Marketing Downloads for Coaches - 12 Days of Celebrations - Day 8

I know that marketing is something that coaches often find distasteful

 yet it's an essential part of business success. This is one of the many topics we explore at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab, a fun annual group which meets bi-weekly throughout the year. We explore all things marketing and business development as it relates to building a coaching business, whether you are working with clients 1-1, group or team.

Given the number of coaches who are focusing on marketing and planning at this time of year, I thought it would be valuable to share a couple of marketing resources for you:

#1 - Marketing One Pager - Use this quick worksheet (originally from the 21 for 21 Sprints) to explore the ins and outs of one of your offers for 2023. You might use it to think about a new program, a book, an offer  Download it over at the CGBL information page.

#2 - 101 Marketing Ideas for Group and Team Programs - Stuck on how to get the word out? Use this to spur on some "Daily Steps + Consistent Action to generate MOMENTUM" (note the tagline from Coaching Business Builder (pick up digital copy of this resource for 2023 - Purchase and Download today for $29 US)

You'll also find the 101 Marketing Ideas over at the CGBL Information page. 

We kick off the new year together on December 31st for a special CGBL 2023 kick off call  - hope you will consider joining us. The discounted rate ends this Friday December 23rd for annual support rate of $2497 US or 12 installments of $250 US (what else can you get for that amount every month with today's shrinkflation). I hope you will consider joining us to focus on your business development during 2023. Check out the 2023 CGBL schedule OR Register now.

My top 5 tips for marketing for 2023:

#1 - Make a list of what you want to do to get the word out. Brainstorm. Think big. 

#2 - Leverage your strengths. As we discuss in Group Coaching Essentials, leveraging your strengths is key. Not sure about this? Take the TEam and Group Coaching Superpower Quiz - it will give you some ideas of your natural "go to" as a coach. It only takes 2 minutes - https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. 

#3 - Think about what your clients WANT and PREFER. What are they looking for? What is going to support them? Where are they congregating?

#4 - Get out and have conversations. Whether we are virtual or physical, getting out for a conversation is critical for business success. What speaking you doing? What 1-1s are you hosting? Book a call with me or my team to talk about what kind of conversations you might have.

#5 - Create a plan. Whether you use the content pages or quarterly planners in Coaching Business Builder, or your own, create a plan. Make it visible. Make it consistent.

Enjoy the journey and be sure to check out the downloads -- there are some at the side of the CGBL program page, and some at the bottom. Hope you use them!

Jennifer

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WHAT is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCEs

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer or Mondays 1230 - 130 pm ET running January 9 - April 9. 4 spots open in each group. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Team Coaching Supervision (Small group format) - Thursdays 12 - 130 pm ET January 12 with additional calls first week of the month (Jan to May) OR book a call to explore individual coaching supervision.

Year End Business Planning Retreat - Wednesday December 21 - 1230 - 430 pm ET with Jennifer (4 spots open)

Check out our full schedule for January programs which begin the week of January 9th at GroupCoachingEssentials.ca.

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)! Everyone is invited to join us

 

Coaching Business Builder Systems Checklist - Day 3 : 12 Days of Celebrations 2022

Welcome back to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Celebrations for 2022. As we wind down the year I wanted to share 12 different resources that group and team coaches will find valuable.

Today is one of my favorite areas - building your coaching business, and ensuring you have the necessary systems in place so your business can run for you, rather than you needing to run the business all the time. This is particularly important when you scale your work to many - to groups and teams.

Today's resource is a Coaching Business Systems Checklist. In the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (which we will be working on in the upcoming Year End Business Planning Virtual Retreats), I like to take stock of systems in 5 core areas of the business. We take a deeper dive into each of these throughout the year at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab (kicking off December 31st):-)

For now, head on over to the CGBL program registration page, and download the Checklist One Pager for The Coaching Business Systems you'll want to have in place, or work on during 2023. Hope you will join us for the program! There's a special $500 US discount on the program registration for those following this series who register before December 23rd. What would it be like to get support for your business for a little more than $200 US a month? Check it out.

With best wishes,

Jennifer

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What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCes

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Reconnecting Workspaces Certified Coach - 24 CCEs - Join us in January for our next 7 week offering on Thursday evenings from 5 - 730 pm ET starting January 19th running to 1st week of March. Build out your specialization for coaching in today's evolving workspaces - hybrid, in-person and remote. 1, 2 and 6 payments available.  With Jennifer.

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer. 5 spots open. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Year End Business Planning Retreat - December 13 (1 - 5 pm ET) with Jennifer (4 spots open)

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)!

Expanding Your Group and Team Coaching Toolkit - Systems at the Heart of Your Business

Systems are at the heart of any business. The word systems means a lot of different things to different

people. In one of my current writing projects I was curious how many different definitions there are around systems. I took a look over at vocabulary.com who provided these nine different definitions. From systems as a method or set of practices, to working with a system such as an ecosystem.



Over the next few weeks of Monday posts we’ll be looking at systems in several of these ways. First, systems for your business as a group of team coach. Next week, systems in terms of working with the system of a team or group.

Why are systems important for business.

They help us scale and grow

Systems help with replication and ensuring that things are done similarly across a business.

Over at the Coaching Business Builder blog, I have included a variety of posts around systems, including a Systems Checklist for you to use. Be sure to check it out:

There are several main areas coaches will want to explore for their own business including:


Financial Systems:

o What needs updating?

o Cash Flow review

o Review sales

o Review expenses

o Invoicing

o Accounts Receivable

o Review cards and credit -what are rates like?

Marketing Systems:

o Review website – about page

o Review website – current offerings up to date

o Marketing material up to date

o Marketing/promo material in stock (cards, post cards etc)

o Consider 15 – 20 different titles. Pick the best one.

o Graphics updated

o Identify how this will be shared? (i.e. other channels)

o Consider graphics

o Draft graphics

o Links are current?

Social feeds up to date (FB, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In)

Communication Systems:

o Include photo of you

o Schedule posts for Facebook

o Schedule posts for Instagram

o Schedule posts for ______

o Is the content mentioned in your newsletter?

o Let current clients know about the resource

Client Systems

o Files up to date?

o Logs up to date

o Agreements/letters

o One thing I said I would do…

o Onboarding materials

o Other: _______________

o Other systems:

o Write down ideas and/or draft repurposing while it is fresh

o Back up completed

o Content created

o Networking

o Publishing

o Plans up to date

Trackers up to date?


When coaching many (coaching groups or teams) it’s important to get systems in place before your work expands too much. The number o different clients you work with can warrant a focus on systems early in the process.


When working with groups

When working with groups, especially groups of entrepreneurs, it may be useful to take a look at the five areas of systems listed here. Which ones need attention? Which ones are well established?

Are there best practices which group members have emerged which can help each other?


When working with teams:

When working with teams, business systems can play a key role in ensuring consistency and alignment across the team. Systems play an important role in sharing information, pointing to resourcing required, and ensuring access to key information.

What systems does the team have in place? What’s working? What’s not?


Six Questions:

What systems exist?

What role do systems play in terms of supporting the team or group?

What’s working?

What’s not?

What needs attention?

What best practices can people tap into so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel?

Enjoy your reflections,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)
Final 2019 programs include the Group Coaching Essentials Monday/Thursday group starting December 2nd meeting on  Mondays and Thursdays 1:30 - 245 pm ET: December 2, 5, 9, 12, 16 (8.75 CCEs) and the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training - Monday and Tuesdays 6-9 pm ET December 2, 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17 (24 CCEs)

Business Lessons Learned as a coaching business owner

This April I celebrated eleven years as a business owner. At this stage in my work I think would find it really hard to ever go back and work for someone else. I enjoy the flexibility and creativity that it requires.  Each year I reflect on some of my key lessons learned as a business owner, and share them in my newsletter. In case you missed these last month, I thought it would be interesting to share again:

Lessons Learned from Eleven Years of Business Ownership
Originally published in the Group and Team Coaching Ins and Outs newsletter.

As I move into my eleventh year of business ownership I have come to recognize this time of year as a reflective one looking at what has worked and what hasn't in my own journey. Each year I like to share these reflections either at my blog or this newsletter. This year is no different. Rather than dedicating a lesson a year, I am going to practice my lesson #1 - Keep it Simple - and go with just five.

#1 - Keep it simple. There can be many moving parts in any business, and keeping things simple, systematized, and streamlined for yourself will allow you to extricate yourself from what can become endless hours of admin so that you can coach. The addition of which systems or support would free up some of your time? 

#2 -  Lead with your passions and strengths - as coaches we spend a bulk of our time supporting clients - individuals, groups and teams - to idetnify and lead from their passions and strengths. We see for many of our clients how owning, and fully stepping into their own strengths can be difficult. Why expect anything different from ourselves? While it may not be a direct path to tomorrow's activities and revenue flows, consider how you can be bringing more of your own passions and strengths to the table in the work that you do. What passions and strengths do you lead from, or want to lead from?

#3 - Embrace and reframe failure to "it just didn't work" - Business ownership is not for the faint at heart. Things work, and others don't. The business context today changes so rapidly that whether we are leaders or business owners (or both) we need to be comfortable and keep moving when things done work out.  Innovation requires ongoing iteration where we learn from our experience, tweak and try again. What recently hasn't worked well for you? What is the learning behind this?

#4 - Love the Ones You Are With - For many years CSNY's song "Love the One You Are With" held a special place in my heart as I spent many holidays separated from family and loved ones. In fact, those people who originally were strangers became my second, and third, family and networks of friends. As coaches it is so important that we enjoy, and even, love the people (teams, groups and individuals) we are working with, holding the space for possibility, and excellence. What do you love about your current clients? Who else would you really LOVE to work with?

#5 - Get out of your comfort zone - As professionals we all have our own comfort zones. Every once and while it's important to continue to stretch these to learn new things,  and explore new perspectives. What's going to stretch your comfort zone this month?"

Regardless of how long you have been in business yourself, what would you say are your top five lessons learned?

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Group Coaching Essentials | Potentials Realized  
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Upcoming programs include: Mentor Coaching Group for ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio (Thurs 12 - 1 pm ET) and the Advanced Group Coaching Practicum (10 CCes) - Thursdays 1015 -1130 am ET starting May 28th - July 23
(416)996-8326
 

Secrets to Running Multiple Groups at One Time

Group coaching may be appealing to many coaches who are eager to work with more than one person at

a time, as well as focusing their efforts. As group coaches it is quite feasible that you will have more than one group running at a time, whether you work with public groups, corporate groups, or virtual groups, or all of these.

AS someone who usually has half a dozen groups occurring at any one time,  I often get asked "What are the secrets to running multiple groups at a time?". Beyond marketing (which would be the focus of a handful of posts on this same topic), from a programmatic standpoint there are several things which are important to keep an eye on:

1. Pay attention to the systems you have built in your work - and if you haven't got them, build them as you go. Administrative pieces can take up a huge amount of time, especially if you have multiple groups running at any given time. You'll want to consider how do you streamline:
- Registrations
- Payments
- Distribution of materials for each week's session (Distribution of PDFs if virtual by email? LMS? Photocopying if in person? Other?)
- Scheduling of 1-1 time with groups
- Keeping in touch with group members, supporting them to feel connected
- Tracking attendance (especially if any of your programs are approved for professional development certifications)

2. Consider what's going to work best to stay connected with your group members. My personal philosophy is one that is very high touch, and verbal. Most of my programs include a short 15 minute laser call with each participant. This is in contrast to other approaches which might include private Facebook connections or other written channels. Consider who your group members are and what they value. For example, if you work with a client group who are inundated by email and are trying to disconnect, will they want more communication online or not? What are the connection modes people will value and engage in?

3. Always keep an eye on marketing - Even if you are "busy" working with groups and have a full slate, remember that these experiences will come to a close. Consider how to build in time even while running a group to plan for, promote and fill the next group.

4. Schedule in time to keep incorporating current feedback you are receiving for the next group. Your clients will provide you with invaluable feedback about what works, what doesn't and what they want next. Build time into your schedule to incorporate this regularly. Once programs are well established you may want to flag certain programs or products for a "Refresh/Rebrand/Replatform"

5. Remember that relationships are key. As coaches, relationships are the fabric of our business. The deep connection we are able to form with participants, even in a group setting, requires attention and focus. What are you doing to stay connected? To give back to your participants/alumni? What are you doing to keep the conversation alive? What are they looking for next from you?

Together each one of these strategies forms an important part of being able to sustainably run mulitple groups at once.

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC, CPT
GroupCoachingEssentials.com | Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
(416)996-8326

Two programs starting later this week - The Advanced Group Coaching Practicum - designed for those who want to get practice and feedback around group coaching in-action (Thursdays 1:30 - 2:45 pm ET Jan 29 -end of March)  OR the Mentor Coaching Groups (for ACC Renewal and ACC/PCC portfolio routes) starting Friday January 30th at 9 am ET.

 

Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Trust and Group and Team Coaching Processes

Earlier this month I wrote about Creating Connection Amongst Group Members in any group coaching

context. As important to enabling a coaching conversation in any group or team, is the level of trust amongst group members. Trust levels in a group influence the depth of conversations we have, along with the topics we may delve into, and the approaches we use.

There are some significant differences as it relates to the topic of trust in group and a team coaching context. For group coaches, many times the group is newly forming, so trust needs to be building between you and group members, as well as amongst group members. As the group is forming, recognize that they will be looking to you to create with them a safe environment where they can share, learn and grow. Without a sense of trust and safety it is unlikely that the conversation will move to the deeper level of a coaching conversation. The conversation may remain at the surface level. 

In a team coaching process, most likely they are getting to know you as coach, but there are likely to be relationships already formed (except in the course of a newly forming team). A significant difference in the team coaching context are the levels of trust, and distrust, that have built up over time. When teams do not trust each other it is very difficult to surface and address the core issues at play.  It's important to design with the group at the start of the engagement what  role you will play in surfacing difficult issues, and what your role as a coach is.

Developing trust with your group and team members starts even before you get on the phone or in the room with your group/team. What are you doing to create expectations and build connection. Some of the Tips in the Creating Connection blog post may be things to consider.

In addition, some specific things to consider within your work as a team or group coach is:
- Consider how group members can get to know one another - especially if it is a virtual group. What opportunities online and offline can you create?
-  In a virtual realm what opportunities do you have to "see" each other (i.e. video skype), not just hear each other?
- For groups and teams that work with teach other, what can you do to build trust across typical relationships and silos that might exist?
- Explore with the team what the cost of distrust is. For group members, what is the cost of low levels of trust for themselves and their experience?
- Have team members define what behaviors define "trust". If you were to take a video camera or smart phone clip of their daily behaviors, what would "trust" look like?

It is also important to keep in mind the group and team development process. I've written in the past about Bruce Tuckman's model and coaching, and go into much greater detail in both of my books - Effective Group Coaching (pages 59-62) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (pgs 198-199).

Trust is a core issue for many of us that work with teams and is often the core issue (not symptom!).

Two resources I continue to recommend to my clients (individuals, teams and groups) are Stephen Covey's Smart Trust and Speed of Trust.

What would you recommend for coaches and clients as it relates to this topic of trust?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC, CPCC
Potentials Realized | GroupCoachingEssentials.com
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Phone: (416)996-TEAM (8326)

Three Essential Systems for Your Virtual Coaching Business

One of the most popular posts from the blog last year was about systems for your coaching business. You can read what I had to share about core systems for your coaching business last January (2013) here. With coaches I work with we spend quite a bit of time exploring the systems and foundations they have, or want to create, in order to create a sustainable business. Servicing multiple coaching clients, especially if they are individuals, groups and teams, really dictate the need for some systems that will work for you, and can be replicated, whether you have one group running or six.

Looking to what's supported my work this winter with individual, team and group clients, three areas automatically jump to mind:
1. Bridgelines
2. Registration
3. Marketing


Considering that this has been the winter of snow storm after snow storm, and the polar vortex which continues to bring frigid air to most of the Eastern Seaboard systems have been critical in keeping things hopping here in my world. I've also been very pleased that for the last few years I've made the conscious decision to not book a lot of in person work that required extensive travel between mid-November and March. So for December through to the end of this month, most (but not all) of my work has been virtual.

If you are considering how to move more of your work to the virtual realm so you don't spend days in an airport (something I learned during my former years of being a global leader with staff in 10 countries), here are four areas you will want to consider shoring up in terms of your business:

1. Bridgelines and online platforms - I first started running my virtual classes back in 2005, when the options were not as plentiful as today. Considering whether you are training or coaching you will want to explore the myriad of paid and free services out there. I'll dedicate an upcoming post to some of the more popular options that exist.

Considerations: What works for you? For where your clients are located (note, some bridgelines are inaccessible from certain locations). Which ones can be accessed on a mobile device? From international callers?

2. Registrations - Registrations no longer are done over the phone or by fax. Online registrations are an easy way to systematize your business. Eventbrite and PayPal are two possible options available 24/7 for coaches today at a low cost as are many more. Many coaches will also want to explore setting up a Merchant account with their bank. For those that do more in-person work, Square may be a good option to explore for taking payments in-person.

Things to consider when you choose how you are going to accept registrations:
1. Where are people based? What will be accessible and convenient for them?
2. Do you need mutliple currencies?
3. What is going to be viewed as secure and professional by them

Many of you know that I continue to work with professionals from across the globe. I have found that PayPal has really been the preferred option for online registrations and payments in the last five or so years by many of my clients - especially those located out of North America.

3. Marketing - A reminder of the "seven to eleven times" rule. A lot of coaches think that if they put an announcement out one, that will be enough. As I have written in multiple posts about marketing here at the blog (view past marketing posts here), it often takes many touch points (possibly somewhere between 7-11) before a person may decide if they even want to consider exploring something. It is critical to be building relationships in multiple ways throughout the year - in person and virtually.

Questions to consider:
What is your marketing strategy this year?
What will help to automate it?
What marketing systems will help you grow your business?
How can what you do this year for marketing (i.e. speaking, blogging etc), be rolled into future products or services?
How much time are you going to dedicate to marketing on a regular basis? What will this look like?

For those with either of my books - Effective Group Coaching, or From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching, you will want to take a look at the Marketing Sweetspot activity (EGC pg 167-168) and From12Many (Digital Chapter on Marketing).

What other systems are going to enable you to scale up your work so you can serve multiple clients at any time.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC, CPCC
Potentials Realized | GroupCoachingEssentials.com
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Phone: (416)996-TEAM (8326)

A reminder that the Early Bird Rate is on for the April 5-6 2014 Group and Team Coaching Intensive until February 28th. Take advantage of more than $100 in savings and payment in multiple installments. The program includes two days of hands-on practice in group and team coaching processes, and will be held in the Toronto areas. The program runs Saturday April 5 and Sunday April 6 from 8:30 - 5 on Saturday and 8:30-4:30 on Sunday. Reserve your spot here. Space is limited to 8-10 coaches. The program has been re-approved for 15 hours of Continuing Coach Education by the ICF, including 13 hours of Core Competencies.

6 Posts to Support you with your business this fall

With Labor Day behind us, this past week has been like a new year for so many - children back in school, regular work schedules resuming, and for many of us and our clients often a new focus on what we want to create.  I've been talking to many coaches in the past few days about the goals that they have for the end of the year, and I've been pointing them to some of my past posts.

I thought that these past Coaching Business Builder would be useful to share with you as well -

1. Systematize
2. Track it!
3. The One Percent Rule
4. Blogging Tips
5. Planning and Tracking
6. Do They Know, Like and Trust You?

As always, please feel free to share with others in your network - you can tweet them, share them on Facebook or G+.

What action is going to support you the most this fall? Where do you want to keep an eye on?

Have a great start to the week! Looking forward to meeting several of you in my upcoming programs this week - still a few spaces left (links below).

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: (416)996-8326
Upcoming programs include: Advanced Group Coaching Practicum (application in for 8 CCEs with the ICF - starts Friday Sept 14 at 1030 am - 2 spots), Mentor Coaching Group for ACC renewal and ACC/PCC portfolio (starts Friday Sept 14 at 1:30 pm ET), Group Coaching Essentials (6.75 CCEs - Starts Thursday Sept 13 at 10:30 am ET) and 90 Day BizSuccess Group Coaching starts Tuesday Sept 11 at 745 pm Eastern

Coaching Business Builder - Know Your Client

Putting our clients, or the people we coach, front and center is a key part of the coaching process. Knowing your client is also critical in terms of creating a group coaching program that is relevant, resonant and impactful for them.

For many years I have been talking about the importance of "Knowing your Client" in the Group Coaching Essentials program. Our clients will shape when and how our programs are offered, key themes, how we market the program, and what themes the coaching will explore.

As you consider your future program ideas, I would encourage you to consider these questions around your ideal client:
1. What are there needs?
2. What are the questions/challenges/concerns keeping them up at night?
3. What solutions are they looking for?

• Resources
• Guides
• Individual work
• Group work
• Team work

4. Where do they congregate (online, in person)?
5. Where do they look for information and development?
6. What are there preferences around time, dates, length of commitment?
7. Who are some of the key influencers in the field/industry/geography they are located in?

For those that have a copy of Effective Group Coaching you may wish to refer to, and complete, The Client Profile on pages 99 and 100.These questions can be applied not only to the group coaching context, but will be useful as you think about all your programs and services.

What other questions are important for you to consider when you think about your clients?

Have a great week!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Host of the Group Coaching Essentials program (6.75 CCEs) - groups start May 8 and 23
Early Bird Rate for the July 12 -13 Group Coaching Intensive in Muskoka on until May 15th

Eight Years, Eight Lessons

This month marks the 8th anniversary of my business, Potentials Realized. My memories are still very fresh of April 1, 2004, returning back to Canada after 13 years of working internationally with the UN, Canadian and British Aid agencies. I hadn’t lived here for more than a decade and was bringing Andray my partner from the Caribbean to see how we could make a life for ourselves work here. Looking out 8 years later so much has changed over the years - a new home, our son who is almost 7 and my business, Potentials Realized, now 8. I think of the hundreds of coaching clients and dozens of organizations across the non-profit, corporate and public sector who I have supported through workshops, retreats, strategic planning, coaching and learning strategy work.It has been quite a journey.

I have learned a lot as a business owner and usually take this time of year to reflect on some of my key learnings. I did this about 10 days ago during Earth Hour. Here are 8 of the lessons I have learned which have been most important for creating where I am today – as a business owner, a mom and a professional:

1. Be clear on what you really want to create – Having a clear vision, and a pretty big one, has been critical. In the immediate, short term and longer term create a vision. I think back to my original visioning work in 2004 which included things like becoming an author, and designing award winning programs. At the time I had no idea how these would come about and both have. It is an ongoing reminder of how important vision and trust is in building a business.

2. Create systems that will support you and can be built upon. What tasks and activities do you think you will need to undertake regularly (registrations, invoices, workbooks, evaluation forms)? Think about what you already have developed and how these can be systematized. If admin doesn’t come naturally, you may want to consider bringing someone onto your team to help you with this.

3. Use your strengths – AS coaches many of us are familiar with the research that surrounds strengths based leadership, and the impact on engagement and productivity. Check out what Gallup has to say. Are you using your strengths in your business? How? What changes do you want to make around this?

4. Make sure you really enjoy what you are doing…. As business owners we are responsible for “everything plus the kitchen sink” some days. If we don’t enjoy what we are doing it may be a wake-up call to think if business ownership is the best fit.

5. Create a business that works for you and your lifestyle – Your own lifestyle needs will likely change over time. Consider where and when you want your effort. Over the past few years I have been able to spend most of my summer (June – August) working out of my cottage, structuring programming so more of my virtual work is done in those months, and in person programming done outside of those months. Consider how technology can work for you….

6. Quality is key – Quality can be the key to referrals and repeat business. Ensure that the quality of what you offer is outstanding.

7. Differentiate/Diversify – What makes you different than other businesses? How is what you offer different than other service providers. In terms of diversification, what different offerings do you have? What risk exists from the amount of diversification (too much or too little) you have?

8. Be clear on your bottom line and track, track, track – Become really clear on what your bottom line is and what you are willing to undertake. Track where business is coming from and really notice what is giving you the results.

I hope that you are enjoying the start of spring! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on key business success lessons for coaches. Please feel free to comment below or over on our Facebook page.

Warm regards

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC

Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Join us for an upcoming program - Group Coaching Essentials (6.75 CCEs with ICF starts Thursday April 12 at 10:30 am ET), Advanced Group Coaching Practicum (Fridays 10:30 - 11:45 am ET starts April 27) and the Mentor Coaching Group starts April 24th (Tues 12-1pm ET)

Phone: (416)996-TEAM (8326)