delves into who you are as a coach - what are your skills and strengths as a coach? Begin to answer this question by asking  for lots of feedback about your coaching.  Your clients will have some insights into your style and what is most helpful for them.  Remember to ask your coaching partners, supervisor, or peers for feedback on your coaching.  Spend time thinking about how your personal beliefs and  values impact the work you do as a coach.  In particular, consider what you believe about motivation and personal change.  Think about how your belief system affects your presence with your coaching clients.

The final question is “What is your passion, purpose, and path?”.  The driving force that makes your coaching come authentically from your soul is your passion. This is some of the contemplating you must do in order to find your niche.  Your purpose is the spark within you that makes you want to be a coach.  Spend time considering all the things that you think are great about coaching.  The way that you put all the elements together in a business that is unique to you is your path.  This includes knowing what the essential elements are for the business to be authentically yours and how you will measure success.  Consider how these two factors will impact the way you run the business.

The pre-marketing work of The Four Questions will build a solid foundation for your business.  Make sure to revisit this periodically in order to ensure you’re your business continues to flourish.  Spending time on The Four Questions will make your marketing easier, give you a foundation for attracting clients, increase your income and keep you motivated.

About the Author
Janet Slack of Life Adventure Coaching is a specialist in helping new coaches, therapists and consultants create the thriving business of their dreams. Find more business building ideas and learn all the details that you need to know as a coaching entrepreneur at www.biztipsforcoaches.com/blog/. She recently released Mind Your Own Biz: Discover the Secrets to Creating a Successful Coaching Business a step by step guide to starting your coaching business right.