I have total faith in the TCC systems. I recently got a new client—a company that makes school uniforms. All the decision makers were there for the Complimentary Coaching Session and the client said to me before I was halfway through the presentation that she was going to sign. I left with the cheque in-hand. I’m very happy! I just feel so good and so congruent! It’s good to get a score on the board!
Hugh B., Business Coach, UK
What is business coaching?
A simple enough question, but one I hear all the time–and harder than you might imagine to answer.
So here’s my “elevator pitch” for this rewarding profession and critical business advisor!
Whether you’re new to the industry, considering becoming a business coach, or already have an established practice, maybe some of this language will help you explain what you do to family, friends, and potential clients.
The simplest definition is this:
Business coaching is the process of helping small-to-medium sized businesses increase their profits and improve their quality of life by educating them and guiding them through a process that increases their sales and cuts costs. Typically, you meet with your coaching clients each week for 30 to 60 minutes. Most of the coaching sessions are held on the phone, some in person.
Sound straightforward?
Business coaching is the process of helping small-to-medium sized businesses increase their profits and improve their quality of life by educating them and guiding them through a process that increases their sales and cuts costs.
It is! But there’s more to it, of course, because in the process you provide tremendous value in three simple ways…
Your first job is to help your clients become aware of the roadblocks and obstacles adversely affecting their businesses. You do this by digging into their businesses to “diagnose” the issues, and then clearly communicating where they’re falling short. After all, recognizing and understanding the problem is the first step to correcting it.
Next, you guide them to the educational resources they need to overcome their challenges. Many business owners lack any kind of real business training – so you teach them these essential skills using tools, knowledge, strategies, and assignments.
In order to make sure your clients actually implement what you share with them, you hold them accountable. You provide feedback to make sure they’re doing the work correctly. You stay positive and affirming to ensure they follow through on their objectives. Accountability is one of the most important aspects of coaching, and believe it or not, they’ll thank you for it.
This ongoing process of awareness, education, and accountability is the heart and soul of business coaching. It’s NOT about cheerleading and pep talks (though that is a small part of
it). It’s about equipping your clients with the information and confidence they need to make drastic improvements in their businesses and lifestyle. And best of all…it changes lives!
Are you thinking of becoming a business coach? Learn everything you have to know with our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.
Over the past couple years I’ve noticed some fascinating changes in the business coaching industry, changes that have had a profound impact on the way business coaches find, market to, and close business coaching clients. So, I’ve been developing some new business coaching tools for you…
Maybe this sounds familiar…
13 years ago, when I began my business coaching career, I didn’t even have a website — and yet I still managed to grow my firm from $0-$1 Million in just 4 years. Ten years ago, if you’d asked me whether or not you needed a website to compete as a business coach, I’d have told you it was a plus, but not a necessity.
Today, if you’re not killing it online, you’re getting buried.
The simple truth is that we’ve become an internet-driven society. Not just for searching out information passively, like we did in the late ’90’s and early ’00’s, but as a tool for social interaction. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs — these have revolutionized the way we work and connect and relate to each other. We meet online, date online, chat online, share online, learn online, hire online, conduct business online, and buy and sell online.
If you want to be a successful business coach, then, you MUST be able to compete — and compete well — on the internet.
As a result, I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time over the past couple years helping my clients learn to generate business coaching leads, prospects, and clients online. The results have been incredible. So about a month ago, the team at Coaches’ Coach decided we wanted to release our entire e-marketing system to the business coaching community at large. You can learn about it HERE. Enjoy!
It’s a new year and a new opportunity to spend some time renewing and planning for the future. And one of the most effective ways to do so is to compare yourself against proven criteria that signal success in business coaching. So, today, I’d like to invite you to evaluate the status of your practice with this business coaching practice audit to see where you stack up!
Here’s how it works.
I’ll walk you through the four core areas of business coaching success: tactical marketing, sales, coaching system, and lifestyle.
Give yourself a point for each strategy, discipline, or statement for which you can answer “yes.” At the end, add up your score—and I’ll show you where you stand!
Which of the following strategies are you using to generate leads? Give yourself one point for each you can say “yes” to.
Which of the following disciplines do you follow in your sales process? Give yourself one point for each you can say “yes” to.
Which of the following disciplines do you follow in your coaching process? Give yourself one point for each you can say “yes” to.
How is your work-life balance and overall success? Give yourself one point for each question you can answer “yes” to.
So, how do you rate in our business coaching practice audit? Tally up your marks and compare your score to the categories below:
0-20: Beginning Coach
You’re in the beginning stages of building your business coaching practice. You haven’t yet established ongoing systems that generate consistent, reliable results for you and your clients. You may experience something of a “feast or famine” cycle in your business, as opposed to enjoying a steady flow of leads and ever-expanding partnerships and opportunities. Client engagements may last weeks or months instead of years. Your task here is to systematize your efforts, in terms of sales, marketing, and client management, so that you can stabilize your practice and then scale it.
Your task here is to systematize your efforts, in terms of sales, marketing, and client management, so that you can stabilize your practice and then scale it.
20-30: Established Coach
Your business coaching practice is well-established and effective. You’re beginning to experience the results that come from a systematic approach to practice-building. Your clients are getting results, and you’re seeing the impact in terms of your practice’s success. You might be entering a period where you’ll either plateau or continue to grow more quickly than you can keep up with demand; now is the time to start thinking about how you might approach bringing on associate coaches.
30+: Business Coaching Rock Star
You’re making an excellent living as a business coach and your coaching practice is thriving. Your systems are well-established and effective. You probably have one or more associate coaches already; if not, now is the time to bring them on. You’re at the stage now where you can pivot to firm-building, and creating a business coaching practice that can thrive without your day-to-day involvement.
So, are you pleased with your results? Want to inch closer to rock-star status? Check out our FREE ebook, Secrets of a Business Coaching Rock Star to learn how!
Back in 2009, as the Coaches’ Coach was picking up speed, I knew I needed to build a team to help me scale the business. I also knew that the company was too young to afford full-time, salaried employees. So I decided to leverage the skills and expertise of contractors who had their own businesses and could help me grow mine. Because the Coaches’ Coach was an online business, I knew rock-solid sales copy would be key, so I started looking for a copywriter.
I went to E-lance (now Upwork) and created an ad for a direct response copywriter. I received several applications back, including Katie Langston’s—the contractor who, twelve years later, is still one of our go-to copywriting contractors!
The relationship has been a fruitful business partnership—and has become a meaningful friendship, as well.
As you’re building your business coaching practice, I’d encourage you to identify areas where you can leverage contractors to help you grow faster and more effectively. Your focus should be on selling, coaching, and strategic planning.
Ask yourself: What are you doing now that you aren’t great at, or that is tedious and could be better handled by someone else? Where do you need additional expertise?
There is always a contractor who can help you.
In this two-part series, I’ll share with you the ad I wrote to attract Katie, the response that made me hire her, and what you can take away from what I’ve learned as you recruit and engage your own contractors.
In the second post in the series, I’ve invited Katie to share what has made the relationship successful from her perspective!
Enjoy.
Ask yourself: What are you doing now that you aren't great at, or that is tedious and could be better handled by someone else? Where do you need additional expertise? There is always a contractor who can help you.
Here’s the ad I used to attract the right kind of contractor. Feel free to swipe and modify as you see fit!
I need a writer to help me complete a 50-page ebook with some very strong “buy now” sales letter-type copy at the end.
The writer should have strong direct marketing/direct sales copywriting experience in the tradition of Claude Hopkins, Perry Marshall, etc.
I’ve already developed a draft of the ebook with a table of contents in place to provide a framework for the ebook. There’s a fair bit of content already loaded into the document. I have several other documents of my writings that can be drawn from to fill out the rest of the e-book including a 22 lesson email course. I also have several samples of the kind of sales letter that I’m looking for and details on what we’re selling into at the end of the document.
I will send these files to a shortlist of applicants:
• 22 lesson email course MASTER doc
• Sample sales letter_SHORT SALES
• Sample sales letter_Perry Marshall
• Draft of ebook
Many more projects in the pipe beyond this one if this project goes well!
Please send your BEST representative sales letter showing me how well you can sell in print!
This is what Katie sent back.
I’m Katie Langston, direct response copywriter.
One thing I really appreciate about your listing is that by invoking the names of Claude Hopkins and Perry Marshall, you’ve made it clear that you understand the value of effective, hard-hitting, emotional copy to drive sales. To that end, I think you’ll be interested to see some of the RESULTS my copy has produced for my clients…A newspaper advertorial generated a 4 to 1 Return on Investment for a client in New Jersey
•One of my online, long-copy sales letters generated a 3% sales rate
•Squeeze pages that have generated 45% opt-in rates
•Email headlines I’ve written consistently receive 40%-65% open rates
•And more
You asked for my BEST representative sales letter. Let me send you one of my recent controls (attached).
In addition to direct response sales copy, I have experience writing ebooks, multi-step email mini-courses, and other long-form “advertorial” pieces that provide just enough tantalizing information to whet your prospects’ appetite–and then hit them with a strong call to action that moves them to RESPOND. I’d love to help you do the same with your 50-page ebook.
Since you’ve already written a draft of the book, and it appears as though you have more projects in the pipeline, I’m bidding this project at just $XXX. I think this could be a great opportunity for us both to get to know one another and see if a long-term relationship could come out of it.
Please feel free to contact me back via Private Message if you need additional information. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
To your success,
KL
Here are a few things to keep in mind about why this was a great response, so that you can look for the same things when you recruit your own freelance talent.
I could tell that this wasn’t just a boilerplate bid she sent to everyone. She tailored it specifically to what I’d written in the ad, and even referred back to it in multiple places. She took time and care to individualize her application for me—which told me she’d want to get to know our target audience and provide the same level of care in her work.
Whether you’re hiring a contract copywriter, salesperson, digital marketer, designer, virtual assistant, or any number of possible freelance positions, look for people who are results-oriented. I wanted a direct response copywriter, and this direct response copywriter took the time to demonstrate that she knew what I meant by that and could deliver results. Look for applications that are peppered with specific examples of success.
Always ask for samples. This is one of the best ways to gauge the kind of quality of work you’ll be getting. If someone doesn’t have a solid portfolio, pass them by.
Because I’d mentioned that this was an ongoing opportunity, she dropped her usual asking price for the chance to work together. Be wary if the price gets too low—this can be an indicator of poor quality—but I appreciated that she took it into account in her bid. And, indeed, she was willing to invest in the relationship, as twelve years of partnership demonstrates.
Being able to find, recruit, and retain top-tier contract talent is part of the “secret sauce” that helps high-performing coaches grow their practices. Begin to think about how you can build your own team with the help of freelancers!
For more great business-building strategies like this, download our FREE ebook, How to Become a Business Coach.