Copyright © 2005, Milana Leshinsky
Read this issue online at:
http://www.accpow.com/public/insider/010405.html
There is a fine line between being a successful coach and being a shameless self-promoter. No offence to Debbie Allen, but those coaches, who shamelessly promote their products and services, are secretly regarded as peddlers of hype, spam, and B.S.
But there is even a finer line between a cautious promoter and a starving coach. The most frequent question I have in my mind when talking to clients is, "Are you in business to make money, or to give charity?"
I talk to many different people in my business, and they all fall under one of four categories:
#1: The Curious Coach
#2: The Conscientious Coach
#3: The Methodical Coach
#4: The Hard-Core Coach
#1: The Curious Coaches are brand new to coaching. They have either just graduated from a coaching school or simply decided to become a coach. They have very little idea of how to build their practice, and buy various inexpensive products and programs to learn. They listen to every word more experienced coaches tell them, and try to stay above the information overload. They either break through the first year of business building struggle, or call it quits within just a few months.
#2: The Conscientious Coaches believe that their expertise should speak for itself. They know they are good and feel it is below them to market. They will do occasional networking and ask their clients to pass the good word to others. Their biggest concern is that helping people contradicts asking them to pay. They feel unethical about charging people and close few sales. These coaches usually never reach full practice or take years to get there, and constantly struggle.
#3: The Methodical Coaches believe that no business is possible without marketing. They consistently promote their coaching business and build full practice within 6-12 months. These coaches also begin developing products within their first year in business. About 10-25% of their revenue and 30-50% of their client leads come from their products. These coaches get concerned mostly around holidays and summer time, when business is about to slow down. They make a good living.
#4: The Hard-Core Coaches never miss an opportunity to promote. They rarely care what other coaches or business owners think of their tactics. They are willing to do whatever it takes to make their business profitable. They have incredible business connections, high coaching fees and multiple coaching products. These are gutsy coaches. They probably don't even think that way about themselves. They are natural. They thrive even when everyone else complains of a slowdown.
I feel very lucky, because I fall exactly where I want to be.
I am between #3 and #4, although closer to the Methodical Coach. I have multiple products and know too well that business equals marketing. But I think being a full #4 requires a lot more guts than I have, and a lot more disregard for other people's opinions than I am willing to possess.
I created a little graph to demonstrate how these four categories are positioned in regards to respect and profits:
The more marketing you do, the more profits your business generates, and the more respect you gain. All of this is true until you reach #4: The Hard-Core Coach category. Your profits are still growing, but the over-promoting makes you look like you'll market anything just to make money, so you start losing on the respect side of the graph.
This is all very relative. Does complaints and unsubscribe requests from a few people mean that everyone else is losing respect for you? Do praises from a couple of clients or subscribers mean that you're highly respected in your target community? It's really all how you look at it, or how you want to look at it.
Where are YOU on this graph? Which category do you want to fall under?
I feel the saddest about the ones in #2 category, the Conscientious Coaches. It doesn't matter how good they are. If the bulk of their clients are pro-bono, then they're in charity, not in business. But try and tell them otherwise, and you'll be secretly added to their shameless self-promoters' list.
All coaches in these four categories speak different languages. It takes a big mind-shifting experience - a great book, a terrific coach, or a powerful program - to jump from one category to the next.
I hope that ACCPOW Coaching Tele-Summit of 2005 will be that mind-shifting experience for those who would like to jump.
All of the coaches presenting at this event are located between the third category, The Methodical Coaches, and the "point of no return" where the RESPECT line starts dropping. I want them to share how they have been able to build their coaching businesses to reach the ultimate balance between PROFIT and RESPECT.
If you don't have any important plans for the last two weeks in January, I strongly recommend that you attend this event. You will find it to be the highlight of your 2005 - so early in the year! - and perhaps even a turning point in your coaching business.
*****
Milana Leshinsky is a marketing coach to coaches,
and the founder and principal editor of ACCPOW. Milana's personal
web site is at http://www.richcoachpoorcoach.com/
and offers services and resources for coaches.
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