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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 IQ's latest podcast; how the lack of a referral method is one of the crucial mistakes coaches make; getting 1000s of websites to promote your business for free; this week's IQ book selection; and Claire Boseley's contribution on networking (thanks for another great article Claire!).

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.

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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

Interview with Catherine Weber

Coach Radio's latest podcast features leading Health and Wellness Coaching specialist Catherine Weber. Catherine has spent the last 20 years involved at many levels within the Health and Wellness industry. Through her interest as a martial arts expert, Catherine developed skills as an accredited group fitness leader and personal trainer and in recent years formalising her natural desire to share her knowledge and expertise as an accredited coach and NPL Master Practitioner and Trainer.

Catherine has devoted the majority of her work life to understanding how the body functions most affectively and how we can fuel our body both nutritionally and mentally to be the best in what ever we choose to do. As a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Taekwon-Do and a silver medallist at the 2006 world championships she walks the talk when it comes to knowing how to get the best out of your body.

To listen to this interview, go to IQ's PodPlayer at www.coachingclub.com.au/podcast.  

Coming Soon

Your Questions, Your Answers

Forum is active. If you have a business question or want some guidance on developing, promoting and expanding your coaching business; you can get it at the Forum! Our team is openly discussing issues and providing expert feedback that you won't find anywhere else.

Mistake 4: Don't Have a Referral Method

Learn the "10 Crucial Mistakes Coaches Make" and how you can avoid them to create the lifestyle you desire in the 3rd fastest growth industry in the world!

There are numerous coaches in the market earning over $100,000.00 per annum. And yet, there are also coaches struggling to etch out a living. Why is that? That's the purpose of this Special Series. In this edition, we tackle the lack of a referral method as one of the crucial mistakes coaches make. 

Note: Mistake 1-3 of this series is available in the eZine Archive page.

Most successful coaches generate the majority of their clients by referral. Unsuccessful coaches don't even have a process for referral.

If you're doing a good job coaching, your client is most likely already discussing your service with their family, friends and peers. And importantly, these people are already seeing positive attitudinal and lifestyle changes taking place in their friend.  This serves as a valuable endorsement to your service, your coaching abilities and the coaching process.

You should already have a structured referral process in place. This process should include actively asking your clients for their referral. As much as clients may be enjoying your service and actuating the benefits it prevails, providing referrals is not always top of mind for them. So it is up to you to initiate the referral process and actively request referrals.

The way in which you structure your referral process is entirely up to you. Common referral systems include:

-         Vouchers for client referrals;

-         Letters of Endorsement;

-         Group coaching sessions;

-         Introduction and networking nights;

-         Parties and events.

Some simple Referral Rules include: 

• Be Proactive. Don't wait for referrals. Ask for them and make them a systematic part of your marketing plan.

• Make it EASY for clients to refer. Have a systemised process for asking for referrals (i.e. letters, vouchers, events etc); a simple process for clients to make referrals; and a process for tracking referrals.

For example, develop a referral card the size of a business card. Put your photo on the front, with your contact details and the words 'VIP Referral' across the top. On the back, tell a story about why you wish to work with referral clients and leave space for your client to write their name. Give these cards to your best clients and let them know that you only want them to refer passionate people like themselves.

• Provide a benefit and/or reason for referring. Provide a reason why your clients should refer your service. And thank them when they refer with a reward.

Some effective ways to increase your referrals include:

• Develop a well structure sales process. By providing value to your prospects over extended periods, you vastly compound your opportunity for referrals. Remember, niches roam in packs. So the longer you nurture your relationships with prospects the higher the likelihood word of mouth will spread of your high value unique solutions.

• Develop products. Your products can be an excellent tool to incentivise referrals. You may go to the prospects in your funnel and say to them "We know you enjoy the information we provide you, and we're sure you know other that would benefit from it. If you put us in touch with these people, as a thank-you we'll give you this XYZ product."

• Develop and promote your brand. By having a high-profile within the industry, you will be targeted for referrals as other professionals and business will see your brand as an opportunity to develop their marketing strategy. You can leverage that power to acquire more prospects.

Biz Tip: Develop a proactive referral process based on the above.

Get 1,000s of Websites to Promote Your Business - FREE!

This is step 6 of the IQ series "8 Steps to Generate Prospects". In the previous edition we discussed how to get free links on other high-traffic websites. Now we discuss the ultimate linking strategy. Let's roll to the step #6.

Note: Steps 1-5 of this article are available from the eZine Archive page.

Affiliate programs (also referred to as "reseller" or "associate" programs) are a great way to get other people called "affiliates" to promote your product or service for you. For every paying customer your affiliates refer to your web site, you pay them a commission. And since you only pay when you make money - it's extremely low risk.

Your affiliates send visitors to your web site using banner ads, text links, letters of referral, and so on, while you track these referrals using special software. It's an extremely powerful way to grow your business because it automates your traffic generation.

To get started with your own affiliate program, you need to:

1. Set your commissions. (To keep your affiliates motivated, you should pay them 40% to 50% of your profits per sale.)

2. Get software to track the traffic and sales of your affiliates so you know what to pay them.

3. Provide your affiliates with tools they can use to promote your products (like e-mails, banners, etc.).

4. Recruit your affiliates. (Look for sites that target your market, and invite them to become affiliates.)

Affiliate programs are an ideal way to automate your traffic generation because other people market your web site for you - and you don't lift a finger.

Your sales increase on a daily basis - but they do all the selling for you, and it doesn't cost you a dime until they send you paying customers.

On our final step (8), we'll discuss what you need to do to keep your traffic coming back to your site again and again. 

The Art of War

The Art of War is one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is also one of the most famous studies of strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western military planning, business tactics, and beyond.

First translated into a European language in 1782 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, and had possibly influenced Napoleon, and even the planning of Operation Desert Storm. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Pervez Musharraf, Vo Nguyen Giap, and General Douglas MacArthur have claimed to have drawn inspiration from the work.

Title: The Art of War

Author: Sun Tzu

Key Survey

Key Survey's unique Web-based survey technology has made it the top choice of leading businesses worldwide. Because of the software's advanced features and capabilities, organizations can quickly and accurately gather vital information about the needs and expectations of their customers, employees, and the market.

A good website for coaches looking forward to build surveys with their clients and business associates.

Conversations of Possibility

Many businesses flourish or die on the owner's and key personnel's ability to network effectively. And yet so many people attend events to network with little forethought and preparation.

These 7 easy actions will be valuable to those new to networking and developing your skills, and those of you just wanting to fine tune your existing methods.

1. Select an event to suit your needs

You need to be where your clients are, where businesses who also service your clients are, and where your clients centres of influence are. If the target market is not clear ask the organisers who is the intended audience.

Does their target audience also meet your criteria of an ideal client? Does their target audience also do business with your ideal clients? Once you know this information you can make an informed decision on whether attending the event will have benefits for your business.

2 Determine your goal for each event

The goal for each event will change according to the target market and the nature of the event. Are you looking for clients? Referral partners? Host beneficiaries? Are you there to hear the speaker? Do you want feedback on a new product or service? Do you want to form a specific contact within a business? Or a contact within a specific business? Are you there because of who invited you? Be clear on what you want to achieve by investing time at the event.

3. Have a strategy to build rapport

Rapport involves a feeling of familiarity between people. As people do business with people they know, like and trust, creating rapport will make doing business easier.  Learn how to create rapport using some key questions. Ask open ended questions that invite the person to talk about themselves.

Emphasise some commonality, for example how you came to be invited to the event, mutual acquaintances/clients, taste in clothes, wine, etc. Noticing body language and subtly matching it can also be effective. With practice establishing rapport can be done in seconds.

4. Questions to elicit key information

Once the initial introductions are done be prepared to ask about your new contact's business and what they want from the event. A few direct, but tactful questions asked with genuine curiosity, will indicate if they are a potential client, referral partner or something else. 

People are there to promote their businesses and they have their own objectives for the event. Asking them is a faster and more open way for both of you to get what you want. For example: What is your business looking for today? How can our businesses work together? What is one challenge your business has that my business can assist with? How can we add value to each others clients?

5. Be prepared to answer your own questions

People are at the event to find out about your business too. So be prepared to answer their questions. Know your own business, your ideal client, what you want from the event, etc.

Have a 10 second introduction for your business that clearly states what benefits your business offers, who your target market is and the unique selling point of your business. You may also want to have a 60 second introduction which explains more of the benefits you offer your clients, for when you connect with a valuable contact.

6. Be open minded

Be open to new ideas of how you can assist others and how your business can be assisted. A business can thrive on one new idea or an old idea with a new twist.  Hear people out, explore the possibilities, add to it or adapt it to suit your business, what could be changed so it works for your business? If you knew it all you would not be there.

7. Have the basics covered

Take an abundance of business cards. Bring your own name tag, and maybe a spare.  Bring a pen or two, for you and a new friend. Have a note pad, sticky notes or similar to record the valuable information you gather from your conversations.  Depending on your business, bring samples or give always, copies of newsletters, special offers, etc. 

The attraction of networking is that you never know who you might meet, who they may know and what could develop. Each conversation you have has an infinite number of possible outcomes so increase your chances of success by being prepared to grab each opportunity. 

Author: Claire Boseley

Company: Transmogrify Life Coaching

Website: www.tlcoach.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.