Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................2 The biggest taboo in coaching… ................................................................................2 Marketing coaching is different ...................................................................................3 Hannah’s background.................................................................................................4 About this book..........................................................................................................5 Comfort zones ...........................................................................................................5 Wealth warning..........................................................................................................6 Get rich quick ............................................................................................................6 Assumptions..............................................................................................................7 Finding your way around ............................................................................................7
SECTION 1 GETTING YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW ONE
Using Coaching Tools .........................................................................................12 You already know the answer....................................................................................12 What is marketing? ..................................................................................................13 Product ...................................................................................................................14 Price .......................................................................................................................14 Place.......................................................................................................................15 Promotion................................................................................................................15 People.....................................................................................................................15 Process ...................................................................................................................15 Physical evidence.....................................................................................................16 The secret to effective service marketing...................................................................16 The wheel of marketing............................................................................................17 GROWing your coaching practice ..............................................................................19
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‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ .............................................................................19 SMART goals save you money! .................................................................................21 NLP techniques in marketing ....................................................................................22 Marketing is rapport.................................................................................................23 Modality marketing...................................................................................................24 Modeling in marketing..............................................................................................24 Clone alert!..............................................................................................................25 Summary.................................................................................................................26
TWO
Choosing Your Niche ..........................................................................................28 Niche coaching ........................................................................................................30 Niche marketing.......................................................................................................31 Maintaining variety in your coaching practice.............................................................32 Niche coaching or niche marketing? .........................................................................32 Niching online..........................................................................................................33 Mass marketing .......................................................................................................34 Getting the context right ...........................................................................................35 Identifying your own niche ........................................................................................35 Don’t panic!.............................................................................................................37 The next step...........................................................................................................38 Summary.................................................................................................................40
THREE
Positioning...........................................................................................................42 Pre-launch...............................................................................................................47 Launch....................................................................................................................48 Maturity...................................................................................................................49 Summary.................................................................................................................53
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FOUR
Pricing .................................................................................................................56 Your guilty secret… .................................................................................................57 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.....................................................................................59 Here’s another little secret…....................................................................................60 Failure is not an option! ............................................................................................60 International Coach Federation (ICF) survey ...............................................................61 How do coaches market themselves?........................................................................62 How long does it take to start building a practice?......................................................63 How do coaches price their services?........................................................................63 What is coaching worth to the client?........................................................................65 How much do coaches actually charge?....................................................................66 What can you include in coaching packages?............................................................67 How much should I charge? .....................................................................................68 Who pays for coaching? ...........................................................................................70 Summary.................................................................................................................71
SECTION 2 START SHOOTING THOSE DUCKS! FIVE
Your Marketing Message...................................................................................76 Understand who you’re aiming at..............................................................................76 Have a benefits-driven message ...............................................................................76 Know your outcome .................................................................................................76 A confused mind always says, ‘No’ ...........................................................................77 Carrot or stick approach? .........................................................................................77 Increasing your success rate when talking about your marketing message..................78 The actual timing when you’re talking to them...........................................................78 Actually speaking to the right person.........................................................................79 Have you got an attitude problem?............................................................................79 How to win clients and influence referrers .................................................................80 Use your client’s language … word for word .............................................................81
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The power of persistence and the reality of repetition.................................................81 Keep in regular contact with people ..........................................................................83 Summary.................................................................................................................84
SIX
Networking ..........................................................................................................86 What is networking about? .......................................................................................86 Asking for help.........................................................................................................88 Why network at all?..................................................................................................89 People buy people....................................................................................................89 ‘Fake it till you make it’.............................................................................................90 Types of networking events.......................................................................................90 Formal networking groups ........................................................................................91 Online networking ....................................................................................................91 Seminar/event networking ........................................................................................91 Niche networking .....................................................................................................92 Networking with people you already know .................................................................93 WAIT! Before you get stuck in…...............................................................................94 Hunting versus farming ............................................................................................95 How do you approach people at business networking events? ....................................96 The elevator pitch ....................................................................................................99 Tell stories .............................................................................................................100 When should you exchange business cards with people? .........................................101 What if you get stuck with someone? ......................................................................102 Following up with people ........................................................................................102 Asking for referrals on more sensitive issues ...........................................................104 Remember the context ...........................................................................................105 Networking nightmares ..........................................................................................105 How many contacts is a good result from an event?.................................................106 What should I put on my business cards?................................................................106 Getting referrals from your clients ...........................................................................108 Summary...............................................................................................................111
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SEVEN
Public Relations (PR) .......................................................................................114 Getting featured in the press...................................................................................114 Be bold!.................................................................................................................115 Topical versus timeless...........................................................................................115 What is ‘news’? .....................................................................................................116 Volunteer yourself as a resource .............................................................................117 Be a big fish in a small pond...................................................................................118 Haunted press releases ..........................................................................................118 Broadcast media....................................................................................................121 Following up your PR..............................................................................................122 ‘Show me the money!’ ...........................................................................................124 Summary...............................................................................................................127
EIGHT
Public Speaking................................................................................................130 Getting booked as a speaker ..................................................................................130 Improving your skills as a speaker...........................................................................131 Planning your talk ..................................................................................................131 Know your outcome ...............................................................................................133 Opening well..........................................................................................................133 Repetition, repetition, repetition…...........................................................................134 Creating a buzz......................................................................................................135 Getting permission to contact people.......................................................................135 Record your talk.....................................................................................................136 More about modalities............................................................................................136 Taking questions and answers ................................................................................137 Be yourself… really ...............................................................................................138 Is your image right? ...............................................................................................138 Summary...............................................................................................................139
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NINE
Getting Started on the Internet ......................................................................142 Why have a website at all? .....................................................................................143 How much does a website cost?.............................................................................146 What do you want your website to do? ....................................................................148 Getting the right keywords......................................................................................152 Use testimonials and case studies...........................................................................153 Tell people how to contact you ................................................................................154 Clients want to be coached by a person ..................................................................154 Does everyone know what coaching is? ..................................................................155 Should I include my rates on my site? .....................................................................155 Get people engaged ...............................................................................................157 Writing content for your website..............................................................................158 How much should I write on my website? ................................................................159 Reinforce your call to action....................................................................................159 Getting the look right..............................................................................................160 Colour ...................................................................................................................161 The language of colour...........................................................................................162 Style of writing .......................................................................................................163 How do you choose a website designer? .................................................................163 DIY websites..........................................................................................................164 What’s the difference between a website designer and a developer? ........................165 Choosing a domain name.......................................................................................166 Selling products via the internet ..............................................................................167 Getting people to look at your website .....................................................................167 You are still dealing with PEOPLE! ...........................................................................169 Summary...............................................................................................................170
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TEN
Other Marketing Methods ...............................................................................172 How often should you promote yourself? ................................................................172 Advertising ............................................................................................................174 Writing an advert ...................................................................................................175 Direct marketing ...................................................................................................177 Flyers and brochures..............................................................................................178 Stationery – letterhead and compliments slips.........................................................178 Newsletters ...........................................................................................................179 Summary...............................................................................................................180
ELEVEN
Asking for the Business!.................................................................................182 Section 1 Individual clients ...................................................................................182 What do you say? ..................................................................................................185 Price perceptions ...................................................................................................187 “I’d just like to have one session for now....”............................................................188 What if they’re not my type of client? ......................................................................189 Getting commitment...............................................................................................190 Getting the phone to ring in the first place ...............................................................191 Section 2 Organizations .......................................................................................192 Sole traders (one person working alone) ..................................................................193 Small businesses (approx 2-50 people)...................................................................193 Medium-sized enterprises (approx 50-250 people) ..................................................194 Large organizations (250+ people)..........................................................................195 Negotiating your terms ...........................................................................................196 Summary...............................................................................................................197
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TWELVE
Creating Your Marketing Plan ........................................................................200 Coaching practice in pre-launch phase....................................................................200 Coaching practice in launch phase..........................................................................200 Coaching practice in maturity phase........................................................................201 Is your market seasonal?........................................................................................202 Key problems and challenges .................................................................................202 Planning ahead......................................................................................................202 Networking ............................................................................................................202 Public Relations (PR)/publicity .................................................................................203 Public speaking......................................................................................................204 Internet..................................................................................................................205 Advertising ............................................................................................................206 Direct marketing, sales letters, postcards ................................................................207 Flyers, brochures, stationery ...................................................................................207 Newsletters ...........................................................................................................208 Delegation .............................................................................................................209 Writing a brief for your supplier...............................................................................210 Setting your marketing budget ................................................................................213 Summary...............................................................................................................214
THIRTEEN
Making It Happen!............................................................................................218
The Coach Files.................................................................................................220
Suggested Reading ..........................................................................................238
Are You a Member Yet? ...................................................................................240
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