The Road to Success: Launching Your Coaching Business
Launch Strategies and Best Practices for New Coaches
This script discusses the challenges and strategies involved in launching a coaching business, emphasizing that it is neither as simple as a lemonade stand nor as complex as rocket science. Angie and John share their personal experiences and the lessons learned in the early days of their coaching careers, such as the importance of not relying solely on getting clients but also understanding the business and administrative sides. They explore the significance of niching, leveraging one's existing network, and the value of certifications in coaching. Additionally, the discussion touches upon the inefficacy of certain marketing strategies like cold messaging and the importance of adding value and building relationships in marketing efforts. The episode concludes with plans to delve into conducting effective discovery calls and handling questions about pricing in future episodes.
00:00 Introduction: Launching a Coaching Business
01:28 The Challenges of Starting a Coaching Business
03:35 The Importance of Certification in Coaching
05:29 Learning from Past Mistakes: What Would You Do Differently?
05:45 The Power of Niching in Coaching
06:26 Leveraging Existing Connections for Lead Generation
15:57 The Pitfalls of Cold Outreach and the Power of Adding Value
18:32 Effective Strategies for Attracting Clients
24:07 Conclusion: Best Practices and Things to Avoid When Launching a Coaching Business
Transcript
Angie,
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:Angie: John.
3
:John: how easy is it to
launch a coaching business?
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:Angie: Hmm.
5
:Well, it's certainly not rocket
science, but I don't think
6
:it's a lemonade stand either.
7
:John: Is it like the field of dreams?
8
:If you build it, they will come.
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:Angie: It most certainly is not.
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:So let's start the show.
11
:John: Angie, this is a really good topic
because I know a lot of people when
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:they're thinking about getting started
with coaching business, or maybe they've
13
:actually been dipping their toe already.
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:And haven't really properly launched.
15
:They just don't know how to do it.
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:So I think given that we maybe have done
this at least once, maybe more times
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:we'll talk about that experience as we
go, but we probably are well positioned
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:to at least be able to have a good and
informative conversation about that.
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:So I'm going to ask you, how
was your experience of launching
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:your coaching business?
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:Angie: would have to say here's
the word that popped into my head
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:first wonky at best, because I
didn't know what I didn't know.
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:There wasn't the like, launch your
coaching business playbook, if you will.
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:And, I just, I really didn't
know what I was doing.
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:I didn't know about the administrative
side, like the business side of the things
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:you should be doing, best practices.
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:My focus was on,
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:I just need to get clients.
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:That was the only thing
that I had in my mind.
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:And in my mind, I believed That's
all I needed to have a coaching
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:business, which I'm sure you will
agree is not the case, right?
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:John: I actually would agree I think
my first steps into Having certified
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:as a coach and then deciding that
I was gonna get some clients We're
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:Very what's the word i'm looking for.
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:It was all over the place it was
a bit like throwing spaghetti
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:at the wall except I hadn't
actually cooked the spaghetti yet.
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:So nothing was
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:Angie: There's visual.
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:Who's cleaning up that mess?
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:John: So really nothing was sticking
and it was all like happens happenstance
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:kind of things like Very chancy think
this might work Awful things like
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:trying to leave business cards at a
table at an event and stuff that really
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:just isn't going to get you clients
might get you one prospecting call if
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:you're really lucky, but stuff that
just isn't going to do a lot so It
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:does take a while to figure that out.
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:I did realize that I had it.
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:I didn't have a clue what I was
doing when the phone wasn't ringing.
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:The phone wasn't ringing.
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:This is, this is a time when we
actually have to get on the phone
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:with people rather than jump on a
zoom call because we didn't have that.
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:Maybe we had Skype, but
we didn't have zoom yet.
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:But again, most people
probably didn't have that.
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:So waiting for the phone
to ring, it wasn't ringing.
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:What's going on.
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:I don't have a business
unless I have people.
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:paying me to be a coach.
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:Angie: Absolutely.
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:Yeah, that's it That's the 100 percent
the truth and something you said is
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:really resonating with me because you
said I got a coaching certification.
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:I didn't even have that I started
coaching based on experience alone and
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:then started getting, I have several
certifications now, but started in
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:that arena of, I think I need to do
something with this because obviously I
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:had no reputation except in the spaces
that people already knew me, but they
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:didn't know me as a coach at the time.
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:They knew me more of like,
cause I transitioned, right?
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:So I was always in training and and
management the like that kind of arena.
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:Which I guess essentially
is coaching, right?
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:But it didn't dawn on me that maybe
First Step was a certification.
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:And I think there's a lot of, and I
don't know what your experience is
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:with that, because I think there's
value in having those certifications.
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:Most of them, not all the
certifications that I have are
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:actually really relevant right
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:John: cracked.
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:Same.
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:Yeah.
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:It's,
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:Angie: right, like you kind of go, I did
it for validation or something like that,
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:John: spot that.
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:Yeah.
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:Angie: but at the end of the
day, really is still coming
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:down to our experience, right?
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:It really is, unless there's like a
process that you follow as a coach.
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:Um, and I think there's a lot of
debate about whether you really
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:need a certification or not.
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:So maybe we should make
that another one of our
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:John: Oh yeah, I was just, I was just
thinking about how much money I spent
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:on getting qualified a certified as an
NLP practitioner and master practitioner
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:and again, was that money well spent?
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:Angie: uh, uh, yeah,
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:John: I look back and
I'm not sure at the time.
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:I thought yes, but now,
now I'm less than certain.
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:Yeah, so that would be a great episode.
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:We will do that.
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:Um, what I want to get to here
perhaps is if you could go back.
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:To the start of your coaching
journey and be your own mentor,
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:what would you do differently?
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:how would you start things?
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:Knowing what you know now?
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:Angie: Well, I think, honestly,
the first thing, is I would
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:have niched immediately, right?
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:I would have been intentional about,
Where I was lead generating where
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:I was fishing, if you will, I think
that would have been the very, very
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:first thing that I did this way.
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:I wasn't really cherry
picking because that was it.
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:It was so, when I say wonky, I didn't
know what to do or where to do it.
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:The only thing that I did have in my
corner was that my background was.
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:Primarily in sales.
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:So I at least I was lucky in that.
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:I at least understood that Everybody
I know should know what I'm doing.
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:And but I also didn't
know how to teach people
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:how to refer me not to sell me because I
don't need anybody to sell me Right, but
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:like how to refer me so I was very much
looking at it from a singular generation
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:like i'm just going to talk to the
people I know and then once that's done,
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:I guess that's it What do I do then?
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:So the first thing would be the niching
I think and the second piece would be
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:to You Not necessarily focus
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:on who I didn't know yet, but really
focusing deeply onto the contacts
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:that I already had because that's
to this day a golden nugget for me.
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:John: I agree.
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:And I don't know if you've ever done
this and I'm going to make it a slightly
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:embarrassing confession that I have
taken on several different network
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:marketing or multi level marketing.
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:Opportunities, shall we call them?
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:Angie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
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:John: And as you might guess from how I'm
saying this, none of it went very well,
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:but there's a bunch of reasons it didn't.
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:However, some of the situations,
some of the training that they
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:give was actually pretty good.
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:In some ways they nearly always get
you to start making a list of everyone
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:you know and start contacting people.
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:Now, There's good and bad to that
because obviously some people are not
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:going to be particularly impressed
if you haven't spoken to them for a
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:long time and all you're contacting
them for is hey I've got this great
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:opportunity, which happens a lot.
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:But there are going to be people who you
know who might actually be interested.
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:interested, if you're actually
offering a service and started up in
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:your business, might be interested
at least in what you're doing and may
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:even be interested in your services.
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:If you are specific enough about the
problem that you're solving, referring
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:back to our niching episode, they
may also be having conversations
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:with other people who talk about
something that's relevant to you
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:that, ah, I know someone.
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:Someone of my friends or
connections is doing this.
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:Would you like me to
connect them with you?
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:That happens too.
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:So I do think that's a
good strategy to have of.
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:We know that working with warm
leads is a lot easier than
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:trying to get cold leads warm.
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:So yeah, great.
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:Start thinking about who
you're already connected to.
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:Who's in your network.
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:I would say probably for me for
the first couple of years of
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:coaching, the majority of my clients
were people who already knew me.
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:Angie: Yeah, and I think that's a
beautiful thing if you learn how to
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:intentionally Do that and understand
like because to your point I think most
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:people don't come out of the educational
womb Going i'm gonna be a coach.
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:Maybe nowadays they will they're
getting younger and younger as you and
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:I both know but most people that are
coaching that have been coaching for a
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:period of time Have been doing it for
a while so they come from something
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:else and they have so many people that
they know I think that most of those
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:people that I've experienced, they
are looking for the cold lead because
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:those people don't know them yet.
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:It's for them mentally.
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:The mindset is that it's very hard
for them to shift and say, Hey,
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:I'm not in finance anymore, right?
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:I am coaching.
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:It's a very different arena.
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:And I think they have a hard
time reintroducing themselves.
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:As a new kind of different
type of professional.
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:I think that's been a lot of the
challenge and not really knowing,
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:if you're in a group with people
and they say, what do you do?
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:Well, I'm the vice
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:president of Deutsche bank.
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:Okay.
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:That's great.
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:Obviously it sounds, even if
you don't know who Deutsche Bank
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:is, It sounds really great.
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:But if you go, well, I'm a coach, people
go, Oh, well, what do you coach on?
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:And it's really hard to articulate
that unless you know like what you do.
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:People ask me now, what do you do?
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:I'm an executive coach.
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:That's what I say.
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:I'm an executive coach.
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:I'm not a life coach per se.
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:That's part of what I do,
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:but you have to know how to talk
about yourself and you have to be.
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:Intentional about reintroducing
yourself and rebuilding the
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:relationships that maybe you don't have.
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:You know what I mean?
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:Oh, we graduated together 40 years ago.
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:Why would this person
want to hear from me now?
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:I don't know.
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:Do a little research.
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:Can you help them?
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:Is there synergy?
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:There's definitely ways to go about that.
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:John: yeah, and even if it's that
warm lead isn't very warm, even
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:if there's a lot of distance.
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:There are always ways to turn
things up, warm things up.
200
:You can always heat up, heat
up your old leftovers, heat up
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:Angie: Absolutely.
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:That's great.
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:What a great analogy.
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:We don't care how long they've
been sitting in the refrigerator.
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:Heat them up anyway.
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:That's great.
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:John: Yeah, yeah, we just bought
an air fire at home, which is ideal
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:for doing all that kind of thing.
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:But don't put your leads in
there, they won't like it.
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:Angie: That's
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:John: But, when it, when it comes to when
it actually comes to getting yourself
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:some new clients, I do think it's really
important that you at least know who you
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:want to be serving and you can then have
that conversation about it and probably
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:maybe refer more than once back to the
episode that we've already done on niching
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:about how difficult, how difficult
it is to even have this conversation
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:if you're trying to help everybody.
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:So you do need that bit.
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:So go and listen to that
episode if you haven't already.
219
:But when you are actually having
that conversation, how do you get to
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:that conversation in the first place?
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:How do you get people on board
and into your little world?
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:And I think it has to come from a number
of things and it can't just be a slap
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:dash strategy of like, as my marketing
coach would say, hope is not a strategy.
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:And so, so it can't, so it
can't just be that you hope that
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:you're going to get some clients.
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:You really actually need to do
things that will get you clients.
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:And that's going to be a bunch of things.
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:That I, to my mind, there are
still two real ways of doing this.
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:If you're, especially if you're having
to go down the avenue of exploring
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:outwards for clients and going past
what you, who you already connected
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:to which is either going to be
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:paid ads or social leveraging social
media in different kind of ways.
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:And there are right ways
and wrong ways to do this.
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:And so I wonder what your
thoughts on what I just said are?
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:Angie: Well, I agree and I think that this
is it's gonna sound very elementary and
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:baseline But I think it works and it has
still it still works for me to this day
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:Is that I number one I show up curious.
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:So when I'm doing some homework
I'm looking to see where people
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:are What challenges they may be
having whether it's like personally
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:like what are they even posting?
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:Sometimes that's easy bait right
easy, you know easy catch but I really
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:I show up curious to conversations
And then I literally think about
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:where I can connect the dots.
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:It really is like the coaching
perspective starts immediate from for me.
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:It's not, Oh, I need to sell
a package to this person.
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:Even in my discovery calls, if I
get to that point where somebody's
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:like, yeah, I have heard of you.
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:I'd like to talk to you.
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:And I say, okay, let's have
a, complimentary 30 minute.
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:I don't go in telling them all
the wonderful things about me.
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:I don't do that as a coach and all
the things I don't go in and go,
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:Oh, let's be the best of friends.
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:Like I really go in with that
curiosity piece to connect those
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:dots and stitch in my mind.
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:Can I really benefit this person this way?
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:When I, when I opened my mouth to speak.
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:I've already got a strategy in my head.
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:So that's like the first thing.
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:But that's obviously like a step later.
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:But in terms of getting reintroduced to
people, it's really just a conversation.
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:Look at people from
the space of curiosity.
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:What can you do for them?
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:and being intentional
with those conversations.
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:And it can take a lot of time.
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:John, if you look back, if you were
to look on Instagram or Facebook,
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:I leverage social media constantly.
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:I don't really do any paid advertising
because what I'm doing is working.
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:So if I have a promotion that I'm
doing or a topic that I'm talking
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:about that's new or Something that
popped up in my head today while I was
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:driving, and I need to talk about it.
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:I make sure that I am introducing
that across my platforms.
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:So think about it.
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:If you look at your Facebook friend
count, or Instagram, or LinkedIn, or any
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:of those other spaces, how many people
are connected to you that know your name?
275
:They already know your name.
276
:I'd be mining that all day long, you know?
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:And looking to see, I think
the word that keeps coming up
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:for me again is that synergy.
279
:So, I think I kind of glossed over
your question a little bit, but
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:those are the best practices for me.
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:John: Because there's something I want
to give a little bit of attention to,
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:and I think maybe we will have an episode
on on that call as well on your first.
283
:Call your prospects in calls and
how to get how to make those work
284
:because I think that's important.
285
:I'd refer to them as triage calls
where you're doing a bit of like
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:hospital triage figuring out What their
problem is and really you're matching
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:up to see if you can help each other
or not So I think we could do with
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:spending some time on that and we'll
come back to that on another episode
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:Angie: Agreed.
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:Yeah.
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:John: a lot of coaches doing a lot
especially newer coaches, but not
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:necessarily only newer coaches is You
A strategy I really don't like and I
293
:think a lot of people don't like it of
Getting into your either your dms on
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:facebook because you're in a coaching
group together or sending you cold mail
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:And connection requests on linkedin or
other places when you have no relationship
296
:You have no connection before Have
you ever had this kind of message?
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:Hey, I noticed we're both in the
same facebook group Blah blah blah.
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:That's an instant delete for me.
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:i'm sorry it is and say same on LinkedIn
as well like almost almost every day.
300
:There's a message coming through
I off I have these services.
301
:It's like well I have no relationship
to you and I didn't invite you into my
302
:inbox if you come into my email inbox
uninvited Even worse and I I I will I
303
:will actively campaign against you if you
come into my email inbox It's like oh,
304
:sorry, you might be starting a war here.
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:Angie: Wow, wait a second.
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:This is so, wait, I just want everybody
to pay attention for a minute.
307
:You know, when John and I started
this we talked about, how different
308
:we are and he made it like I'm
the mean one here, by the way.
309
:And I think John is showing a little bit
of his, his darker side right now because
310
:he and I are 1000 percent in alignment.
311
:But go ahead.
312
:I agree.
313
:Let me hear more about how you
campaign against these people.
314
:John: I am I am being I am
being somewhat what's the word?
315
:Angie: Cynical?
316
:no,
317
:I'm joking.
318
:I'm joking.
319
:John: God, I'm losing my words today.
320
:Well, you know, that thing when you make
some more of something than it really is
321
:Angie: Dramatic?
322
:John: dramatic.
323
:Well, I am being dramatic.
324
:Uh, perhaps, perhaps a little, perhaps
being a little overly dramatic here.
325
:But I just like it.
326
:I, and I am going to rant about that.
327
:And, and there are things that
grind my gears as relaxed and zen
328
:like as I am most of the time.
329
:Sometimes things sometimes things really
get my goat and maybe because I am so
330
:relaxed the rest of the time I get very
riled at particular other times so don't
331
:do that Don't do those best if you feel
something that you're doing is a bit
332
:sleazy or a bit Not the best or you
don't have any kind of connection or
333
:relationship with the person that you're
reaching out to and never have Don't do it
334
:because it's the return on that is going
to be far lower than the damage that that
335
:does to your reputation in the business.
336
:So I'd say don't do it.
337
:Steer well clear of it.
338
:If you're going to reach out and
connect with someone, add value to them.
339
:Don't try and start a sales
conversation with them.
340
:Try and start a relationship.
341
:If you're going to do that kind of
strategy and be helpful, be friendly,
342
:be service minded, um, And hold
off on whether there actually is
343
:a relationship there or not before
you try having a sales conversation.
344
:So I do think it's just important
to know those strategies.
345
:They may get a little return, but I
don't think you're really going to get
346
:the effort, so many people are doing it.
347
:It's spammy, it's sleazy, and it's
not a good, healthy way to grow your
348
:business that you can feel good about.
349
:So things like, maybe you don't have
the budget for paid ads right now.
350
:Start getting a name for yourself,
go into the groups that have the
351
:people in that you would like
to have and add value to them.
352
:Go into the Facebook pages, the YouTube
videos and wherever else and comment
353
:on them, go on to the live calls, be
on their live events and be adding
354
:value, be having conversations with
people and start creating relationships
355
:Angie: You know what, though?
356
:That's your, that's the
point, though, John.
357
:That's exactly the problem.
358
:Everybody that I talk to doesn't want to.
359
:Does not want to go back and recultivate
that relationship or cultivate it, right?
360
:I mean, reintroduce and then
cultivate they want to do the
361
:quick quick hit and I'm with you.
362
:I don't know if they did this overseas.
363
:I don't know if they did this in England
or if they do it in Spain, but like
364
:during the holidays here in the U.
365
:S.
366
:It's not as big now because malls are
closing and whatever, but I could remember
367
:walking into a department store and
there's this attractive person standing
368
:there with a bottle of perfume, right?
369
:Ready to spray me.
370
:And I literally got to the
point where I would put my
371
:hands up like, no, don't do it.
372
:And run in the, I might even not go
into the store because then they put
373
:them on either side of the entryway.
374
:There was no way around it.
375
:And as you're walking while
saying, trying to be polite, saying
376
:no, thank you, no, thank you.
377
:They still wanted to spray me.
378
:And I was like, Oh, I
have perfume on already.
379
:Like sleazy, hated it, hated it.
380
:And that's what I feel like you're
describing in the coaching world.
381
:And guess what?
382
:But now they've smartened up.
383
:What they do is that same attractive
person might be standing there
384
:and they give you a little packet
that here, here's my free sample.
385
:And then you get to open it at
your own leisure and decide,
386
:because if you like it, you will
go back and make the purchase.
387
:But if you're chasing me down, spraying
me with, even if it's a beautiful
388
:scent that I might love, you've lost
my sale because you are coming at me.
389
:And that is exactly
what you're describing.
390
:So, I think it's better if we
give somebody that packet, right?
391
:Show yourself.
392
:Do some videos.
393
:Show people.
394
:Do some reels.
395
:Do some shorts.
396
:Do some
397
:lives.
398
:Showing
399
:what you do.
400
:And then they will come.
401
:So maybe that's where the, if
you build it where they will
402
:come mentality might come from.
403
:And I'm not a believer, but I think it's,
I think it's a much better way of branding
404
:yourself, introducing yourself and
saying, Hey, I'm not going to spray myself
405
:all over your DMs and in your email.
406
:I'm just showing you what I do.
407
:And if you're doing it well, and
you're doing it often enough with
408
:consistency, people will know
what you're doing and kind of
409
:go, huh, that's interesting.
410
:You said something that
really resonated with me.
411
:That to me is so much more valuable than.
412
:You know, the perfume
of, the coaching perfume.
413
:Like, stop it, stop it.
414
:It's bad.
415
:You have me, I mean, emails I get
a day with Angela, great profile.
416
:Please stop, stop it.
417
:John: This is one of the reasons why
I like podcast guesting as a strategy.
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:And, uh, I do think by speaking podcast
guesting, these can be great strategies
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:because people have the choice of whether
they want to turn up and listen to the
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:conversation and whether they're going
to carry on listening to you or not,
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:the responsibility is all on you to pull
people in and keep them in there as well.
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:And also if you're strategic about that
kind of thing your voice is being heard by
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:people who are likely to be your audience.
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:Clients, the right kind of people
to be working with you, who will
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:want to have that conversation.
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:And if your message is specific enough
and impactful enough for them, then
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:they are likely to take that step of
connecting with you, getting on your
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:email list or or booking a discovery
call with you to find out a bit more
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:about where things could go from here.
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:How could we take this relationship to
level where I'm going to get what I need?
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:It's like one of my business
mentors, Chris Ducker, I didn't
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:know anything about Chris.
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:I just happened to see him on
a Pat Flynn video because it
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:turns out they're good friends.
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:But him and Pat were talking
and Chris just said something
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:that was like I don't do that.
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:I need to do that.
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:I need to speak to Chris.
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:And I did, and I reached out
and, thankfully, Chris has kind
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:of become a friend now as well.
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:It's great.
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:He's still a mentor of mine.
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:But that's sometimes just
how things can happen.
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:Getting yourself out there and having
your voice heard in the right places.
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:Otherwise, it's a bit like, it's
a bit like pissing in the wind.
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:It's it's just going to go everywhere.
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:You need to, you, we want it
to, you know, Go in the fight.
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:Angie: I'm sorry.
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:The visual took about three seconds.
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:There was a delay and I had this visual
of pissing in the wind and spra Oh, okay.
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:You get it.
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:But go ahead.
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:I'm sorry.
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:I was a little delayed
in my reaction there.
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:John: It's a little messy.
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:It's a little messy.
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:So we want to be a bit
tighter about things.
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:And I think that's one
good way of doing it.
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:Angie: Yeah.
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:Yeah.
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:Absolutely.
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:John: so I think we've maybe have covered
not the specific, like we haven't given
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:you a launch plan here, but we've at least
maybe given you some best practices and
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:some things to avoid as you start your
journey of launching a coaching business.
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:if you do have more specific
questions about this, reach
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:out to us on social media.
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:We'd be happy to hear them.
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:I'm sure.
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:We're going to be coming back very soon
with a with an episode like when you
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:are in that conversation One of the
bits that a lot of people worry about
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:is what happens when you get to that
question of how much is this gonna cost?
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:And a lot of people fall apart at
that point So that's what we're
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:going to be talking about next time.
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:Hope you'll join us for that
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:Angie: You want to be there for that one.