Return to Archive
More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: Learn both the possibilities and limitations
of hiring a professional business coach.
Do You Need a Coach?
I got an email last week asking me if things are working out
with my coach who I started with in October. Has it been a
worthwhile experience? Has it paid off?It's funny that although I probably have more coaches as
subscribers, customers and clients than any other category of
business, that I didn't hire a coach sooner.Not only is my coach working out, hiring him was perhaps the
best business decision I made last year. Never mind that I really
enjoy working with him and that he gets me focused and on
track; his coaching has, in three and a half months, by my
conservative estimate, paid for itself for the next four years!I can't promise the same for anyone who hires a coach, but wow,
this is more than I had ever expected. And it's pretty amazing
given that he offers me very little advice but simply asks me
good questions and gets me thinking about what I need to do
next to grow my business.Last year I mentioned that "a structure of support" was the
key to making your marketing work. Coaching is one of those
support structures that helps you to take effective action
consistently, even if you already "know" what to do.What I notice is that I'll often spend a lot of time thinking about
doing something, weighing the pros and cons and going back
and forth in my head so much that I get "paralysis by analysis."When I work with my coach, Christian, he gets me to mull over
my ideas and thoughts out loud until I have more clarity. Then,
POW, I take massive action and make something happen right
away. And it usually makes me money.So, yes, a coach is a very worthwhile investment!
But if you want to improve your marketing and business results
there's something you need to do before you hire a coach (or
while you work with your coach). And if you don't do this, you're
going to fall flat on your face.You need to get marketing knowledge, strategy and skills.
My coach isn't a marketing expert. He doesn't have to be. That's
my job. He just needs to help me clarify my thoughts, get me
unstuck and encourage me to take action.Many coaches don't have marketing expertise. And unless they
are also legitimate marketing consultants (i.e., they have
extensive knowledge, experience and results with marketing),
they have no business giving you marketing advice.Usually you need to get that information and advice outside of
the coaching relationship. And if you do, the synergy of the
two can be amazingly powerful.Get your marketing information from books, e-books, seminars,
workshops, TeleClasses, audio programs and consultants. But
once you do, don't stop there. Next hire a coach to support you
in putting these ideas into action, and you're going to get much
better results than if you just did one or the other.One more thing. If you're a coach, don't be all things to all
people and try to provide all the marketing and business
expertise your clients also need. Direct them to other sources
that can offer this expertise and you'll get better results in the
long run.More on "Do You Need a Coach?" in Marketing Flashes below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual
This comprehensive marketing manual for Independent Professionals
is the flagship product of Action Plan Marketing. Written by Robert
Middleton over several years, it contains the accumulated wisdom of
over twenty years on how to attract clients with less struggle.Why is the InfoGuru Manual for you?
- It was developed exclusively for Independent Professionals such
as consultants, coaches, trainers and other service professionals
who are great at what they do but have a hard time consistently
attracting clients to their businesses.- The manual is based on a few powerful marketing principles that,
once you understand them, might seem obvious but are missed by
almost everyone (and implemented by even fewer).- The marketing principles contained will help you: increase interest
in your services, build trust and credibility with prospects, get prospects
wanting to learn more about what you do and create a steady stream of
word-of-mouth business.- It goes way beyond theory, vague generalizations or concepts and
contains hundreds of hands-on marketing strategies and action plans
that are easy to implement, even if you have no marketing experience.- Includes foundational marketing information on things like creating
an attention-getting marketing message and then goes into depth on the
most recent marketing techniques of web marketing and eZines.- You can read it like a book, you can go through it slowly and do
the exercises like a home-study course or you can refer to it whenever
you have a question about marketing your business.- It comes with a boatload of extras, including audio files, articles,
and the InfoGuru Support Forum, where you can get any question
about marketing answered for free.- The Support Forum can be used to answer questions, provide
resources, review marketing materials, web sites, proposals and
sales letters, as well as explore the more complex and confusing
aspects of attracting clients to your business.- It will help remove the mystery and struggle about marketing
and selling that so many Independent Professionals experience and
will help you realize that marketing can actually be fun.- It comes with my unconditional guarantee. Get it and try it. If you
don't think it's worth much more than what you paid, tell me and I'll
refund 100% of your purchase price.- Unlike most marketing information sold on the web, the manual is not
only available in digital form (pdf file) for immediate download, but for
just a few dollars more you can get a printed manual as well.- The InfoGuru Marketing Manual was published in February of 2001
and it's just as relevant today as I add to it regularly with updates of
the manual that can be downloaded repeatedly at no additional cost.- If you are looking for one tool that will help you attract clients with
an approach and methodology that is highly effective but doesn't
compromise your integrity, you've found it!For complete details and to order online go to:
http://www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marketing Flashes on "Do You Need a Coach?"
You should seriously consider hiring a coach for your business if...
* You have great intentions but you keep getting stuck. It may
be that you're overwhelmed, procrastinate too much, have a
hard time making decisions or are simply confused or afraid to
take a risk. You need support big time.* You're moving ahead but you're making a lot of mistakes.
You're not indecisive or a procrastinator or afraid of risks but you
still seem to sabotage yourself. The decisions you've made
haven't resulted in the success you expected.* You're discouraged and unfulfilled because you seem to be
going in the completely wrong direction. You need some serious
guidance to figure out where you want to go and how you're
going to get there.* You're in a place of transition and are not sure of your next
move. You've had success in one area but you're tired of doing
the same thing. You want some assistance in determining the
next step in your business and/or life.* Things are going great. You're making money and doing what
you love. Success comes to you easily but you want to leverage
that success. You need someone to be a sounding board for your
plans and strategies to keep you moving and on track.In other words... If you are *anywhere* in your business, a
coach can be a great help. Start looking for one today!Until next week, all the best,
Robert Middleton
ACTION PLAN MARKETING
Helping Independent Professionals Attract More Clients~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 Riverside Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-338-7790© 2004 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free
to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part,
as long as you include complete attribution, including live web
site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear.
The attribution should read:"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses."* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
