Coach and Consultant Blog:

Seven Tips to Make Your Website More Effective

2009-05-21T17:24:00.063-04:00

If you want your website to help generate more business for your company, keep the following tips in mind:

Tip #1 Let your prospective clients know about your track record. People who are looking for coaches want to see that you have succeeded in what you say you do. Post to your website all recent news articles that mention your coaching practice, and include press releases. Some top free online press release distribution sites include:

http://www.prlog.org/
http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/
http://www.live-pr.com/en/ - (Google News Listed)
http://www.newswiretoday.com/

Tip #2 List your community involvement, speaking engagements, etc. When you plan to do a presentation, make an announcement. Make sure the folks on your mailing list know. Make sure the professionals whose businesses complement yours know. Add these scheduled appearances in your social media marketing (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, your groups' discussion areas on linkedin.com, etc). Inform the keeper of the bulletin board of the organizations you belong to so they can post them. Go where your market goes, and shout it out somehow.

However, before you do that, read up on the most effective ways to write it up, so that your announcement can be as successful as possible.

Check the end of this blog post article for everything a coach needs to know about Twitter. If you are serious about getting the word out about your coaching practice, YOU MUST READ THIS!

Tip #3 Have a page on your website that talks about your specialty. Visitors who come to your site, particularly people who are of your niche market, will be looking to see your experience with their problem. On that page, you can include articles that you have written on the subject, breakthroughs that you've had dealing with the behavioral area, tips you've shared, testimonials or anything that shows your expertise.

Tips #4 Keep your information current. Check the information on your site. Recently I was checking out a legal consultant's information, and he was listed in a publication that annually rates his profession. Using a plaque they gave him, he touted a superior rating received many many years ago. So, what's wrong with that? Well, if this publication annually rates your profession and the last time you were awarded a high rating was years ago, it makes me think, at first glance, what's wrong with you that it's been that long since you were worthy of a high accolade and now you're not. It's okay to talk about past achievements, but you need to also talk about what makes you wonderful now. What have you done lately? If you haven't done anything . . . do something! Then, of course, brag about it.

Tip #5 Broken links are annoying. Have your webmaster check this regularly to make sure all the links on your site work. This is frustrating for your visitors who are looking forward to visiting the site of the authority you are recommending and can't.

Tip #6 Provide FAQ's to educate your visitors. The more information you put on your site, the more qualified leads you will get.

Tip #7 Call to Action should never be forgotten. Don't leave your visitors hanging now that you've peaked their interest in your practice or your skills as a coach. Tell them what you want them to do with a clear marketing “call to action”. For example: Get a free e-book when you join our newsletter; Call now for your free consultation; For a short time only . . .

When creating or revamping your website, always put your best foot forward. Your website is where many people develop their first impression of your coaching practice.

For free tips on how to design your call to action, shoot me an email.

Twitter Explained:

1. Create a Twitter account. (This takes less than 5 minutes)

2. Make sure you are being "followed" by people in your target audience.

Here's How: Once you sign up for Twitter (which takes less than five minutes) go to search.twitter.com. If lawyers, for example, are your core market, type in the word "lawyers" in the box at the top of the page. Lawyers who have Twitter accounts will appear on the page. Click on their icons or pictures, and you will be taken to their Twitter page. You will sign on to your account from their page. Click on the "Follow" tab under their picture on the left. You are now "following" them, which has two major bonuses:

(a) It means when they post something on Twitter, you can now see it from your Twitter page. This allows you to keep tabs on things that can clue you in to their needs, etc.

(b) They will get an email telling them you are following them. They will then go to your Twitter page, which, when you first set it up, allows you to provide a link to your website. They will then accept and follow you back, if they are interested. I find that, so long as you don't seem like a nut or a spammer, most people have no problem following you back. Now every time you post a scheduled appearance or anything else on Twitter, they can see your post about it, link to it, sign up or email you, or call you about it, etc. It's up to you to make your post appealing.

3. How To Put up a Post (also known as a tweet) on Twitter: Sign on to your Twitter account, now that you have one. Type the headline or the title of your presentation, etc., in the "what are you doing now" box, and add your website address that leads to the page where information on this presentation is posted. If you have an article posted on your blog or your website, you can add the headline/title of that article in the "what are you doing now" box and add the address that leads to that blog post's page or that particular website page. You can tweet about some interesting tidbit that you think your followers should know or may want to know and add the web address that leads to further information. This does not necessarily have to be your website. However, it shows that you have interesting things to tweet about and will make people interested in checking you or your tweets out, because you are that tweeter who's in-the-know.

If your website URL is too long (because you are only allowed 140 characters in Twitter), go here and get a smaller version of your website address called a "tinyurl," then put your tinyurl in the box, instead of your long web address. When people click on the tinyurl, it will take them to your site. This takes less two minute to do!

In that same box, after your web address, type: Please RT.

RT stands for "retweet". Twitter users love to retweet (RT) good articles, witty comments, etc. and being viral is what you want. So what happens? Your followers can now take your twitter message and rebroadcast that same message to their followers and them to their followers and so on. This information about you or your program or your article or your presentation . . . flies across the Internet and, particularly, to those people likely to be interested in your services or who know people who are likely to be interested in your services. Remember, you have sought out people in your target market to be followed by.

Many of you - professionals -are missing out on the value of Twitter, because you don't understand how Twitter can really help your business grow. It goes way beyond "what are you doing now?" that's it's known for.

There's a wonderful article on how to use Twitter to grow your business on Copyblogger that I highly recommend.

Good luck

4 Simple Steps to Automate Your Coaching Business Online - FREE Teleclass

2009-05-13T13:01:00.006-04:00

To Coaches: Why do you want to attend this Free tele-class?

Why run your business the hard way, when someone has already taken the steps to make it easy for you. If your marketing is not completely automated, whether you are a new coach or even if you are established and successful already, this call is for you.

Your time should be spent coaching and meeting new potential clients, while the leads and money automatically come in.

Rob Goyette of businesscoach.com is going to teach you about creating your marketing funnel and show you how to get people to effortlessly go through your marketing process until they become your best clients.

Rob's also going to teach you to get massive traffic to your site and then improve your sales process over time with a free tool from Google.

Sign up here for Thursday's call.

Always Make Sure Your Headlines Target Your Niche Markets

2009-05-11T06:58:00.010-04:00

If you have a niche market, and you have something amazing, truly life-altering, and different to offer and you know there are people in your niche market - folks out there, who really need what you have, you have got to let them know it the moment they discover you. It must be in your headline, so that you increase your chance of solidifying in their minds that you are the very coach they need for their particular situation AND NOT THE OTHER 100,000 coaches they are going to see or have seen on the Internet.

In the eyes of a prospective client who does not know you, who has never heard of you, there is nothing special about you as a coach until you tell them there is something special about you as a coach. You still have to win them over in your intake process, but you must get them in the door first. We do this with headlines, unique headlines.

Don't make the mistake of settling for boilerplate cookie-cutter headlines so often used by coaches on websites, brochures and flyers. You know, these:

Live Your Dream

Live Your Dream Life

Reach the Peak of Your Heart's Desire

Surpass Your Dreams

Enhance Your Life

Are You Ready for a Positive Change?

Of course they are ready for a change. Guys, PLEASE. These promises are every coach's promise. It's what coaches do. They change your life. So what; they all do.

You've worked very hard to have a practice that stands out from the crowd (at least I hope you have). So, don't do this to your practice or yourself. And, more importantly, don't do this to a client for whom you have something mind-blowing to offer, but who may never know it, because there is nothing in your message that says to him or her that YOU can help them.

Don't Let Your Coaching Training Damage Your Marketing Efforts

Coaching training tends to teach coaches that their skills apply to anybody in any situation at any point in your prospect's life. That may well be true. However, in your marketing message, you are not talking to someone who sat in on that class. Your prospects don't know this. You are talking to a person who has very specific needs and issues that require a resolution that they think is exclusive to their own type of situation, and that person will be more inclined to talk to someone who pops through the clutter of all other coaches and whose message says, unmistakably, I UNDERSTAND YOUR particular circumstance and what I offer benefits people in YOUR particular situation!

If you specialize in dealing with relatives of the terminally ill, then dig into your research on this market and say something you know speaks to their heart. Perhaps, you can think about it in the following way: what is it about your style, your background, your experiences, your current situation that would benefit your particular market, resonate with them and therefore make a great headline?

Take some time to figure this out. And take some time to come up with a targeted headline to attract your niche market. You owe it to your coaching practice. You owe it to the people you vowed to help. If you are what they need . . . make sure they know it!

Small Business Advice on 5 Ways to Turn Your Website Into a Client Magnet

2009-05-04T12:26:00.006-04:00

As small business owners, when we think about our web sites, we're often thinking fancy and impressive. Then we invest hundreds, often thousands, to get our dream web site created. The web designer adds flash, moving images, a generous helping of oh-so-cool graphics, music and all the glitz and glamour. In the end, you're totally impressed with your fabulous new web site, and you just know your web site visitors are sure to be impressed as well.

Big mistake and here's why... (um... no offense to the flashy web designers out there). I would venture a guess that your business goal is not to impress others, but to attract prospects and clients to whom you can provide a valuable product or service. Last I checked, prospects don't turn into clients because of an impressive web site (just ask them.) They become your clients because you effectively conveyed how you can solve a specific problem or meet a specific need they had.

Now if you're flaunting a fancy brochure web site right now, I'm certainly not dissing you here. :-) But how do you turn your web site into a magnetic marketing tool that brings in loads of prospects, clients and, of course, sales? Here are 5 actions you can take immediately to turn your web site into a client magnet:

1) Speak to what’s on my mind right now: When you ideal visitor arrives at your web site, they should feel like you just read their mind. Their reaction should be something like "Yes, that's exactly what I was looking for!" Too often web sites are set up to talk about the business and all the services offered. But it does nothing to let the visitor know the key problems you solve or how you meet their greatest desires. Your web site becomes magnetic when it connects with exactly what your visitor is thinking when they arrive.

2) Give me a valuable FREE offer I can’t refuse: Anyone visiting your web site for the first time wants to know a little more about how you can help them. Upon arrival, they should be invited to take action in the direction of solving their key problem/need/desire. The best way to invite someone to take action is to offer them a taste of that solution at absolutely zero cost.

There are many ways to do this: a free checklist, a free assessment, a free report, a free audio, a free CD. Your web site becomes magnetic when you offer something of value at no cost so your prospects can get to know you and what you have to offer.

3) Ask for at least my first name and email: Your freebie would require the visitor to enter their name and email address so they can get the free offer. You will quickly learn that as a small business owner, your most critical and most valuable asset is your list. The name and email serves to build a list of people interested in your area of expertise and allows you to follow up. Your web site becomes magnetic when it continuously builds your list.

4) Connect me to a follow up plan: So your visitor was interested enough to submit their name and email to get your freebie. This means they’ve raised their hand indicating they are interested in what you do. Now what? Rarely do people instantly become customers after having just one interaction with you. So you’d need to keep in touch by continuing to share valuable information. Your web site becomes magnetic when interested visitors are fed into an effective follow-up system.

5) Use a tool for follow-up: Trying to follow-up manually with a growing list would only frustrate and overwhelm you. You would need some type of list management system. Check out http://www.greatsmallbusinessCART.com (the system I use) or
http://www.ConstantContact.com (another great system I've used in the past). These systems allow you to quickly and efficiently manage and communicate with your list. They both include tracking features to measure different aspects of your follow-up. Your web site becomes magnetic when it is connected to a system that manages your list, and allows you to easily build an ongoing relationship that creates sales.

If you enjoyed this article, you'll love Allison's Ultimate Clients & Cash System which reveals a 4-step formula for creating a IFO (irresistible free offer) as an ultra-magnetic prospect-attracting marketing tool.

Copyright © 2009 Allison Babb International LLC

Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs. Allison publishes the "Small Business Success" weekly Ezine on how to create a steady stream of clients for your small business at: www.GreatSmallBusinessAdvice.com

Business Improvement: An Unconventional Way, But It Works!

2009-04-20T23:56:00.006-04:00

Jeez, I’ve been away for a bit to work on a few other projects to (a) expand our business and (b) so I could catch up, catch my breath and regroup!

The economy has been shockingly great to me, to a point where I’ve actually put a few of my other activities on hold. I took this time to explore ways to further improve our business. I always advocate that the best time to expand your business or explore ways to improve your business is when business is good. Never wait until you have no choice. It should always be an ongoing venture. You don’t think as clearly when you attempt to enhance business while in a panic state.

In addition, it gave me time to clear my head. Often, it’s not a vacation one needs, not in the traditional sense. Sometimes we merely need to step back and walk away from our routine so that we can see it with a fresh pair of eyes.

I did just that, and I feel like I had a B-12 shot!

Put your keyboard down. Take a walk. Breathe. Focus on some other aspect of your life or your business. Do this for a couple of weeks. If not weeks, then days. Do what you need to do to regroup and see your business from the outside. Get away from it for a little while. It’s refreshing, and it allows you to envision practical transformations and to come up with promising concepts that you can’t come up with when you're too close to it.

Are Your Brochures, Websites, Press Releases, etc. Attracting Your Clients in Record Numbers?

2009-03-09T10:28:00.001-04:00

Does your copy really speak to your specific target market? In an effort to try to serve everybody, coaches often miss a prime opportunity to grow their businesses at a faster rate. One of your first orders of business must be to find a niche to serve. You can’t serve everybody.

Pick a niche and become one with it. Learn how it's being served . . . and how it’s not being served.

Here's how:

Get Inside the Head of Your Target Market

To gain a deeper understanding of the audience you serve within that niche, go inside their world. Visit the blogs your audience visits, read the magazines they read, off line and on. Join the social groups they belong to online and off. You don’t have to use your real name (on line). Be a fly on the wall of the target segment you are trying to sell to. Not every client you’ve dealt with experiences all of the same things. So, this means, in order for you to gain a more well-rounded idea of you are dealing with, you need to go beyond the clients you have.

You will be in a better position to create the brochures, the headlines, the marketing message that you need to capture their attention. You will also be in a better position to gain their confidence and their trust in your ability to deal with their issues.

Know Your Competition, So You Can Find the Gap . . . Then Fill It

Develop a deeper understanding of how the coaches you compete with serve that same audience. Study the websites of your competition. Visit their social media profiles, their "answers" in the forums they visit, their blogs; download their newsletters, etc. Find the gap that your competition has left open, and fill it. Do for your target market what your competitors are not doing, offer what they don’t offer.

Narrow your audience; study that audience; study your competition and you increase your likelihood of attracting more clients than you've been attracting. And start with a headline that let’s your target market know, immediately, that YOU have what they need, YOU offer the very benefit they are looking for!

Article Writing Tips for Coaches Who Are Afraid to Write: When You Don’t Think You Have What It Takes To Write

2009-02-28T19:51:00.005-05:00

The Benefits of Article Writing
Many coaches already know that one of the most important (not to mention, free) marketing tools available is article marketing (writing and publishing articles online). Article writing also has the added benefit of helping you establish yourself as a go-to expert in your field. However, even knowing this, and knowing other coaches who have garnered lots of positive exposure from publishing articles, many coaches still don’t do it.

Web Traffic as an Incentive
And when it comes to generating web traffic, the expression “Content is King” cannot be said enough, and yes, that includes articles. Why, because traffic translates into cash. So I say to all coaches who have a fear of writing, feel the fear and write anyway!

Reasons Some Coaches Don’t Like to Write
I have found that one of the most, if not the most, common reason for not writing articles is a fear of writing, a fear of being judged because their writing skills are not where they think they should be. Although coaches have the gift of gab when it comes to articulating their ideas orally, many coaches have the hardest time doing so, in writing.

I personally understand this dilemma, because I have it in the reverse – I can write my thoughts, but I’d rather drink a cleaning agent, than speak publicly, including networking, even among a familiar group of professionals. I avoided public speaking until I went out networking one day and discovered that my leads exponentially increased when I networked. Speaking, I quickly learned, is another very effective (and free) marketing tool, so I forced myself to become an avid networker, while I shook in my boots doing it.

Well, now I belong to networking groups and business referral groups that require presentations and/or elevator pitches, both of which I hate . . . but they work, so I do it. I even volunteered for a position that guarantees I have to stand up and speak three times every meeting (at the beginning, middle and end of every meeting) – Ugh!!!

So, Now What Does All This Mean for You?

Force Yourself To Do the Following:

1. Open your word processing program to a blank page. Now walk away from it. Walk around for a few seconds, so you can loosen up. Breathe deeply as you walk until you feel you are beginning to relax.

2. Right now you may be telling yourself “I can’t,” and that’s okay if you are saying that to yourself. That voice is supposed to be there; that it’s job, just let it be. Don’t fight it. Don’t try to create thoughts to get rid of it.

3. Now, while that voice is still talking, you start TALKING too. Talk out what you want to write out. But don’t write it. Say the first point you want to make in one sentence, like a bullet point, but just say it.

4. Now write that bullet point, just that short bullet point.

5. Do the next one until all your bullet points are jotted down.

6. Now, while the negative voice is still talking, it may even be hollering at this point, get up from your computer and walk around a bit. Loosen up. Breathe deeply as you walk around until you feel a bit calmer. You don’t have to be completely calm. In fact, you may not be able to get calm at all. But that’s okay. Just because you are nervous, it doesn’t mean you have to stop writing. Don’t throw in the towel because you are uncomfortable. So what! It’s just discomfort trying to stop you . . . not a gunman.

I know, guys. I fight through this daily. As recently as a month ago, I cried in front of an atrium full of adult strangers because the anxiety gripped me that tightly . . . and I was with my speaking coach during my coaching session at the time! Yes, my sessions took place in public.

But I went to my networking events that week anyway – and my fear, as it always is, was faithfully by my side. But I did not let it stop me.

So, keep typing!

7. Go back to the first bullet point. Walk around and talk this point out. Don’t write it out. Say it out loud. Say it four or five times, over and over and over and over.

8. Now that you know the words you are going to say, sit down and type exactly what you just finished saying a minute ago. DON’T worry about punctuation or anything. DON’T worry about spelling. Just write it. Nobody can see it but you.

9. Now repeat that exercise until every point has been written out, putting a double space between each separate point. It DOESN’T matter if you can’t spell a word or have never seen the word you just orally used. Write it the way you think it is spelled.

If you were going to deliver this in a speech to a client or someone else, the structure of it would be (a) beginning (b) body and (c) conclusion or closing. So, that’s what you write too - beginning, body and conclusion. We do this when we prepare to speak; we just don’t always recognize it.

A Stress-free Way to Look at Periods

Periods usually go where you ended your sentence when you said it.

Example:

"There are all types of coaches in the industry."

See, your voice naturally dies down after the word “industry," because you are finished. You can even feel that you may need to take a slight (hardly noticeable) breath after the word “industry.” So put a period there.

Start the next sentence with a capital letter and repeat the above process.

A Stress-free Way to Look at Commas

Sometimes your voice dies down, but you’re not quite finished, because you are giving a list of things. So, in this case, you need commas after each word.

Example:

"Some types of coaches include life coaches, spiritual coaches, career coaches, speaking coaches and writing coaches."

If you are naming a bunch of items in a list or feel the need to slightly pause, but not come to a dead stop, use commas. Your voice dies down at the end of your list where you say “writing coaches” so put a period there.

Don’t get fancy with the following types of punctuation:

… OR ; OR -- .

These types of punctuation marks should only be used if you are confident that you can use them properly. Otherwise, although they can be quite useful, we can get away with writing without them.

Once you check your commas and periods throughout your article, run your article through the following FREE online language checker sources – all of them:

Spellchecker.net lets you copy and paste text into an online tool to check your spelling and grammar errors. A Thesaurus is also right there for your convenience.

AbiWord is a free word processing program that includes a grammar checker. You can use it with most common operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Linux and others. This program is very simple to use.

Language Tool is a free grammar checker designed to identify the most common grammatical mistakes in text. Please note, however, that Language Tool does not contain a spell checking program.

If you use MSWord, you should use their spell check and grammar check, as well. Because certain grammar and spelling programs don’t always pick up EVERYTHING, it’s always wiser to double and triple check your writing using several different systems.

Never let the fear of writing stop you from benefiting from one of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert in your field and, to top it off, generate web traffic, which translates into revenue!

Networking the Smart Way: How Coaches Can Find More Leads with Less Work

2009-02-28T00:05:00.008-05:00

Instead of going to your next networking event to look for leads for yourself, try something that often increases the growth rate of your coaching client list.

Use your next few networking events to look for referrals for other people. It will come back to you, believe me. Be on the lookout for people (more than one, if possible) you can refer to others you have met who need referrals and vice versa. Then go to your next networking function and look for one more referral for this same person. Business people often remember the courtesy and remember you well, particularly if you send them more than one referral. Once you are home, email that lucky person and let them know that you have a referral for them. Make the introduction and then follow up with both sides (with a gentle touch) to see if the referral closed.

Believe me both people or rather, all three people will more than likely remember you when they run into folks they know who could possibly use your coaching services.

International Coach Federation - NYC

2009-02-19T21:42:00.004-05:00

ICF-NYC Special Event
Saturday, March 14, 2009, 9:30am - 4:00pm

Topic: Congratulations on Becoming a Coach - Now What? Coach Development: Direction At Last!

Presenter: Madeleine Homan, MCC, Author, Speaker

You've been trained, tested and pronounced a coach. Where do you go from here? How do you chart and enhance your skill level? How do you set goals for your own development? The ICF competencies are a good start but how do you know which competencies are going to be critical to achieving your goals?

Come and spend the day with Madeleine Homan, MCC. She will outline the Coach Competency Model that she and Linda Miller have developed for The Ken Blanchard Companies. From Core Fundamentals to Master Coach Competencies, you will leave this dynamic interactive workshop with
the ability to identify your own competency level.
the capability to pinpoint your skill gaps and goals to fill them in.
key distinctions in your coaching style and talents.
valuable tools that will inspire you as you set your sites on your next level.
Madeleine Homan, a Master Certified Coach, author, and speaker, has been a coach since 1989 and is a cofounder of the Blanchard® Coaching Services. Madeleine was a Senior Leader and founding advisory board member of Coach University and a founding board member of The International Coach Federation (the ICF) where she served for six years. She is co-author of Coaching Essentials for Leaders, a coaching skills program currently used by hundreds of companies all over the world.

Location: The Support Center For Non-Profit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue, 11th floor (between 27th & 28th Streets) in Manhattan

Cost: Save money by registering early as seats are limited and we expect tremendous demand. Really!

Early registration (through March 1, 2009): ICF (any chapter) members $99; non-members $119

Regular registration: $119 ICF members; $139 non-members

For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com

Member Registration - $99
NonMember Registration - $119

All online sales are FINAL. No refunds. No exchanges.

Free Audio Book Downloads: “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”

2009-02-01T14:02:00.006-05:00

Have you finally decided you need a change of plans so that your coaching practice will succeed? Are you looking for motivation, inspiration or leadership coaching to help you on this journey to building your coaching practice, filling your coaching practice and attracting clients? If so . . . start from the inside out. Start by optimizing you. Listen to one of the most inspirational books by a best-selling author:

Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”

Download the audio book FREE and start the year out . . . and finish it with better habits:

Habit 1 - Be proactive®
Habit 2 - Begin with the end in mind®
Habit 3 - Put first things first®
Habit 4 - Think win-win®
Habit 5 - Seek first to understand and then to be understood®
Habit 6 - Synergize®
Habit 7 - Sharpen the saw®

Join Best-selling Author Suzanne Falter-Barns

2009-01-22T12:11:00.004-05:00

Attract Big Media

ICF-NYC Monthly Meeting: Wednesday, February 18, 200
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Presenter: Suzanne Falter-Barns, best-selling author, infopreneur and business guru.

Join best-selling author Suzanne Falter-Barns, and learn what coaches just like you did to attract calls from some of the biggest media available today. Recent studies show that 79% of all major media find their resources and story ideas from blogs and the Internet. This is what media and publishing pundits call "Platform," and it's critical to attract and impress key decision makers.

Platform also allows you to build your national audience and spread your message further, so it's an important part of any serious coaching business. But your web presence must have instant credibility and the ability to stand out from the crowded pack. You will walk away from this dynamic presentation knowing how to:

Gain a strong sense of what's missing in your current platform and get a firmer hold on what it should be.
Probe issues of branding.
Find a more powerful niche.
Consider what a unique selling proposition might be.

Suzanne Falter-Barns is the author of the creativity classic, "How Much Joy Can You Stand?" Her second book, "Living Your Joy," was named one of the top nine self-help books in print by Self Magazine. She's also been featured in more than 100 TV and radio programs.

Location: The Support Center For Non-Profit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue, 11th floor (between 27th & 28th Streets) in Manhattan

Cost: Save $5 by registering online in advance. Online registration will be disabled 24 hours prior to the event.

Advance registration: ICF (any chapter) members $10; non-members $20

At the door: $15 ICF members; $25 nonmembers

For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com

Member Registration - $10
NonMember Registration - $20

All online sales are FINAL. No refunds. No exchanges.

Health & Wellness Professional Network

2009-01-19T11:35:00.011-05:00

The coach and consultant networking world is just full of wonderful surprises and gems. I recently met a lovely independent consultant, Shannon Sodano, and from her I learned of the New Jersey-based organization - Health and Wellness Professional Network, a network specifically devoted to the health and wellness community. It is a community of practitioners, business owners and volunteers that helps people succeed in their respective endeavors by promoting a healthy mind, body and spirit. They join forces to expand your wellness options, to educate your clients and communities and so that you can educate each other.

Please email Risa Olinsky or call 973.761.5758 to learn more about HWPN.

BNI - The World's Largest Referral Organization

2009-01-15T12:36:00.004-05:00

I attended a BNI meeting (Group 6); it was a great experience. I was merely subbing for a friend who could not attend, and I left the meeting with two very promising leads. Everyone was warm and friendly, but I noticed something very peculiar, however. I was one of only three women in a group of 25 or more men. Now I know from having attended other BNI chapters that that is not par for the course. Nevertheless, this was the case for this particular chapter, a chapter which seemed so welcoming to me and the other two women there.

So, I am writing to say this to the businesswomen of New York: If I were you, I would take advantage of this chance to join a group of fine, no-nonsense business people, who all seem to be having great success helping each other find leads and referrals, and, equally important – the icing on the cake - who are very receptive to the idea of increasing their female membership.

BNI - Group 6 meets each Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. at the Williams Club, 24 East 39th Street, New York, New York 10016. For more details, please contact Shaun Smith by phone at (646) 862-1710 or contact BNI by email at tcymbol@manhattanbni.com

Small Business Advice on 3 Ways to Grow Your Business

2009-01-11T17:24:00.003-05:00

By Allison Babb

It probably goes without saying that all self-employed people want to grow their small businesses as quickly as possible. Solo entrepreneurs, in particular, can find this to be quite a challenge. Perhaps it’s because we’re often wearing many hats and juggling many responsibilities. Growth can seem slower and harder to achieve at times.

When you're self employed it's important to understand how growth happens in a small business so that you're not spinning your wheels. Growing your small business typically means growing the bottom line. You reach others with your product service which then produces growth for your business. So how do you get to growth? Well there are many ways, but here are 3 to consider:

Attract more customers: Yes, I know, you're thinking "well duh Allison". :-) Everyone knows they can use more customers, but too often we limit ourselves to 2 options: "word of mouth" and "networking." These are great ways to get the word out but there are countless other ways to market our businesses as well. We simply need to invest in our own learning and growth to discover more options.

I discovered countless marketing options by reading books like "The Ultimate Marketing Plan" and "Guerilla Marketing" and, of course, quizzing my coaches and mentors on what options exist for me. I now have well over a dozen different ways in which I market my business offline and online. If business growth is your goal, having only one or two marketing options is rarely enough to get the volume of customers you want.

Increase your prices: Now that’s one way to grow your bottom line, right? But seriously, can I share a secret with you? Most self-employed people undercharge for their products and services. Why? It's largely mindset as far as I can tell - we often don't believe anyone would pay us higher prices. Internally, we don’t think we’re worth it. So we undercharge. There are so many talented entrepreneurs out there who deliver tremendous value and deserve to be paid for the results they create for others.

With the economic downturn, we’re tempted to cut our prices to attract more clients. But quite honestly, people don't typically buy based solely on price (unless you're competing with Walmart-type goods and services.) People buy based on the value and results you deliver. Price your services based on the results you help people achieve. It may be time to amp up your value and increase your prices. Now I don't mean to overprice but truly take a look at the results you deliver in your business and see if it may be time to adjust your pricing based on what you help others accomplish. Your talent is probably worth way more than you think.

Create repeat business: Our customers return when there's something valuable to come back to. One thing to note is that a lot of self-employed people have just one or two things to sell. That's probably not enough options to create repeat business.

When you offer more options, you increase the opportunities for people to buy. Some of your customers will want your lower-end products/services while others will want your top end offerings. It may be time to add some offerings based on what your customers are asking about or what they're saying they want more of. And if it’s been a while since you asked your customers what they want, this may be a great way to start the New Year.

Allison Babb is an author, speaker and Small Business Coach to solo entrepreneurs. Get FREE weekly advice on how to create a steady stream of clients for your small business at: http://www.greatsmallbusinessadvice.com/

Life Coach TV

2009-01-11T14:30:00.003-05:00

Created and produced by Marianna Lead, Ph.D.

Life Coach TV is a popular prime time live cable TV show in Manhattan which promotes the field of coaching. The show airs in Manhattan on Monday nights at 8:00pm on the following channels:
Time Warner Cable TV channel 56
RCN channel 84
Digital channel 111 without Cable Box on channel 17
You can also view it on the Internet at: http://www.mnn.org/.
Get more information and view past episodes on Dr. Lead's blog.
For more information, or to become a guest coach on Life Coach TV, please contact the show's creator, Dr. Marianna Lead, at drlead@drlead.com.

You may also contact her co-hosts, Laurie Lawson at laurie@eljnyc.com and Bonnie Gurwicz at bonniesgurwicz@aol.com.

Free Audio Workshop Download

2009-01-03T21:43:00.001-05:00

The Real Secret to Attracting Coaching/Consulting Clients

As a coach or consultant, you want to make sure your target audience knows that you are the better choice when they compare you to other coaches in your niche market. In this brief audio workshop, you learn the 7 steps that you need to take to assure that that happens.

The Real Secret to Attracting More Clients - I.mp3

Get More Clients; Get Better Clients; Keep Your Clients Longer: A Workshop for New York Coaches

2009-01-03T08:19:00.008-05:00

Wednesday, January 21, 2009; 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Presenter: Sandy Schussel, Founder of Brass Ring Coaching, Author, Speaker

Sandy Schussel, dubbed by one of his clients as the "More Clients Coach," will share ideas with coaches who want to stop struggling and start ATTRACTING the quantity and quality of clients they want.

Attendees will learn how to:
-Brand" your practice, so you have virtually no competition
-Tell people what you do in a compelling way
-Create a simple Client Attraction Plan
-Overcome your fear of "S&M" (Sales and Marketing)
-Approach the development of your practice from four different directions
-Compel a prospective client to move from interest to action

Everything Sandy teaches is ethical, professional...and it works!

Sandy provides attendees with a workbook and a copy of one of his recently published books.

The author of the acclaimed book on overcoming fear, "The High Diving Board: How To Overcome Your Fears To Live Your Dreams," Sandy recently co-authored "Success and Happiness: Experts Reveal Their Secrets." He writes a weekly motivational and skill building e-zine for professionals that can be accessed through his website at www.brassringcoaching.com.

Cost: Save $5 by registering online in advance. Online registration will be disabled 24 hours prior to any event.

Advance registration: ICF (any chapter) members $10; non-members $20

At the door: $15 ICF members; $25 nonmembers

For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com

Member Registration - $10
NonMember Registration - $20

All online sales are FINAL. No refunds. No exchanges.

Location: The Support Center For Non-Profit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue, 11th floor (between 27th & 28th Streets) in Manhattan

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T01:27:00.000-05:00

Your Coaching Practice - Are You Making Meaningful Progress or Excuses?

2008-12-29T19:47:00.008-05:00

And, so . . .

Where do you plan to take your business by January 31, 2009, June 2009, December 2009?
How many clients do you plan to have by March 1, 2009?
Did you completely write out your pitch that you plan to make to your prospective strategic partners?
How many clients do you plan to bring in on a monthly basis starting now?
Did you join the networking group you said you were going to join?
Why not?
Did you start the blog you said you'd start?
What stopped you?
Have you read up on the advantages of social media, e.g., Twitter, Facebook and linkedin.com, things you thought might help your business, but you just haven't gotten around to?
Did you create the CD or workbook or podcast you said you'd create?
Are you following the schedule you put in place last month? Last year?
Did you gather your receipts for disbursements so that you're organized for tax time?
Is that pile of unimportant mail still sitting on your kitchen table? The one that can wait.
Did you enter the email addresses for that stack of business cards on your bookshelf?
Did you do all the things you needed to do to put you where you said you'd be last year by this time, this year?

No. Okay. So what stopped you - hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, or you?

Successful coaches and consultants and people in general do what they don't feel like doing and they make it a habit . . . and make meaningful progress. And then there are people who make excuses. Which one are you?

"Justifiable" Procrastination:

Is, "I'm too busy" your new, "legitimate" excuse?

New Years Resolution. Oh please! Baa Humbug!

2008-12-24T13:59:00.015-05:00

I poo poo this concept, because it's like starting on a diet . . . tomorrow. There's a strong probability that it won't happen, and if it does, there's an even stronger probability that it won't last.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Delay signifies and highlights the onset of failure. If you have a goal that you are really serious about attaining, a New Year's resolution, just like starting your diet tomorrow, is pointless.

Tell yourself you are no longer going to be a part of the resolution-making crowd. Whatever the goal is, successful people just do it!

The next time you see yourself about to put something on hold, ask yourself, if someone offered you $5 million dollars in tax-free cash, would you and could you find a way to accomplish this goal now.

Almost invariably the answer is yes.

Relinquish resolutions and just do it.

For Coaches: Creating Multiple Income Streams

2008-12-21T13:03:00.024-05:00

With the economy slowing down, everyone is cutting back financially, which means the cash flow of your coaching business may be slowing down or may have come to a complete standstill as your clients look for ways to save money. All coaches can create multiple streams of income during a recession, but you must look at the recession from an optimistic perspective. Lucrative opportunities still exist, and you don’t necessarily have to lower your fees or change the entire infrastructure of your practice to seize them.

You can combat the recession by implementing alternatives outside your usual sphere of options (Yes, “think outside the box”). You may have to do some reading or Internet surfing, but the opportunities are out there, and if you are not finding them, you are not looking hard or creatively enough.

Suggestions for creating income streams for different coaching fields:

ADHD Coach

Offer group (2 people per group) in-person coaching or phone coaching. Use the same amount of time, a one hour session, and provide a two-person group session and charge them each half price. You still make the same money for your hour’s work and they get to expand their awareness and possibly accelerate their progress, because group coaching can help ADHD people hone their social skills, among other skills.

Career Advancement Coach

Studies show that people spend money to improve themselves during economic downturns, doing everything from buying lipstick to going back to graduate school for advanced degrees. Go to linkedin.com and join groups that may help you align your coaching practice (one-half day a week) with companies that you know have been laying off people in droves. Perhaps search for someone in their HR department. It’s win-win. The company pays nothing and salvages what may be left of its reputation. The prospect was likely to pay for such a service anyway. You get paid for providing much needed coaching assistance.

Life Coach/Spiritual Coach

Think about where your prospects are when the thought of their mundane life creeps through their minds: at the checkout counter, in the library, in the elevator, at the bus stop. Post flyers about the unique gift you have for making people feel better. The holidays are here, a time when depression is high. The New Year is starting – with a recession. The media news is full of woeful economic tragedies. And there are those people, some of who may be able to use one trial phone session. You ever just need that person to talk to just for today? You’re not looking for therapy; you just want someone who will listen to you for a few minutes – a quickie. Those folks are out there. Create a small campaign and flyer around the concept “When you need someone to talk, just for a moment” or "When you need a neutral shoulder to cry on during the holidays." If you charge $100 an hour. You can charge $50 for a half hour. Explain the simplicity of your sign up process with paypal and show the benefit of having someone to listen . . .

You also want to examine industries less vulnerable during a recession to see how your coaching services benefit people or situations within that industry:

Health care – Health services account for close to half of the 30 fastest growing occupations.

Environmental –If you have "green" skills in sustainability and other environmental issues, you will be in demand, says sixwise.com.

International Business – As stated by sixwise.com - Working in another country, or simply being an expert about another culture or language, will work to your advantage during a recession.

Big Business – As stated by HRworld, “Recessions are crunch times for companies as well, and they're likely to bring in consultants for advice on efficiency and squeezing the most out of their resources.”

Before You Get Started on Your Search for Income Stream Ideas, Make Sure the Following are in Place:

Let’s go off the subject a tad, for just a moment. If you were a stock investor, I’d tell you to consider Amazon.com and petmed.com and companies such as these that succeeded when the economy was good, and which are still doing well even in a bad economy, because (a) they sell things that we think are essential; (b) they sell quality items at affordable rates; (c) they have value propositions that are clearly understood by their customers and prospects and (d) the customer experience is exceptional – all of which are the necessary ingredients for business success.

So coaches, no matter how creative and good your ideas are, it is important to make sure those four elements are coming across in your marketing campaign, and once they are . . . go for it!

Look for the hidden success potential out there; find the gaps and be determined to come up with ways to capitalize on them. People are spending less, but still, your services are needed and there folks out there who will spend the money for the services you provide, even when the economy is doing poorly.

Make it happen.

All About Twitter: Books. Ebooks. Kindle Books. Youtube Videos. Blogs.

2008-12-17T19:54:00.010-05:00

Coaches and consultants have been asking me about social media, and particularly Twitter. They want to know what it is and what its benefits are. In other words, how can it benefit their coaching and consulting practices?

Twitter, as defined by wikipedia, is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets).

In addition, it can be leveraged for marketing purposes for small and big business alike.

To help coaches and consultants understand what the hype is all about and how to use the platform, I present sources for Twitter in all its glory!

Books

Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online by Warren Whitlock and Deborah Micek

Twitter Free Social Networking for Business - 100 Success Secrets to Increase Your Profits and Sales Using Twitter Business Strategies by Ronald Clark

Twitter means business: how microblogging can help or hurt your company by Julio Ojeda-Zapata

Twitter: How Short Messages Can Make A Big Difference To Your Business by Joel Comm

Twitter Power : How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm

Kindle Book

Twitter in Plain English by Lee & Sachi LeFever

Ebooks

A Geek’s Guide To Promoting Yourself and Your Online Business in 140 Characters or Less with Twitter by Geekpreneur

Using Twitter for Business by John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing

Youtube.com Video on How To Use Twitter

Blog

http://twitterhandbook.com/blog/

Sign up for Twitter here. It's simple and it, LITERALLY, takes about 35 seconds to sign up!

AND, FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER.

Have fun and welcome aboard.

Marshall Goldsmith, America's Leading Executive Coach, Launches Powerful Interactive Coaching Program

2008-12-13T14:07:00.001-05:00

Press Release

Last update: 12:16 p.m. EST Dec. 3, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Dec 03, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Ideal Gift For 2009: A Virtual Coach To Help Business Professionals Succeed In Down Economy

Marshall Goldsmith, bestselling author and America's top-ranked CEO coach, announced the release of a landmark 'virtual coach' program, The Marshall Goldsmith Professional Success System, which will be available for New Year's 2009.

Working with Thought Leaders Media, a pioneering technology company, Goldsmith developed the highly interactive and powerful online system to deliver the coaching advice sought by Fortune 100 executives to thousands of individuals who want to take their business game to a whole new level in 2009.

"This is the perfect solution for those facing greater challenges in this troubled economy," Goldsmith said. "We've developed a powerful, affordable new way to reach a great many more people who want to find new ways to succeed right now."

Milo Sindell, founder of Thought Leaders Media, said, "We are honored to deliver Marshall's great knowledge and experience directly to people around the globe--in a fun, highly-effective, and affordable way. It's a powerful program."

The Marshall Goldsmith Professional Success System contains all of the proprietary tools, exercises, and training usually available only to Goldsmith's top executive clients. Now, for the first time, he is making his advanced, six-month training program available to the public for only $99. It is available at http://www.mymgpro.com/ and at Amazon.com.

"Given the strains on personal finances in this recession, we feel this is an outstanding value but even more so, it is a critical tool for helping business owners, executives, family members, spouses, friends, or colleagues get better prepared to succeed in the challenging times ahead," Sindell said. The product goes on sale January 10, 2009.

About Marshall Goldsmith: Fast Company magazine called Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, "America's preeminent executive coach." Business Week listed him as one of the most influential practitioners in their history of leadership development. He is one of a select few who have worked with more than 100 major CEOs and their management teams. His last book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal #1 bestseller and the Harold Longman Award winner for Business Book of the Year. Marshall has published 23 books. His next book, Succession: Are You Ready?, will be published by Harvard Business Press in February. Visit MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.

About Thought Leaders Media: Thought Leaders Media is beginning a revolution to transform traditional publishing by making the greatest knowledge of leading authors come alive through highly interactive online learning platforms. TLM's mission is to dramatically change the way great thought leaders deliver their content. TLM is using advanced learning technologies to create vastly more interactive and personal learning environments for the masses.

Visit http://www.mymgpro.com/.
SOURCE Marshall Goldsmith http// http://www.mymgpro.com/
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

Need Help Marketing Your Coaching or Consulting Business

2008-12-10T22:55:00.004-05:00

One of the best marketing sites you could possibly become a member of is Marketingprofs.com.

It's a resource that helps you market your services much more effectively.

My description of their staff:

Trustworthy
Best and the brightest
Insightful
They make learning about marketing fun

Tools Available Through Marketingprofs.com:

Forums to answer any marketing questions you have
Newsletters
Conferences
Seminars
A Blog
Cutting-edge News on Marketing

In their own words: " . . . we help you navigate your way to market your business and keep you informed of the newest and best tools. Think of us as a beacon of light illuminating the path through the clutter. "

*There's a reason they have 321,000 subscribers, and I am reminded of it every time I enter their forum; they are unbelievably informative and always have their collective finger on the pulse when it comes to marketing-related current events.

Discover Life and Leadership Potentials - iPEC Teleseminar - Monday, December 15, 2008; 8:30pm Eastern

2008-12-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

The Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching (IPEC)

Join iPEC's President, D. Luke Iorio, for this live, interactive call detailing iPEC's Life Potentials Training (also Module I of iPEC's ICF-accredited coach training program) and how it can help you bring your potential to life!

You'll learn:

*Why iPEC created the Life Potentials training and who they created it for;
*How this training has impacted tens of thousands of people in how they view the world;
*What you'll gain knowledge of when you attend iPEC's live training weekend;
*The single greatest factor that holds people back from achieving the success they want in the areas of happiness, health, wisdom and wealth

Cost: FREE Registration:

Visit www.iPECevents.com or email Darice Eppinger at darice@ipeccoaching.com.

You may also register or learn more by calling 866-72-COACH.email Darice Eppinger at darice@ipeccoaching.com. You may also register or learn more by calling 866-72-COACH.

2008-12-03T17:27:00.001-05:00

So, I hear that more than eighty women have registered for tomorrow's New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE) networking event.

I also hear there are only a few spots left. If you have not signed up yet, you can still do so, here.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited!

New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE)

2008-12-02T18:38:00.004-05:00

Business Women of New York (Gen X, Gen Y, Boomers) - Have You Heard About New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE)?

Their Mission: To bring women to the highest positions of leadership in business, government, and social and environmental work. To promote women social entrepreneurs by providing training and development, access to resources, networking opportunities, and general support for our members.And where has this group been hiding?

Join them on linkedin.com

New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE) is the NY Chapter of Young Women Social Entrepreneurs (YWSE).

And don't let the word "young" fool you! Everyone is welcome.

Already boasting 179 members and growing!

Social Media: Quantity vs. Quality

2008-11-29T22:57:00.002-05:00

When you join Twitter, linkedin.com and all the other social media sites out there for business purposes, seeking quality before quantity may be a more promising objective.

You want to establish a network of people with whom to do business, directly or indirectly - people you can help and people who can help you. Quantity is important, but never let achieving a high number of "followers" or "friends" replace the business necessity of quality.

Chris Brogan also addressed this issue in his blog.

Quantity is important; quality is primary.

Don't Keep Your Customers Waiting

2008-11-26T21:01:00.001-05:00

When your customers or clients show up for their regularly scheduled appointments, make sure you are always on time. Many coaches and consultants forget that having customers or clients is a privilege. You are not entitled to them; you have to earn them and work hard to keep them. There is much too much competition in our fields to take them for granted. They have many options available to them, and without them, we would not be in business. We need customers and clients more than they need us.

Also remember: that customer (a potential source of referrals) will tell others. It's your good reputation that you want traveling, via word-of-mouth, not your laxness.

Show your customers they are important to you. Respect their time.

Join the Linkedin.com Online Network To Increase Your Small Business Opportunties

2008-11-24T19:52:00.004-05:00

Linkedin.com is all the rage for job seekers. But how many of you know just how promising it is for small business owners?

Post a Profile on Linkedin.com
If you are a coaching or consulting practice looking for innovative ways to increase business, looking for strategic partnerships, looking to open doors to opportunities to which you may not otherwise have access, I highly recommend posting a profile on linkedin.com. Of course, you will have to actively work at building relationships and enhancing your reputation online, but linkedin.com is one of the best ways to start.

Professional Groups on Linkedin.com
In addition, it is a good idea for you to look up groups on linkedin.com that are in your industry or in a complementary industry and request membership. Your groups will send updates on postings, including requests for partnerships, professional services, invitations to all kinds of professional offline events; your groups on linkedin.com will provide countless ways to improve your business.

For those of you who already have dipped your feet into the linkedin.com waters, don’t let your profile just sit there; working it can prove quite lucrative!

When A Prospect Calls at an Inconvenient Time

2008-11-15T22:33:00.000-05:00

As a coach or consultant, we sometimes receive calls at inconvenient moments - during another consultation, while traveling and getting poor reception, during your personal time (at your child's school or during an unpleasant moment with a spouse). Whenever you get that call and it is not a good time to talk, consider handling the dilemma in the following ways:

1. Traveling and can't hear: Do not ask the caller to call you back. Try to step into a quieter area and take the person's number. Let them know that you have a bad connection, but that you will call them as soon as you are in an area where you can hear better. Ask for the best time to return the call.

2. If you are at a reasonable breaking point with the child's teacher, ask if you can step away for a moment to take the call. Tell the caller you are in a conference and ask for a time when you can call them after your current meeting. Don't forget to the get the number to where you will be calling them later.

3. If you are in a heated family discussion, let the phone ring and allow your voice mail to pick it up. You never want the call to hear the vestiges of your family member's emotionally-charged conversation. It is better to miss the call and return it later, than to have your prospect or customer privy to your personal strife. We all have it, but your clients don't want to be exposed to it; it's a turn off.

4. If you get a call during a consultation with another client - - Well you should NEVER get a call during a consultation, because your phone SHOULD ALWAYS BE TURNED OFF out of respect for your client's time with you.

We do more multitasking than we've ever done in the past; however, that is still no excuse not to be professional at all times. Our professionalism is our billboard, a primary component of our marketing. Never let a phone call trigger sloppiness.

ICF-NYC Holiday Party- Monday, December 8, 2008; 6:00pm - 9:00pm

2008-11-12T22:06:00.001-05:00

Although the world is in a state of uncertainty, we as coaches know that there is still much to celebrate.

Join ICF-NYC for their Annual Holiday Party to count your blessings and share good will with fellow coaches and friends. They have moved to a bigger location in the heart of Midtown - Trattoria Dopo Teatro. And even though the price has increased slightly, they are keeping the cost to you the same as last year, and they will even buy your first drink for you! So for $39 you will get a delicious three-course meal in a beautiful Wine Cellar, an opportunity to network with other professionals and share with colleagues in your field, and have a fantastic time. (There will be raffle prizes too!)

Hope we see you there!

Location: Trattoria Dopo Teatro, 125 West 44th Street (between Broadway and Avenue of the Americas)

Cost: $39

Please register in advance so we can plan appropriately for this event.

Women’s Festival Set for Saturday, October 25th

2008-10-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

HILLSBOROUGH —Renewing your spirit and nourishing your soul will be the focus of “Women Embracing Our Greatness,” presented by SuZen, owner of The Life Coaching Center of Somerville and Janet Long, massage therapist and owner of In Balance Center for Living Spa in the Flagtown Section of Hillsborough.

The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at the spa, 230 South Branch Road. Women ages 16 and older are invited. Attendees will have the chance to participate in a drumming circle, hear keynote speakers, meditate, receive nutritional counseling, take part in past life regression, hypnosis and more.Registration is $45, which includes lunch with beverage and dessert. For more information, to register or to be a vendor, visit The Life Coaching Center Web site at www.lifecoachingctr.org/festival2008.html and click on the classes and events link or call 908-722-8600.

Help Your Clients Remember How Great You Are with a One-Page Brochure/Card

2008-10-13T21:46:00.000-04:00

Try crafting a one-page brochure/card for your business. Of course, I would recommend crafting a different one for each of your specialties. In other words, if your clients include actors and executives, create a simple card with basic information that that type of client will want to always have handy.

Just to give you an idea of what I mean about the value of this promotional tool, I'll tell you about my collision expert's marketing practice. My auto insurance co. sent me to a collision expert after an accident. Once my business with the collision company was completed, they gave me a "Thank you" gift - a small pouch with odds and ends (a keychain, a letter opener, and a one-page brochure/card). I received this card several years ago. IT HAS NOT LEFT MY GLOVE COMPARTMENT SINCE THE DAY I GOT IT!

On this card, it gives a list of Things You Should Do If You Are Ever In An Accident, or words to that effect. The items on this list are what the police department considers vital and what are, in fact, most practical when an accident happens.

Every time I open my glove compartment it stares me in the face. The name of the company is etched in my brain. So, guess where I send everybody who needs a collision expert? They were determined to make me remember how great they are and who they are.

Craft a one-page brochure/card for your business, and make it a keeper, so your clients remember to remember you.

Business Women Unite To Beat the Market!

2008-10-08T11:10:00.001-04:00

CROSS MARKETING IS THE SMARTEST WAY FOR WOMEN OWNED COMPANIES TO THRIVE AND STRIVE FOR THE MILLION SALES MARK DURING A SLOW ECONOMY

Women’s Media Desk, September 26, 2008 — A group of seasoned business and professional women with the assistance of WomenPartner International, a women’s cross marketing (or strategic alliance) consortium, are joining forces to help each other thrive and reach the $1 million sales mark. Instead of selling to each other, they are finding ways to leverage each others’ existing client base while sharing marketing costs to stretch their precious marketing dollars.

The women in business market has been experiencing a feast and a famine for some time now. It’s been widely reported by the Center for Women’s Business Research that 3% or 312,000 of an estimated 10.4 million women-owned companies have $1 million in annual revenue. Yet, the fact that the U.S. Census data shows 46% of women-owned businesses or 4,784,000 are tiny enterprises with revenue of less than $10,000 per year isn’t widely known. Women will have to start thinking collaboratively if they want to thrive in this tough economic climate. Maryland Heights, Missouri businesswoman, Khrys Vaughan, owner of Her StartUp, LLC, is one of those women.

Vaughan knows that the government isn’t going to bail out Her StartUp, LLC if it goes under so it is up to her to keep her company doors open by implementing smart yet cost effective marketing strategies. WomenPartner International’s unique approach to cross business interaction is allowing her to do just that. It educates women about the metro women in business market in the U.S. and other countries from the perspective of a businessperson putting together a marketing plan and assists them with developing cross marketing partnerships with the business, executive, and professional women who reside in the metro areas they want to target.

Vaughan recently took on a leadership role in WomenPartner International to chair its new Greater St. Louis chapter. She will foster cross marketing relationships between women in her metro area by co-sponsoring complimentary business partner matchmaking events that also help female college graduates find contacts that can assist them with launching their start ups. Vaughan will also work with other chapter chairwomen around the US to facilitate joint monthly cross marketing boot camps. Members from two to three chapters will team up to work on podcasts, direct sales campaigns, shared ad space in business publications, business summits, and more to gain access to each other’s metro women in business market and clients while they motivate each other to strive towards the $1 million sales mark.

Over the next 12 months, WomenPartner International plans to establish cross marketing chapters in every US metro area while helping women in other countries forge cross marketing partnerships with women in the states. Business and professional women seeking cross marketing partners can visit WomenPartner International’s blog at http://www.womenpartner.com/ to browse its business profiles and get tips on how to effectively cross market.

For information on how to get involved with WomenPartner International, visit http://www.ivwcc.org/, or contact jerrilynnbthomas@ivwcc.org. Receive a $25 referral fee if you refer someone to become a part of WPI.

###

Coaching and Consulting: Your Career Choice

2008-10-06T19:26:00.000-04:00

I recently had a discussion with someone about finding a career. During that conversation, the other person said she was interested in doing something other than her current career.

This discussion triggered a thought about those who choose careers as coaches and consultants. I am given to understand that, oftentimes, people select these careers, because they don’t know what else to do; they just know they don’t want to do what they are currently doing. This is not the way to pick a serious career. That’s what you do if you are looking for a job just to make ends meet. You don’t choose to be a coach or consultant until something better comes along or because you can’t think of anything else.

Being a coach takes patience and succeeding at it requires a passion for it. It takes commitment and an understanding that it’s about you AND, MORE IMPORTANLY, YOUR CLIENT. The territory comes with a host of ups and downs, many of which stem from tasks you’d rather not be doing, like marketing, billing, running errands, interviewing employees, constantly looking for places to meet prospects (when you don’t have an office), etc.

Since many of you who visit this site have already embarked on coaching and consulting careers, your next best bet is to find or create a fitting niche. Find a market where you strongly relate to the people in it. Just because you have children, does not mean you would make a good coach for children. Make sure you like and relate to children. Make sure being around children and watching them make progress gives you a positive, healthy feeling.

“I think I would like doing that.” If you are saying things like this, rethink the option. If you have a background in your option and enjoy it, perhaps, it is the choice for you.

Think before you leap, because you are in it for the long haul; it’s not a hobby. You have to be able to roll with the punches and stick it out during the ups and downs; only when you have passion for something can you continue to withstand the lows for an extended period, over and over again without pulling your hair out.

Say It, See It, Be It: Creating Sustainable Business Success Speaker: Arlene Rosenberg

2008-10-01T11:26:00.005-04:00

I do not know about you, but I am on a professional roll and I am not slowing down any time soon! I have even created a mastermind group to keep me on my toes and on track. My mission is to catapult my business to new heights! And there's a coach, Arlene Rosenberg who can help you do just the same.

Hosted by ICF on Wednesday, October 15, 2008; 6:00pm - 8:30pm, Arlene Rosenberg will discuss turning a good idea into a thriving, sustainable business. She will reveal how consistently successful business leaders do it.

By the end of the session, you will have the skills to create a roadmap for goal achievement and a method for planning the actions that will help you attain your goals and increase profitability.

The workshop will include:

How to create a vision for your business
How the key elements of a business plan will make or break your success
Why commitment and focus is the key to success
Why working on your business is as important as working in your business

Arlene Rosenberg is the author of the award-winning book "Say It, See It, Be It: How Visions & Affirmations Will Change Your Life." She is dedicated to helping boomers who are planning to or thinking about leaving the corporate world and starting their own business and working women who are thinking about leaving the corporate world for entrepreneurship and motherhood.

Location: The Support Center For Non-Profit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue, 11th floor (between 27th & 28th Streets) in Manhattan Cost: Save $5 by registering online in advance. Online registration will be disabled 24 hours prior to any event. Advance registration: ICF (any chapter) members $10; non-members $20 At the door: $15 ICF members; $25 nonmembers For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com
ICF Member Registration - $10
Non-Member Registration - $20 *All online purchases are final - no refunds or exchanges.

Optimize Your Blog by Adding it to myventurepad.com

2008-09-27T22:32:00.000-04:00

Myventurepad.com is a moderated online business community for people who manage growing companies and for the professionals who advise them. The community has many other features, including a business events calendar, business articles, podcasts and resources page replete with countless valuable business-related resource links.

The blogs are broken up into business categories into which you can add your blog feed. You can also blog there directly. Everyone creates a profile and can view the profiles of the other registrants. Blog posts are rated, and you are welcome to rate the blog posts of everybody else, as well. You are also free to directly connect with the other members if you choose to.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to e-mail jerry@socialmediatoday.com

Stay Motivated

2008-09-24T23:34:00.003-04:00

As coaches and consultants, there will be times when we just want to veg, but can't. I'm talking about those moments when our energy level with respect to our businesses is down. It is during these times that we must get creative and apply what we teach others. Maybe you use this, or maybe you don't, but I find what helps me is to publicly announce (either on your blog, or at your mastermind group or just between you and a partner) a goal and a goal deadline. It's easier to let yourself down (sometimes) than it is to let others down or to have to admit defeat. No one likes failing.

Lesson: Tell someone about that task you really don't want to do. Tell someone you really don't want to let down or who you would be embarrassed to fail in front of. Remember to add the deadline date; deadlines are great motivating forces.

Research Your Target Market Before You Attempt to Attract Them

2008-09-17T15:04:00.000-04:00

Do you belong to research publishing houses/sites?

I have noticed that there are many coaches out there who claim to have a niche, but when you read their websites, they sound just like general coaches, except that they have sprinkled the name of their niche throughout the text. However, when you strip it all away, they clearly have not effectively marketed to their target audience. I would recommend that you register with a research firm or two that studies your market. You must get inside the mind on a regular basis of your specific audience. If you want to be successful in a specialized area, you really need to have a sophisticated understanding of that target audience’s world. If you say you specialize in dealing with high achievers, you need to understand that appealing to high achievers is nothing like appealing to the average person. It’s not enough to add a few buzz words to your site and call it a day. You are not going to reach your market if you don’t understand the nuances and what your market thirsts for and learn to subtly incorporate this information into to your text.

Back By Popular Demand: A Guide to Creating Powerful and Persuasive Presentations

2008-09-08T14:29:00.001-04:00

Saturday, October 4, 2008; 9:00am - 4:00pm Presenter: Katherine L. Poehnert, M.Ed.Psych., PCC is bringing back her popular From Design to Delivery...A Guide to Creating Powerful and Persuasive Presentations Workshop for a full-day intensive, interactive experience on Saturday, October 4, 2008.

Attendees will walk away with a clear design for their next presentation along with skills for sharpening their speaking abilities and tips for eliminating stage fright once and for all. At the end of the day, you will experience the WOW!

Advance registration: ICF (any chapter) members $99; non-members $119 At the door: $119 ICF members; $129 nonmembers For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com

Managing Your Social Media Time

2008-08-31T00:38:00.001-04:00

As small business owners, we are flooded with responsibilities because we wear many hats. Recently, I have noticed on many message boards, chat rooms and other blogs that people are trying to figure out how to fit it all in, especially, now that we have "responding to social media invites, managing linkedin accounts, etc." to add to our swelling list of business-related tasks.

Commit to two days each month, at least, to handle your social networking. Use, for example, the first day of each month to optimize your social network presence by updating your profiles, and to look for strategic partnerships and bartering opportunities. Use, for instance, the fifteenth day of each month to respond to invites, send invites or recommendations and to look for leads.

It's doable. But you do have to be committed to fitting it all in.

Vacation While You Learn Valuable Marketing Tips

2008-08-28T13:17:00.003-04:00

If you haven’t already, it may be a good idea to take a vacation, and when you do, take it in Atlanta!

Training: SCORE Atlanta Announces New Conference to Reduce the Small Business Failure Rate
According to the Small Business Administration, one of the top three reasons businesses fail is misspent marketing dollars. SCORE Atlanta plans to change that by continuing its top-rated, skill-building conference series.
The full-day event will focus on improving skills in sales and marketing. All sessions are taught by experts who speak professionally.
Monday, October 6, 20089:00AM - 4:00PMGeorgia Tech Research Institute250 14th Street (in Midtown)Atlanta, Georgia
$69.00 Online Pre-Registration Includes LunchDesigned for men and women already in business.

Coaching Tools and Resources for Business and for Life

2008-08-22T10:49:00.004-04:00

Tools For Teamwork is a wonderful website resource I recently discovered and think all coaches and consultants should visit - regularly. They have all sorts of goodies to help coaches and consultants build and run their businesses more effectively.

Occasionally, they have free teleclasses, as well. For example, on October 20th they are giving a free teleclass entitled, "Help Your Management Clients 'Develop Their People' ."

The site is user-friendly and you should be able to come away with a few valuable tools.

Five Tips for Self-employed Coaches and Consultants To Remember

2008-08-19T23:32:00.000-04:00

1. You are your billboard. Dress the part. Act the part. Speak the part. Television journalists, particularly,
anchor people, have written into their contracts clauses that prohibit them from tasteless
conduct, even during the hours they are not working. When you are self-employed, you are the
anchor person and your manner counts, even when the sign says "Closed." This is especially important
to remember when you are a coach or consultant, because your very business is, in large
part, a function of your personal composure, which has to be several cuts above the average
Joe's.
2. Look at the list of what you profess to be an expert at helping others with. Make a daily habit of
reviewing every element on your list and shape yourself, mentally and emotionally to walk in that
spirit until it is natural and even after. The idea is to make sure you are not becoming complacent
and perhaps inadvertently exhibiting the opposite. If you coach people to be optimistic, then don't
bemoan today's inclement weather or your undependable copy machine - not in the presence of
the client.
3. When a client has a problem with your bill and says something that irritates you, fasten your
coach or consultant hat before you respond. Remember that they are an unfinished diamond. You
are the more developed of the two and therefore must inhabit that mode. As you discuss the issue
with the client, remember that this person is a referral source or a potential referral source or potentially
a repeat customer! Gently bring him or her into agreement with you. And seriously consider
whether it is worth squabbling over money, if it is a small amount. If it is not, try to see it from
his or her side. Tell them you would like to revisit the matter tomorrow. Then give it some quiet
thought and come back to the issue later when cooler heads prevail -yours and the client's.
4. Do not discuss clients with each other, even if one is a referral of the other and seems to know
everything about the person already. This past summer I hired a consultant, who had no compunction,
whatsoever, about discussing another client with me when that client was out of earshot.
That was the last time that consultant ever saw me. She lost me and I can't tell you how many referrals.
5. NEVER take another call during a client's session, even if the session you are in is telephonic. It
breaks the momentum and flow of their meeting. It makes you look indifferent to their needs (and
subsequent apologies don't undo it). And don't assume it's okay, because the client has been with
you for many visits. The word of a current client carries a lot of weight, so you do not overestimate
their tenure or assume they have the same euphoria about your customer service that they had
when they started. Keep earning their business.
Coaching and consulting are growing industries and there is a great deal of business out there to
go around, however, it is still important to remember that the proliferation and thus the power of
social media makes maintaining one's integrity and reevaluation of one's reputation paramount

Caterina Rando, author of the national best selling book "Learn to Power Think: A Practical Guide to Positive and Effective Decision Making"

2008-08-12T22:52:00.002-04:00

Many of you attended the "How to Consistently Attract Clients with Ease" workshop I told you about, which took place on August 6th.

Amazing! This is the only way I know to describe Caterina Rando’s workshop hosted by the International Federation of Coaches NYC Chapter. She is a dynamic orator and interacts with her audience like she’s known you for years. It’s almost as if there is some deeper connection between her and each individual in the audience. Her tips were on point, her enthusiasm unmatched, and I highly recommend all coaches and consultants to attend her workshops when she comes to your town. You won’t regret it, and you won’t ever forget it!

Create A Waiting List If You Have to, But Do Not Stop Marketing Your Business

2008-08-05T22:10:00.004-04:00

Continue Marketing

If you have to create a waiting list, do so. But never stop marketing. Continue to attend networking functions. Continue to send out post cards or post on your blog or whatever it is you do to market your coaching or consultant practice. Sometimes consultants and coaches stop putting their all into their marketing efforts, because they have, at the moment, a flood of prospects and clients calling and scheduling appointments. However, as you know, to continue to be in business, you must keep the business coming through the door. This means, market, market, market, especially during busy times, because business will slow down, and you will find yourself making a mad, and, more than likely, clumsy dash to scramble up some clients.

Make Marketing a Routine

Marketing should be a regular part of your routine and happening at regular intervals. It should also be a blend of three to four methods or more if you are really ambitious. Post a blog one day a week. Attend a networking function once a month. Send out 100 sales letters or post cards once a month. Network online (Linkedin, Facebook, etc.) once a week. Circulate a newsletter once a month. Participate in a business referral group every two weeks. Make doable goals and stick with them.

Don’t stop your marketing routine because business is good. If too many clients come in, create a waiting list.

The Barter Economy

2008-07-30T21:19:00.008-04:00

Everyone can use the skills taught, the wisdom inspired or the guidance offered by a good coach or consultant whether they realize it or not. The next time you need the services of a professional (IT, web designer, etc.) who you think may be open to receiving your services, propose a barter arrangement (offering your service or tangible items for the transaction, e.g., videos, books you have written, etc.). Bartering can save time, money and misery.

The great thing is, you can make or post proposals for barter arrangements anywhere:

-Your newsletter
-Internet classifieds
-Your next business networking group meeting
-Your social media site network )linkedin.com, facebook.com, etc.)
-A forum page or message board
-A trade publication

And, just in case you think barter arrangements sound a bit hokey or undignified, you should know that barter arrangements are effectuated between some of the larger companies in corporate America too. Good luck!

Using a Targeted Press Release To Increase Customer Conversion: Tips for Consultants and Coaches

2008-07-27T11:16:00.012-04:00

Converting website visitors is a multi-step process, and press releases are a great tool for coaches and consultants to use to start the conversion process.

As a coach or consultant, once you've developed your uniqueness within your industry, a press release is an excellent way to solidify you as a skilled coach or consultant in your niche field, because, for one, the public announcement has a built-in credibility element. When you prepare your press release, you will incorporate your coaching or consulting niche market keywords to help drive targeted traffic to your website. People looking for what you specialize in may be more likely to find you first, as opposed to having them land upon the site of another coach or consultant who "kind of" "sort of" handles their issue.

As search engine optimization professionals have admitted, it's not merely how many visitors you get, it's how visitors convert into customers that matters. A targeted press release can increase the chance of this customer conversion when seekers know that there is a personal consultant who specializes in childhood trauma or a pest management consultant who specializes in green, indoor and outdoor pest management.

Promote Your Business By Giving: Sponsorship . . . a Real Win-Win Marketing Solution

2008-07-24T22:36:00.004-04:00

Have you ever had to talk yourself into spending money to promote your company, knowing full well that you really needed to do so to improve your business. Were you thinking, "I can't spend the money, because what if . . . and what if . . . and what if . . ?"

Look at it this way: There are a number of charities out there that can use sponsors, i.e., your money. Let the satisfaction of having helped a fellow human being be your incentive. Find a cause that YOU BELIEVE IN – one that offers to advertise your business as part of the arrangment. It forces you to get up off of the money you so seriously need to spend on marketing your business, and, more importantly, it helps people in need in the process.

So, when you really don’t want to spend . . . don’t do it for you. Do it for someone else. But do it.

Coaches: Learn to Consistently & Easily Attract Clients

2008-07-23T22:41:00.004-04:00

ICF-NYC Special Event

Wednesday, August 6, 2008; 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Topic: Innovate, Initiate, Accelerate: How to Consistently Attract Clients with Ease

Presenter: Caterina Rando, CPPC, MCC. Author of the national best selling book Learn to Power Think from Chronicle Books.

Caterina Rando brings her informative and inspirational workshop which met with rave reviews at the 2007 ICF National Conference to New York City. Come and find out what all the fuss is about at this rare opportunity.

-Learn the five strategies you can begin to use today to increase your business revenue and pump up your prospect pipeline
-Be an expert with an opinion - take a position on something
-Build your list
-Add at least one new revenue stream each year
-Create strategic alliance partners with a referral fee component
-Do more cross promotional marketing
-Use your website to provide value-added content that establishes you as an expert and gets you clients
-Pick the ideal market to target so that you are the "go to resource" for anyone in that industry
-Identify your expert factors that easily attract new clients
-Implement simple steps to cultivate strategic alliances and bring already sold referrals to your business
-Learn how to start your affiliate program to build your client base fast
-Create one of the most lucrative information products today - the special report
-Start to bundle and build packages around your services to immediately increase the percentage of prospects that become clients

Location: The Support Center For Non-Profit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue, 11th floor (between 27th & 28th Streets) in Manhattan

Advanced registration: ICF (any chapter) and AICI members $79; non-members $99 (Online registration will be disabled 24 hours before any event)

At the door: $99 ICF members; $119 non-members (check or cash only)

For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com
ICF Member Registration - $79
Non-Member Registration - $99 *All online purchases are final - no refunds or exchanges

Secrets of Networking & Marketing Experts Revealed

2008-07-17T22:00:00.001-04:00

The reasonably priced, comprehensive marketing kit featuring secrets revealed by leading networking and marketing experts that I told you about on May 31st, has arrived!

And they are running out fast!

Order Now before they're gone

Tips to Improve Your Internet Marketing Efforts: Blunders on a Life Coach’s Website

2008-07-16T14:00:00.004-04:00

I recently visited the website of a life coach. Her site has a soft appearance, much as you would expect from a life coach. Her website’s tone and her manner of speaking are soothing, and that’s all well and good.

So, what’s the problem?

I have no idea how or where she conducts the business of coaching.
She has no physical location listed. And that’s fine . . . if you conduct telephonic coaching sessions, and you clearly let the visitor know this. She does not. Her site lists her phone number and her email address. So, as a visitor in need of a life coach, I have to Google her area code to find out where she is located. This will only tell me which city she is in or near, or perhaps, I’ll have to email her, which I may not be ready to do at the moment, or, or, or. I walked away from the site with absolutely no idea of how she “does it,” despite the fact that she has a page on her website entitled, “How I do It.” Yes, I went there, because I thought, ah hah, this is where she tells where or how she conducts these sessions. I was wrong.

Don't bury your goodies (benefits); it only adds stress to the process!
She buried what she is able to do for me, the prospect, deep in a massive amount of information about herself and her own treatment (where she is the client) . . . If I were really a prospect and I got tired of trying to make the connection between how her coaching sessions with her coach will help me with her as my coach, she would lose the sale. This is a sure fire way to get a prospect to click out of your website to look for a reassuring life coach that keeps it simple.

The Lesson

Think like a website visitor.
Think about how you or the average website visitor are when on the Net. There is a reason copywriters use certain techniques, like bolding, bullets, short paragraphs, subheading, etc. It’s because website visitors don’t have a great deal of patience. A visitor should not have to go to another site or email you for basic information. That’s what the website is for.

Think like a shopper.
Your site is not about you; it’s about what you can do for the visitor.
In our efforts to confirm our credibility, sometimes, we get caught up in self-focus and forget the primary reason we use our marketing tools – to show the prospect how we can benefit them.

Think like an Internet shopper.
Make taking the next and final step simple; telling me where you are helps me decide. Telling me how you conduct sessions helps me decide. If this is clear, you increase the likelihood of that last, promising click to contact you.

Last Tip: If you have a home office and you do not wish to reveal your home address, purchase a virtual address near your home office, so, at least, you can give the interested party some idea of the location of this wonderful life coach who’s, otherwise, saying the right things to prompt Mr. Prospect to reach out.

Why Would You Not Put Headlines on the Home Page of Your Website?

2008-07-10T00:00:00.002-04:00

Use headlines, unless:

You don't want to attract visitors who have no idea what you do, but clicked on something that brought them to your website.

You don't want to remind potential clients how your service will benefit them.

You have no interest in increasing response rates.

You are more interested in dazzling a visitor with your company slogan, your tag line, your flash and graphics, your mission statement, your logo, your little known company name, then you are in making a sale, getting a lead.

Website Home Page: Focus on Your Customer Not on Yourself

2008-07-06T21:34:00.004-04:00

Coaches and Consultants have a great deal to offer people who need their services. However, coaches and consultants must remember the customer, the prospective client, is who they must focus on when they are creating their marketing material. This is especially true when it comes to the "Home" page of your web site. I think it is safe to say that, for most coaches and consultants, a website is like any other marketing tool in that you design it to attract people to your business.

People are primarily interested in how you can help them. They want to know how your service will benefit them. So, the "I do this" and "I have done that" and "I am the other" has to be revised. The only time the "I's" are acceptable on your "Home" page is when what you are saying about yourself greatly benefits them and you explicitly tell them how. Even in this case, you should revamp your statements so that your benefit to them is much more pronounced than what you are stating about yourself.

Restructure your sentences so that you turn the "I's" into "you's." Let someone else talk about you, via testimonials, on your "Home" page.

Your "About" or "Bio" pages are designed for you to be the center of attention or attraction. Your "Home" page is not it.

Business Success Secrets Event - July 17th

2008-07-01T16:12:00.005-04:00

Networking and constant honing of business skills are all a part of being a self-employed coach or consultant or any type of small business owner. Opportunties abound!

And, speaking of opportunities . . .

Join me on July 17th at Entrepreneur Magazine and State Farm's "Business Success Secrets," a small business breakfast seminar at Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe, 100 Frank W Burr Blvd, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666.

Register Today

It's Free!

Unique Selling Proposition for Consultants and Coaches

2008-06-17T12:10:00.000-04:00

So what is this? A unique selling proposition is a marketing concept that refers to any aspect of your product or service that differentiates it from similar products or services.

Make a list of your services, features and your benefits. Now Google a few of your competitors. Is there anything that you do that they don’t? Is there anything that you have that they don’t?

If a prospect is looking for a consultant or a coach, and they search the Internet and come across the hundreds of coaches and consultants, what is it about you that will make them choose YOU over everybody else? What do you offer that is unique?

Your proposition must be strong, very strong! It must be important to the prospect (not just to you). You have to draw many many prospects to your product. Okay, so you have all the title tag and meta tag doodads and you are search engine optimized to the max and you’ve got all this wonderful traffic coming to your site. Now what? What about your product or your service will make prospects click through to pay for them or email you and ultimately part with their hard earned money. A fancy website alone is not enough, no matter what anyone tells you! More likely, it’s going to be something compellingly specific and different that you do or that you are that pulls your target audience. If not, chances are, your business is not going to be as promising as you’d like.

If you are one of those consultants or coaches who has put up his or her site, used a great web developer, designer and/or search engine optimization marketer, but are still sitting around wondering why business IS NOT what you had hoped or expected, look deeper into your business and everything about it and identify and promote your USP.

Examples:

-You specialize in dealing with adults who grew up in the foster care system
-You have a business consultant practice for former dot-comers
-You provide weekly, anonymous telephonic mastermind group therapy sessions
-You are a coach for single gay widowed parents
-You use streaming media for clients with travel-related phobias
-You are a consultant for single-mother/women-owned home businesses
-You travel to your clients in your tri-state area
-You specialize in coaching life coaches

A unique selling proposition does not mean that, yes, you would also coach or provide consulting services for these individuals; it means you have a commitment in some meaningful way to this area of expertise or to this business practice method. For example: you have some special qualification that makes you skilled at dealing with this area AND you do deal with it in your practice as a specialty or sub-specialty; you are known or willing to make yourself known as the go to person in this area; you write and speak publicly about it or have written about it; it's the reason most of your clients refer their similarly afflicted colleagues or friends . . .

Marketing Kit Coming Soon: Secrets Revealed By Leading Marketing and Networking Experts

2008-05-31T01:26:00.000-04:00

Coming Soon . . .

Biba Pedron, better known in marketing circles as “the Connection Queen,” will soon be offering a reasonably priced, comprehensive marketing kit featuring secrets revealed by leading networking and marketing experts from around the country. I had the privilege of being on the inside, and YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!

Coaches and Consultants Should Consider Sending Press Releases

2008-05-18T20:24:00.001-04:00

Have you developed an aspect of your consulting or coaching business that has news value? Would like to encourage journalists to write articles about it and about you? Then, consider sending a press release. It is a great way to attract favorable media attention. If you have never done one before, I would recommend taking small steps to learn what they are, how they can help and about proper press release format.

For press release writing tips, try visiting:

Publicityinsider.com
Press-Release-Writing
PRWeb Press Release Newswire

Attention: All Coaches - DONT MISS THIS!

2008-05-13T18:20:00.002-04:00

I have taken the liberty to promote this opportunity that I think ALL Coaches should attend if you are in the NYC area on May 21st.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008; 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Topic: The Top 10 Sales Mistakes Coaches Make...And How To Avoid Them!

Presenter: Michelle Schubnel

"Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to use or view the Coach and Grow R.I.C.H. Program knows what a valuable tool it is for coaches. This month's meeting brings you the coach responsible for much of its success - Michelle Schubnel. Sales is a natural part of your business that should be easy and enjoyable. Unfortunately many coaches struggle with sales, making little mistakes that dramatically impact their results. It doesn't have to be that way!
See if you are losing potential clients by the way you are offering your free/sample sessions.

Discover what you should and shouldn't focus on during a free/sample session.
Learn the thing that most coaches neglect, and that you absolutely need to do, in order for someone to feel great about hiring you.

Discover the #1 reason why a prospect doesn't become a client (it's not what you think) and what you can do to change that. And much more! In this interactive and content-rich presentation you will discover that "selling your coaching" is something you can learn, be good at and enjoy.

Michelle Schubnel is the President and owner of Coach & Grow R.I.C.H., a leading practice-building company for professional coaches. Since the year 2000, Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. has helped thousands of coaches worldwide get clients and build a thriving, rewarding and profitable coaching business.

Visit www.coachandgrowrich.com for free practice-building tools and other resources. Location: The Support Center For Non-Profit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue, 11th floor (between 27th & 28th Streets) in Manhattan Save $5 by registering online in advance. Advance registration: ICF (any chapter) members $10; non-members $20 (Advanced registration is disabled 24 hours prior to any event.) At the door: $15 ICF members; $25 nonmembers For questions only: Contact Laurie Lawson, ICF-NYC vice-president, at laurie@eljnyc.com.

*All online purchases are final - no refunds or exchanges. "

Tips on Writing a Quick Ad About Your Coaching or Consulting Services

2008-05-11T17:57:00.001-04:00

You want your ad to convince the largest number of qualified prospects. Don’t write to appeal to everyone who might read your ad. Talk to the people most likely to buy what you are offering.

Your headline should contain the benefit a customer will get from your services. Assess your clientele’s needs. Assess your service. Then go to the real issue, the emotional issue you resolve. That’s the benefit that should appear in your headline. Also, never use all capital letters in your headline. It’s harder on the eyes.

If you use a visual, and you probably should, make sure it clearly illustrates the benefit mentioned in your headline.

The first paragraph after your headline must continue where the headline left off.

Use bold subheads for your paragraphs; however, don’t be heavy handed with bolds, italics and colors. Use them, but sparingly. If too much is emphasized, then you’re not really being emphatic.

The ad should follow a natural logical order, from the beginning of the point you are trying to make, to the end.

Don’t be boring. Just because you are in a serious profession, does not mean your ad has to be hyper-conservative. Loosen up. Speak conversationally.

Don’t lie. Don’t exaggerate. It will financially come back to haunt you, and your credibility will be ruined.

Do not forget to include a call to action. Make sure you tell them to call you or email you. Studies show that you increase the likelihood of getting calls and emails when you tell prospects to do so.

Market Your Coaching or Consulting Practice through Public Speaking

2008-05-03T19:26:00.003-04:00

One of the best ways to market your coaching or consulting practice is through public speaking. This gives you an opportunity to be in the spotlight, uninterrupted, as you demonstrate your expertise and confidence to prospective clients or leads. What better way to sell yourself than to allow prospective clients to see you in action, and what better way to reach out to so many in one fell swoop. You, in the flesh, can accomplish far more than any marketing collateral an expert can create! Take advantage of every chance you get to speak publicly to a crowd; It is a highly effective marketing tool provided you do your homework first. For help preparing for public speaking and to improve your communication, check out:

Toastmasters International - Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations.

Lifehacker's Blog (For Public Speaking Do's and don't's) - Lifehacker is an award-winning, daily blog that features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently.

MindTools - Website to obtain the management, leadership and career training you need to excel.

Consultants and Coaches Need Consultants and Coaches

2008-04-27T17:57:00.003-04:00

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with, and hearing the words of wisdom of a phenomenal consultant last week, who is an amazing trainer & professional speaker and who primarily trains employees of large corporations. I consulted with her for an hour and a half. By the time she finished advising me on the finer points of expert presentation, my level of awareness was elevated to a height that enabled me to crystal clearly understand what I needed to do to meet my business goals. Of course, on an intellectual level, I knew. However, the way she dissects your situation and hands it back to you, bringing you from where you are to the road leading to where you want to go, readjusts your entire outlook and transforms your level of awareness.

Consultants need consultants and coaches need coaches, because sometimes we get off track and don’t even realize we’re off track or that we could, at least, be on a much more direct and professionally nourishing path than the one we are on, thereby accelerating and strengthening the best that is yet to come.

Leads, Prospects and Powerful Tips To Improve Your Business

2008-04-20T11:07:00.001-04:00

These are the advantages of a great referral networking group. My local business association instituted a lucrative concept – business referral groups. These groups, when organized and managed properly (e.g. holding regularly scheduled member meetings; allowing one person per profession/industry), are promising sources of business, because generating and receiving referrals for each other is their primary purpose, in fact, their sole purpose. It’s a way to establish business relationships that last forever!

Books for Consultants and Coaches - Newbees and Veterans

2008-04-13T21:37:00.001-04:00

The list of books out there written to help consultants and coaches is endless; however, I have recently come across positive reviews for a few worth mentioning. They are:

"Get Clients Now" by C.J. Hayden, MCC

"Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants: Breakthrough Tactics for Winning Profitable Clients" by Jay Conrad Levinson and Michael W. McLaughlin

"Coach Yourself to Success : 101 Tips from a Personal Coach for Reaching Your Goals at Work and in Life" by Talane Miedaner

"The Consultant's Calling: Bringing Who You Are to What You Do, New and Revised" by by Geoffrey M. Bellman and Geoffrey Bellamn

"Four Steps To Building A Profitable Coaching Practice: A Complete Marketing Resource Guide For Coaches" by Deborah Brown-Volkman

"The Consultant's Quick Start Guide: An Action Plan for Your First Year in Business" by Elaine Biech

"Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice" by Alan Weiss

"Becoming a Professional Life Coach: Lessons from the Institute for Life Coach Training" by by Patrick Williams and Diane S. Menendez

"Coach Anyone About Anything: How to Help People Succeed in Business and Life" by Germaine Porché and Jed Niederer

"Getting Started in Personal and Executive Coaching: How to Create a Thriving Coaching Practice (Getting Started in)" by Stephen G. Fairley and Chris E. Stout

"Co-Active Coaching, 2nd Edition: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and, Life" by Laura Whitworth, Karen Kimsey-House, Henry Kimsey-House, and Phillip Sandahl

Start a Business Referral Group With One or More Consultants or Coaches

2008-04-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

Do you get calls from people who have needs that you don’t quite serve, but you know the type of coach they need. Dovetail with a coach or consultant whose specific services don’t compete with yours. Arrange an agreement where he sends you his referrals that he can’t help and you send him yours.

If you are a secular life coach, but often get calls from spiritual life coach seekers, hook up with a spiritual life coach so you can send her your spirituals and she can send you her seculars.

If you are an SEO consultant, but frequently get calls requesting web design (because people haven’t learned that there is a difference), hook up with a web designer and send each other referrals.

If you are an entrepreneurial consultant, but get calls for job seeking professionals looking for consultants, locate and dovetail with such a consultant.

Over time, you’ll see referral business start to pick up. Yes, it’s in increments, but business will increase.

Consultants and Coaches --- Boost Business With Blogging

2008-03-30T21:38:00.005-04:00

Communication is the key to any good relationship. It says you care. It says your client matters to you. It establishes trust because it says that your high-quality bedside manner can still be relied on even though you are no longer getting paid. That is a strong statement and you want to make it. Blogging makes that statement. It makes that statement, because you are simply giving. You are not selling or pushing anything on them; there are no conditions.

Clients in the consulting and coaching industries always want tune-ups, which blogging can provide. Wouldn’t it be great for them to be able to turn to you for this shot in the arm. When you maintain a blog, you satisfy that need.

And the great thing is, people want to be the person who turns their friend or colleague on to the source of their success or to the link (your site). It makes them feel good to know they have played a part in their friend’s enhancement. This bonus is what cyberspace calls viral marketing. Blogging helps to accelerate such viral marketing for you and your services.

All that being said, there are right ways to blog and there are wrong ways. Here are two sites that will help you set up your blog the right way:

Toprankblog.com
Problogger.net

Short Newsletter: An Inexpensive Way To Stay In Front of Your Prospects

2008-03-25T21:40:00.001-04:00

Very soon, we will be saying, "Gone are the days of lengthy ezines that no one has time to read." Why? Because, people want to take in as much as possible in as little time as possible.

Start sending simple, short ezines to your clients and prospects. One way to structure your quick ezine is to include a personal note, an article or a few tips and a promotion. Remember to link back to your website (to an irrestible offer).

Just a few tips:

-Your format must be attractive
-You must include quality content that your readers will find valuable
-HTML is preferred over text
-Make sure you include content that positions you as an expert
-Use a content filter to get rid of spammy words
-Publish on Monday, Tuesday or the weekend

"Frequency outpulls length," says Alexandria Brown a/k/a "The Ezine Queen," a well-respected and well-known ezine consultant. Frequently published ezines (weekly) trump long, drawn out monthly ezines.

Coaches and Consultants Need Emotional Alignments Too

2008-03-18T20:00:00.000-04:00

I recently witnessed an interaction between two small business owners: a coach and a consultant. All I will say is that egos were obvious. Both experts claimed to be correct during this disagreement. One was more composed than the other, but, nevertheless, their respective passions to be right were equally intense.

When you are a small business, particularly a coach or a consultant, marketing is an everyday, all-day project and you are the main feature of your marketing landscape. Because of this, self examination of some sort should be incorporated into your daily routine. The best time may be before you start your day. Perhaps, you should quietly reflect on the day before or say affirmations, or pray. Whatever you choose to do, you need to cleanse, to center yourself.

Unresolved issues can so easily seep and creep into the way we conduct business. Coach and consultant practices are built, in large part, upon the professional and/or personal crises of others, and our lives are so focused on resolving the troubles of clients that we forget, sometimes conveniently, that we also have issues that must periodically be checked and dealt with.

Understand that, like your client, you too are only human. Make emotional aligning mechanisms part of your daily routine.

Stimulate Repeat Business from Your Closed Cases

2008-03-11T20:28:00.003-04:00

Every business ebbs and flows. But there are simple tricks that have proven to be effective that you could apply to boost your coaching business during those dry spells - pulling the clients from your closed files.

▪ Offer a Series Two

If you had a training session or offered a coaching program that was successful, take a few days to upgrade it with more challenging assignments or design it so that it promotes deeper insight, etc. To make it more appealing, offer the program as an advanced version, which, in fact, is what it is.

▪ Offer a Refresher Course

Everybody could use a tune-up. It's the reason for mastermind groups, attendance at houses of worship and beyond. Clients appreciate opportunities to re-center themselves.

▪ Put Your Series Two of that successful coaching program or training session in E-book form and present it for sale at a discount (for a limited time) on your web site. Of course, it should still be available once the promotion deadline has passed.

The added bonus of marketing a "second helping" is that it attracts new clients as well because it highlights the success of your first program thus establishing your credibility as a coach who knows what they are doing.

Write Promotion Copy That Connects With Your Prospects

2008-03-06T22:10:00.003-05:00

Promotion copy (B2B or B2C) is much more effective when you narrow the audience you are targeting. It makes it more personal for the reader. You never want to talk to just anyone who's listening. When you speak directly to someone’s passions, someone’s aims or hopes, it lends the material authenticity and makes a connection with the prospect. This is because you awaken sensitive areas and that action resonates more intensely with your selected audience, making their impression of your service indelible and therefore easier to recall at a later time if they are not ready to purchase just then.

Example: B2C - If women are your customers, create a promotion that targets boomer women or stay-at-home moms, or women who travel a lot for business, or divorced women, etc.

Example: B2B – If home businesses are your customers, create a promotion that targets new home businesses, or home businesses run by couples, or home businesses that provide products, as opposed to those that provide a service, etc.

If they are in the market for what you do or what you have, or it’s conceivable to them that they may later want what you have, they'll stop. They'll listen. They’ll store your information (and will note of your deadline) . . . because you made a connection – usually, an emotional connection.

Prospects Come To You Looking for a Resolution To Their Problems, So Make The Answer (the benefit) The First Thing They See In Your Marketing Copy

2008-03-03T22:59:00.004-05:00

A large percentage of the people shopping for coaches and consultants are doing so at a stage in their careers, businesses or lives where they strongly desire resolution. They are not shopping for an iPod – something that is neither here nor there. What you can do for them matters greatly, and, in the beginning of the shopping process, that’s all that matters.

Okay, so what does that mean to you?

It means the need you satisfy should be the first thing they see, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. They are not looking for You. They are looking for an answer to their problem. Once you give them the answer, in other words, the benefit, then you can tell them who you are. Your company name only matters if you are a brand name that the average Joe or Josephine will recognize or if you are a recommendation. If not, rethink your marketing copy, whether it’s a hard copy brochure or web copy.