by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Tools
The best business coaches are leaders.
They’re tenacious, hard-working movement-makers who have no time for excuses and who insist on being on the bleeding edge of entrepreneurism, thought leadership, and business growth strategies.
They’re communicators, motivators, and business builders.
Regardless of personal circumstance, adversity, or obstacles, they dig deep and discover what it takes to be truly great.
The most important part?
Wherever you come from…wherever you are in your career…whether you consider yourself a leader now or not…
You can decide to take your life to the next level.
But it requires shifting your mindset.
It requires asking yourself this question…
Are you going to be “they” or “we”?
THEY make excuses…WE make calls.
THEY complain…WE fill live events.
THEY lobby for change…WE are the change.
THEY consume social media…WE create their social media.
THEY buy the coaching programs…WE create the coaching programs.
THEY didn’t because of discrimination…discrimination is the reason WE did.
THEY click on our ads…WE buy the ads.
THEY buy the coaching programs...WE create the coaching programs. THEY didn't because of discrimination...discrimination is the reason WE did. THEY click on our ads...WE buy the ads.
THEY have no money…WE have their money.
THEY borrow…WE build.
THEY watch the videos…WE make the videos.
THEY beg for change…WE beg them to change.
THEY’RE held up for a reason…we know WE’RE the reason we’re held up.
THEY whine…WE work.
So…which will it be?
Want to learn more? Check out our business coaching system HERE.
by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Franchise
If you’re considering buying a business coaching franchise, you’ll probably have a hard time getting your franchisor’s sales reps to answer your most pressing question: how successful are business coaching franchise owners…really?
So let me tell you a little story…
I bought my first business coaching franchise from what has since become a large business coaching franchise brand. I did all they asked, including their 10-day training in Las Vegas. There were exactly 14 of us on the first day of training. We were all pumped and ready to take over the world!
However, six months later, I found out that out of the 14, there were only two of us left who were making any money. By the time our first anniversary came around, just ONE YEAR later, I was the only one still in the business!
That’s a 92% failure rate.
Is My Experience Common?
I hate to say it, but this sort of thing is much more common than you might think. Globally, many business coaching franchise owners are struggling to make ends meet. And that’s unfortunate, because business coaching is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
So why, when demand is increasing, are business coaching franchisees failing?
I believe it’s because growing a successful business coaching practice takes working capital–yet most business coaching franchisors charge ridiculously high upfront fees that often strip their coaches of the financial “war chests” they need to outlast the learning curve that comes with any new business.
Growing a successful business coaching practice takes working capital--yet most business coaching franchisors charge ridiculously high upfront fees that often strip their coaches of the financial "war chests" they need to outlast the learning curve that comes with any new business.
Don’t get me wrong: that doesn’t mean there aren’t good business coaching franchises out there. You just need to be careful. For example, in 2008 and 2009, I successfully re-engineered and re-launched a failing business coaching brand in partnership with a well-known multi-brand franchisor–and reduced the overall franchise failure rate from 57% to a much more tolerable 4%. It is possible to succeed with a business coaching franchise…but remember the old adage: buyer beware!
If you are only a few steps away from deciding to buy a business coaching franchise, take a deep breath and take a step back. Pull out your pencil and really examine the numbers. If you find that franchise’s failure rates are uncomfortably high, it’s time to consider alternative ways of getting into the business coaching industry.
To learn more about the specific business coaching franchise brand you may be considering and all the information you need before you take the plunge, check out The Business Coaching Franchise Buyer’s Guide. It will walk you step-by-step through the due diligence process of buying a business coaching franchise…and good be the difference between success and disaster in this business.
by Eric Dombach | Business Coach Training
We live in a world where people see an estimated 5,000 ad messages daily. That amounts to an ad every ten seconds during waking hours.
People are tired of it.
These days, lots of ads don’t go straight for the sale. They want you to exchange something–say your time or your contact information–for something of value upfront, so that they can entice you to buy further down the road.
That worked really well for a while, but guess what?
People are tired of that, too.
The premise remains solid: Provide useful, actionable information they can try out. Be creative and entertaining. Speak to their deepest desires for lasting success–and satisfy their appetite with quality content that makes them realize you really can help them.
But the strategies have shifted.
Now it’s not just about giving stuff away. Now you should…
Give stuff away and ask for nothing–literally nothing–in return, not even an email address.
That doesn’t mean you get rid of all your lead magnets.
But it does mean that you think more about high-value content and tools you can provide with no strings attached.
For example, on our website, we created an entire page devoted to absolutely free downloads that anyone can access at NO cost and with NO opt-in required.
These are some of our best, most popular business coaching tools and templates…and we give them away.
Some of our competitors laughed when they saw it.
But it’s a strategy that has paid massive dividends in the months and years since we put that page up.
It shows our target clients–business coaches–that we’re serious about helping them succeed, that we’re not going to “nickel and dime” them to death, that we’re willing to give a lot before we get anything in return.
This blog is another example. We now have hundreds and hundreds of high-value business coaching tips, tricks, and tools that our audience can search and implement instantly.
We don’t know who’s reading each post.
It’s enough to know that many coaches around the world are, and are getting tremendous value from the work we put into it.
So how can you make this strategy work in your business coaching practice?
As you create content to share with your clients, think less about your needs…and more about your prospects’. Anticipate what’s on their mind. Answer their burning questions. Give them tools to help them succeed.
And do it all before you ask for anything–I mean anything–in return.
As you create content to share with your clients, think less about your needs...and more about your prospects'. Anticipate what's on their mind. Answer their burning questions. Give them tools to help them succeed.
Soon enough, you’ll wind up a business coaching rock star, too. 😉
by Eric Dombach | How to Become a Business Coach
Today, I’m going to talk about a couple of problems that are closely linked. Burn-out and burn-up.
Just read the descriptions below and see if you don’t recognize yourself or someone you know…
Burn-Outs are short on courage and persistence. They expect to have a strong, healthy coaching business within 3-6 months…and then they quit if it doesn’t happen right away.
When they hit that big, discouraging bump in the road, instead of driving through it, they’re off to the “next big thing.” And when that doesn’t work out, they’re on to the next big thing, then the next, and the next…
Their core problem?
They never stick with the process long enough to see a return on their effort and investment.
As a result, they never succeed.
The solution?
STOP NOW if you’re not committed to the long haul.
Realize that success never happens overnight, but is the result of deliberate and incremental steps
forward. You’re going to have to pay your dues. Be patient. Be persistent. And when things get difficult — that’s when you kick it into overdrive.
Realize that success never happens overnight, but is the result of deliberate and incremental steps forward. You're going to have to pay your dues. Be patient. Be persistent. And when things get difficult -- that's when you kick it into overdrive.
And how about Burn-Out’s counterpart? One that’s almost as common as the first:
Burn-Up
Running recklessly, ferociously, and in every direction when you start…and never getting anywhere as a result.
As opposed to Burn-Outs, who never make much effort, Burn-Ups work their guts out for the first few months of the start-up phase. But inevitably they run out of working capital and go down in flames.
It’s because they plan poorly and execute haphazardly.
They never set aside a sufficient amount of time and revenue for marketing, and wind up creating that vicious feast-or-famine cycle we’ve all experienced.
Look at it this way. If you were the commander of a platoon of soldiers responsible for eliminating a terrorist cell in a nearby town, you’d make darn sure you had everything you need to get the job done well and come back in one piece. Right?
That’s because if your life was on the line, you’d take extra care to plan…and plan WELL.
It’s the same thing in business coaching–to win, you need a “marketing war chest” to establish momentum, and then keep it rolling month after month.
If you don’t have that, you’re risking your “business life” every single day.
The solution?
Pace yourself with a well-crafted plan.
When I started my coaching business back in 2001, I committed to investing $2,000 per month in marketing–and I never looked back. Six months later, I was billing over $10,000 a month. Three and a half years after that, I was billing over $85,000 per month and adding 5 new clients to my firm every month as well!
Of course, planning can be difficult when you’re not sure what to do–and, in fact, that insecurity is part of the panic that fuels Burn-Up in the first place.
So be smart. Start with a system. I outline a comprehensive one in my FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach. Give it a look, and avoid both burn-out and burn-up as you build the business coaching practice of your dreams.
by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Tools
Tiger Woods won his 5th green jacket last month with a one-stroke, come from behind victory over the best golfers in the world. And call me crazy, but I think his victory can teach business coaches something incredibly important about perseverance.
You see, everyone thought Tiger was done.
Except for Tiger.
The scene of him and his son embracing afterward put a tear in my eye.
So coach, what separates Tiger from the pack?
With all that he’s been through…The injuries, the limp, the surgeries, the divorce (he made some ghastly mistakes), the letdowns, the naysayers, the very public fall from grace…it’s safe to say he’s been to hell and back.
And yet, there are countless stories of him practicing 14 hours a day, putting on the green for hours with bleeding hands, changing his swing, hiring multiple coaches looking for the smallest of insights.
Why?
Because that way he knew he’d NEVER go into the final round of a Championship and have to question whether the other guy had outworked him.
Ever.
Why Business Coaches Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Hard Work
Please think about that the next time your snowflake coaching client says they’re too tired to go for a jog, hit the gym, make the call or to continue to invest in your coaching.
But hey, they manage to carve out two hours to watch Game of Thrones?!?
Jeff Bezos goes to the office every day.
Bill Belichick studies the game film and stands on the sidelines.
Elon Musk is working.
Tony Robbins is on stage.
Gary Vaynerchuk is hustling RIGHT NOW with a camera in his face.
Grant Cardone is grinding and selling something.
I’ve sold over 10 million dollars of coaching.
Sometimes, one of my thirteen employees hears I’m on the phone speaking to business coaches and working twelve hours per day and they try to tell me, “You shouldn’t be the one doing that kind of work.”
Strange, I’ve never had anyone worth multiple millions say that to me?
The “Tiger Woods” Difference
So, why does one business coach struggle to get clients and the other one (the inferior one?) make millions and builds a thriving coaching business??
The same thing would be like comparing the weekend golfer that kicks the ball out of the long grass with Tiger Woods.
You must immerse yourself in mind, body, and situation of the business owner you’re there to serve.
A purpose FAR beyond you.
Every ounce of Tiger Woods being demands he’s the number one golfer in the world.
Even when he’s not.
You must immerse yourself in mind, body, and situation of the business owner you’re there to serve. A purpose FAR beyond you.
Muhammed Ali was the same in the ring–especially after he lost.
Tom Brady is the same on a football field–especially after a loss.
If I lose a hockey game I’ll come home and do squats at midnight.
Believe me, it’s not ideal to be wired this way… but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
(My wife might if she could, though, hahaha!)
What about you?
How badly do you want it?
How badly do you want to impact your local business owners?
Does your career as a business coach matter?
Let me rephrase that… does it matter to you that it matters to them?
Do you care that business owners kill themselves after they neglect their accounts receivables but spend their last ten grand on advertising and marketing that was never going to work in the first place?
Or, are you on a MISSION like Tiger?
Want more business growth insights like these? Check out this comprehensive business coaching system, and see how top-tier coaches are crushing it.
