|
Who Do You Not Want?
If there is one thing you can do in your coaching practice to dramatically increase your client-attracting abilities it is to become crystal clear on exactly who your ideal clients are. However, in my experience working with coaches to help them to identify their target clients, this is easier said than done. It takes work. It takes effort. It takes... thinking!
"Few people think more than two or three times a year. I've made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week."George Bernard Shaw
To help you to identify your ideal target market, I'd normally recommend that you look at a number of key areas. This normally involves techniques to help you to get clear on who you would ideally like to work with in your coaching practice. However, there is another way that can sometimes be quicker and easier too... Which type of clients do you not want? You see, effective marketing is as much a process of screening out clients you don't want to work with as it is in selecting clients you do want to attract into your coaching practice. Whilst at first this may seem counter-intuitive, it will dramatically increase the effectiveness of your client-attracting efforts. Here are some points to think about:
1. Past clients - Think back on the clients you've worked with so far - paid, pro-bono or otherwise. Did you have any clients you didn't particularly resonate with? Have you had any clients you've really not enjoyed? 2. Current clients - Are you working with any clients at the moment that you find hard or not enjoyable? Do you have any clients you don't particularly resonate with? 3. Flip it - Consider the characteristics of people you've listed in points 1 and 2 above. How would you describe them? Now flip these characteristics over to positive attributes that you prefer. This will give you pointers on the type of clients you do want. 4. Note it - Write out a description of the type of clients you do want to be attracting into your coaching practice. Often, these will be the opposite of the points noted above. As way of example, in the early days of my coaching career when I had a general coaching practice, I found that I attracted people from a wide range of backgrounds and personalities :-) Most were enjoyable to work with but some client calls I did not look forward to at all. Using the process above, I identified a client who was pretty self-centred and particularly avaricious. Flipping this over I was able to get clearer that the type of people I wanted to work with cared about others as well as themselves. If you're in a position of working with some clients you may not enjoy, you may want to consider the steps above. Otherwise, you're not serving the client, your practice or yourself well at all. Doesn't it make sense that if you work with clients you enjoy then everyone wins by getting better results?
This article courtesy of http://www.certifiedlifecoach.org.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.
Economic Growth Continues - More Than 5.3 Million Jobs Created
Since August 2003
On June 2, 2006, The Government Released New Jobs Figures –
75,000 Jobs Created In May. The economy has created about 1.9
million jobs over the past 12 months – and more than 5.3
million since August 2003. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent
– lower than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and
1990s.
The Economy Remains Strong, And The Outlook Is Favorable
Revised Report Shows Fastest Real GDP Growth In Two-And-A-Half
Years. Real GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.3 percent for the
first quarter of this year. This follows our economic growth of
3.5 percent in 2005 – the fastest rate of any major industrialized
nation.
Productivity Increased At A Strong Annual Rate Of 3.7 Percent
In The First Quarter.
Real Hourly Compensation Rose At A 3.2 Percent Annual Rate In
The First Quarter.
Personal Income Increased At An Annual Rate Of 6.7 Percent In
April. Since January 2001, real after-tax income has risen by
12.9 percent, or 7.3 percent per person.
Real Consumer Spending Increased At An Annual Rate Of 5.2 Percent
In The First Quarter.
Employment Increased In 47 States Over The Past 12 Months Ending
In April. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states in
April.
Industrial Production Increased 4.7 Percent Over The Past 12
Months. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing production has
increased by 5.5 percent.
President Bush Has An Aggressive Agenda To Keep The Economy Growing
This Week, President Bush Nominated Henry Paulson As Treasury
Secretary. Paulson has an intimate knowledge of financial markets
and an ability to explain economic issues in clear terms. For
the past eight years, Paulson has served as Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of the Goldman Sachs Group, one of the most
respected firms on Wall Street.
The President Has Expanded Tax Relief And Is Working To Make
His Tax Relief Permanent. Two weeks ago, President Bush signed
into law a bill that extends the tax cuts on dividends and capital
gains. This legislation also contains an Alternative Minimum Tax
(AMT) patch enabling millions of middle-income families to avoid
paying higher taxes in 2006.
The President’s Tax Relief Has Helped Spur Growth By Keeping
$880 Billion In The Pockets Of American Taxpayers. The Administration
reduced taxes for every American who pays income taxes, doubled
the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, created investment
incentives for small businesses, and put the death tax on the
road to extinction.
Growing The Economy And Reducing The Deficit Depend On Controlling
The Spending Appetite Of The Federal Government. Every year since
the President took office, the Administration has slowed the growth
of discretionary spending that is not related to the military
or homeland security. The President's last two budgets cut discretionary
spending that was unrelated to the military or homeland security,
and we are on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.
If The Emergency Supplemental Bill – Which The President
Has Requested To Help Fund The War On Terror And Hurricane Recovery
– Includes Non-Emergency Or Wasteful Spending Or Exceeds
The President's Set Limit Of $92.2 Billion Plus Funding To Prepare
Our Nation For A Pandemic Flu Emergency, He Will Veto It.
In The Long Run, The Biggest Challenge To Our Nation's Budgetary
Health Is Entitlement Spending On Programs Such As Social Security
And Medicare. We call on members of both parties to join us in
a bipartisan commission to address this critical issue.
The President Will Continue Working With Congress To Restrain
Spending In Other Ways, Including Passing A Line-Item Veto. A
line-item veto would allow us to cut needless spending, reduce
the budget deficit, and ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent
wisely – or not at all.
| 
