“I’m not ready for a coach.” QUOTE PAGE
“You’re missing the point.”
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FROM THE EDITOR There are many ways to skin a cat and while the art of cat skinning may have been lost, this odd expression remains.
A former ICF President shows how to improve income and impact by adding training to your portfolio.
As a coach, there are And of course, we explore many ways that you can the latest developments in build and promote your business online marketing, branding and and sometimes it seems that it’s like promotion to help you have a skinning a cat. Scary and with an profitable 2017. unknown outcome. I met with the director of high You want to help people become all performance for Red Bull global last they can be, but unless they can week and it was amazing to see find you, understand what you do how much new knowledge and and recognise the benefit of study is going into high working with you, they are beyond performance and coaching around your help. the world. Even the best coaches know that marketing and sales are important to any coaching business.
I hope your 2016 has been as full and rewarding as mine but until 2017‌
This edition of CoachingLife looks at Happy Coaching. some of the simple ways you can increase your reach and income. From strategy and automation, to better marketing and sales. Stewart Fleming We also explore other sources of Editor income that can work well in conjunction with your coaching practice.
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We talk to the President of the National Speakers Association about generating income from Speaking.
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COACHINGLIFE December 2016 ISSUE 10 Coaching Life is published 4 times a year and is your authoritative source for information on coaching in sport, business, life and anywhere else you find a coach. Published By Operait Pty Ltd ABN 63 189 244 221 24 Leo Lindo Drive, Shailer Park, QLD 4128 Editor Stewart Fleming editor@coachinglife.com.au Assistant Editor Sarah Bailey sarah@coachinglife.com.au Advertising advertising@coachinglife.com.au Printing & Distribution Bluestar Web DISCLAIMER This publication is not medical or professional advice. It is intended only to inform and illustrate. No reader should act on the information contained in this publication without first seeking professional advice that takes into account personal circumstances. The publishers and editors give no representation and make no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness, currency or reliability of any of the materials contained and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to this publication by the publishers, editors or authors. The publishers do not endorse any person, company, organisation or techniques mentioned in this publication unless expressly stated otherwise. The publishers do not endorse any advertisements or special advertising features in this publication, nor does the publisher endorse any advertiser(s) or their products/services unless expressly stated otherwise. Articles are published in reliance upon the representation and warranties of the authors of the articles and without our knowledge of any infringement of any third parties copyright. The publishers and editors do not authorise, approve, sanction or countenance any copyright infringement. The publication is protected under the Commonwealth Copyrights Act 1968 and may not, in whole or in part, be lent, copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable format without the express written permission of the publisher. ISSN 2205-6963 Copyright Operait Pty Ltd All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS
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7 SPEAKING INCOME AS A COACH
Do you want to add speaking to your income stream? We talk to the President of the profession in the US for tips on getting started and the direction the industry is going. A must read if you are considering getting paid for speaking. Dr. John B. Molidor 2016/2017 President - National Speakers Association
11 ADVOCATE MARKETING This might just be the only marketing strategy you need for 2017. As well as a mentor and coach himself, Mark helps coaches make a success of business and their life. Mark LeBlanc Coach, Mentor and Founder of Growing Your Business
13 INCREASING YOUR IMPACT WITH TRAINING Today’s leaders need training in effective conversations and making strong emotional connections. By combing coaching with training, you create greater success for your clients as well as a new income stream for your business. Dr Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, MCC President of Covisioning LLC, Former ICF President.
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15 YOUR 2017, 7 FIGURE COACHING BLUEPRINT Here is the blueprint for your coaching business in 2017 from the master himself. Ryan outlines in a simple step-by-step process how to turn your coaching business into an effective, efficient profit machine. Ryan Magdziarz Founder – Winning International
21 COACHING IN LEADERSHIP QUT’s Graduate School of Business shows how a change from a competitive mindset to a collaborative one embraces coaching for a better bottom line. Dr Fran Finn - Leadership through Coaching and Mentoring, QUT Graduate School of Business Dr Geoffrey Abbott Director, Executive and Organisational Coaching QUT Graduate School of Business
26 SEO REVEALED Being found on the first page of Google for your service or product can be the difference between surviving and thriving. Find out what it all means. Sia Shamsai Founder, IMASEO
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30 ARE YOU A SOCIAL COACH?
38 ELIMINATING STRESS IN 60 SECONDS
Using Social Media correctly can give you thousands of new leads for only $100. Find out how with our Social Media experts.
A new generation of “Soft Sciences” backs stress management Coaching and Mentoring. Stress guru, Dr John Hinwood gives his 60-second de-stress workout. Use it yourself and share it with you clients.
David & Margi Angel Owners, Mint Social
32 MAXIMISE YOUR COACHING – NEW APP Connecting regularly with your clients and keeping them accountable has never been easier. Take Achiiva for a test drive today. We love it.
35 GET YOU’RE A.S.S.S ON FOR 2017 If you want a more streamlined business in 2017, check out our tips from Scott on getting you A.S.S.S into gear. Make sure your new year is all it can be with some good planning now.
Dr John Hinwood Trainer, Facilitator, Owner Stress to Stength
42 HOW TO BE PROFESSIONAL Setting a professional tone from the start can help win clients, justify your fees and set the tone for a productive relationship. Dave shares his top tools for creating the right impression. Dave Spicer Director, Stackd Design
Scott Epp Director, Abundance Coaching
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First Advertisement
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THE SPEAKING COACH By Dr John B. Molidor
I WAS ORIGINALLY DRAWN TO THE CRAFT BECAUSE I COULD LEARN BOTH FROM A SPEAKER’S TECHNIQUE AND FROM THEIR CONTENT. OVER TIME, I LEARNT MORE ABOUT THE BUSINESS SIDE OF SPEAKING THAT COULD GENERATE SERIOUS INCOME.
convey the message in the most impactful way? You want to convey knowledge, wisdom, expertise and emotion in an effective way.
The business and message parts changed over time, but there was a strong sense that if you know how to connect with your audience, the people in the room, you have a From there, the journey took me to greater possibility of conveying the learn about passive income and message. Over 27 years, the different income streams. message has changed but the method of connecting has been I think that a professional speaker is consistent. someone who brings Expertise in an Eloquent fashion as part of their I knew that this was always going to Enterprise in an Ethical manner. be where people were going to connect. Even with the new The four pinnacles of speaking are technology coming, I always eloquence, expertise, enterprise thought there was a role for a live and ethics. There is no single pathway to professional speaking. If you already have your expertise, then you want to learn about eloquence, then the enterprise side.
event when people come together. The face to face, live event still has incredible power. I grew up as 1 of ten children, so every dinner time was a live event. Different family members could tell a story or demand attention in different ways. I really started out just wanting to learn the art and craft of speaking. Once I knew more about that, then I could work on my message and the business. When you are building yourself as a speaker you must have something to say. So, over time reading, studying, learning from people and my own life experiences, I hope to
If you already have a level of eloquence, then you work on your expertise and enterprise. You must treat it as a business and make the commitment to it as a profession. My original driver was to learn the medium of speaking. How do you Page 7
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have built up a body of knowledge, expertise and wisdom. This is one of the paradoxes of speaking, it helps to have expertise but sometimes this takes a while.
A couple of colleagues of mine talk about eloquence and expertise as journeys rather than destinations. You keep working on both areas and cycle back as you grow. Audiences change, cultures change, My advice for people who want to technology changes and you cannot be speakers is to stay at it. You want always use the same references as experience, expertise and comfort times change. level to be able to convey your information with power. Since I started speaking, the craft has changed. The days of just I would recommend you learn standing up and pouring out about speaking by getting trusted information doesn’t work anymore. feedback, listening to other speakers and practicing your craft. Presenting information with time to Reading, practicing, trying different reflect, interact and learn helps the things and learning just as my smarter, more cynical audiences. medical students learn. Doing an exercise for the sake of the exercise doesn’t make sense. If, however, it is tied to what you are Expertise without eloquence is a talking about or your point, then it professor. Eloquence without has power. expertise is just the gift of the gab. I am seeing much more interaction, You really need both to be longespecially with the younger term speaker. audiences. They now discuss, or even decide in a small group as part of a session.
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Of course, technology has made its impact on the profession. Film, music, PowerPoint can all be used well or poorly. I can now use an avatar to make a point that I might not be able to say myself. There are things that I say through an avatar to a young audience that they might not accept direct from me. Of course, I wrote the script, but hearing it from a relatable avatar can help drive home a message. I am using this more and more with young audiences. I have even had a discussion with the avatar where my live section is all scripted out. I think the audiences we have are changing too. The world has become very visual and the neuroscience would say that to make a brain-friendly presentation, then both words and vision are required. To make the transition between coaching and speaking, I would look
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at the principals of coaching that would convert to a speech. If you are a coach and want to get into speaking, ask yourself how you would translate the principals of coaching to drive home a point to your audience.
Research has shown…
I make a distinction between experimental and experiential learnings. If you know through experiments and research that a principal works. If it is based on experience, then I use the phrase ‘in my experience...’ but if it is based on evidence, then you can say ‘Research has shown…’. I find this is a very important distinction for speakers starting out. If I hear “these are the three things you must do...”, I find myself saying, “Who says?”.
The intermediate phrase would be “In surveying coaches...” then you have more power and credibility. There is power in declaring research over experience.
I still find that after speaking to an audience, that I feel privileged to be able to make a connection with an audience.
The Future of Speaking
There are benefits of learning the craft of speaking, even if you don’t plan to be a professional speaker.
I see the future of speaking is moving from a club mentality to a profession. We will gather our facts and evidence on principals that always work. There is information coming out of the neurosciences already that is useful. Looking even further into the future, I think we will be able to map out individual learning genomes. We will know how your brain lights up when it processes information and will match the delivery of information to your individual learning style. The technology may allow the use of holographs with variable speech cadence and language style to match your individual learning style. We are not there yet, but I think this is coming.
Speaking of Benefits
We know from the neurosciences, that if you want to be better at one skill, go learn another skill. When you learn a new skill, your brain doesn’t know what is important and what is not, so it lays down a huge neural network and as you get better, it pairs this down. As it streamlines this network, it overlaps with other skills, so you might be a better coach, use metaphors in a different way or relate to clients in new way. If you can take some of the art and craft as speaking, you will be a better coach.
Remember that you can be factWhat you say to your audience checked in a moment. I can pull out must always be correct. When you stand in front of a group my phone and find that you are perpetuating a myth or extending a of people, trying to connect with an truth, you lose credibility instantly. audience, you are exposed and Just remember the underlying vulnerable. principle: what you say to your audience must always be correct.
Dr. John B. Molidor As a professor of psychiatry, Dr. John B. Molidor is most interested in understanding and modifying the behaviour of others - both in a Crazy Good and Crazy Bad way. Through his work at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine (and its affiliated teaching hospitals), he has assisted other organizations in designing comprehensive interviewing and selection processes to choose the top individuals for maximum fit, productivity, and mutual benefit. As the CEO and President of Michigan State University's Flint Area Medical Education and current president of the National Speakers Association, he is uniquely placed to discuss coaching and speaking.
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The Greatest Marketing Strategy in the World By Mark LeBlanc
On average, I get 4 referrals a week. Over 50% of my referrals come from this marketing strategy. Whether you have been in business for a long time or just recently started, here is a low-cost marketing strategy that can pay big dividends.
The Objective The objective of this strategy is to create an advocate group. Another way to look at it would be to assemble a set of fans or cheerleaders in the marketplace. Undoubtedly you have a number of advocates already and never thought of them in this way. They can be ecstatic clients, colleagues, vendors, friends and even friendly competitors.
The Strategy I call it the Advocate Strategy, sometimes referred to as the Target 25 marketing strategy. Put together a list of the twenty-five most important people who are in a position to impact your business. It has worked wonders for me and it will for you. Page 11
Understand the difference between an advocate and a supporter. An advocate will "make the call" on your behalf. A supporter will "respond to a call" on your behalf. Both types are positive and we need both to make it in business. I have a lot of supporters in the marketplace. If someone was thinking about having me be their business coach or booking me for a presentation and called a supporter of mine, the supporter would chew on their ear for an hour. Most supporters, however, would not go out of their way to initiate a connection on my behalf. That is not a negative, it simply is not in their DNA. On the other hand, my advocates will go out of their way to say great things, initiate a connection, and say things like, "You've got to call Mark and learn more about his programs and services!"
The Next Step Once you have put together your list, never let these advocates get more than thirty days away from you. That's right. You can communicate or connect with this group in one of six ways. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Personal visit Telephone Mail Fax E-mail Text
Every thirty days make it a point to connect with your advocates in a simple fashion. Create an annual plan with twelve ideas for staying in touch with this special group. If these 25 people are your advocates, it is your responsibility to stay connected with them. If every thirty days seems too often (it isn't for real advocates) www.coachinglife. com.au
then consider every other month or at a minimum quarterly.
Warning! Don't put these people on the spot. As a general rule, I do not ask for referrals. It happens naturally over the course of time. As you stay connected, your advocates come to know you and understand more clearly what you do and who you do it for best. The goal is to maintain top of mind presence with the people who believe in you and your work. Keep your expectations low and maintain a sense of neutrality in your communication.
Good Connections Following are a number of simple ideas that you can include in your annual plan for staying connected with your Target 25. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
A letter w/a one sheet A book A tape A button A bookmark A text A newsletter (quarterly = 4 connections for the year) 8. A holiday card 9. A phone call 10. A copy of an article you wrote
11. A copy of an article another coach wrote 12. An e-mail
Imagine creating referrals by design, not by accident. This may be your greatest marketing strategy in the world!
Keep in Mind Some people make this strategy too complicated. It should be simple. It will require from one to four hours each month. From a financial perspective, your investment can run from zero to $50 per month. Here's your chance to be creative and have some fun with people who care about your success. Every ninety days evaluate the list and add new advocates. Wean off those people you thought were advocates. Put them on your supporter list and connect with those people on a less regular basis. It is easy to get caught up in the trap of looking for that fancy, cutting-edge marketing strategy or magic bullet. These strategies usually look good, cost a lot, and take too much time and energy to make happen. Your business depends on building good relationships and referrals are a critical outcome of the marketing process.
Mark LeBlanc Mark LeBlanc is the author of Never Be the Same. Chronicling his journey on the El Camino, it gives a great insight into persistence and the lessons learnt in a life of service. His new book, Growing Your Business When YOU Are the Business will be released in 2017. He can be reached by e-mail at Mark@GrowingYourBusiness.com.
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INCREASE YOUR INCOME AND IMPACT BY INTEGRATING COACHING WITH TRAINING
LEADERSHIP IS ALWAYS AN EVOLVING CONCEPT. THESE DAYS, EMPLOYEES WANT MORE ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH THEIR LEADERS TO HELP THEM DEVELOP AND KNOW THEY ARE VALUED.
By Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, Master Certified Coach They also want their leaders to listen and ask questions instead of directing, guiding, fixing them. Leaders need training to learn new skills in holding effective conversations and making strong emotional connections. Many also need to shift their work values and perspectives, and their own fears around handling difficult situations and varying personality styles. A single training event can start leaders on the path to change. Coaching ensures a return on investment for training by working with the leaders to implement what they learn in class. By combing coaching with training, you create greater success for your clients as well as a new income stream for your business.
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Integrating Coaching with Training Most of my coaching is contracted through organizations as a part of a leadership development program for current leaders or high potentials, or as a package
customized to help shift a workplace culture. I offer a solution, not coaching. You can receive higher fees for a solution than by quoting an hourly rate for services.
For cultural transformation, I might include: • • • •
Culture Analysis & Summary Report Cultural Change Action Plan Internal Coach Certification Program HR Leaders and Change Agents 2-Day Live Training Sessions on Leader as Coach (Coach Approach to Leadership) • Quarterly Group Coaching Sessions to support the training programs • One-on-One Coaching with Senior Leaders • Annual Program Evaluation & Continuing Plan For leadership transformation, I might include: • Organizational Leadership Analysis & Summary Report • 2-Day Customized Live Training Sessions on Leader as Coach (Coach Approach to Leadership) • Monthly Individual Coaching Sessions for participants for 6 months • Program Evaluation & Long-term Leadership Plan
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Start with doing an analysis of need in the organization. How do they use coaching now? What is the willingness to make a shift in leadership style? What cultural elements support or hinder the shift? Then you make recommendations for how management will support your work in addition to outlining a customized training program with follow-up coaching. For a medium to large organization, you can offer individual coaching for senior staff as well as group coaching for participants after the training. Consider hiring other certified coaches as your “company” to help you implement the solutions.
Contracting When clients call you to help them implement coaching in their organization, ask them: • Why did they contact you? • What need do they want resolved? • What result would they like to see? • How much is that outcome worth to them? It is always easier to sell an outcome than a service.
You can charge higher fees when you include coaching in packages that include organizational assessments, strategy sessions, and training. The greater the impact of your work, the higher your fees. If you can identify specific goals up front, you might be able to measure the results. The ICF has many ROI studies you can access in their online Research Portal.
Training Broadens Your Horizons Having begun my coaching twenty years ago, my practice is now global. I recently gave a presentation in China how leaders can use coaching in their organizations. My speech was translated into Chinese for corporate coaches, HR practitioners, and executives eager to learn how teaching leaders to use a more “coachlike” approach with their teams can help them gain a competitive advantage. I also teach and mentor for coaching schools in Asia, Europe and the US. No matter the culture, coaching is now a competency leaders are expected to learn world-wide.
This has opened many doors for executive coaching of leaders in addition to training. When the economy is bad in one part of the world, I get business in another. Combining training with coaching has made significant differences for my organizational clients and for me. As with coaching, be the best trainer you can be and the clients will follow. Take classes in training design and delivery so you are as successful in the classroom as you are one-onone. Know that the elements of successful training delivery change with each generation. As with coaching, you must continue your learning and development as a trainer to maintain your edge and impact. I hope you’ll consider adding training to your list of services to offer more complete client solutions. When you combine training with coaching, everybody wins.
Dr Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, MCC Dr. Marcia Reynolds has coached and trained leaders in 35 countries on leadership, emotional intelligence, and transformational coaching. She is on the board for the International Coach Federation, the training director for the Healthcare Coaching Institute and she teaches for coaching schools in Russia and China. She is the author of 3 books, The Discomfort Zone, Wander Woman, and Outsmart Your Brain. Page 14
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sales, you will be more respected as They become tired after a few If you have any questions, email me a coach and get your clients better months of hustle. They quit. at ryan@winninginternational.com results. They aren’t making money, because Warning: There is no substitute for they are doing nothing. They quit. a program that lacks quality or They get bored. They quit. relevance. Nail the program and people will sense its awesomeness. It’s pathetic and contradicts the meaning behind what a coach is meant to represent - living and breathing as a role model. The determination of your success as a coach, is based around whether The missing attributes here are you look at your coaching business twofold; as a cool opportunity, or an 1. Courage obligation to fulfil your legacy. 2. Consistency
Success
Usually coaches will overestimate what they can achieve in the shortterm in their coaching business and underestimate what is possible in the long-term. Coaches expect to get a million friction-free sales after a couple of weeks in their coaching business (without taking any action), but, then cap themselves at the potential of making a mere 6 figure income from their craft. What happens is the moment anything gets tough or they feel challenged, they quit. They launch a Facebook Ad that doesn’t work. They quit. They get rejected on a sales call. They quit.
Most coaches never have the courage to tackle the fear tasks needed to get the business off the ground. Videos, investing in ads, sales calls. Then they work hard for a few weeks and give up on all consistency, looking for the bright light. They avoid doing the necessary activities and therefore struggle for results. If you are serious about being a successful coach. All you need to do is to nail the structure, strategy and success principles and 7 Figure earnings will be a walk in the park. If you are missing any of these elements, then you will be dragging yourself through hell.
Ryan is a master of marketing, sales and business growth and has started and run multiple successful ventures, including a marketing agency that he grew to a team of 8 people, an app that gathered over 100,000 downloads in the first 4 weeks and many more. After a painstaking life breakthrough, Ryan realized his birth purpose and Winning International was born with the mission of raising a billion dollars for charity. Before the age of 22, Ryan had grown Winning to a 7-Figures and changed 100’s of coaches’ lives. With Ryan’s leadership, Winning is currently on track to be the biggest organization in the world helping coaches grow their businesses.
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Self Ad
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By Dr. Fran Finn & Dr. Geoffrey Abbott
Regardless of the hype around flat structures, empowerment and collective decision making, a case can easily be made that the underlying assumption for leadership in most companies is still ‘telling people what to do’. The assumption may be unconscious and wrapped in different coloured paper but you can still find it in titles, hierarchical structures, reward systems, duty statements, and the symbols of power sprinkled around organisations. Coaching – which is in tension with the core assumption of telling - is not deeply embedded in the DNA of most organisations, though there are signs of a shift, and even more signs of a need to.
Over 15 years ago, HBR published Daniel Goleman’s seminal article Leadership that Gets Results.1 The essence of his argument is: 1. When you strip all the noise away, there are around six fundamental styles that a leader can use; 2. Coaching is one of the six (the others being coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic and pacesetting); 3. Effective leaders use all six, but to keep people motivated they should apply the brake pedal on coercive and pacesetting (the latter being associated with micromanagement) Emotional intelligence is a critical leadership characteristic that helps in messy decisions of what, where, when, why, how and with whom.
Since that time, executive coaching has proliferated and leadership development programs are increasingly We look at why coaching seems embedding coaching in different to be becoming more embedded ways, including teaching leaders with leadership in a VUCA world how to coach. of volatility, uncertainty, Effective leadership complexity and ambiguity, and development programs typically what implications this might will have a mix of workshops, 1-1 have moving forward. executive coaching, action-
What seems to work best, and what companies are asking for, are multi-pronged approaches consistent with the Lombardo and Eichinger’s 70:20:10 model of leadership development. The basic premise of the model is that most learning happens onthe-job.
Arguably, the emergent element is a ‘coaching methodology’, learning groups, group coaching, which is creeping into the He wrote about coaching that, seventy percent ‘on-the-job’ and ‘Although the coaching style may peer coaching, coaching skills, not scream bottom-line results, mentoring, and some kind of on- into the ten percent content the-job project. elements of the model. it delivers them’. Page 21
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One of our CEO mentors recently ‘Although the coaching style commented that a regional CEO may not scream bottom-line role he took on was described by results, it delivers them’. the chairman as ‘ambiguous’. Needless to say, he wasn’t sure what that meant, and neither There is a shift in the meaning of was the board. Two years and a coach - a shift from something regional CEO redundancy later, one is to something one does. none of the players had gained any more clarity! It’s hard to capture the exact nature of the underlying Many leaders are coming to us in assumption of coaching – a various states of confusion, possible’ in contrast with ‘tell denial, overwhelm, stress, people shopping list rapidly isolation, and disillusionment appears. For now, how about, and (although we may not hear ‘explore what is what to do’. about them) – depression, drug dependency, and chronic family The question we are currently dysfunction. At the same time, considering is, ‘Why is a coaching others are coming with elation, methodology getting into passion, and excitement – everything in this way?’ literally sharing joy in the world. Here is the explanation that We don’t yet have research that we’ve been working with in the proves it, but our observation is QUT Graduate School of that leaders who are using a Business, Brisbane, Australia. The coaching methodology generally world is undoubtedly getting come with a more functional more VUCA-ish every day – i.e. profile – happier, healthier and more volatile, uncertain, more effective – and much nicer complex and ambiguous. to be with!
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They are taking an exploratory approach with due regard to context and a good sense of what is important to them. Instead of drowning in the turbulence, they’ve found a way of surfing the energy of the waves. VUCA is engaging and even fun to this group; while admittedly hell to others. Research done by The Australian Centre for Coaching in Organisations gives us some insight. They found that while executive coaching was valuable by all the participants in a leadership development program, what made the program work was a systemic approach that evolved with the context within which it was designed and conducted. Dave Snowden and Mary Boone have developed a decisionmaking model that provides insight to the way in which a coaching methodology or mindset could be helping leaders to stay on the bright side of life.
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Their model proposes that different problem situations require different approaches. Complex problems require a perspective that views the situations as a complex adaptive system with characteristics such as interrelatedness, nonlinearity, phase-shifts, and emergence. Leaders are advised to ‘probe’ as a first response, which then provides opportunities to work to influence the system using appropriate forms of analysis and problem solving. Here is the link to coaching. If VUCA-ating is happening – and we believe it is – then more and more problem situations are going to be complex. Therefore, leaders who are probing/exploring are more likely to be successful on a range of measures across personal and professional domains. The shift in thinking towards a coaching leadership style is also one of moving from an individual competitive mindset to a collective collaborative mindset. Probing, exploring and creating are lonely and dangerous business on one’s own.
In complex systems, the energy is generated at the connection points in the form of rich conversations across silos that engage the heart and the head.
mentoring approaches to develop the full capacity of their staff. It uniquely addresses a gap in the executive education market: skilling senior leaders in the art of coaching and mentoring to enhance their leadership and decision-making capabilities and is designed to equip participants with the skills and confidence to develop a coaching culture within their organisation.
We build our programs on a premise - leaders are working in At our Graduate School of complex contexts that require a Business at QUT, the response to capacity to think systemically this observed direction and and to have very strong connection in the leadershipinterpersonal skills that will coaching-VUCA nexus has been enable them to collaborate to to increase our educational thrive, rather than just compete offerings that provide guidance to survive. on how coaching works best in We’d like our programs to be turbulent environments and in consistent with Maya Angelou’s particular how leaders might view. adopt a coaching methodology as a default. ‘My mission in life is not merely Our Executive Graduate to survive, but to thrive; and to Certificate in Business, Leadership though Coaching and do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and Mentoring, delivers advanced some style’ thinking and competencies for leaders who are using or are intending to use coaching and
REFERENCES 1. Goleman, D. (2000). ‘Leadership that Gets Results’. Harvard Business Review. March 2. Lombardo, R.W., Eichinger, M.M. (2000). The Leadership Machine (3rd Edition). Lominger Ltd. In their survey of successful managers, they found that 70% of learning came from undertaking tough jobs; 20% from colleagues – especially the manager’s own boss; and 10% from traditional learning methods such as reading and training courses. 3. Snowden, D. J. and M. Boone. (2007). ‘A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making’. Harvard Business Review. 4. Peterson, D. (2015). ‘Coaching Leaders in Turbulent Times’. Conference Presentation. Harvard Medical School, Boston
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Dr Fran Finn Course Coordinator, Executive Graduate Certificate in Business (Leadership through Coaching and Mentoring), QUT Graduate School of Business
Dr Geoffrey Abbott Director, Executive and Organisational Coaching, QUT Graduate School of Business
Fran is passionate about developing exceptional leaders and is an Executive Coach and Course Coordinator for QUT's Executive Graduate Certificate in Business (Leadership through Coaching & Mentoring).
Geoff is an experienced executive coach, coach-trainer, consultant, educator and author. His expertise is in global coaching, people development, and leading in complex business environments.
She has been a past recipient of Innovation in Teaching awards, and was previously named University Mentor Coordinator of the Year.
Geoff is Director of Executive and Organisational Coaching in the Graduate School of Business with Queensland University of Technology in Australia. In this role he coaches high level executives and uses coaching methodologies to facilitate leadership development in corporate leadership development initiatives and the QUT MBA program. Geoff and the QUT team has developed a suite of leadership through coaching and mentoring education programs including an Executive Graduate Certificate in Business.
In 2000 Fran designed an Executive Coaching program that she trained a team of specialists to deliver to industry. In 2008 she completed a PhD examining Executive Coaching as an Alternate Leadership Development Tool, for which she was awarded the Dean’s Commendation for Excellent Doctoral Thesis. Fran’s research is widely reported within the coaching field and she is called upon by media to comment. Her research focuses on leadership development in the workplace, with a particular interest in executive coaching. During her PhD she was successful in winning an addendum to the ARC Linkage Project between QUT, QHPPS, DIR, ADSM and Queens University. The outcomes of this research have been presented internationally.
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Geoff is co-editor of The Routledge Companion to International Business Coaching (Moral and Abbott, 2011). Independently, Geoff coaches executives and provides coaching education across different industries and cultures.
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5 Incredible Qualifications in One Program
Practitioner of Life Coaching
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Practitioner of Matrix Therapies
Practitioner of Life Coaching
Practitioner of NLP
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Diploma of Life Coaching
A Coaching Business in a Digital World By Sia Shamsai To the untrained eye, the world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be a minefield of acronyms and snake oil salesmen Having worked in the industry for the past 15 years, I have seen and done most SEO techniques, many of which are now considered unethical.
For these styles of business an organic SEO campaign would be required to provide the reach they would want to achieve.
The problem is that often these short-tail search terms represent a user who is at the very early market research stages of the buying cycle.
These searches are typically broader and less defined, as the user’s Most SEO’s will talk about keywords intent at this time is to merely to in terms of long-tail and short-tail gain an understanding of what terms. It’s a common trap to get Of course, the SEO landscape has “business coaching” actually is, lured in by the short-tail terms with what benefit it provides and changed significantly since those large search volumes. What is often whether it’s even of interest to times and become even more over-looked is the consideration of them to pursue. complex. a user’s search intent which For those considering including SEO accompanies these short-tail terms, These terms are also often into their marketing mix, the considered to be informational in and where that intent lies within following will help to prepare and context, by contrast to being the context of a typical consumer arm you for your journey. commercial in intent, requiring even buying cycle for that product or greater volume of content based service. Local vs Organic SEO marketing in order to rank well. With this in mind, consider a search The first question to ask yourself, performed on “business coaching”. Imagine performing a search on any which could save you considerable term, then look at the top 3 results. The term itself yields a large time and money, is how broadly you To out rank these, your content number of searches every month. need to market your services would need to be considerably online. At face value, this makes it an more comprehensive to stand a attractive candidate to target for chance at competing as an authority For most businesses who are only SEO – but there’s a catch. Given the on this term. able to service a prescribed area, large search volume, there is also a the market scope will typically be Let’s consider a long-tail approach large number of competitors local to that region. attempting to rank for these terms. to keyword selection. Long-tail terms, as the name suggests, are The higher the degree of For these types of businesses, a often keyword phrases. By way of local SEO campaign will significantly competition, the greater the amount of SEO that will be required an example, consider “Business reduce the degree of competition coach for women in Brisbane”. in order to rank for this. that they’ll be up against in the online market place.
Keyword Selection
For online merchants which can ship products or perform remote services, such as eCommerce sites, the scope will often be much broader, as will the degree of competition.
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Comparatively the search intent is immediately more commercial in nature, as it is much closer to the purchasing end of the consumer buying cycle. Being that the search is also more specific, there will also be a smaller search volume and correspondingly much less SEO competition taking place for this term. This makes it much more achievable to rank well in a shorter period of time. More important than the glory terms within your industry, are those where the commercial intent is unambiguous.
Black Hat vs White Hat
As I had mentioned earlier, I have done my time with SEO practices The lesson is that SEO techniques that would now be considered to be evolve over time as Google “black hat” or unethical in nature. becomes more advanced in identifying strategies used by SEOs My background in black-hat SEO to influence their search rankings. was during a time where such practices were quite common place, and to be in SEO during that time simply meant doing what works best to achieve results for our clients.
It should be noted at this point, that Google does not make money from SEO. Their business model is built on providing users the most If there is still a search volume accurate search results for their associated with these terms, a long- query and search intent. Only then tail keyword approach will provide a will people continue to use their much more robust SEO strategy and search engine, and they will a better ROI on your investment. continue to generate revenue through their AdWords online advertising service (which is how Google makes money). This is an important piece of information and why Google often changes how and why it ranks web pages.
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The process of SEO is to influence these search results in favour of an SEO’s clients. It should come as no surprise that Google would, over time, take such SEO techniques which were once effective at ranking sites, and flag these as no longer being ethical. Even to the point of creating penalties in the search results for using them.
A good SEO will be acutely aware of the latest algorithm updates and recognise that current strategies are qualitative over quantitative. Quality requires unique content that provides value, which also comes at a higher development cost. Beware of cheap SEO with the promise of thousands of back-links, as these will most certainly still be using old SEO techniques which will get your site into trouble. They may be effective in generating short term rankings for you, but longer term you may be putting your domain at risk of ever ranking again if Google detects that you’re using low quality SEO techniques.
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While this may be the case, the crawl process is only the first It’s important to keep in mind stage of bringing any SEO that there are over 200 ranking improvements to Google’s factors that contribute how your attention, with the entire website performs in the Google process taking generally search results. between 2-3 months for any SEO efforts to be fully realised. These factors evolve in both complexity and weighting as Over this time, Google first Google continues to release needs to pull this information updates to its search algorithm into its index. in order to try and maintain the integrity of their search engine. Then it assigns meta data and any inherent SEO value, which it Given this complexity, and the then passes onto your website. sheer volume of websites that Finally this is reflected in its next exist on the internet, it is an round of search rankings incredible feat of computing updates. engineering that Google is still
Conclusion
somehow capable of crawling the entire internet looking for changes and new pages on almost a monthly cycle.
Depending upon the degree of SEO competition for the terms you are targeting, and of course how aggressively you are undertaking your SEO activities, most SEO engagements will usually span 3, 6 or even 12 months (or more) before your search terms will start to hit the first page of Google. It’s definitely a long-term strategy, with undoubtedly with some turbulence along the way, but for those few who can withstand the test of time. It also something which can offer incredible pay offs in terms of ongoing fresh leads for your business.
Sia Shamsai Sia is the founder and principal marketing specialist at IMASEO. Established in 2003, IMASEO is a recognised Google badged Partner with a proven track record in providing quality SEO and PPC services to clients across Australia and within the UK.
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Are you a Social Coach? By David Angel
platforms the specific audience you are targeting spend their time on. The answers to this question will not only define which social platforms you use but will also define your Social media strategy. Once you have decided what your goals are then you can begin implementing your strategy. Many of us use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as part of our everyday life. For an aspiring Coach (essentially a small business owner) Social Media is actually a convenient, practical and essential tool that you can utilise to ensure your Coaching business grows. Before you invest time and money in your Social media presence, first ask “What am I trying to achieve with my Social Media presence?”.
Create the content and media you are going to use and then post it to your Social platform of choice. Use the free scheduling tools available for all Social media sites to consistently publish your messages at times of the day, and on days of the week that the most organic (free) reach can be achieved.
If you only have enough content to post twice a week then post twice a week, but make sure you continue to do so. The biggest issue you will find is that the people who are already followers of your brand will be the only people that see what you publish! Your Mum may be a huge fan but she will not be someone that you can earn a living from. Now comes the “Secret Sauce”.
Most of all be consistent, don’t fall into the trap of posting twice a day for 2 weeks then not at all for 3 weeks.
Most platforms will actively punish The following are examples of what this behaviour by driving down your Once you have produced and organic reach. you can achieve via Social media published your content take 1. Drive traffic to your website advantage of the Social media 2. Raise your profile advertising tools available on the 3. Gain brand exposure Social platforms you are using. 4. Attract new clients Use the known demographics of 5. Establish/enhance your your preferred audience and reputation as an expert in your promote your content to the people field of coaching most likely to connect with your 6. Sell products/plans/packages brand. 7. Entertain and provide a public service The best example of this is the way Facebook has created many Once you have defined your end different advertising tools to suit goals then research just what your objective. Page 30
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Whether you are trying to drive people to your website, gain new followers to your brand or educate potential new client about your “point of difference” via a video or a blog, Facebook will have an advertising tool that will help you achieve these goals.
With a budget of only $100 a month you will be in front of between 5,000-20,000 targeted people who could potentially become clients, followers and eventually brand advocates.
Always remember that Social Media is primarily a marketing tool, not a sales tool. There is no doubt that Social Media can be an essential part of growing your coaching business.
Social media should always be a part of your overall marketing strategy (I am a little biased) but never the only source. When used in conjunction with other Digital marketing such as SEO, Google Adwords, and even traditional marketing, it becomes exponentially more powerful and effective.
You don’t even require a huge budget to reach these targeted people, on average $1 spent on Facebook advertising will reach between 50-200 people.
It is crucial to track the success of your efforts through the analytics tools that are offered by the Social sites you are using. Without learning what is successful and what is not you will end up wasting your advertising dollar for no real return.
By targeting your effort and resources at a specific target market you can measure the success of each campaign. Then, and only then, will you know what is working for your busines
David Angel
Margi Angel
After 20 years in small business, David knows that that there is no such thing as an easy dollar. He lives by the motto “The harder you work the luckier you become.” Having built 2 successful service companies, he is now focused on the world of Social Media and the opportunities for SME’s to compete with established brands on social platforms.
After 10 years managing a Laboratory, I decided to assist David in developing our Mint Social business/brand.
“For a minimal advertising outlay, new customers can be found and nurtured, in real time, for businesses and brands of all sizes and industries.” Page 31
Ensure that you create your social media campaigns with your business goals in mind.
With skills in customer communication and an eye for detail, Margi is the customer contact and oversees the analytical focus for Mint Social. “My real strength is in analysing the metrics we gather for the customer reports and breaking down exactly what works, or doesn’t work, for a brand.” www.coachinglife. com.au
THE FUTURE OF COACHING IS HERE It was a tough challenge for Brisbane based company achiiva to develop a tool that harnessed ‘the power of mobile’ and put it into the coaching arena - thanks to real life testing they have delivered an app that is powerful and simply works.
A
ccording to Deloitte, Australia
In creating a mobile coaching product,
in smartphone addiction.
coaches from life and executive coaches
is one of the leading countries Estimated to be on our phones
twice every hour and up to 110 times a
day - our addiction even ranks ahead of the US and the UK
www.huffingtonpost.com.
au/2015/09/24/how-often-do-you-check-your-phone/
Growth, volatility, change, and disruptive
technologies constantly drive companies to shift their underlying modes of
communication. With the power of smart phones, the decrease in data charges and increase in speed of data all now
converging, we are seeing a relentless penetration of mobile technology into all areas of business and life and the
inevitable transformation and challenges
Achiiva worked with a wide range of
to managers and trainers who coach,
with a view to understanding the different coaching approaches and common
challenges. In addition, Achiiva worked with the Queensland University of
Technology (QUT) Graduate School of
Business to ensure the latest research in relation to coaching and mentoring was also incorporated.
When it came to coaches, some of their key challenges were: • •
that brings.
There is no denying that we are becoming a generation plagued by FOMO (fear of
•
•
period of time.
the coaching process and manage The time and effort involved with
driving accountability, engagement and motivation
A new era in coaching Brisbane based company Achiiva has
•
Demonstrating value and progress.
play a key role in leveraging the power of mobile into the coaching relationship.
surprising responses: •
agreements
Feeling left out ‘in the cold’ or
unsupported between coaching sessions
•
Challenged in building a strong
•
Feeling like there is a lack of progress
•
No real consistency in the process.
Finding ways to easily communicate
Keeping track of client’s goals and
mobile technology focus and set out to
about being coached were, there were
managing more clients and growing
•
identified a way of harnessing this strong
biggest challenges and frustrations
The time and effort involved in
expectations
if they can’t check their phone as soon as from mobile connectivity for any healthy
coaching fees
the business
missing out) - that sinking feeling one gets it beeps, or heaven forbid being estranged
How to substantiate and/or increase
When clients were asked what their
relationship with their coach
With Coaches and their clients wanting
different benefits, Achiiva started work on creating a mobile coaching application
to bridge the gaps, an app that allowed the client to feel connected, supported
and able to see evidence of ‘traction and action”. Whilst at the same time, the app allowed coaches to have a flexible and comprehensive set of tools to support
delivering coaching and build a business.
Achiiva delivers an astonishing multifaceted
coaching ecosystem that helps drive successful
coaching in all areas of my business as a coach. Not
Achiiva also offers a set of built in tools
only in the context of diverse coaching scenarios such
to ensure they can meet all the core
as Leadership, life and business coaching but it also
competencies, with a comprehensive
facilitates my own coaching relationship with my coach.
audit trail.
I can confidently say that after many successful years of
Thanks to a lot of input from the coaching
coaching I have not come across a solution that
community, QUT and a lot of ‘real life’
so completely embraces the requirements of a
testing, Achiiva created a design that
coach who wants to coach well.
not only supports the above aims but
Paul Snell Coach, Principal,
also supports the ‘uniqueness’ that each
Kite Coaching, Ltd., Milton Keyes,
coach brings to the table.
United Kingdom
Gabrielle Button, Achiiva CEO said ‘We are creating a new era of coaching delivery, tapping into the changing
psyche of clients and the unrelenting
penetration of mobile technologies into daily life”.
Putting the power in your hand Using the power of mobile and a clever set of tools, Achiiva improves client
Clients benefit 24/7 from being able to: •
Set and track goals
coaching products and importantly
•
Journal epiphanies, learning
businesses.
•
Capture and assess progress and
•
Send and receive messages
•
Receive insights, empowerment,
accountability, engagement and results, opens up the potential for new global it supports coaches in growing their Where is the power? • •
A fully functioning personal coaching platform on your mobile device
All key data in one clear, detailed and easily accessible location
•
Available to coach and client
•
Low touch, high impact so coaches
•
anywhere, anytime
can work smarter in less time
Easily demonstrates progress and the value the coach brings to the coaching relationship.
and steps
experiences and challenges performance
education and motivation.
With strong benefits for both the coach
and the client, Achiiva provides a new era in coaching, utilising the tools we already have, to deliver a better experience.
Achiiva enables more engagement –
mitigating any FOMO – right in the palm of your hand.
Check it out in your App store or at www.achiiva.com
GET YOUR A.S.S.S. GOING IN 2017! By Scott Epp
It’s almost time for the New Year! Can you believe it! Ok – now is the time to get honest with yourself. Are you where you said you would be in your business when you cast your vision one year ago? Do you have a great message and heart to transform people but you feel your business needs a total makeover? There are many reasons that we can give as to why you didn’t achieve your goals so far in 2016. We specialize in coaching business owners, professionals, celebrities You didn’t have enough time or money. People didn’t agree to work and executives to become their authentic amazing best. with you like you thought they would. You weren’t visible in your market. You had too many obstacles with your business backend or website. You didn’t take action. Other people let you down. The list can go on and on. The big thing that you need to come to terms with is that if you are going to get new results in 2017 then you have to get you’re A.S.S.S. going with your goals in your business. I know it’s a bit on the ‘cheeky side’ – but this acrostic has the potential to solve your biggest problems in your business. Hi, my name is Scott Epp and I am the founder of Abundance Coaching. Page 35
I came up with this acrostic for my own business because I knew that something needed to change a few years ago. This is how you get you’re A.S.S.S. going with your goals.
A
UTOMATE. You need to find a way of automating as many steps as you can with your business. I first learnt this principle from Brendan Brouchard and my mentor Ted McGrath as they are masters of automation.
Here is an example of how automation can work for you. If you go to our website
www.abundancecoaching.com you will find that we have an automated slider that gives people the immediate information that will help them learn what core problems we solve. You will get an automated popup with my popular Awaken the Wild Lion Within eBook. www.coachinglife. com.au
This automated process gets people Then you can work where you really their eBook and a bonus Coaching want – with the amazing people Tool immediately through our lead that hire you. box. What areas of your business do you This also gets people on our mailing need to automate in 2017? list which is also automated at the start and I introduce personalized email messages along the way. If you scroll down further we have the most popular questions that people have about coaching, how we work, success stories and how to get a free 25-45-minute purpose and breakthrough connection with myself or one of our coaches. If people aren’t ready, they can check out our automated free resources like our Abundance Life Wheel Game, our TV channel and more. Our whole website is automated to generate interest and email subscribers. Then we guide people through a process as we add value and build trust which inspires many people to work with us and as a result our business grows. This automation is backed up with automatic campaigns that lead people to our website through social media, YouTube videos, Google AdWords and more.
S
TART. You may have found
that you didn’t achieve business success in 2016 because you let your dreams remain wishes. You may have had ideals of how awesome your business or life would be but you didn’t take massive action and really start. I recently decided to just start creating and posting 2 Minute Breakthrough Videos on Facebook. They are short and punchy videos with an inspiring story and empowering question that I leave people with at the end.
is through the power of mentors and adjustments. Firstly, you do need to get the ball going. Your plan will never be 100% so why wait for it before you begin. This time when you hit an obstacle, stop yourself and look at the situation. Then look for a mentor or coach in real life that can help you overcome your challenge. People that are in your corner can often see a great road for you especially if they have gone down a similar path before you. You can also watch YouTube videos, read a book or study how people have overcome similar challenges. Have faith that when you start you will need to make adjustments along the way with the new information and knowledge that you gather. Be a mover and shaker and start something that is awesome and that stretches you. What do you need to start doing in your business in 2017?
I have already made 30 videos and have now started dropping them on my Abundance Coaching Facebook page as an automatic scheduled weekly video.
Automation is just a tool. I believe in high personal connection but as a Sometimes people don’t start growing business owner I reserve this for my one-on-one clients. because they are afraid of what I give you this example because if you aren’t getting the results that you need in your business then a great way to start is to set up and automate everything that you can in your business.
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it could mean if they actually did start. Other times people over analyse. Start means that you get into motion on your initial plans. Once you’re in motion you can adjust along the way. The way to move from just motivation to momentum
S
TRATEGY. So, you’ve started, taken some actions and you’ve gained some valuable information based upon the data you have collected with your actions.
www.coachinglife. com.au
That is Fantastic! Now you need to build the right strategy to achieve your success.
business. You are automating a process, you’ve started and you’ve built a strategy.
Not only does planning save you time in the long run but it significantly increases your emotional state and energy! Now that is worth celebrating.
In our Abundance Coaching process, we help you with our Business System Blueprint. This is an effective bootstrapped approach to growing your business.
So often when I work with new business owners they love to talk about the idea that they have. That’s wonderful. I love the ideas as well – ideas are where the passion and creativity flow and they are essential for our dreams to come true. I never underestimate the power that a great idea can have. However, I have often found that a business, not built on long term vision, will eventually falter.
Then make adjustments and grow towards achieving the next milestone. If you want to get more clients, franchise your business, get an exit strategy for your business or grow your business instead of just run it, then getting the right systems is your answer.
You have talents and a heart to impact people in powerful ways.
Now is the time for you to get your Your adjustments that you made To make all of the pieces fit business on the right plan and path while starting will now become together, you need to have systems to achieve the results that you need strategic and planned. I like the wise that are inspiring and effective for in 2017! Yahoo!!!! quote from Brian Tracy: your business. Become your Authentic Amazing This step can be where small Best! business owners get stuck. You may “Every minute you spend in have the other facets that will help planning saves 10 minutes in your business grow but the right execution; this gives you a 1,000 systems will help you, even when percent Return on Energy!” you hit obstacles and get your business to grow.
What systems do you need to set up for your business in 2017?
So that’s it! If you’re ready to make If you own a business and you know a massive impact in your business in 2017 then get you’re A.S.S.S. you need to make a shift in 2017, going! then I strongly encourage you to execute the right strategy. Start creating your future TODAY, not tomorrow, not in the near future – but, Right NOW!
S
Start planning your 2017 and if you need support or help with any or all of the above, get a free purpose and breakthrough session or attend YSTEMS. Ok Magnificent. You Your Ultimate New Year Workshop are now really utilising the here in Sydney on Feb 4th. power you need to build your
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Canadian born Scott Epp specialises in working with business owners, professionals, celebrities and executives who want to breakthrough to new levels with their work, wellbeing and personal lives. Scott's 10,000+ hours of professional one-on-one coaching establish him as an authority in the transformation industry. Scott has been coached and mentored by some of the world’s most successful Performance Coaches including Andrea J Lee and Ted McGrath and has presented 100s of talks and workshops with Westpac, Legal Aid, Sita, Scotia Bank and more. Learn more about workshops, keynote speaking and corporate training at BreakthroughCorporateTraining. com.au.
www.coachinglife. com.au
A New Generation of “Soft Science” Backs Stress Management Coaching and Mentoring
Dr John Hinwood In early 2013, Stress to Strength and the Stress Management Institute were founded to launch a new generation of innovative stress management coaching and mentoring. After considerable research into this rapidly growing problem which cost Australia $30 billion in 2012 (Labour Force Survey & Safe Work Australia Survey), chiropractors Drs John and Judy Hinwood developed a new approach to stress management training. This includes resilience skills and mindfulness tools to support the Australian community via public and business seminars as well as personal mentoring and coaching. This new approach was not hardware or software in nature, but rather needed to be “people-ware”, with the focus based not only on new emerging evidence from the biological Page 38
sciences, but also backed by field experience and wisdom which is process driven. Stress to Strength teaches people simple, sustainable self-care tools and strategies to use in their personal, family, business, government or corporate lives. These highly effective tools and strategies are easy to coach, and easy for clients to learn, using coaching as the modality of delivery. The ‘worried well’ and the ‘working wounded’ make up the 90% of Australians who report that stress affects them daily (Lifeline Stress Poll 2015). It is different from counselling or psychotherapy where clients generally need tertiary care. Clients who seek coaching and mentoring invariably have stress affecting at least one area of their life. The 2015 Lifeline Poll also
reported that “40% of Australians feel very stressed about one particular area of their life.” This is where rock solid specific stress management coaching can give these people amazing breakthroughs in their lives. This coaching focuses on the now and teaches clients how to turn ‘bad’ stress into ‘good’ stress and gives each person a personal kit of tools and strategies which are backed by solid science. Here are some highly effective tools and strategies that we are happy to share so coaches can add these to their own tool kits. A Job Worth Doing… I received these words below as part of a long email that arrived in my inbox on Wednesday morning from one of the participants who attended our workshop recently in Brisbane. He was so excited as the www.coachinglife. com.au
changes he had put into place to create much lower stress had been hugely destressing for him. He had seen great shifts in the way he is interacting with his work colleagues in his upper management role. A snipit from his email reads… “…Anyway, I’m using the stress management tools I learnt on the weekend at the Stress to Strength Experience and it’s happening this morning and it’s working!! So, I'm doing some really ‘lousy work’ this week for sure! Thanks again.” You may be wondering what he means by, “doing some really lousy work”.
side of practice, the ‘soft science’ that is especially important for wonderful patient/client care. The first speaker on the Thursday afternoon was Dr John Thie from California and the founder of Touch for Health. During his presentation, he emphasised that often we don’t start something in life because we don’t believe we are ready to start yet. Thoughts such as, I don’t have enough knowledge, I don’t have enough experience, I don’t have enough money, I don’t have enough skill can cause us to procrastinate and these thoughts also create a great deal of stress in our lives.
John Thie asked the audience of over 3,000 practitioners, assistants and students to complete the Back to September 1977 after I graduated from Chiropractic College following statement out loud. in Toronto, Canada I flew to Dallas, A job worth doing, is worth doing? Texas to attend a four-day The audience replied… WELL! conference focused on the human
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John Thie repeated the statement with the word he was seeking…
A job worth doing, is worth doing, LOUSY!
There was lots of audience chatter as virtually everyone in the Hilton Ballroom that afternoon had been brain washed by mother, father, teacher, preacher, that you only ever start a job if you intend to do it well. The explanation John Thie gave as to why we need to just start a job, even if the outcome may be ‘lousy’, was that it enables us to enter the game of life in that area. Each time we perform the task we can do it a little better, and the repetition will eventually lead to mastery.
www.coachinglife. com.au
He went on to say your profession is chiropractic practice. Other health disciplines are medical practice, dental practice, naturopathy practice etc. You are always practising your craft. We cannot expect to be excellent when we start anything new.
My suggestion is, give it a go, and you will surprise yourself. This is the best coaching tool I know to beat procrastination which is a major stressor for many people.
This principle ‘fried my brain’ for a few weeks as my pre-conditioning from childhood was that unless I knew I could do a job well, I shouldn’t start it.
Recently I read an excellent e-book by neuroscientist Mark Waldman PhD on ‘10 Mind Blowing Discoveries About the Human Brain’. Waldman emphasises… “our thoughts, indeed, even a single word – have the power to change the structure and functioning of many other parts of the brain.”
Eventually I recognised the wisdom in this statement, A job worth doing, is worth doing, LOUSY! This has since become a personal mantra. I have witnessed many people who I have coached around this dramatic thought change, over the past twenty-five years, see an immediate reduction in anticipatory stress and great leaps forward in their lives.
The 60 Second De-Stress Workout
After reading his e-book and digesting his thoughts and ideas others have expressed, I offer you an easy to master 60 second workout. You can put this in place once every hour at work, and at home when you feel you need it, to support you to relax and to destress.
A key point from the book that we can all easily put into place in our busy lifestyles is the practice of a 5:1 “Positivity Ratio” if you want to build optimism and create resilience to stress. This is because of the brain’s propensity to turn negative experiences into memories. The great news is that we can all train our brains to interrupt negativity and generate optimistic thoughts.
Your 60 Second Workout 1. Slowly stretch your arms above your head, and stretch your neck and torso as you breath low and slow in for 6 seconds and then out for 6 seconds. This turns off past negative experiences and it releases dopamine which motivates you to work harder. As you stretch allow your brain to daydream or go mind-wandering. This allows for the essential process of encoding new information into long-term memory. Yawn. Yawning slows down your system. Too much stress disrupts neural activity in your brain. Yawning lowers the hyperactivity in brain’s frontal lobe functioning and instantly creates relaxation. 2. Stroking your palms, hands and arms will enable you to enter a deep state of relaxation very quickly. 3. Have a good laugh as you watch a 20 to 30 second very funny video clip of your choice. This causes the ‘happy hormones’ oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins to be released. These hormones are the ‘stress busters’.
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Maybe prepare your day’s to-do list, visualise your day with enthusiasm, do stretches, sit and meditate for a My typical day starts the same way, few minutes, tackle the hardest job Often I’m asked… “How do you start whether I’m at home or on the road first? your day with the best possible speaking and training, or on holiday. mindset so stress doesn’t get the If you would like to add another better of you?” See My Morning Ritual below. dimension to your world, you may wish to enrol in the Certificate IV in I developed a Morning Mindset I have enjoyed a rock-solid sleep Stress Management Practitioner or routine which sets the tone for my with no electrical devices in my day so I’m in-charge from the time I sleeping area, including my mobile the Certificate in Stress wake up each morning. This way I phone which is left in another room. Management Facilitator courses. These are the only VET approved harness any stress to use as my day My being is now aligned and I’m stress management courses in unfolds, and I end the day feeling ready to start my day with a positive Australia. alive, rather than overstressed and mindset and a physical body that is exhausted physically, mentally, To check out these programs ready to take on the world. emotionally and spiritually. http://www.stresstostrength.com/s Coaches, is there anything you can tress-management-instituteI am in-charge of my mind and life. add into your day’s start that will practitioner-training/ You are in-charge of your mind and set the rest of your day more strongly?
Morning Mindset… Transforming Your Day
life, not someone or something else.
My Morning Ritual
I roll onto my back and take three deep belly breaths in through my nose to the count of 6. At home, I look up at the ceiling and silently read the Expect A Miracle card that is stuck to the ceiling immediately above my pillow. I express my gratitude in advance for all the miracles big or small that will find their way into my life today. I look into the mirror and set my posture straight and tall with my shoulders back. I read my 16 affirmations that are written on a laminated card that lives on the bathroom bench. My next stop is to go to the kitchen to squeeze lemon or lime into a large glass of water that I drink warm. This flushes the liver to start the day. A second glass of water follows. Next is a morning walk most days to commune with nature. Some days the walk maybe late afternoon or evening. Meditating or daydreaming with the walking is calming. A good solid breakfast follows, of either cereal or eggs and toast. As global leader in stress management John is committed to sharing how to embrace stress as it takes a shocking toll on people's lives, businesses and health. Learn from this very talented and highly experienced presenter how to tap into energy resources that renew the body, mind and spirit to relieve the effects of damaging stress. He has published six books on practice management for health care practitioners and a large suite of supporting multi-media products. His experience as health professional by training, parent of three children, sharing Judy’s journey as a cancer survivor for over 30 years, and as an inspirational mentor and coach, has given him an awesome array of tools and strategies for success.
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By Dave Spicer
There are numerous steps and online tools which can assist you in establishing a professional tone from the first few moments with a potential client. It is these moments which can break your reputation or make a sale. In this article, we will explore the first few steps of launching your online presence, and a few online communication and scheduling tools available to you without cost.
Domain The first important step is to register your domain. You can do this through goddaddy.com for around $10 a year.
While you are setting up your domain, I would highly recommend another $5 subscription with
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Google business apps (Gsuite) or Office 365.
Email Signature Sure, email signatures are easy to setup in most programs but I’m not talking about a simple text signature.
You want something that looks incredible; great layout, colour These services offer a wide range of scheme, links to social media and beneficial business tools as well as more. You can quickly generate a high-performing email signature at managed mail under your new wisestamp.com. registered domain. Nothing says unprofessional like kickingitwithsammy82@gmail.com when you could have Dave@StackdDesign.com. Such a simple thing will often make the difference between a potential client reaching out for a second interaction. When people receive email from your new address, this is the perfect opportunity to hit them with more professionalism and allow them an insight into where they can learn more about you.
Besides building healthy relationships, it’s also very important to focus on communication.
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This leads to easier communication, In your to-do list, you list down all helping you prevent unwarranted the tasks that need to be done and mistakes or missed delivery dates. the calendar is used for identifying the date and time when you would undertake those tasks.
Communications Once your client becomes a part of your work, it becomes a two-way process. You, as a business coach, will guide them and teach them business tricks and strategies, while Your job is to guide your clients and your client will guide you on what they essentially need and how they help improve their business but it can be almost impossible if you are want their jobs done. unable to communicate with them. This saves both of you a lot of time When there is a lack of effective communication, it becomes difficult for people to express ideas and suggestions.
When it comes to understanding what your client needs, clear and direct communication can be a true blessing.
and guesswork. When there is a gap in communication and integration, you can be rest assured that errors will occur.
Integration also allows you to improve your marketing tactics. Integrated marketing communication works much better Some tools that help with than traditional methods of communicating with your clients are marketing. Slack, Google Hangouts, Skype, and Zapier.
For business coaches, it is vital to meet your clients on a regular basis so that they can guide them in business management, strategies, tactics etc. How do you manage multiple clients at once and keep a track of your meetings/appointments with them? How do you decide when to plan the next appointment and who to include in the discussion at hand? Here are some brilliant tools to help you with scheduling and keep you on top of all your tasks and appointments.
NeedToMeet is a fantastic organizing tool that allows you to schedule a meeting in three quick and simple steps.
These tools help you remain connected with your customers all through the day.
If you’re struggling with unending email chains or time zone issues, NeedToMeet is definitely a saviour tool. It allows you to schedule and This helps your rake in new They are easy-to-use messengers organize meeting dates and time at that allow video and audio calling as customers while maintaining healthy long-term relationships with the blink of an eye. well. your current ones. Here’s how you can plan a meeting from an app, the web or even an In order to be more productive in Outlook Add-In! managing your client base, it is important for you to understand 1. Simply type in the details of the and embrace a concept called meeting you wish to schedule. Zapier allows you to connect all ‘scheduling’. your apps, so it becomes easier for 2. Choose the date and time of your you to focus on what is important. Typically, a calendar and a to-do-list preference. are used for all kinds of organizing Integrating your client in your work and scheduling tasks. 3. Invite the attendees. allows you to constantly remain in contact with them. Page 43
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Once you’ve set up the meeting, Calendly contains the most your available date and time will be intelligent and user-friendly displayed on the ‘Meeting Poll’. scheduling features including ‘Calendar Integration’, which can This way every attendee can check your Office 365 or Google indicate whether he/she is available calendar for any potential conflicts. at that specific time or not. This means that you’ll never end up After receiving a response from all double-booking. This feature is also attendees, you will be able to capable of automatically updating identify which time slot works for all your calendar with any new events those invited so that you can send or meetings. them a calendar invitation. Calendly is also great for scheduling and organizing group events like workshops and webinars as it can establish your capacity and allow multiple invitees to book the exact same slot.
Had enough of email tagging? Say hello to ‘Calendly’.
This consistently saves me days of back and forth each month. When it comes to your own personal business processes and tools that work for you, it is going to be an ongoing discovery full of minor and sometimes major tweaks. Don’t step into this thinking it needs to be perfect from day one… in fact, expect some teething issues. Establishing a professional tone from the onset will increase your conversion rate and put you on the right foot with every client.
Personally, I love to add my calendly scheduling link into my email signature so that clients can quickly book a phone conversation in without my engagement.
Dave Spicer - Entrepreneur and musical artist. As a musician, Dave has been playing piano since he was four. He has toured the world with many groups and supported some of the biggest names in the Australian music scene. He has played on television, festivals for 50,000+ audiences in stadiums to smaller concert performances and private performances such as the Queen and her excellencies dinner parties! He has 12 years as a teacher for Griffith University, Conservatorium of Music and is one of four official sponsored Kawai artists. As an Entrepreneur, Dave has been involved in businesses across the music and recruitment industry. He has helped launch a referral model business and has advised on the board of a few companies. A few years ago, he launched an online music course which has been taken by 30,000 students worldwide and viewed by over 3 Million people. Most recently, Dave is the founder of Stackd Design - a web design firm in Brisbane Australia.
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