by Eric Dombach | Business Coach Training
In the coming months and years, one of the most important things you’ll do is to help your business coaching clients recruit winning teams.
After all, we’re in an expansionary environment right now. The economy is growing. The corporate income tax rate has been slashed substantially. Many of your business coaching clients will begin to see gains–which makes putting the right team in place mission-critical as they manage growth.
So how do you help them do it?
Jim Collins says that in order to build a winning team, you have to get the right people on the bus.
He’s right, of course. But more than that, you need to get the right people, in the right seats, exhibiting the right behavior.
One of the most powerful tools for helping clients begin to get a clear sense for the make-up of their teams is the Team Dimensions Profile. It identifies five key roles that people perform in group settings in order to make a unique contribution to the team. No role is better or worse than any other. In fact, a balanced team will have all the roles represented.
The 5 Key Roles
The Creator. Creators generate new ideas and fresh concepts. They prefer to live in the world of possibilities. They look for activities that are unstructured or abstract, and they thrive on innovation and unique ideas.
The Advancer. Advancers communicate new ideas and carry them forward. They focus on the personal, interactive world of feelings and relationships. Advancers manage the human component of any solution, and enjoy whipping up enthusiasm for a project.
The Refiner. Refiners analyze solutions for flaws and revise projects systematically. They focus on the objective, analytical world of facts or theories. Refiners use logic and a systematic approach to redesign the solution, and they make sure that ideas are sound before moving them on to the next level.
The Executor. Executors deliver concrete results and seek successful implementations. They make sure that important activities get accomplished and they pay attention to details and the bottom line.
The Flexer. Flexers are a combination of the other four roles because they have an equal preference for most or all of the roles. They can adapt their styles to fit the needs of the team, and they probably view different issues from different perspectives.
How This Helps Business Coaching Clients Create Winning Teams
The Team Dimensions Profile does more than just help team members identify where they fall–it provides insights into each key role’s strengths, challenges, and working style. This will help your clients gain a concrete understanding of their current team composition and identify where they might have gaps. It will also empower your business coaching clients to put their top talent in positions that will naturally create the most success.
The Team Dimensions Profile does more than just help team members identify where they fall--it provides insights into each key role's strengths, challenges, and working style.
When team members are in roles that allow them to operate within their strengths, everything will function more cohesively and efficiently–allowing your clients to develop organizations that are more nimble, responsive, innovative, and effective.
(By the way, you can get the Team Dimensions Profile from the Coaches’ Coach Store at wholesale, which you can then retail to your clients as you move them through the team-building process.)
In the comments section, tell me: what tools do you use for psychometric profiling?
by Eric Dombach | Business Coach Training
We all dread the day that any client asks to terminate or cease their coaching program. No one wants this to happen, but it’s something we all have to deal with. When it happens, how should you respond? This post explores the most important business coaching client termination dos and don’ts.
First, keep in mind that the way you respond is critical. Not only does your response affect your client, but it also affects your reputation and your ability to get referrals. Reacting to a client cancellation notice strategically will end things on a good note–or even save the coaching relationship.
Remember: all things eventually come to an end. Sometimes this does not mean that you have failed, but rather you have succeeded. Ceasing your program might actually be the best thing for your client. Other times, it might be the best thing for you.
The Dos
What are the right things to do when your client gives you the notice?
Ask your client why. Ask from a place of curiosity, not defensiveness. Seek to understand the logic behind their decision and put yourself in their shoes, so that you can respond graciously–and take constructive criticism that will help you improve as a coach.
Review your notes. Assess your written observations about your client’s situation and their business. See if you missed any signals. Did they seem to become less engaged with the process, less interested in your sessions? Were there things you could have done differently?
Respond to your client immediately. Time is of the essence. If it’s possible, do it within a day of them sending you the notice. They might still be thinking through the decision themselves. Discuss options on how they’d like to move forward. You might be able to offer them a different package that suits them better. If their decision is final, agree on how and when your final coaching sessions will be held.
Give value. If their decision to leave is final, make sure that the last sessions are of amazing value. Consider it your professional duty to leave them in the best possible situation to continue on their own.
Give value. If their decision to leave is final, make sure that the last sessions are of amazing value. Consider it your professional duty to leave them in the best possible situation to continue on their own.
Ask for a testimonial before they go. This will be good reference for your future clients, but will also put them in a position where they will be reminded of what they have achieved with you. It could still turn them around.
Leave the door open. If you don’t want to lose them entirely, give them the option to come back. Keep in contact with them, check up on them, and use your nurturing campaigns.
The Don’ts
These don’ts could destroy your relationship, and ultimately your reputation…
Contradict your client and their reason for leaving. Your job is to discover why they’re leaving so that you can learn from it, not talk them out of it.
Threaten legal action. Do not quote contractual terms and threaten legal action unless there is a significant breach. Remember that you want to keep an open line with your clients.
Rant at your client. Never, ever lash out at your client. They already know how great you are. You will not gain anything from telling them what they will be missing. You will only leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Skimp on the last sessions. Don’t miss any of them. They paid for these sessions and the last ones should pack a value punch.
Allow them to miss the last sessions. Unless they really insist, don’t let them off the hook for their remaining sessions. This usually shows a deterioration in your relationship. Your objective is to demonstrate to them that you value them.
Allow access to your resources once the agreement ends. If you allow them to continue accessing your resources upon termination, you set a bad precedent. If another client finds out, they might also end their agreement with you. Only do this if it is part of a plan to recover them–and even then, I recommend including a time limit on how long they can access the resources after the contract expires.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Just last week, like a bolt out of the blue, I received an email from a relatively new client. It was one day after a session. This client, which had three partners, asked to terminate their agreement. I acted fast, doing two things: I immediately replied to their email and agreed to call them later that day.
After reviewing my notes, I realized that one of the partners in the business had started to disconnect from coaching. The company had received amazing results while working with me. Using the resources I had given them, they’d saved $9,000 in just four weeks. Yet, this one partner was starting to think they could do it on their own.
I decided that I didn’t want to lose the client. I reached out to the main partner in the business. I told him there were other options and reminded him of the progress the company had made while working with me. I also mentioned that I’d noticed that one of the other partners was disengaged. With three partners in the business, I pointed out that they would need one leader.
As we talked, I listened carefully to what he was saying and responded with the client’s best interest in mind. In the end, we mutually decided that an effective solution would be to downgrade to a lower program where he focused solely on stepping into the role as the business’s much-needed leader.
Before we ended, he spoke with the two other partners in the business. All of them agreed that the proposal was a great idea. In the near future, I plan to migrate them to my 2018 Group Coaching Program.
By following my business coaching termination dos and don’ts, the client was not lost completely. I rescued the agreement and my client ended up happier. I was, and am, confident that it is in their very best interest to continue–and they agreed.
For more great tips like these on building a top-tier business coaching practice, check out our FREE ebook, Secrets of a Business Coaching Rock Star.
by Eric Dombach | How to Become a Business Coach
If you find yourself feeling that there’s just too much to do and learn as you become a business coach and you’re just not sure you can cope with it all… please know you’re not alone.
I get that feeling. And hundreds upon hundreds of other successful business coaches do too.
And it’s not just confined to business coaches, either.
A couple of months ago, I grabbed coffee with Brent Adamson of CEB, Inc. (and author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer and a bunch of other very insightful works).
We were running through the keynote Brent was going to present the next day at CEB’s big Sales & Marketing conference in London.
One of the things CEB has found from their recent research is the paradox that the more organizations try to help their front-line staff cope with the increasing complexity of their client base, the worse they actually make things.
Just like happens with business coaches, in their attempts to improve things they add a fix here, a “hack” there, a new system here, a new process there…and pretty soon their front-line staff are bogged down in the complexity.
Each individual improvement is good in its own right and would be great if it were the only thing they did. But add them all together and all the new systems, processes, approval hoops, people to call to get help, new documents, new guidelines…it adds so much complexity that the sum is much, much less than the parts.
Simplification Helps
And as I said to Brent the other month–people like him and me aren’t helping things.
We’re constantly telling you to try this new thing, look at this great new tool, add more and more to what you’re doing to get results.
Multiply that by the dozen or so experts you’re listening to and it’s no wonder everyone feels so overwhelmed. There’s just too much to do and learn as you become a business coach.
In all honesty, I don’t have a great answer for you on this one yet. This isn’t a clever tease of a new product I’m about to launch. It’s a problem I’m fighting every day myself too.
Simplification helps. Really understanding your 80:20 and the critical few things you do that make the difference to your success and your clients helps too.
But simplification helps.
Really understanding your 80:20 and the critical few things you do that make the difference to your success, and your client’s, helps too.
Having the bravery to stick with your second-best solution because you know that adding on more bells and whistles will actually make things worse…that helps a lot.
Clearing your inbox of emails from people constantly suggesting you buy shiny new objects from them and their “friends” (or rather, people they’ve just met who have promised to pay them a commission on any referrals) — that definitely helps.
There’s beauty in simplicity. And often it’s more effective than the latest and greatest gadget or strategy, too.
For a beautifully simple step-by-step guide to becoming a business coach, check out our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.
by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Systems
Have you noticed? The economy is growing–which means the way you approach your business coaching practice should shift as well. But in what ways? As we kick off the New Year, here’s how current economic trends will impact business coaches in 2018.
First of all, remember that it’s vital for business coaches to stay current on economic trends and forecasts. This can be difficult in an era of highly politicized and polarized media coverage. As a coach, your job is to get above the fray and be a source of reliable, actionable information as you guide your clients through ever-changing market dynamics–regardless of your particular political persuasion (or theirs!).
The Kiplinger Letter is an unbiased, well-researched, long-standing source for economic news, insights, and forecasts. They help me navigate around the hype and noise to get to the heart of the matter–so that I can help my clients strategize effectively.
In the latest issue of The Kiplinger Letter, they predict continued economic growth for 2018. This is due to soaring business confidence in light of regulation rollbacks, high consumer spending, a falling unemployment rate, and overall global economic gains.
How This Will Impact Clients and Business Coaches in 2018
Coaching during a recession is different than coaching during a growth economy.
In a recession, businesses are buckling down, tightening their belts, and trying to capture enough market share to stay afloat. This means that business coaches should focus their coaching–and marketing messages–on lead generation and improving sales conversion rates.
In a growth economy, the picture shifts. As businesses have more resources to invest in long-term growth and create new jobs, we must ply our trade as people who can help growing businesses recruit high-quality employees using psychometrics, deselect non-performers before they come in, and build top-performing teams with KPI’s and incentive plans.
We must pivot from generating demand in a contractionary environment to consuming demand in an expansionary environment.
In other words, we must pivot from generating demand in a contractionary environment to consuming demand in an expansionary environment. Strategic planning for 2018 must take into account the current macroeconomic shift–and our marketing messages must shift accordingly as well.
Build Value and Confidence
I already have clients who are beginning to notice these shifts. By putting a name to what they’re experiencing, and providing deeper insights as they look to the future and plan ahead, you cement yourself as an invaluable advisor in all kinds of economic conditions. Clients will see the value you bring to the table and their confidence in you will soar–which, of course, will mean happier clients, more referrals, and improved retention rates.
And you don’t have to reinvent the wheel as you coach your clients through a shifting economy. Our Coaches’ Coach system has all the plans and strategies (we call them “Silver Bullets”) you need to guide clients in an expansionary economic environment. Check out and use all the resources, risk-free, with a FREE 30-day trial.
Wishing you and your clients a happy, successful, and prosperous New Year!
by Eric Dombach | Business Coaching Tools
A bit of tough love today, for you and me. With the end of the year upon us, and 2018 about to start, now’s the chance to re-examine our priorities and get ready for the New Year. And one of the most important things you can do is to make content development a priority.
I bang on a lot about creating content. Articles, blog posts, emails, free reports, videos, podcasts. Stuff that gets your message out there, builds your credibility, and has a call to action for people to get more from you.
And pretty much everyone I speak to about it “gets it.” No one says, “No, that’ll never work, Ian.”
But what many people struggle with, perhaps you too, is actually producing that content. Finding the time in their busy schedule to get their head clear and write or record.
I get it too. There are dozens of pieces of content I have on my to-do list that I just haven’t found the time to create. It’s tricky. There’s always another priority. It’s so difficult for a busy person to get that extra time to make content.
And you know what? That’s a lie.
It’s not so difficult. Not if you prioritize it. Not if you knuckle down and do it.
Make Content Development a Priority
We tell ourselves it’s difficult and make it OK to have those important tasks rolling over on our to-do lists for weeks and months.
But we can get this stuff done.
If we skip a bit of TV watching, social media time or something else we enjoy we can easily find the time. It’s just that we subconsciously prioritize those other things more highly and tell ourselves the lie that we just can’t find the time.
I was reflecting earlier today on how I made the audiobook version of Email Persuasion.
I did it all on a Sunday afternoon. It took me four hours.
I’d planned to do the first couple of chapters but I just kept going.
I skipped the usual trip I make out for a coffee on a Sunday. I skipped listening to the Sunday game and watching a bit of TV.
And I created an audiobook which I’ve been able to offer to people as a thank you for reviewing the book.
I did it all on a Sunday afternoon. It took me four hours. I'd planned to do the first couple of chapters but I just kept going. I skipped the usual trip I make out for a coffee on a Sunday. I skipped listening to the Sunday game and watching a bit of TV. And I created an audiobook which I've been able to offer to people as a thank you for reviewing the book.
I’ve shared a number of tips on making extra time for marketing over the years.
But really, my experience with the Audiobook shows that for me, and probably for you, the biggest thing we can do is decide we want to do it and give it priority.
If building a successful business coaching practice is YOUR biggest priority for 2018, get a FREE 30-day trial of our comprehensive business coaching system.
