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Coaching Business Weekly Milana Leshinsky ACCPOW Founder & CEO Every week, you will receive coaching business tips on: - Practice Building - Practice Management - Passive Coaching Income I will also let you peek inside my own coaching business! I am candid and straight forward, and don't hold anything back. I will share with you what worked and what flopped!  Subscribe using the form below, and you'll receive instant access to all the past issues: Name: Email: *Your information is never shared, sold or given away

Contents:

- Editor's Message - "Stan the Hotdog Man" Revisited
- ASPOW Members Ranked High on Google

Member Updates & Resources:

- Where Exactly to Find Your Ideal Coaching & Consulting Clients
- Picking The Perfect Coach...For You
- Want a Million-Dollar Practice?  Learn from the best
- What Would You Die For?  Establishing Life/Business Priorities
- Keeping The Kids Quiet When You're On The Phone

Please, forward this issue to your friends and colleagues!

To read past issues, visit the online archive:
http://www.aspow.com/public/insider

Build Your Coaching or Consulting Practice Faster!
Tools, resources and support for independent professionals.
http://www.aspow.com/
 

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Editor's Message - "Stan the Hotdog Man" Revisited
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Welcome all new ASPOW members and subscribers!

A few weeks ago I published an article about a children's book 
that teaches some marketing lessons for new businesses. You can 
see the original article at this link:

http://www.aspow.com/public/insider/082903.shtml

After this article was published, I received a commentary from 
one of the subscribers, who made an excellent point I'd like to 
share with you.

She said that Stan the Hotdog Man broke one very important 
marketing rule: you should never give away your primary product -
in this case the hotdogs - because it devalues your product.  
Give away something peripheral (e.g., ketchup, mustard, pickles,
etc.) which will actually add a value to your product!

She further suggested that consultants and other professionals 
who give away fr*ee half-hour sessions almost never turn these 
prospects into paying clients.  Not at all true in my experience,
as I've been converting 9 out of 10 complimentary sessions into 
paying clients.

She was correct, though, in noticing that many people who 
request a fr*ee session are simply looking for something fr*ee, 
knowing ahead of time that they can't afford your services.  
I've had a couple of those.  But at least by offering a 
complimentary session you are allowing your prospects to get to 
know, like and trust you - absolutely essential in selling 
services.

Someone just posted an interesting statement on a message board:

"If I can't make a prospect laugh at least 3 times during the 
complimentary session, I don't take him/her as a client."  
That's right, a half-hour session is also an opportunity to 
interview your prospects, and weed out those who are most likely 
to make your life miserable.

So are you giving away your core product, when you offer 
complimentary sessions?  Hardly, since you can't possibly give 
your client the coaching they need in just half an hour.  What 
about consulting?  Answer some of your prospect's questions, but 
let them know there is a lot more where that came from.  Leave 
them curious and hungry for more information.  Don't treat your 
complimentary sessions as coaching or consulting - treat them as 
an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, and to bond with 
your prospects.

Enjoy this week's Insider!
 
Warmly,
Milana Leshinsky
ASPOW, Executive Director & Editor
http://www.aspow.com

P.S. Reminder: to access Member Updates & Resources, you need
to be a paid ASPOW member.  Join here today: http://www.aspow.com.
If you have already joined ASPOW, but forgot your password, go to
this link and pick it up: http://aspow.com/pa/manage.html
 

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Member Updates and Resources
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Where Exactly to Find Your Ideal Coaching & Consulting Clients
Do you know exactly where your target audience hangs out?  What do
they read?  What do they buy?  Follow these four success-guaranteed
steps to tap into huge mailing lists your prospects subscribe to,
and build your business that much faster.

Picking The Perfect Coach...For You
Whether you are a consultant, lawyer, accountant or a coach, you can
greatly benefit from coaching.  And if you can find a perfect coach,
you will not only benefit, but enjoy the process of being coached, 
as well!  So what are the key factors in picking just the right
coach for you?  Read this article to find out.

Want a Million-Dollar Practice?  Learn from the best
What is it that million-dollar coaches and consultants do that
you don't?  Apparently, the secret is in being bold, patient,
and having 150 clients a year.

What Would You Die For?  That's What You Should Live For!
If you or your coaching clients have a difficult time deciding
on their priorities in life, this article may spark the answer.
An excellent anecdote to use in your coaching practice!

"Keeping The Kids Quiet When You're On The Phone" (Forum Thread)
You are with a client on the phone, while your 7-year old enters your
office.  Your mind goes "blank", you lose your train of thought,
while your client probably thinks you have no idea what you're talking
about. If you've ever been in a situation like this before, read
the discussion between several work-at-home moms who are trying
to solve the "don't enter my office while I am on the phone" problem.
 

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ASPOW Members Ranked High on Google
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by Milana Leshinsky

ASPOW is growing - are YOU growing with us?  If someone
is looking for you on the Web, will they easily find you?
They will, if you have your ASPOW member page!

Looking through our site's traffic analysis files, I spotted
several of our members' names.  When people typed their
name on Google.com, the results included their ASPOW member page,
in most cases under #1 listing!

Try entering any of these ASPOW members' names in Google.com
search box, and you will see that one of the results will list
their page on aspow.com:

"Linda Starr", our columnist (listed as #1)
"Denise Wakeman", business coach (listed as #1)
"Brigitte Nadeau", audio specialist (listed as #1)
"Linda Tipping", life coach (listed as #1)
"Lu Schildmeyer", hospitality consultant (listed as #1)
"Melanie Mcghee", life coach (listed as #1)
"Marty Marsh", newsletter specialist (listed as #1)
"Njenga", Olalah Njenga, our columnist (listed as #1)
"Bill Dueease", business coach and our advisor (listed as #1)
"Bob Silber", our legal advisor (listed as #2)
"Suzanne Berg", wellness coach (listed as #4)
"Color Image Consulting" (Dianne Daniels listed as #8)

Of course, ideally you want people to find you by a relevant
keyword, as Dianne Daniels can be found by someone doing a search
for "Color Image Consulting."

But if a prospect already knows your name and simply wants to learn
more about you (and can't remember your web address), they'll find
you on ASPOW!

So if you are a member of ASPOW, and still haven't submitted your
information, please do so now.  We'll create a special web page
just for you, where you can promote your business and services.

And if you are a not yet an ASPOW member, it's a great time to join!
You will find hundreds of searchable articles and marketin*g tips in
our member area.  Plus, you'll get to listen to all of the past
tele-seminars you missed:

- Building Your Practice with Speaking
- How Coaches and Consultants Can Market Locally 
- Promoting Your Business with Booklets 
- E-Commerce 101:  Merchant Accounts and Shopping Carts 
- Building Your Business With SmartMatch Alliances 
- Practice Building Through Mastering a Complimentary Session 
- Internet 101 - Internet as a Business Tool
- Become a "Shameless Self-Promoter" with Debbie Allen
- Tele-interview with Raleigh Pinskey, Public Relations expert
- How To Publish and Sell Your E-Books On The Internet 
- Interview with Will Craig, pres. of Coach Training Alliance Univ.
- Basics of Building a Professional Web Site 
- How To Structure Your Web Site To Maximize Profits 
- E-Publishing Teleclass For Professionals 
- How To Become a Work-at-home Internet Business Mom 
- How to Automate your web site 
- Setting up and Managing your Autoresponder 
- Building an Online Community and attracting more clients 
- E-books and Technology of Putting Them Together 
- Building a popular and a profitable online newsletter 
- Organizing, Writing and Publishing Your E-Book Fast 
- Getting clients the fun way: without doing any cold calling 

To learn more about ASPOW membership benefits, or to join, click on
the link below.
 

*********************
Milana Leshinsky
Association of Solo Professionals on the Web
http://www.aspow.com

Access hundreds of articles, tutorials, tele-seminars,
guides, Internet tips, and a complete market*ng rolodex for
coaches and consultants on our web site!