Prosperous Coach Podcast

Today is all about creating smart content as part of a visibility strategy for your coaching business.

Grab the FREE Download called 5 Rules to Write Better Copy for Your Coaching Business. 

I want you to know why I veered away from finishing that series after 9 popular episodes.

It takes tremendous brainpower to delve into strategy in a clear and useful way. The pandemic has had me swimming through brain fog. I know I’m not the only one affected in that way.

But finishing this series now is important to me for a few reasons:

1.     It’s high time to get back to it. Procrastination steals energy!

2.     I know will help you start thinking strategically for every area of your coaching business

3.     I’m putting the finishing touches on a free download for you. It’s a series of powerful questions to help you assess if you’re doing all the right things to grow your coaching business and attract clients who pay you well.

So let’s get this topic rolling …

Content is Still THE Most Effective Visibility Approach

In today’s marketplace, whether you have a coaching business, manufacturing business or a bank, delivering useful content to your audience is the best way to build followers, loyalty and revenue.

That’s why part of my 5 month VIP mentoring program for new coaches is helping my clients to choose a content creation method, strategize a plan and create valuable content. For more information about working with me to help you strategize everything from your ideal audience to your niche, messaging, offers, web copy, visibility approach and more, go to prosperouscoach.com/VIP.

To be successful every coach should put out valuable free content. It’s called generosity marketing.

3 Main Content Delivery Methods

There are three main content delivery methods: 

1.     Blogging (articles & newletters)

2.     Podcasting

3.     Videos (FB Live, You Tube, Vimeo)

To make any of these work well for you employ social posting, emails and lead magnets to build awareness, inspire engagement and shares, and drive traffic to your website to encourage subscribes and eventually enrollment.

You’ve heard me say that too many coaches try tactics that are beyond where they are developmentally in business building. So what I’m sharing with you is deliberately basic. I’m not getting into ads or email campaign strategy because it quickly overwhelms.

And every coach needs to move towards those advanced tactics only after they’ve mastered the basics. Basics are foundational.

To read the full transcript for this episode go to https://prosperouscoach.com/75. And don't forget to GRAB the FREE DOWNLOAD.

Today is all about the F word.  The full transcript can be found at prosperouscoach.com/74.

Fear is a powerful force. It can move you toward safety and it can keep you from your destiny. 

The feeling is no fun. But, like all feelings, it holds the possibility of transformation.

On any given day, I feel some amount of fear. What about you?

Fear could show up while I’m listening to the news. Or, if I’m in a car and I or someone else makes a mistake in judgment. It could be a deep concern that rises up about someone I love.

During my work, it could be a moment of uncertainty. Or, maybe I’m trying to learn something new or take a big step that I’ve rarely or never taken.

Fear is a fairly present emotion.

But most of the time fear doesn’t stop us. It might give you pause, but it doesn’t ultimately stop you from moving forward in your life.

And that’s totally appropriate.

Everyone feels fear. So it’s not something we want to turn off or stop feeling. It’s not even about becoming numb to it. It’s more about having a healthy process.

All emotions deserve to be felt, acknowledged and then released, which is a key to good life, right?

Fear is an ancient and primal emotion. It can be a vital response for survival.

But fear can also become a habitual response to opportunity. If we let it, it can block our growth.

That’s when you know that you need to respond differently to fear. 

If it has stopped you from becoming who you are meant to be or achieving what you long for, then it’s time for a different response to fear.

As coaches, we’re all about helping others to expand their potential – to pull their feet out of concrete and take steps forward towards a better future.

But who helps you break free from that concrete?

As a business coach for coaches, I have the privilege to help my clients towards an ultimate lifetime goal … to become their own boss, to have a freedom lifestyle and creatively bring their whole selves – all of their talents, all of their skills, all of their passion — to their own unique business.

It’s an amazing journey that I’m honored to share and guide them toward.

And, that journey is rife with fear.

When you’re deep in fear about your coaching business, it can feel all encompassing. Like you’ve fallen into a deep dark hole and there’s no way out.

That kind of fear obscures your intuition. It makes you feel paralyzed.

It’s normal and natural to feel fear of the unknown and for imposter syndrome to get right up in your face.

At the heart of it is the question “Am I good enough?”

·      Will anyone listen to me?

·      Why would they pay me to help them?

·      Does anyone even want what I’m offering?

·      Can I really do this? 

And I have endless compassion for those feelings. They are real. And they can feel like the tallest widest thickest wall blocking your way 

But, what I know for sure is that in the big scheme of things they are about as substantial as cardboard.

Yes, you are good enough. Your people will listen to you and pay gladly for what your offering. You can do this!

The way to rise out of that deep dark hole of fear and back onto the path toward your bright future is accountability. You need someone loving and firm to help you to take decisive action one small step at a time.

Decisive action will always be what breaks the spell of fear.

One last thing to consider … the longer you stay stuck in the fear, the bigger it feels and the more you’ll talk yourself out of risking what you want most.

So ...

This episode is another REPRISE during the pandemic to give me a chance to be with my emotions while still providing something helpful to coaches. Bless my foggy brain. I need a break, ya’ll!

You’re going to love this if you haven’t already heard it. And if you have already heard it consider listening again. 

And, I double dog dare you to choose just one of these archetypes as your primary archetype and not just say “Oh, I can relate to all them.” In my experience, one rises to the surface like cream.

So this is a creative exploration of how personality can affect your choice of coaching niche.

When I work with coaches to help them determine their niche, I ask a lot of questions to uncover clues that, when strung together, point us to natural possibilities for them.

I've been playing with this idea for years — that coaches often have a natural inclination, which influences how they will build and grow their business. And that can influence what type of audience and niche will fit them best.

This is not usually a conscious choice, but rather a subconscious leaning. I've decided to call these archetypes.

I began to witness 5 major patterns in the way a coach will grow their business. So, in this episode I'll explain those 5 major archetypes and how they emerge to influence the direction of a coaching business.

The 5 Archetypes I'll cover include:
1. TEACHER
2. HEALER
3. PURE COACH
4. ICON
5. CEO

To learn more about these archetypes go to http://prosperouscoach.com/73

One of them might be a clue for you about how to model your coaching business. 

Do you know how sometimes it helps to be reminded of something?

Coaches are smart people. We have lots of wisdom brimming inside of us. And, during the pandemic, I especially need reminding about many helpful things.

And after recent conversations with past clients and current clients I thought it might be helpful to reprise an older episode.

This is all about why it’s so easy to get stuck as a new coach and how to snap out of it! You can find the full transcript for this episode and links to other helpful information at prosperouscoach.com/72

Let’s roll!

It's got to be said because it's breaking my heart to see so many coaches bogged down and unable to move forward with clarity ... because they've overloaded their brain with unnecessary ideas and future tasks for your coaching business.

I've talked about overwhelm before in Ep #20 - How to Stop Saying 'Yes" to Bright Shiny Objects

That episode was mostly about wasting money, time and brain power on programs that you're not developmentally ready for yet as a business owner. Advanced strategies and tactics that won't work well for you until you have the business foundation in place.

Now let's dig in deeper to what's actually happening in your mind and your emotional body when you heap more and more information on yourself.

When new coaches reach out to work with me, they fill out a questionnaire on my website. I ask them to give me a snapshot of what they're doing day to day to build their business.

Nearly every person tells me their head is spinning with all the research they're doing.

·      They are looking at other coach's websites. Oh no! That really won't be helpful.

·      They read everything they can about coaching and coaching business tips. They're on loads of lists, force feeding themselves with information.

·      They're surfing for answers to BIG questions that really can't be answered in a free blog or webinar.

·      And, they're signing up for every free webinar and download they can get. And sometimes investing in programs they aren't ready for.

Here's the truth. You can't possibly consume a firehose of information and stay sane. It leaves you breathless with overwhelm and unable to move forward.

This is what I call the new coach swirl and spin. And those are the words that I hear coaches use. They say: 

"My mind is swirling! My head is spinning! And I'm so confused that I'm paralyzed."

I so know that place!

Thousands of bits of disconnected information has literally shut down your executive function, your creativity and intuition.

And that's when fear and doubt surges up within you.

·      Doubts about whether you can succeed in coaching.

·      Doubts that anyone would pay you.

·      Doubts about everything you've been working on.

·      Fears that you've made the wrong decision, that you've wasted time and money.

And then your brain starts pulling up all the "evidence" to support those doubts.

Pretty soon you're in a depression. Anxiety has you in it's grips.

Everything slows to a dead stop. But it does not feel restful.

You start thinking about giving up. Part of you wants to give up. You think it would be so much easier.

Then your ever helpful brain begins to justify that idea.

...

To read about the 4 ways to break through swirl and spin go to prosperouscoach.com/72.

This episode is about … being highly sensitive as a coach. The full transcript is at prosperouscoach.com/71.

If you don’t identify as highly sensitive, consider listening to this short episode anyway because a significant percentage of human beings are highly sensitive and you might learn something new.

Last week I didn’t post an episode. It’s the first time in 18 months of podcasting that I’ve skipped airing an episode except for Christmas Day.

And the last two weeks when I sat down to focus on my podcast I’ve been blank. Sure, I’ve felt a bit blank before when I sit down to create. I’ll take a walk and come back with a burst of creativity.

But this blankness has gone on for weeks. My pre-recorded, pre-published episodes have caught up with me.

Finally I realized that I’m deep in grief. At times of grief, business as usual doesn’t feel right. And there’s no bandwidth for generative thought.

I spoke to a past client of mine. She encouraged me to share on the podcast what’s going on. Thanks, Kate. That was brilliant advice.

A Heavy Energetic Load

I’m an empath, which means I sense the mental or emotional states of others. 

Usually, I sense other people’s energetic states and it’s a slow trickle — totally manageable. In fact, it’s useful to have this skill as a coach, as a human being. And I’ve learned tools to protect myself and release energy that isn’t mine.

But during this pandemic, sadness, grief, fear and anxiety have come rolling in tsunami waves. I wake up feeling as if I’m under water. It’s taking much more self care to rise above it. And daily self-care is a normal priority for me. 

It’s amazing to realize that perhaps for the first time in human history, the whole world is feeling sadness, grief, fear and anxiety all at the same time. That’s a heavy load.

So why am I telling you this? I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. Sensitivity is a super power. Especially when used for self healing and doing good.

Not Fragile But Uniquely Capable

In 1997 Dr. Elaine Aron, wrote The Highly Sensitive Person. That was the year that I graduated from coach training. I remember reading it and feeling a deep sense of relief to finally be seen and heard in a different way.

The Field of Coaching Attracts Highly Sensitive People

According to Dr. Aron, approximately 20% of the population is highly sensitive. I suspect that number has climbed as population swells, as we move faster, eat less nutritious food, swim in a non-stop field of EMFs elevated by Wi-Fi.

I have a theory going that many highly sensitive people are drawn to coaching. I seem to attract clients – all coaches — who are highly sensitive. We recognize and understand each other.

What about you? Have you ever felt you were sensitive?

Sensitivity is an Asset for Coaches

Did you know that being highly sensitive can be an asset in coaching?

Here are some of the ways I’ve found it to be valuable:

·      I can read a room in a small group even online in a training or mastermind.

·      I can sense subtle cues that help me choose a direction for coaching and mentoring 

·      Certain words and phrases clients say float into the air with emphasis.

·      What isn’t said is as clear to me as what is said.

·      My intuition is a reliable guidance system.

·      I can sense when I’ve given away my power and quickly correct that.

·      I can sense when my client’s have given away their power and gently notice it.

My guess is that hearing this you’ll realize you have some or all of these abilities as well. And by raising awareness you can

This episode is part of my Coaching Business Checkup series. The ful transcript can be found at: https://prosperouscoach.com/70. 

This series is getting deep and that’s because sometimes you find yourself working hard but not getting traction. And, this series addresses what’s usually missing. 

Today we’re digging into something that’s rarely talked about by marketing experts. In fact it’s something that’s only recently dawned on me, even though I’ve been acting on it for a long time intuitively. 

It's all about why you only want to attract people who do have the motivation and the financial ability to hire you.

Before I go further …

How are you holding up? I know you’re scared about how Corona Virus might kill your coaching business dreams.

I want you to know something … during 20 years in my own coaching business, the economy has crashed big time twice and other disasters have derailed the normal flow of business.

Yes, there is an adjustment period. But in each circumstance, I was surprised how in tough times, people are often MORE committed to their personal and professional growth. There’s the sense that time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted. So, where before people were stuck in their ruts and not moving, sometimes a shake up like this can wake people up and inspire action.

That’s good news for coaches. Especially because we can easily work remotely with clients.

As much as you can, accept the reality of what’s happening, take responsibility for your own part in reducing the spread, and keep your focus on what matters most to you. 

If building a coaching business is important to you, stay with it, despite your worries. 

·      If you haven’t launched yet and have extra time, leverage that towards time consuming tasks. 

·      If you’ve already launched and things are slow, innovate. Try new things but don’t start over. Stick with your target audience and niche but pivot in small ways.

·      And consider not doing it all alone. I’m here for you. A Strategy Session where you get my full focus on what’s holding back for 90 minutes is just a click away. https://prosperouscoach.com/strategy

Now, let’s roll with today’s episode.

In the first 10 years or so of my coaching business the name of the game was numbers. Everyone advocated developing a big list – we’re talking tens of thousands of subscribers who would see your emails, read your blogs or experience your other content.

The idea was to drive tons of traffic to your website and have a set of low cost to mid cost offers that would attract lots of buyers responding through scarcity. This is called the CHURN.

There are many people marketing this way.

But, as you know, I encourage coaches to consider a simple coaching business model where they offer a one-to-one high ticket Signature Program.

That way, you can keep your marketing simple, your overhead low and profits high. You can market less and have a manageable little empire.

It’s a great way to start your coaching business. And that makes it easy to attract only the most ideal clients for you.

Have you ever considered exactly how coaching clients will find you? That’s what this episode is all about.

Here I am in Week 2 of social distancing during the pandemic and I’m attempting somewhat of a structure for my life but definitely not business as usual. It does help to establish habits and a schedule as you can.

With so much suffering none of us can be in that default mode we had before. That said, I believe these times are an opportunity for learning new ways of managing our states of mind, taking extreme care and being community minded. 

I hope you’re staying healthy. Many blessings to you.

Getting back to the Coaching Business Checkup series. This episode is all about mapping the journey your potential coaching clients will take to find you. Show notes can be found at prosperouscoach.com/69. And this episode follows on the topic of Episode 67, which was all about strategizing your coaching business model.

You can’t strategically map your customer’s journey until you’ve determined your business model. And you can’t determine your business model until you’ve chosen a viable target audience and discovered the BIG problem that motivates them to seek solutions.

See how it’s all connected? It’s all of a piece. That’s what strategy is all about. 

What Is A Customer Journey?

It’s a plan with 4 main steps:

1. Raise Awareness
2. Provide Value
3. Inspire Engagement
4. Invite Them In

One step primes the next, which primes the next.

The secret to creating an effective customer journey (and anything for your business) is teaching yourself to think like your ideal clients.

What motivates them? What inspires them? What helps them trust you? What do they want? What turns them off? 

No doubt you’ve been doing a lot to stay visible. Maybe you’re using a blog or podcast, social media and other methods to stay in front of your target audience.

·      But do you have a strategy for that?

·      Are you showing up where your audience is?

·      Are you showing up often enough?  

·      Are they connecting your brand with their big problem? 

·      Is what you’re doing leading your audience to an outcome? 

The first thing to consider is … what motivates your audience to seek solutions? Because if they aren’t out there seeking a solution you can help them to, how will you possibly grab their attention? 

This goes back to their BIG Problem, which I talked about in Episode 65.

Using my business as an example, the big problem that motivates my ideal prospective clients to seek solutions is the agonizing question — “What’s my coaching niche?” 

It’s the top of mind Big Problem for new coaches. For 14 years I’ve been raising awareness about that topic. Can I do more for my clients than help them identify a profitable niche? Absolutely! But I know that every coach struggles with this (I did!).

And I’ve made a long study in how to solve that problem. 

What about you? How will you help your audience connect you and your brand to their big problem?

More notes from this episode can be found at prosperouscoach.com/69 

Want help figuring out the BIG PROBLEM you help your audience achieve? Grab a Strategy Session.

I’m taking a break from the Coaching Business Checkup series because … times are strange and business as usual just doesn’t feel right to me.

I found it difficult to get things done. My head was fuzzy and I didn't know what to do with my time.

If you’re listening to this episode in spring of 2020 individuals in our earthly community are either anticipating the pandemic to arrive in their neighborhood or are already in lock down. It’s unsettling to say the least.

I’m an empath. You may be too. Many coaches are highly sensitive people and we feel more than our own personal condition.

And so I took more time to:

1.     Spend more time in nature and connect with earth. 

2.     Meditate more on what it is to be part of the global community.

3.     Reduce my consumption of news. 

If you find yourself weighed down these days, do things like this to let the anxiety flow through you rather than letting the heaviness stick around. It will help your immune system.

There’s no doubt in my mind that most human beings will rise to this with courage and capacity they didn’t know they had. Strife always unites us.

In this short episode, I invite you to LEAN INTO what drew you to coaching in the first place and to use it for the greater good now. 

It’s the perfect time to break out your powers of innovation and lead in a compassionate way. General ideas include:

1.     Respond with integrity and intention – leverage those things in a deeper way.

2.     Manage your states of mind. Be a model and help others do the same.

3.     Innovate in your coaching businesses so you can still earn well. (Coaches are lucky because we can do what we do remotely.)

4.     And, help others innovate as well.

A lot of people will have trouble earning. Some groups are especially vulnerable.

So consider what you can do that’s extraordinary, more than what you do now day to day.

Don't isolate yourself emotionally. If you can, after you and your family are set up safely … do some simple things to care for others. For example:

1.     Reach out by phone to people in your outer circles.

2.     If you’re on social media, share in a light hearted way. Post things that warm people’s hearts and make them laugh. Share only the most useful things. Cut down on posting the serious stuff unless it’s truly useful.

3.     Think about the individuals that will suffer most in these times. What could you do to help these people stay afloat?

Give extra to homeless people because there will be less traffic on the street.

Think about body workers, independent restaurant owners and their teams – people whose livelihoods depend on foot traffic or clients showing up physically.

I have a friend who is an independent Pilates instructor. One of her clients cancelled a session but said: “I’m going to pay you anyway because I want you to stay in business.” I was touched by the intelligence and kindness of that action and will follow suite.

I also suggested that she continue working with her clients remotely. Yes, it’s weird to do Pilates on Zoom but it’s possible.

Who do you know that might need some ideas of how to manage physically, emotionally and financially?

Consider calling your favorite local restaurants and buying a gift certificate. Or, if you’re comfortable get take out from them. Tip higher than usual.

And, what can you do for your coaching business to keep it going and growing?

If you have a great idea, either for your own business or for helping others shoot me an email to [email protected] and I’ll post them on the Prosperous Coach Club Facebook group.

This episode, called What Is Your Coaching Business Model? is the 6th in my Coaching Business Checkup series, which is all about how to strategize the most important parts of your business. If something isn’t working well in your coaching business, it might be a lack of strategy holding you back.

At the end of this whole series I’ll have a downloadable Coaching Business Checkup Assessment you can use to diagnose and treat what’s ailing in your business so you can fix it and thrive.

The full transcript for today’s episode can be found at prosperouscoach.com/67.

Just in case this business model idea is totally new to you, let’s define what a business model is and why you want one.

Why Have a Business Model for Your Coaching?

A business model is literally a design for the success of your business. It’s a structure you create that makes your business viable. In other words, it’s your plan for earning good money as a coach.

Essential, right?

Like many aspects of your coaching business, your business model can’t really take shape until you have targeted a viable audience and developed a smart coaching niche. Those decisions are the cornerstone … everything else you build for your coaching business comes from that.

Notice I said a moment reliably attract people to your offers. That takes strategy. It’s a far cry from what I did for so many years at the beginning, which was what I call the “I hope it works” approach to business.

Without a business model, you are leaving your success up to dumb luck.

No doubt, you experienced a lot of business models just living in the modern world but you might not have thought much about it. I’ll just name a couple to help you understand the concept

Let’s take Netflix. You get an account. Pay monthly. And for that low fee, you get access to their impressive catalog of TV series and movies to stream on demand.

That’s called the Subscription Model. It has 3 main parts: 

Subscription service + Options the consumer wants + Delivered on demand

It is something you could create someday. More about that in a minute.

How about Uber? Their model is called Create the Marketplace, which operates on supply and demand 

SUPPLY = people with cars who want to earn + DEMAND = people who want to get someplace now without driving

It’s very specific and innovative. And this is close to what a coach needs to do. You identify a BIG PROBLEM that a specific audience faces and create a hunger for your program which helps to solve that problem through coaching.

The Simplest Coaching Business Model

A while ago I aired an episode called The Simplest Coaching Business Model and it’s been a favorite with record downloads. This episode goes deeper into what’s involved.

By the way, thank you so much for going back to my earlier episodes! I can’t tell you how often I hear that people are binge listening to every episode. That’s a great way to learn a lot fast.

It’s a great sign that episode is popular. It means that coaches now are much more business savvy than I was when I started. So well done you. Keep that up!

Learn what is the simplest coaching business model here.

This episode, which is part of the Coaching Business Checkup series, is going to be short. The full transcript for this episode is at prosperouscoach.com/66.

You’ve probably noticed that there are overlapping themes in this series episode to episode. That’s because strategy intentionally connects one thing to another.

Forgive me for the repetition but it’s not possible to talk about one strategic action or decision without mentioning what goes before it. Strategy is about connecting dots. It’s about congruence.

Strategy – The Many Layered Cake

I’ve been making a many-layered cake for you. 

We started with the strategy of choosing a viable target audience full of seekers and then moved onto the central task of developing a smart coaching niche — centering on a big enough problem your audience faces.

Now, if you are continuously visible out there speaking your audience’s language about their big problem and show that you have a solution without being salesy, they will pay attention.

That’s what will compel them to go to your website where hopefully you’ve got streamlined copy speaking about what’s most important to them there as well. And then you gently point them to a couple of conversion processes you have your site.

A clue … that’s NOT inviting them to a free sample session or Discovery Session. That comes later when they are more ready for it. You don’t want to push people to next steps. Lead them instead.

You need to have everything ready for them before they arrive.

And when they arrive you want them to know they are in the right place.

That’s why your website should NOT be about the wonders of coaching.

Instead it’s about what’s keeping your specific audience up at night and what’s in the way of the big thing they want.

Okay, I’m getting off track from my goal here. You see how everything is interconnected and strategic?

This episode is not about how to create a client-winning website. It’s about something you create before the website …  your signature system.

What’s a Signature System and Why Should You Have One?

Why would I call it a system?

Because when humans perceive that there is a structure — a framework to get what they want — they relax. And trust builds.

Your Signature System is the way you describe what you do so that your audience can see clearly:

1.     That you understand them.

2.     That you have a structure they can lean into.

3.     That you know what you’re doing.

In a non-salesy way, your system is connected directly to their exact situation — what specifically has been in the way of them realizing their most urgent goal.

Do you see now why you need to know the big problem you solve before you can move to this step?

Read more about how to describe your program without selling coaching.