| "The
Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business"
—please explain.
I work with you one-on-one to help you build your clientele,
make more money and save more time. In the process I collaborate
with you to set clear goals, identify your key areas of improvement,
design an action plan to overcome your obstacles, monitor
results, give you straightforward feedback and provide accountability
for your achievements. Oh, yeah - and I do this in a supportive,
non-judgmental manner.
Through this process I act as your "Master Mind Partner,"
as described in Napoleon Hill's Think
and Grow Rich.
You've
been known to say, "My coaching isn't for everyone."
Some
people who are referred to me say they want to improve, but
we find out during the initial free consultation that they're
quite content with where they're at. Whereas I'm looking for
the relatively rare individuals who are SERIOUS about to going
to the next level in their business with my help because I
guarantee results in writing, and I've never been asked for
a refund. These are people who understand that the only way
they can get better is to study and apply new concepts, and
want to be held accountable for implementing them. And they're
willing to invest the time, effort and expense to make it
happen—go to the testimonials
page for proof.
So
if this doesn't describe you, please do me a favor and cancel
our consultation—I promise I won't tell anyone, and
you'll get to stay in your comfort zone, OK?
I
know I could use your help, but I'm not sure I can afford
you.
For anyone thinking about hiring me, ask yourself the following
question: How many new clients do you need to add to have
my coaching pay for itself? Get out your calculator and do
the math. Also, consider that you'll learn business building
skills from me that you'll keep using for the rest of your
career -- the next 10, 15, 20 years or more -- what's that
worth to you?
How
is personal coaching different from therapy?
I tell my clients that even though we'll address their mind
set, we're not doing therapy, which is about cleaning up their
past baggage. Coaching is about designing their future ...and
when they start achieving their goals, THAT will be therapeutic!
Our
company has a state-of-the-art training program and our sales
manager was previously "Agent of the Year" three
times. So how come the "80/20 Rule" applies?
80% of the production at your firm is being done by 20% of
your people. In an "ideal world" your company's
training programs and sales management would provide exactly
what I do. However, my experience has been:
- Training
programs are usually day-long to week-long events with little
or no follow-up for integration of new ideas. Real learning
is a process that occurs with practice over the course of
time. For example, seven times five equals thirty-five—I'll
bet you didn't learn that in a day-long seminar.
- Nothing
personal here, but most sales managers are quite busy being
administrators and "fire extinguishers." And due
to the nature of the employer-employee relationship, a producer
can't always be completely candid with his/her superiors.
In this regard, a good coach is a client's advocate, maintaining
all matters in confidence and always looking out for the
client's best interest, regardless of any political considerations.
How
does one go about selecting a coach?
Just like finding a great new restaurant or movie (or great
financial planner...), word-of-mouth personal referral is
highly recommended. Talk to someone who has experienced significant
positive outcomes as a result of engaging a coach. Ask for
an initial free consultation—any coaches worth their
salt usually welcome the opportunity. Negotiate terms and
"conditions of satisfaction"—I require an
initial six-month commitment and have each client sign a "compliance
agreement" so there's a clear understanding of mutual
expectations for working together. Credentials? There are
a number of good quality coaching programs offering credentials.
I would still want to know from a coach with credentials,
"Who have you worked with, and what have their results
been?" One final recommendation - CHECK REFERENCES.
How
do you motivate your clients?
The answer is, I CAN'T! Self-motivation is the ONLY true motivation,
and it comes from within—my skill is assisting my clients
in discovering their own motivation, then applying it to get
the results they desire.
So,
how do you work as a coach?
I typically schedule weekly 30-minute phone coaching sessions
with clients, covering two general areas:
- "Attitudinal
Fitness"
The majority of my clients claim they are somewhat unfocused
and/or lack a certain amount of self-confidence. Most have
listened to motivational tapes, attended personal development
seminars and read self-help books, yet still haven't effectively
applied these success principles in their careers. A big
part of my coaching job is to assign real world exercises
to give them the actual experience of the "attitudinal
fitness" necessary for success. As an example, millions
of people have read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People, in which he emphasizes the importance
of a Personal Mission Statement. Yet how many people actually
have one—3%? 2% ? So the very first thing I do with
new clients is put them through my "patented"
process for creating a Personal Mission Statement for their
career, and, "PRESTO!" - FOCUS. I then assign
them to memorize this statement, word for word, for our
next meeting to begin the process of programming their minds
for success. Likewise, for self-confidence, I help clients
develop personalized positive affirmations to build their
self-esteem, and then assign multiple daily repetitions
to help them overcome the only real obstacles - the ones
between their ears! Do these affirmations work? ALWAYS,
once I convince clients to suspend their disbelief about
their capability.
- Business
planning, marketing ideas and sales technique.
I help my clients clarify their goals, assess how they are
approaching their market and assign appropriate "homework"
accordingly. These assignments can include reading books
and listening to audio tapes along with specific new tactics
to try out during each work day. As an example, prospecting
is a common challenge for many beginners, so I'm usually
teaching them effective ways to network, developing catchy
introduction scripts and helping them implement simple time
management skills. At the same time, I encourage them by
sharing that all successful sales pros once faced the same
prospecting challenge, and have succeeded because they persisted.
And
you guarantee results?
Yes—and I put this guarantee in writing to my clients
before we begin, which eliminates their risk of using me as
a coach. The guarantee is based upon the clients' understanding
that if they do all the assignments we agree upon during the
course of our six months together that I will refund their
entire investment if my coaching did not help them get the
results they wanted. And I'm proud to say that not one person
has ever asked for their money back! So I continue to offer
this guarantee, because I'm confident that if a client does
the work, he/she will get the intended results, and often
more. While I can't guarantee specific monetary results, my
clients are highly satisfied with what we accomplish together,
including increasing their bottom line. Which allows me to
benefit from our coaching relationship too—many of them
continue to work with me beyond their initial six-month commitment,
provide me with great testimonials and send along high quality
referrals.
So
you get your new clients through referrals from your existing
clients?
Yes. As part of our agreement, all of my clients are required
to give me referrals based upon their success from working
with me. And thus I am modeling for them how to get referrals
for themselves, which is an important skill for all producers
to acquire. Let's face it—who wants to do cold calls?
How
do you encourage your clients to follow through on this agreement?
If a client (past or present) refers someone who signs up
for coaching, I offer a choice of one of the following "referral
rewards" —
- A
free coaching session, which is transferable... my clients
usually know people who would benefit greatly from my help
in getting them on track.
- The
Nightingale-Conant audio program of their choice... for
those "Conant-heads" out there.
- A
$100 donation to their favorite charity... a kind and generous
selection.
30
minutes, by phone, once a week - you've got to be kidding!!!
The fact that my clients and I have only 30 minutes together
each week forces them to be focused, organized and well-prepared—habits
I definitely want them to cultivate. I also require a weekly
report faxed to me prior to our session that describes what
went well, what needs improvement and an overall one-to-ten
rating for the week—anything less than a seven raises
a red flag. And the telephone provides a certain anonymity
that allows clients to feel safe enough to share what's really
going on in their lives, which is what I need if I'm going
to truly help them overcome their "self-limiting beliefs"
and become high achievers.
You've
got ZERO background in our industry.
Guilty as charged. But I might know a little something about
the philosophy of success, and its practical applications.
And this appears to have been useful to a number of my clients
around the country in a variety of industries.
Are
your fees negotiable?
Sure — you can pay more if you'd like! All kidding aside,
I'm like insurance: If you want to insure that you're going
to commit to giving your best effort, and be held accountable
for it, then I'm confident that hiring me will be among the
best investments you'll ever make in your business. If you
hesitate, ask yourself if you're really serious about getting
to the next level. By analogy, if you wanted to be a great
golfer, how much would you be willing to invest in a coach,
and how hard would you practice?
I'm
already doing well in my career - why should I use a coach?
Good question! The Chicago Bulls have had an on-staff fitness
trainer available to all players during each NBA season, yet
Michael Jordan chose to pay a personal fitness trainer to
work out with him daily at his home—can anyone argue
with his results? Likewise, successful people everywhere know
that success is an ongoing process, and that they must continually
improve or they will backslide - they can't stay even very
long. Paradoxically, the ones who need coaching the most are
the least likely to invest in themselves because they don't
understand the importance of ongoing personal and professional
development. And this lack of commitment is their downfall.
What's
your payoff in this game of coaching?
The kick for me is when my clients succeed, based upon the
goals they've chosen - that's the real "high five" experience
(And I'm happy to report this often happens much more quickly
than clients ever could imagine on their own!). I also want
the coaching process to be a highly personalized experience
rather than a routine system of "do's and don'ts." And I value
the close personal relationship we develop as they hold themselves
accountable for doing what they say they'll do to build what
I call "the Habit of Success."
Tell
me just one last time - why should I hire you?
If you're SERIOUS about going to the next level, here are
FOUR REASONS:
- First
and foremost, My Guarantee. No one who's
ever gone through the full six months of coaching with me
has ever asked for their money back, and I simply wouldn't
allow you to be the first.
- My Experience. There are lots of newcomers
to the coaching game, yet many did theirs while working for
others. I've been a full-time self-employed coach since
November of 1992, when virtually NOBODY was calling themselves
a coach.
- My Education. In the past 5 years alone
I've read over 200 books on business, marketing, sales,
networking, leadership, winning companies and biographies
of successful individuals. I've also listened to over 100
audio programs during that time. So I have a wealth of
ideas to share that we'll apply to your situation which
will help you get better faster.
-
My Confidence. Forgive me for saying this,
but right now you don't know what you don't know. In golf,
the analogy is you can't see yourself swing your own club.
I'm confident I can quickly help you identify the areas
of improvement that are holding you back.
So,
do I really need a coach?
If...
You're tired of watching less talented people out-perform
you,
You've taken all of your company's training but haven't seen
bottom line results,
Your sales manager is too busy running the sales department,
You're already doing well and want to do better, and
You want this next year to be your personal best, then...
YES,
You Need a Coach!
To take the next step, set up a FREE
CONSULTATION HERE!
I
can also be reached by phone at 847 600-5187,
or by email: coach@SuccessSkills.com |
