Prosperous Coach Podcast

You’ve heard that you need to build the know-like-trust factor with your target audience before they’ll hire you. It’s true. 

Imagine that your ideal clients reach out to hire you already feeling a deep connection with you and want what you offer. It raises their willingness to invest at a high level and fully dedicate themselves to the work 

But how can you convey credibility as a brand new coach?

That’s what today’s episode is about.

To answer that question, let’s turn this around. Shift your perspective on the problem. It’s nearly always the best way to solve problems.

What inspires YOU to feel that a resource is trustworthy?

Some people say things like credentials, years in business, reviews or testimonials. Absolutely. Those things help.

But there’s something that grabs attention and builds trust even faster …

Coaching Prospects Trust Coaches Who Understand Them

I hear constantly from clients, prospects and fans of my podcast that they feel like I’m speaking directly to them. Someone wrote me today saying: “I’m beginning to think your podcasts are written for me.”

That is your goal.

Coaching prospects will trust you if they feel understood by you. And this is the territory where brand new coaches can get real traction.

As a new coach you’d be unlikely to have loads of credentials or relevant testimonials. You haven’t had the chance to build up social credibility online. And, you don’t have ‘word of mouth’ going for you yet. 

So instead, put your attention on KNOWING your audience inside and out.

I just received an email from a company that wants to promote my podcast. It took me all of 5 seconds to decide to toss that email. Not only did they not even use my name, I could see that they had not bothered to research me at all. It’s arguable that they know little about the challenges and goals of podcasters.

That’s a stupid and wasteful way to develop a business.

I get countless requests to connect on LinkedIn from supposed experts pushing out blasts to all coaches promising to help them get a steady stream of clients. It’s clear from what they write that they don’t understand coaches. They haven’t bothered to look at my profile. They searched “coach” and then put out the same basic message as thousands before them – all of whom I summarily blew off.

Don’t ever market like this. You will LOSE CREDIBILITY so fast. And essentially it’s spamming. Never spam.

Do Your Homework Coach

Do your homework! Your future and current clients are your most important asset. Treat them with great respect and speak to them with relevance.

Here you are — a coach – someone who loves people and wants to help them achieve something grand. Well, before you throw up that website selling coaching take the time to choose a specific target audience, research that group lovingly, then speak their language.

This concept of speaking your target audience’s language and contextualizing all of your copy and offers to fit them like a glove is the crux of everything I teach new coaches.

That’s because it quickly builds credibility. And in today’s market place you absolutely need credibility to grab attention, inspire a belief that you can help them, and motivate their investment in you.

Read more about how narrowing your audience builds credibility https://prosperouscoach.com/85

You may have noticed that many of my recent episodes are about mindsets. It’s a deep topic. Human beings are so good at stopping themselves from success simply by the way we think. I often wonder how my life would have been earlier in life if I’d known about mindfulness and the power of shifting mindsets.

A while ago I did a whole series of episodes called Smart Mindsets and Habits. You can find that series at prosperouscoach.com/mindsets. If you’re feeling stuck and in your own way I recommend listening to those episodes.

Today I want to dig into something that all new coaches struggle with especially as they are launching. You can find today’s Show Notes at prosperouscoach.com/84

Coaches Often Have Money Money Issues

It’s fascinating because it doesn’t matter how high powered a job the coach had before, how much money they earned, how many certifications or degrees they have or even how confident they appear — I hear the same basic thing from them …

I hate selling and asking for money! 

I used to feel like that, but don’t anymore, because I know how to attract clients in a non-salesy way. And also, I’ve discovered the power of investing in the future. 

One of my VIP clients wrote in her Session Prep: “I’d rather give it to you than ask for money. I NEED this session!” 

We’ve been working together in my 5-month Coaching Business Breakthrough program to build her business. She’s close to launching so I wanted to help her with this mindset shift. And, she generously gave me permission to share some of what happened in that session with you. Thank you, D!

Money is a sticky subject for most people. There’s so much baggage that influences our decisions and actions based on what we learned about money as kids.

Stop Sabotaging Your Coaching Success with Old Money Stories

There’s a wonderful book that was popular when I started coaching called Taming Your Gremlin – A Guide to Enjoying Yourself by Richard D Carson. It’s a thin book full of exercises and wonderful drawings to help you face the part of yourself that sabotages your efforts to grow. The idea is to draw your own gremlin and shine a spotlight on it as it scuttles around trying to squash your courage. Just seeing it for what it is changes you. 

Awareness is the tool to overcome that gremlin within.

There was an exercise in there about drawing the floor plan of the primary home you grew up in and answer a set of questions about what you learned while you lived there.

Coaching a Coach to Shift Her Money Mindset

That book jumped into my mind when I read her Session Prep and gave me an idea about how to coach my client.

I began by asking her: “What did you learn about money from your parents?”

 She responded immediately: “In my family you would certainly NOT hire someone for therapy or coaching. It was looked down upon. We didn’t spend money on ourselves and self care.”

I asked: “When have you invested highly in your own self care and transformation?”

She said: “It’s when I reached a point where my best efforts didn’t bring the results I needed to happen. When I get to that point I’ll do whatever it takes.”

I said ...

Read the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/84.

I’m tired of overwhelm. Aren’t you?

Nothing sucks the joy out of your coaching business like that over-burdened feeling:

·      An endless to do list

·      The overflowing inbox

·      Too many learning curves to climb

I know overwhelm. I remember what it feels like to launch. It’s a project with so many moving parts and you can easily get ahead of yourself.

The truth is, most often overwhelm is a bad habit wanting to be broken. Whatever your reasons, some part of you is choosing to feel overwhelmed. It’s a choice. But it’s not a conscious choice.

Like in the story of the boy who cried "wolf", your brain and body has been trained to perceive challenges as emergencies.

You’re actually OK, but you don't believe that you are OK.

Now is your opportunity to teach yourself how to be conscious and not choose overwhelm. The are 4 main reasons overwhelm occurs:

1.     Non-stop stimulation

2.     Chronic disorganization

3.     Scarcity consciousness

4.     Lack of inner resources

And, as this episode is coming out during the 2020 pandemic and the uprising after George Floyd’s murder, there’s so much pain and sorrow, fear and hope about what has and what could happen. That takes energy.

It actually means you can’t do as much as before.

Sure, you can push through but there are consequences to that and it won’t help the sense of overwhelm.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do encourage you to keep moving forward on your business as you can. Be gentle with yourself.

These days I feel done with my day by 2:00pm. It means I’m getting less done than I used to. And with the rest of my day I need to do more to re-source.

Coach, Turn Off the Firehouse of Information

There's so much coming into our psychic space all the time — we're rarely without connection to global media (much of it anxiety-ridden especially right now).

So first, to rehabilitate your brain and overwhelm habit, consider a media diet a few times each week. Thoughtfully control what you watch, read and listen to.

You need mental downtime to get ready to effectively learn and grow.
 
 Think of your brain like a basin. Information coming in is like the flow coming from a faucet. If you leave the flow on full, your brain is soon overflowing and you’re in overwhelm.

Do you find yourself signing up on lists, attending lots of free courses, purchasing too many programs?

It’s tempting, I know. But most likely it’s increasing not decreasing overwhelm.

How often are you actually implementing what’s taught in those emails, posts and programs? Most coaches cannot possibly take action on the amount of how-to information they access daily.

Taking action is like the drain of the basin. It's what makes the space for more useful information, like allowing learning to be integrated and leveraged.

Turn off your info-jones:

• Develop the habit of mining your own wisdom, experience and knowledge first.
• Reach only for information you need right now to inspire or take the next immediate step.
• Integrate and implement what you learn. Commit to doing this before reaching for more information.

Read more about how to stop info in so you can attract more clients and income.

This will be a super short episode. And it’s part of the Smart Mindsets & Habits series.

I feel so honored that when I work with my clients I get to see them shift their mindset in ways that will help them succeed faster at this game called entrepreneurship.

By the way, thinking of building your coaching business as a game is one way to take the pressure off and enjoy the journey.

So the specific mindset I’m digging into today is about OWNING your right:

·      Own your right to be in business for yourself

·      Own your right to earn well

·      Own your right to live the life you want

That may sound odd. Let me explain.

My Early Coaching Business Was An Albatross

When I was new to my own coaching business I treated myself like I didn’t deserve to be in business, like I didn’t deserve to earn well and have the life I want. Here’s what I did:

1.     I overcomplicated my business model by offering too many options. 

2.     I undervalued myself and charged way too little to sustain my business. 

3.     I over-delivered in every way. 

4.     I was too accommodating with my schedule.

5.     I allowed late payments.

6.     Ultimately, I didn’t think through what I wanted and plot a strategic course to get there.

Bottom line … I was operating unconsciously in my coaching business. I was driven by a mindset that doesn’t go well with being the CEO of a business. Big mistake.

A few years in, I realized that I had created a monster — a business that was complex, running me ragged and paying me poorly.

Its part of the reason why I now teach coaches to create a Simple Coaching Business Model and to strategically grow their business from the get go.

The Big Takeaway for Coaches

So here’s the secret I want you to come away with from this episode … ACT AS IF

Act as if you are already in high demand.

There are 7 ways I can think of that will help you do this:

1.     First decide what you want your life to be like.

2.     Strategize every step of your business development to fit that vision.

3.     Only offer times on your schedule that you truly want to work.

4.     Only offer exactly what you want to offer and not what you think you should offer.

5.     Create a low overhead, easy to manage business.

6.     Treat yourself with the respect you want your colleagues, prospects and clients to have for you.

7.     Charge prices that will help you reach your financial goals right NOW!

Imagine the difference between a business where you act like you deserve all the perks that come with being your own boss and a business where you act like you don’t deserve that.

Read more about how to ACT AS IF .

This episode, which is part of the Smart Mindsets & Habits series, is a follow on to Episode 80, which was called Competition, Comparison and Shame in the Coaching Industry.

I received many brave and heart felt comments on that episode, including this one from Marian:

“Thank you for this episode, Rhonda. I feel like you’re responding to what’s inside my head! This was amazingly helpful to me and has inspired me to reach out more to support and share with other coaches, especially my classmates.”

Well done, Marian, because that kindness you shared to other coaches goes a long way for making the coaching industry a more friendly and encouraging field. We need that.

It’s not easy to talk about shame.

But the upside, is that once you acknowledge it you can quickly realize what triggers it and that helps you let it go. 

A private client in my VIP Coaching Business Breakthrough program was baring her experience of shame with me in our session today. 

And I’m so grateful to you, Barbara, that you have generously given me permission to share a bit about our discussion in this episode. Your willingness to be vulnerable helps you and every other coach who hears this podcast. Being vulnerable is one of the ways we can love each other up so we all become more successful at this big coaching business endeavor.

The Cycle of Shame for a New Coach

Barbara told me that she felt the shame of comparison today when she was encouraging a current client to re-up for more coaching.

And talking it through we realized is that shame can come up fast whenever you’re doing something that you care deeply about that you haven’t done much before. Here’s what I think it can look like as a new coach …

·      First there’s feeling ashamed that you don’t know everything right now. (Shouldn’t I be a master at coaching? Shouldn’t I know exactly how to do everything?)

·      Next comes shame for needing expert help to do it right. (Oh no, I’m spending more money when I’m not yet earning from coaching. Why is everything so hard for me?)

·      Then, as you are on the learning curve, there’s shame that it’s taking a while to get everything right.

·      And if you model aspects of your business on what other coaches are doing there’s the shame that comes from comparison.

·      There’s shame that you’re not 100% together as these other coaches seem to be. (By the way ‘seem’ is the operative word there.)

·      When fear comes up about crossing thresholds in your business shame tags along because it’s embarrassing as an adult to feel fear, especially if that fear makes you doubt yourself or stop taking action.

·      Imposter Syndrome makes shame darker still. Why would anyone hire me? Who am I to help them?

·      And, shame surfaces in the sales and enrollment process. Just having to ask someone to hire and pay you can feel shameful. Why would anyone pay this much? What if I can’t deliver? Will they figure out I’m a fraud because I don’t know exactly what I’m doing yet?

Breaking the Cycle of Shame in Your Coaching Business

So there’s this insidious cycle of shame. And if you don’t have mentoring support, shame can literally stop you from moving forward – crush your momentum.

Read about  the key to stopping the cycle of shame.

This episode is part of the Smart Mindsets and Habits series. You can find the full transcript at https://prosperouscoach.com/80

The last episode was about the crucial role of courage in success and how it comes before confidence.

I received a lot of sweet comments about that episode along of the lines of “Thanks, I needed that!”

Yes! Every coach needs encouragement, especially in the early days. Have you ever noticed the word ‘courage’ within the word ‘encourage’? I encourage you to encourage other coaches too.

Now I want to talk about adverse affects on your confidence as a coach. Namely, petty competition, comparison and shame. One leads to the next.

Shame is the Dark Secret in the Coaching Industry

I’m going to get right to the elephant in the room … the toxic result of comparison.

Have you ever felt a sense of shame when you compare yourself to other coaches?

It’s okay if you have. And actually it’s healing to acknowledge it.

Just thinking about it my body can produce that hot pit in the stomach feeling — the distinct sense memory of shame. 

Teddy Roosevelt said: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” So true.

I don’t much do the comparison thing anymore. But I know the territory intimately.

Here’s the way I experienced it:

As a new coach I’d bounce around the Internet looking at other coache’ websites. Immediately, I’d feel there’s so much I need to do better and overwhelm surged in.

A little aside here … I had no idea whether those website were helping the coach at all. Chances are most were dud websites even though they are pretty and flashy. I’ve learned a lot about what makes for a client winning coaching website since then.

When I used to attend monthly local ICF meetings I’d brace myself for the continual display of superiority by some coaches there. It felt like a room full of peacocks and I didn’t have anything to display.

Don’t get me wrong, I met wonderful coaches there too — people who, two decades later, are beloved colleagues. But the atmosphere was rife with competition rather than camaraderie.

Later in my career, as part of a circle of joint venture colleagues who were helping each other promote programs, the competition was even more fierce. There was a thick sense that we were all vying for the same thing and there was only so much to go around.

Social media amps up competition and the knee jerk to compare yourself with others. From the number of followers to the quality of reactions to the images … if you let yourself go there, you can compare yourself into a little dark corner and never come out.

I see so many coaches give up because of comparison and shame.

A Healthy Response to Competition

Look, if you don’t feel that icky shame that comes from competition and comparison, I’m glad. My guess is someone taught you how to have a healthy response to competition.

So let’s talk about that. Imagine navigating in the coaching and marketing world without torturing yourself. What would that look like?

Well, I’ll tell you. It’s NOT an internal hardening but rather a softening.

Click here to see the 5 Internal and 5 External Adjustments you can make right now.

This episode is part of the Smart Mindsets & Habits series.

Today I’m talking about courage – something all successful coaches had to raise within themselves long before they felt confident about anything. Find the full transcript here.

This episode is for you if you are feeling afraid of crossing any threshold large or small to launch your business and build it into something solid to support your family.

If you’ve been looking for confidence in a crucial moment and feeling none here’s the truth … 

It is courage not confidence that will help you break through. Courage is the fire within you. Confidence is earned through repetitive acts of courage.

Before we get into that, I want to share something deeply personal …

Courage has been asking me to step up lately.

I’ve lived a life boosted by centuries of privilege. My parents were middle class and worked hard. My dad was educated by the GI bill and got a good job. Their parents scraped by through the Great Depression in the South – Arkansas and Kentucky.

But they were propped up by privilege, as were their parents before them going far back in the family tree. 

Until now, I haven’t questioned why the neighborhoods and schools I grew up in or why the companies I worked for in Colorado were homogenously white. I did not get it that those neighborhoods and schools weren’t available to people of color by design.

Now, with the murder of George Floyd echoing centuries of similar murders in my country and others, I am finally realizing my own complicity in these crimes against humanity.

By failing to see the roots of my privilege clearly I also failed to perceive the policies and systems that built and sustain that privilege for only some.

I am an empath and a highly compassionate person who has always cared about fairness. But I have been asleep, accepting the ways of the world. I have accepted injustices that — were I truly courageous — I would not have simply lived with.

So I’m making a pledge today to you that I will do more day to day to fight against injustice and systems that exclude black, indigenous and people of color from the privileges that I have taken for granted. I will use my ears to listen and learn. I will use my voice, my vote and other resources to work towards deep systemic change while also working on myself to be a better human being.

Thank you for listening.

Now let’s talk about courage that will launch and sustain your business …

Intelligent Coaches Are Stopped By Fear

The coaches I have the honor to work with are some of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known. Many of them are far more educated and have more impressive careers than I ever have. Most of them are brimming with passion that awes me every day.

And all of them are afraid to take steps to launch their business and keep getting out there.
...

Read the full transcript here.

I have something really special for you today's episode, which is about powerful coaching questions and is a part of a new series on Coaching Skills.

Get your FREE COACHING SKILLS DOWNLOAD at prosperouscoach.com/78

First, I want to share something personal with you. I have been so buoyed up by wonderful reviews lately. So I want to give a shout out to Gemma who said recently to me:

“I'm sending a heap of gratitude to you, Rhonda, your generous podcast has helped me identify my platform and program. Also, I know that I'm not alone in this. You've helped so many coaches. Thank you for cutting through the noise.”

That made my week. So I'm grateful to you, Gemma, for taking the time to write that review for me on iTunes. 

So let's roll with today's episode. 

I have the pleasure of introducing you to Laurie Cameron of WAKE UP Enterprises. 

Laurie is literally the best coach I know. She is also the best coach trainer I know.

In 2001 I co-created curriculum for Coach Training Alliance and I designed their certified coach program, I was their first trainer. Then I brought Laurie in. She surpassed me significantly and she is their Senior Mentor Coach now. 

I first met Laurie 20 years or so ago at the Denver chapter of the International Coach Federation and we became fast friends. We were both on the board there. Beyond that, Laurie and I have been accountability partners for each other and doing a little co-coaching now and then. Something every coach needs.

LAURIE CAMERON: I am really excited and thank you for all those kind words that made my week as well. So I’m really thrilled to be here.

The Most Powerful Coaching Skill

Rhonda: Laurie, I'm going to ask you some questions. I hope they're powerful questions because that's the topic that we're bringing today. So I wanted to start with … What is your favorite coaching skill, Laurie, and why?

LAURIE CAMERON: I would like to ask you a question in return. Complete this sentence: If you want better answers, you …?

RHONDA: … have to ask the right questions.

LAURIE CAMERON: Close. See when I do full day coach training workshops with leaders and managers and when I train coaches through coach training Alliance, that's the common answer. A better answer is you have to craft better questions. 

RHONDA: Nice distinction. 

LAURIE CAMERON: Thank you. Questions are amazing and they're even more amazing and more powerful when you are adept at putting words together in a way that draw somebody's wisdom out and draw out something new and, and send them deep. That's why I love powerful questions and learning how to craft them.

Take Your Time To Formulate Powerful Questions

RHONDA: That's great. I wanted to notice something. You know, you asked me that question and I jumped with my answer. You’re talking about crafting and crafting takes some time. How can a coach that's in the middle of a coaching session take the time to craft a question? 

LAURIE CAMERON: Well, it's about taking the time to do that actually. And one of the challenges that I've noticed that newer coaches have about asking questions is they don't take the time to craft one before they start asking it. 

Read all the questions mentioned today and find the link for the FREE Coaching Skills download here.

FREE DOWNLOAD - Go to prosperouscoach.com/77 to get your copy of Coaching Business Checkup.

There’s plenty of information out there in training programs about how to coach. And there’s lots of attention out there on how to market and enroll clients plus the various tactics to earn well as a coach. 

But there’s little communicated to coaches about exactly how to serve your coaching clients well so they love the experience, come back for more and refer others to you. 

Client service goes beyond coaching skills but does stem from the way you market and engage your target audience from the get go.

Your coaching client’s satisfaction in you and your program begins before they hire you and continues after they finish with you.

If you’re following the guidelines I’ve given to you in episodes 62 through 77 in this Coaching Business Checkup series, then you’ll be strategically setting everything up for your coaching business in a way that guarantees satisfaction for ideal clients.

And if you put in place specific things to ensure that people you attract are ideal for you, it will increase your clients’ satisfaction.

Client service is another strategy point for creating a successful coaching business. And that’s why this is part of, and the LAST episode of, my Coaching Business Checkup series.

And as I’ve been promising, I’ve got a FREE download for you.

It's a comprehensive Coaching Business Checkup you can give yourself. This will help fill the holes in your strategy so you can do everything more effectively and earn more in your business.

Go to prosperouscoach.com/77 to get your copy of Coaching Business Checkup.

When you download this assessment, take the time to honestly consider what you’ve got going for you and what’s missing. I’ve referenced certain podcast episodes for each of the 10 sections.

And of course, if you want more help get my private VIP support to do all of this right. The best first step is to have a private Strategy Session with me, which you can find at https://prosperouscoach.com/strategy.

Now, let’s dig into today’s episode …

Do you feel nervous with your clients and have performance anxiety during sessions? If you’re a new coach, that’s totally normal. And you want to be sure it’s a feeling that diminishes with each client. 

In my early days, I was so anxious about delivering value that I lost my personal power by inflating my role. And I ended up feeling drained instead of energized by sessions.

Over the years I’ve given this challenge my daily awareness and made a lot of shifts.

Happily, there are things you can do that both create value while also setting strong boundaries, which protect you and your clients. I’ll cover 7 main ways you can up your game in providing value. 

Cultivate Happy Coaching Clients Before During and After

Happy clients start by being happy prospects. You want them to already have a strong sense of your integrity, personality and exactly how you can help them before they hire you. This makes them happy because they’ll only stick around if they feel the connection with you.

I know, I talk a lot about this and that’s because a successful business is the sum of many things that work in concert. And that takes strategy.

Today’s episode is short and sweet. The full transcirpt can be found at prosperoucoach.com/76

It was inspired by something that came up in Prosperous Coach Club, my Facebook group.

Several new coaches were having trouble drilling down to a narrow and viable audience to serve because they didn’t want to exclude anyone.

I had that concern myself in my early days of coaching. I waffled and stayed general for far too long. I didn’t realize how much easier it would be if I did narrow my audience.

But as time passed and my income from coaching remained small I became keenly motivated to do anything I could — including things I was afraid to do — to change that.

With hindsight I know without a doubt that finally narrowing my audience catapulted me to success so that now I reliably attract ideal clients and earn well – even during the pandemic.

Now I fully understand that my choice to narrow was a strategic choice.

I’ve been talking a lot about strategy in my current podcast series Coaching Business Checkup. That series is all about assessing what pieces of strategy might be missing if you are having difficulty enrolling enough clients to quit your job and pay for your lifestyle.

4 Ways Strategic Choice Makes Your Coaching Life Easier

And because I’ve been a business coach for coaches for a long time I also know this. When you target an audience and discover their big problem then gear everything –messaging, offers, web copy, social posts – to speak directly to your audience 4 wonderful things click into place:

1.     You have clarity. It’s as if the fog lifts and you can now see your path.

2.     You grow confidence. You understand your value and believe in yourself.

3.     You know what to do. You have pinpointed focus and direction.

4.     You have leverage. Now everything you do builds momentum.

So, the best reason to narrow to one specific audience is to make your life easier.

Stand Out in the Crowd

Look, if all you want is a coaching client now and then and a bit of spending money, then you can afford to be a generalist.

But if you want your coaching business to be a going concern, as they say, and feed you and your family for years to come, then being a generalist and selling coaching won’t do that for you.

Why are you listening to my podcast? Because you’re a coach and this is specially designed to help coaches. I know coaching. I know business.

There are lots of other mentors helping any type of business owners out there. But isn’t extra helpful when someone understands exactly where you are and where you want to be and what’s in the way?

That, my friend is the power of narrowing and specializing.

Take a look at the full transcript to read the rest of this episode.