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Copyright: 2007 Coaching Club

Welcome to IQ, the official CoachIQ Coaching Club member eZine. Each week you receive the latest CoachIQ news, resources, professional development tips and industry information. IQ is your ally in developing your flourishing coaching business.

This edition's highlights:

Highlights in this edition include the latest UCBBP lesson; how to increase sales by educating prospects; tips to put your business on autopilot; a book review; conflict self-exercises; industry resources and opportunities.

We welcome IQ readers to forward this publication to friends, colleagues, family and anyone you think will benefit from the eZine's content. Make YOUR community part of OUR community.

Team Up With Hundreds of Successful, Progressive-Thinking Coaches... and Skyrocket Your Business Growth!

Use their tools, apply their strategies, pick their brains and take their knowledge to DRAMATICALLY escalate the growth of your coaching business.

Don't miss out on the most important opportunity of your coaching career! Here are some of the resources you'll access with a free unrestricted 30-day pass into the INNER SANCTUM of the world's coaching elite:

• The industry leading 104-week eCourse (UCBBP) that steps you in detail through every process required to build a flourishing coaching business.
• Dozens of 'fill-in-your-business-name' marketing and operational templates.
• Audios and Podcasts by some of Australia's leading Business Leaders and Master Coaches, discussing their most intimate business and coaching secrets.
• Access to the country's most exclusive coaching networks, previously only open to the coaching elite.
• A Bookclub with over 75 world-renowned publications.
• Videos, life tips and strategies, interviews, plus much more.

CoachIQ Coaching Club is a resource rich community for practising and aspiring coaches. It contains ALL the necessary information, resources, templates, networks and intellectual property you need to avoid costly pitfalls and implement powerfully effective strategies to build a flourishing coaching business.

Latest Additions

UCBBP Lesson 49 - Common Enemy Marketing

"It's Us Against Them!"

In this lesson:

• A simple 5-step plan for harnessing the common enemy theme in your promotions...

• How to stir up a delicious motivational cocktail your prospects can hardly resist...

• How to use a very specific kind of anger to light a sales bonfire under your business...

• A special opportunity to share your views...

• And much more!

URL: www.coachingclub.com.au/ucbbp

Featured Resource

UCCBP Lesson 23 - Bump and Upsell

This is one of the most predictable and effective ways to increase the size and profit of a sale. It's so simple and easy to implement, yet so few businesses employ it.

If you offer every client you sell a better and/ or additional deal at the point of sale - like a larger contract or additional service at an advantageous price; membership to a limited club - approximately 50% of clients you offer it to will take up your offer.

This simple technique can immediately double your profit and quadruple your turnover.

This technique is used every day by savvy businesses (usually large businesses that understand its importance). And yet, so many small businesses fail to implement it.

This technique is especially powerful in service businesses.

URL: www.coachingclub.com.au/ucbbp

Educate People, Don't Be a Pushy Salesman!

If your prospects see you as a salesman only trying to sell your services, they are highly likely to develop a negative image of you. Most people are sensitive to the "sales speech" after a life of exposure to all sorts of advertisements trying to get them to buy. By becoming one of them, you automatically lose the rapport necessary to develop a constructive coaching relationship.

Instead, you should educate prospects. To educate prospects, you can invite them for a one-on-one session to inform them about your services and the coaching process; give them a free report; chat to them about their most common challenges and what strategies they have been using to cope with them; and more.

Here's a case study:

A franchiser of a local food chain wanted to do something different in the annual franchise exposition at his city. He realised that to establish a good franchise relationship, rapport and mutual objectives were major requirements.

He also realised that in most conversations for franchising opportunities, on one side there was a prospect, and on the other a hired salesman trying to push as many sales as possible to get a good commission.

In many of these negotiations, the salesman requires the prospect to place a deposit before he can even receive information about the franchise, such as sales turnovers, return on investment, etc.

The franchiser wanted to educate his prospects first, and then help them make the decision whether to purchase one of his franchises. So instead of asking for a deposit or pushing sales on anyone that approached his stand, he gave away a valuable 20-page free report on franchising with a call to action at the end:

"Call me for a free consultation and to answer any queries you may have about your dream of financial independence in franchising."

Within two weeks from the end of the event, he received dozens of calls from highly qualified leads. By leading his prospects through a well structured educational sales process, he was able to pre-qualify them and build rapport from the early stages of the relationship.

Furthermore, he helped them make a better decision by educating them about the important aspects of franchising; something that all his competitors completely neglected.

Why a Good Educator is a Good Communicator...

Communication is core to your business. Whilst presentations and a good education based sales process can help you position yourself as an authority; if people don’t like you, they won't purchase your services!

So you must pay attention to the things that will help you build rapport with people, gain social proof, and promote word of mouth (e.g. "that guy is nice") and referrals.

Here are some quick tips to improve your communication:

• Listen well: value the person and demonstrate interest for the conversation.
• Observe: observe body language, voice tone and emotive expressions.
• Acknowledge: recognise the person's initiative to communicate with you.
• Be aware: ensuring that your body language is appropriate for the context.
• Think: reason about what is and what is not appropriate input to the process.
• Express verbally: ensure the use of the appropriate tone, rhythm and volume of voice.
• Reflect: clarify and verify what has been said by your interlocutor.

Enjoyed this article? Forward it to a Friend! Sharing business insights has never been easier with our automated forwarding system. You can select any edition of IQ online and forward it instantly to 4 friends or colleagues.

Business on Auto-Pilot

Automation is a key aspect of a successful business. The word comes from Ancient Greece and it translates to Self-Dictate. Without automation, you can find yourself very easily spending 50% or more of your time performing tedious administrative tasks. In the other hand, coaches that automate effectively can deal with triple the volume of business in half the time!

When we use the term 'autopilot' we mean systemized and automated. Every single process in your business should be automated and managed by a system. And that process should itself be as efficient as streamlines as possible.

Some tips on how to put your business on autopilot: 

• Use phone scripts;
• Have a quality database for managing prospects and clients;
• Electronic follow-up and contact program (e.g. auto-responders, ezines);
• Have template documents for:
• Enquiry letters;
• Follow-up letters;
• Progressive promotional letters;
• Invitations: Public speaking; Group coaching; Workshops; etc.
• Financial management;
• Editorials;
• Asking for testimonials;
• Affiliate deals;
• Joint ventures;
• Thank You's;
• Use systems for:
• Referral processes;
• Education-based marketing;
• Managing operational Key Performance Indicators.

Some resources than help you automate several areas of your coaching business:

E-Commerce:

FatFreeCart (shopping cart tool)

PayPal (payment automation)

Click Bank (payment automation)

Verisign (online security)

Automation Wiz (business automation)

Accounting, Business and Finance:

QuickBooks (accounting software)

Easeaccounting (online accounting)

Office.com (productivity tools)

Logiforms.com (data management tools)

Communications:

MailChimp (email delivery)

Skype (internet telephony, instant messaging)

Logiforms.com (data management tools)

Client Management:

Client Compass (relationship management for coaches)

ACT! (relationship management)

Maximizer Enterprise 9 (relationship management)

Database Management:

Microsoft Access (Database management)

FileMaker Pro (Database management)

Joint Ventures:

Affiliate Showcase (affiliate programs directory)

Associate Programs (affiliate programs directory)

Find A Coach (affiliate programs for coaches)

Research and Development:

Create Survey (online survey tools)

Survey Console (online survey tools)

Web Stats (statistics)

More tools and resources are available from Coaching Club's Toolbox.

For more information about internet marketing, subscribe to a free 1-month trial at www.coachingclub.com.au.

Enjoyed this article? Forward it to a Friend! Sharing business insights has never been easier with our automated forwarding system. You can select any edition of IQ online and forward it instantly to 4 friends or colleagues.

In Search of Excellence

The "Greatest Business Book of All Time" (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table.

Based on a study of 43 of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes 8 basic principles of management - action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices - that made these organizations successful.

Joining the HarperBusiness Essentials series, this phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors' Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today's management reader.

Title: In Search of Excellence

Author: Thomas J. Peters, Robert H. Waterman

Category: Management

Guerrilla Marketing Blog

Mitch Meyerson, an experienced coach and marketing expert, is the author of 4 bestselling books, having sold over 120,000 copies in 25 languages. Jay Conrad Levinson is the author of the best-selling marketing series in history, "Guerrilla Marketing", plus 39 other business books. His books have sold 14 million copies worldwide.

Together, they run the Guerrilla Marketing Blog, featuring articles from many of the top Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coaches and Authors.

What Does Conflict Look Like to You?

Having a hard time handling conflict? The following self-reflective exercises are designed to help you build a clearer picture of some of the behaviours which may contribute to a conflicting situation.

Self Reflection, Exercise 1

In your mind, think of a person with whom you are, or have been in conflict. Visualise this person as completely as possible.

• How do they look? (Think of their dress, style, posture, gestures, face, eyes)
• What is their usual attitude towards you? (Kindly, patronising, subservient, pushy?)
• What do you like about this person?
• What irritates you about them?
• How are you creative together?
• How do you frustrate one another?
• What do they say that irritates you?
• What kinds of behaviour most offend you?
• How do you show your annoyance?
• How do you express yourself – your enthusiasm, your sympathy, your disagreement, your appreciation of this person?

This activity has been designed to look at behaviours you may identify as 'conflict' and also behaviours that may cause you inner 'conflict'. This is so you can identify conflict in the process and also to recognise what causes you discomfort so that you can work at being impartial to the process whether or not you have an opinion or disagree with one or all of the parties involved.

Self Reflection, Exercise 2

Look at the phrases below. How typical are they of your attitude towards conflict? Categorise them as either 'Very typical', 'Fairly typical' or 'Not at all typical'.

• It is easier to refrain, than to retreat, from a quarrel.
• Soft words win hard hearts.
• You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
• Might overcomes right
• Truth lies in knowledge, not in majority opinion.
• He who fights and runs away lives another day.
• No person has the final answer but each has a piece to contribute.
• Stay away from people who disagree with you.
• Victory is won by people who believe in winning.
• When both people give in half way, a fair settlement is achieved.

This activity has given you a brief look at how your attitudes to conflict may impact on how you work as a mediator. If you find conflict difficult it may be because of your attitudes and values towards it. There are many ways to deal with conflict; the trick is to find one which works for you!

Reminder: Your feedback becomes our teams' development schedule. So please, email your thoughts to info@coachingclub.com.au - let's build our collective CoachIQ together!

Upgrade Your Coaching Skills

Finding high quality professional development programs is challenging. There are rarely programs of interest offered in your proximity. Even if there is, they are usually cost prohibitive. And not to mention the imposition of sacrificing a day or evening.

Well, you now have an alternative. An alternative that over 3,000 industry-members are ALREADY taking advantage of. Counselling Academy is the largest professional development educator in mental health in the country. Counselling Academy has over 50 courses, 560 hours of training, and over 3,000 registered learners.

Here's why Counselling Academy is the latest revolution sweeping through mental health professional development...

• You can access Counselling Academy courses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• All courses are delivered and assessed online for your convenient access.
• All courses are developed to the highest industry standards, ensuring you get consistent, predictable, high quality training.
• Courses are delivered utilising the latest technologies. Many courses blend video and textual content to enhance your experience.
• CA delivers, on average, over 25 new courses each year.
• Plus much more!

To learn more about how you can boost your professional development, and save thousands a year, visit www.counsellingacademy.com.au.

Be Found With Find A Coach

Marketing is the thorn in the side of most coaches. Particularly coaches just starting off. Getting clients is a skill in its own right. It's time consuming, difficult, and expensive! But does it have to be? Not with Find A Coach - the leading search engine specifically for life coaches.

Find A Coach offers a range of tools for coaches wanting to market their services, or simply who would like to see more return for their marketing investment. If you haven't checked it out yet, don't miss the opportunity to be a step ahead of the rest of the pack.

Your clients are searching for you right now. Make it easy for them to find you.

URL: www.findacoach.net.au

Broadcast Your Brand to the World

Coach Radio is an online broadcaster of Life Coaching specific content. Delivered online via the Coach Radio website (www.coachradio.com.au) and Podcast, Coach Radio content is extremely convenient.

Coach Radio is currently accepting applications from CoachIQ members who would like to become broadcasters of this growing community. If you are interested in finding out more information, email info@coachradio.com.au to request a Coach Radio Prospectus.

URL: www.coachradio.com.au

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