President’s
Message- Nahid Casazza
 Should You Niche?
When people ask who you coach, do you find it hard to be specific?
Of course you can probably coach almost anyone, because good coaching isn’t about the situations clients struggle with on the surface, it’s about what holds them back inside. The surface situation is only an expression of the real issue, and so what kind of job someone has, or what problem they are currently facing, is almost irrelevant.
I know that. You know that. But that doesn’t grow your business.
If you are like most coaches, one of the easiest ways for you to grow your business is to build a referral network. And people only refer when they easily see a “match” between someone with a specific problem and another person who provides that exact solution.
If you are willing to declare a niche for yourself, you are allowing other people to categorize you. That means two things: (1) you have to give up all the potential referrals who don’t fit into your category, and (2) you will begin to get a lot more referrals than you’ve ever had before
Most coaches never make it to step 2 because…
Next
Chapter Meeting Thursday, June 14 , 2007
Business And Coaching Excellence Program
5:00 - 6:00pm
To Niche or Not to Niche?
June 14th at the ICF-OC will be devoted to discussions about coaching niches.
Niches are a way of specializing your practice to increase your client flow.
The BCE, beginning at 5:00 pm , will not only set the stage for the second hour of panelists, but will provide the venue for you to focus on YOU! Lisa Cherney, of Conscious Marketing, will walk you through the process of defining your Ideal Client, which is one way to create a niche for yourself. Lisa has some unique ideas on distinguishing the clients we are called to serve. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to get clear on the kinds of people who would be most attracted to you as their coach!
Stop Chasing Your Target Market:
4 Steps to Attracting Your Ideal Clients
If you are only focusing on your target market you are missing the mark! Different from a “target,” your Ideal Client is not described using facts and figures like age and income. Instead they are folks who… match characteristics of people you love to work with, love to give you money, and love your coaching. Imagine a business full of these people! If you attract any clients who are not fun to work with, you know you are missing the mark.
Stop wasting money marketing to people who are not in line with who you are and what you really want to offer. If you define your Ideal Client, that is who you will attract. Don’t settle for less! Create the business you desire. Stop pounding the pavement and learn how to infuse your marketing with key items that are guaranteed to make your Ideal Clients come to you!
You will learn:
- The critical differences between your "target" and your "Ideal Client"
- Uncovering and "owning" the definition of YOUR Ideal Client
- How to leverage your Ideal Client for maximum success
- Marketing strategies to attract your Ideal Client and to grow your business
 Lisa Cherney is an Intuitive Business Coach & Marketing Consultant and President of Conscious Marketing. A dynamic speaker, Lisa has helped thousands of entrepreneurs create businesses full of passion and profit while marketing from the ‘Inside Out.’ She was nominated for Orange County’s Tenth Annual Women in Business award and is co-author of Inspiration to Realization: Real Women Reveal Proven Strategies for Success. Lisa brings 15 years of Fortune 500 experience in marketing and training with companies like AT&T and Lipton. She was also a senior account executive at leading advertising agencies serving clients like Nissan and Blue Cross.
Headliner Event:
6:30 - 8:30pm
"Blue Chip Coach" Panel
 June 14th at the ICF-OC will be devoted to discussions about coaching niches.
Niches are a way of specializing your practice to increase your client flow.
Join a group of some of the most successful Southern California coaches as they share their secrets to success in their respective niches. You will learn:
- How they chose their niche (or how it chose them)
- What the benefits, and risks, are of having a specific niche
- How they market themselves using their niche
- When, if ever, their niche has limited their business opportunities
Panelist information to be posted.
Event Registration Here
Coaches Toolbox
How present are you with your clients? You may experience a few of the barriers listed below that keep you from being fully in the moment with them. Take a look at the list and notice which ones keep you from experiencing your ‘coaching presence’.
*The 12 Killers of Coaching Presence:
1. Excluding other perspectives
2. Manufacturing interpretations
3. Over-reactive to circumstances
4. Ignoring your intuition
5. Being judgmental
6. Avoiding the present
7. Mistaking need for love
8. Resisting change
9. Limiting self-expression
10. Trying to force an outcome
11. Looking for yourself where you are not
12. Resisting feeling things fully
*Credit to Michael Stratford MCC and Tom Stone, founder of Great Life Technologies for sharing The Core Dynamics of Common Problems during their presentation.
View additonal coaches toolbox
 Face the Dragon. Stay in the Room.
I tell my clients “Face the Dragon . . . Stay in the Room.”
Our coaching clients come to us because they want to change something about themselves to be more successful in their everyday lives at home and at work. They understand that to learn a new skill or ability they have to start with baby steps until they become proficient. Clients imagine that using our services will help them get where they want to go more quickly and more assuredly than going by themselves. The problem is they sometimes ask us for a magic pill. Clients want the change to happen immediately and painlessly. We tell them the truth.
Change is hard work...
 Coach Spotlight
John Hall
949 387-2004
jhirvine@aol.com
www.hallcareer.com
1. Do you have a specialty area?
I enjoy working with management and professional men and women who are career oriented, but may be plateaued, bored or in transition. I help them evaluate where they are, where they would like their career’s to go, both short and long term, and then work with them to develop a plan that includes goals and implementation strategies.
2. What’s the major strategy you use to obtain clients?
My primary marketing strategy has been speaking. I have spoken to associations as diverse as the American Petroleum Institute, networking groups and churches . I have also done lots of free public seminars, which were listed in the networking sections of local newspapers. Teaching Outplacement Counseling, in a graduate program in which half the students were HR graduate students at Chapman University lead to my first corporate outplacement contracts.
3. What are some of the hardest things getting your business started?
The hardest thing was just making the decision to do it. I remember staring at the ceiling night after night thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Finally, I cranked up my courage and took a one-year lease on an executive office with a large conference room. After I had signed the lease I remember looking out of the window of my new office, which did not have a stick of furniture, thinking what the devil do I do now?
4. Describe a rewarding experience you have had in your business.
I have helped a handful of clients start their own consulting practices. One that comes to mind is a PhD in chemistry from MIT. He had been working in environmental clean up with a large engineering company and never considered consulting. I still vividly remember the day he ran into my office to show me a contract he had just signed with Princess Cruises. Today he is a successful environmental consultant specialized in the cruise ship industry. His work requires him to travel the world on cruise ships.
5. Is there anything else you would like to ad about your experiences.
From PhD’s to drop outs most careers are just accidents. This may be because we have to make the most important decision of our lives with little life experience. Following graduation, most men and women go from job to job with little thought about how that impacts their long-term growth. I find great joy in coaching individuals to take charge of their careers instead of taking “Pot Luck” jobs.
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