How to Start a Coaching Business Q&A with Terry Rice | 4/29/2021

Okay, we're gonna go ahead and get started. As you might be able to tell, I recently moved, so still kind of getting settled in right now. But I do have my kettlebells here, so that's good. But by next week I should have something in the background besides nothing or fitness equipment. But what I want to do, as always, is grab some of the questions that came in in advance and then if you have any as you're listening, please let me know. But the goal here is just to answer any questions you have about the course or in regards to just launching or scaling your consulting business in general. So let's get into it. This first one's kind of long, but I want to read the whole thing for context, so hopefully I don't butcher it. I have two main clients. One is very challenging and demanding, the other is laid back and fun. So they're like polar opposites. Fortunately, I find myself neglecting the more laid back one since I know they won't get upset and, and focusing more on the demanding client. How do I find the balance? I think we need to do is just be very clear about your service level agreement. So if they ask you for a request, you would say, all right, well I'll acknowledge any email within, let's say eight hours with the goal of resolving it in 24 hours. That's what I did when I was at Adobe or just establishing clear timelines on when production products will be done. So we cover that in module six of the course. Believe. Yeah, module six. And you can use a tool like Asana to track that. Or if it's like on the more basic level, it could just be Google Sheets, but have a clear way of saying here's what we said we're going to do by this date. And you know, as long as we're all in agreement with that, you shouldn't have challenges with people being overly demanding. Right. Unless they're doing expanding the scope, which is a different conversation. You'd have to either add that as another line item, meaning whatever extra stuff they're asking for, or just say no. So that's part of it is just being very clear about when things are due, even the type of communication you'll have. So, you know, like we have one phone call a week, I'll respond to your emails, but it's only going to be within, like I said, you know, 8 hours or 24 hours to resolve. I would. If they're demanding, I often steer clear of letting someone add me on a slack because then they have access to you like 24 7. It's so much easier to write a slack message than it is to write an email. So if you're sensing that they're that type of person or that type of client, maybe don't do that because that's never fun. And another thing you want to do is just very clear, get clear on your own schedule.

Right?

So Y Combinator, this accelerator out in California, they use what's called a maker's schedule and a manager schedule. And basically a maker schedule is when you're doing your creative work. So maybe it's the actual job you're doing for this client. It could be. Maybe you're writing blogs, doing your social media and normally that takes place in the morning at this company and they have a manager schedule. That's when there's all the more admin type stuff like a team meeting or, or even like check ins with your client like you're referring to to an extent. So you want to be clear saying, look, I don't take meetings before this time or here's when I respond to my email, so on and so forth. So the more clear you are and the more confident you are, the better results you'll get from that whole relationship. So I would say put your foot down and then don't neglect the cool client because like you want more people like them so you want them to be happy. So they recommend people to you because they probably don't hang out with jerks. Right. If you think about it like normally cool people hang out with cool people or like respectful people, you know, same thing. So that's, that's what I would do and just make sure that even though they are more, you know, lax, that you're not neglecting them because they're not going to renew. They might nicely not renew, but it's not going to work out too well if you're neglecting them. So we have a question here. Are the Q and A sessions available for future reference? Yeah, they're always going to be. Good question actually. Thanks. They're always going to be available in teachable. So the very last module is just the Q and A's from previous ones. So I do recommend checking those out just to see what you might have missed because often even if you don't have a question someone else asked a question that will benefit you. So yeah, you're always welcome to do that. Thanks for asking another question here. I was recently offered a 9 to 5. Okay, cool. But I want to continue working as a consultant. Do you think I should tell them or just moonlight on the side. Well, first of all, I mean, congrats, if that's what you want to do, if you want to go back to, you know, the whole nine to five thing, because I know some people, they started consulting because they got laid off, unfortunately. And if that's your case and you now have a 9 to 5, you know, congrats. You know, I know what that's like. If you want to continue working as a consultant, I would just be honest about it and say, hey, you know, based on the fact that maybe you're still working remotely, I still have, you know, an extra two hours a day that I can dedicate to my own business because I'm not commuting, I'm not getting dressed as much, stuff like that. And I want to keep on doing this, but I wouldn't try to hide it because it takes away a lot of your tools. Well, first of all, it's dishonest, but it takes away a lot of your tools for growing your business, right? So if you're planning on growing your business by, we got a new intercom system. If you're planning on growing your business by posting on social media, being overt about the fact you help people, you can't do that because all your new colleagues are going to start connecting with you and they're going to say, well, you said you stopped doing that, right? So I would just see if they're okay with it. If the answer is no, then you have a tough decision. You have a good decision to make. You know, it's a good kind of tough, but I mean, the skills you have right now, I think it's almost nice to know that if you want, you can maybe leave the job if you decide you don't want to keep it and, you know, just go back to doing independent consulting. But I always say that honesty literally is the best policy because you don't want to get caught, first of all, just don't do it, right? But you don't want to get caught and then get laid off. And then you have to explain why you worked somewhere for like two months and are not doing that anymore. So, yeah, no, I know it's challenging because they're like, shoot, I can make so much more money. Yeah, you could, but it's not worth the anxiety. And then even that, like, when are you going to meet your clients? Right? If you're always busy during the day, presumably with your 9 to 5, it seems kind of weird. You can never talk, you know, until, like, after 5:00'. Clock. So that's what I would recommend. Another interview type thing. I was recently interviewed for a local TV station. How do I get the video and can I use it on social? So yeah, I mean what you do is like ask the producer or whoever your contact is at that TV station just for the video. And in most cases they'll be cool with it. If you can get the raw file, not the one that's going to air on the news because it'll say like, it'll say like News Channel 12 at the bottom. Like you don't really want all that stuff. Get the raw file of that and even some of the footage that didn't air because you'll still have yourself like, you know, with really cool lighting and like, you know, looking professional, answering all these questions. So do that. And then can you use it on social? Typically it's fair usage rights, so you can. Especially if they actually give it to you. Like they wouldn't say, here you go, like, don't do anything with it. I would be careful. If you used it for paid ads, that's when it becomes somewhat of an issue sometimes because it's like now it's like you ask them to shoot a commercial and you're using their, their content to grow your business. So that's where I'd be a little hesitant to do so, or at least ask. But normally what happens is if you do something like you have their logo on your website maybe and they don't like it, they'll just send you a cease and desist. They're not going to like sue you. I mean, they're probably not going to have it back on the channel anymore. But other than that, there's no negative repercussions. But I would just ask them straight up, hey, I had a great time doing this. I'd love to do it again. Can I get the footage and do you mind if I use it in this way? What I would do also is whatever your background is, let's say you're a financial consultant. I would do my best to become their residential financial consultant pro. That way they keep on having you on over and over and over again trying to find a way to make this a series that you're doing right? Because if you already have a good connection with them and you did a good job, like, don't just tell my story, you know, I want to help other people. So that's an example of just seeing like through opportunities and not just, you know, the present opportunity, but thinking, okay, well how can I multiply the impact of this, know this one time thing? And that's what I would do. And then obviously promoted on social, once it airs, like before it airs. Once it airs. And even after, when I was on Good Morning America is a couple years ago, I did all the promotion like, hey, look at me. But then I also did some stuff where it's like, it's not like flexing, it's like it was like making fun of myself because at one point they wanted me to, to like just like type on my computer. I'm like fake typing. But I forgot to take my microphone off. So it's like, it's clear that it's a stage scene. Cause I'm like typing with a lab mic on. And I made fun of myself for it. Right? Because it's like you do want to humanize yourself. And that post or that video actually got some, some good traction and some clients from it too. So. So congrats on that again. But that's how I would take advantage of it. So it's pretty cool. All right, let's see. We got a saroshe. How you doing? I need to get an update from you. I know you're been hard at work. If you want, you can come on and chat live. You don't have to have a computer on because I know. Or your camera on because I know you saw a little one there. But if you want to talk live, happy to chat with you. If you have any questions, you can type those in too, but would love to know how things are going. Okay, cool. So by sure, I think that means you're going to come on and talk. So it means I got to put my headphones on. But I will promote you to a panelist now. So give me one second, I'll get that done. All right. Make sure it's actually working.

Hi, how are you? Good, how are you?

Good, good. Haven't seen you, I think, ever. Actually.

Yeah, I actually was doing a trial run for how to do video on top of PDF using Loom or Canva. So I was trying to look more presentable. So hence I'm on camera apart from the kids. But I. Yeah, I actually update wise. I remember a few weeks back I did a survey from the client side for my topic, which is about responding powerfully to an RFP response. And I've gotten about 12, 13 responses back from like key people I've known in the past. And it's really helped cement some of the topics of what I'm teaching. And that they all feel the similar pet peeves when reviewing an article. I mean, reviewing a proposal. So how do you avoid those pitfalls and, like, top three winning elements? I mean, I literally asked them things I would love to use as, like, lead magnets. So that happened. And then from there, I have been really just working as much as I can on wrapping up my modules for the online content and deciding the webinar that I can use as a lead bang. So I'm trying to record that so I can as soon as possible, like, try and get pre sales. Maybe. If you think that's a good idea. Where if I have a video that I shoot speaking to, like, the framework and some of, like, the research, and then giving an outline of the course and saying if you're interested and want to know more, like, click on something and maybe that'll take them to a landing page I have to develop. But anyways, still on the earlier side of it, but starting to feel a bit more confident on the material.

Awesome. Yeah, no, I love the idea of doing pre sales. Right. Because first of all, you're incentivizing people for joining early, and you normally would offer some kind of discount in exchange for their feedback, but honestly, it just feels good to have some money coming in where you're like, okay, like, all this is not for nothing. You know, people see the value that I'm providing. And those days when you're just kind of, you know, feeling. I don't say discouraged, when you're kind of tired, you're just like, I don't really want to do this. Like, it just motivates you even more to complete it because there's people waiting for you now to get it done. So absolutely, I'd recommend doing that. And like I said, maybe just give them a discount, like 50% off, and it'll put pressure on you to also meet the launch day that you deliver to them.

Yeah. And typically, what all do you need to do those pre sales? You need a landing page and, like, a webinar type of work. Right. Like, you need the date you're gonna launch and then everything about the curriculum.

I suppose not everything. I mean, enough, but I've seen people say, like, hey, I'm thinking of doing something. This is a loose idea. If I did this, you know, would you buy it? And you can express that interest by, you know, putting down a deposit. Now, obviously, the more fleshed out the idea is, the better. But there's no prereq saying you absolutely have to have everything done and what you can do is, yes, build a landing page for it on your website and then still have them click through through a platform like Teachable where they would make that initial payment as well.

Have you heard of New Zendler?

I have not. What is it?

I think it's a version from New Zealand, Australia. It's not American, but it's a course platform that also focuses on marketing funnels. So everything is integrated in one platform. But either ways, I was exploring that to launch because it also has built in communities and other things, but it doesn't matter where I launch in a way. But curious. Another question I had was I was going through your course and in your surveys you ask, you say, oh, I thank you for filling it out. I promise I'm not going to sell anything. And there's like a line in there. But you've also said that some of these people have turned into your clients. Do you not ever sell to them or do you do it in a way which is like so subtle that you know they just want your value?

I'd say the latter. So what's happened is someone will fill out the survey and in my survey said, hey, let me know if you have any questions. So if they ask me a question and I respond, and that's kind of how it leads down the path to potentially buying something. But when I say that, I mean, like, I'm not going to overtly sell you something. I'm not going to turn around and like give you this email blast where it's like, thanks for your information, so on, so forth. Now click here and buy. Now I'll tell you something that's even funnier is this one woman who I reached out to saying, please fill out this survey, ignored me, never got back to me. And then six months later she's like, hey, I want to work with you. Never even filled up a survey. But she's like, but we connected on social media because of that. And she's like, I've been following you for the last six months and I really like what you're doing. How can we work together? So it's amazing how just by making that connection, you might get someone who wants to work with you. And especially if you're newer to this, this, this sector or this, this, this industry, it's a good way to build your network just by.

Yeah, okay, that makes sense. And the other thing I noticed, I'm on the module where you speak about in person networking events. Do you have a different version of that for Zoom?

Yeah, it's. It's so funny. Like I, some of those, those, those videos, like, they're not really rele. So here, here's what I've been seeing that's worked. One of my clients, she's very introverted. She wouldn't want to do in person stuff if she had the option. So what she's been doing is going to meetup.com and using that for virtual meetups. So that's, that's one option. But there's, there's a lot of. I mean, nowadays, meaning the last year or so there are more like virtual meetups out there. I would literally just like start looking for some. Start with meetup just to make it easier, but find other organizations that are doing this. The where she's finding success though, is not just going to random ones, but by going to the same ones over and over and over again. Because then you all get to know each other. And I'm not sure if you're familiar with bni, Business Networking International. Those. Okay, so that's, those are probably virtual too. But there's like, in New York City at least, there's like 50 or 60 chapters of these networking groups and there's normally around 20 members. But none of them can be direct competitors to each other. So their goal solely is to give each other referrals. That's how you earn status in these, these groups. But it's. And I suspect they might be virtual too. So I would look Business Networking International, bni. But where she's finding success is like, you know, consistently going to the same ones over and over and over again. I was, I would also look at Clubhouse if you are on that. And I think Clubhouse is almost getting a bad rap because it's like, oh, it's finally my chance to be an influencer. Oh my gosh. Everyone's like trying to be on it. But I was on one today with predominantly female entrepreneurs and one of my friends runs it and there's a tight group of people, maybe 30 or 40 of them that show up consistently week over week. They're all pulling some pretty good leads out of there. So I would look for that as well. Especially people like you and I who have kids and we can't always just like, you know, you know, just jump on a camera and like, you know, without worrying about what's going on in the background. So I would, I would do that as well.

So would you jump onto into rooms that are relevant to your topic or would you create a room yourself?

I would start by just listening first. Just jump into rooms that are relevant because you just kind of learn, like, even, like, the norms of the platform by doing that. And then when it is time for you to have your own room, you'll, you know, you'll be better off. But maybe you never create your own room. Maybe you just keep on finding ones that are relevant to you. And what I would do in your case is I would just do social listening. I would go look for some that are specifically. Specifically for architects and just listen to their pain points, their challenges, because you'll. I mean, 50% of it, maybe more won't be relevant to what you do, but. But you'll just know so much more even than you already do about what's going on inside their head. And then the benefit is when you're in a room with someone, you can, like, look at your phone and I would just, like, screenshot them so you can go look at their profile later, go to their Instagram or, you know, their. Whatever.

Okay.

That's what I was say. Hey, I saw you were in this room yesterday. Looks like you do this. Just want to introduce myself, by the way, if. If you need some help with this, I have this guide that helps you structure your RFPs.

Okay, I see. And that guide would not be the free lead magnet. It would be the course itself.

I would start with the free lead magnet.

Free lead, Yeah.

I mean, here's the thing. Like, this stuff, it's time consuming, but it's so focused, you know, it's better than just like, yelling down, you know, the streets. Does someone want to work with me? Right. And I don't think there's ever been a time in history when it was. It's been this easy to find your target audiences, reach out to them. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Does it take effort? Yes. But it's like, you know, like, I'd.

Rather do this, though, because I still, like, feel a little. I'm an introvert, but also I'm. I am not. I don't want to be in direct conflict with what I do. So I like the kind of more targeted outreach instead of posted on my LinkedIn, my Facebook, my Instagram, where, like, both networks can see. So.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the majority of people on Clubhouse would have a link to their Twitter or their Instagram, so you can just DM them from there.

Oh, that's right. Okay, great. Well, thank you. This has been really helpful. So I just have to. It's just so much to do, and I feel like I have a webinar where I'm presenting middle of June and that's where I feel like I can end it by saying, here's the course, everything is live, sign up. And I feel like I could have some conversion there. So I have a date of like, middle of June to finish.

Yeah, yeah, so. So for that webinar, are you gonna get dedicated landing page they can go to during the webinar to get this information?

Uh, you mean, can I link them to one?

Well, let me. I'll just kind of tell you what I do if it helps. Yeah, anytime I do a webinar, I create a specific landing page just for that event. And it's going to have links to my socials. It's going to have links to, in this case, your course, your lead magnet, maybe some articles you've written, whatever it is. And what you would say at the beginning is, hey, for the next hour, I'm going to cover a lot of information. The very best way to apply what you've learned is to go to this link I'm going to put in there right now and download this. Don't call it a lead magnet, call it this guide, and that way you'll be able to apply what you've learned. But what I'm saying is make a specific web page on your website that has all this information. Your social links, the course, the lead magnet, anything else of value that you want to share. And that way there's one, one source for them to go to get this.

Information that's really helpful. Absolutely. Okay, that's great. And I am targeting groups that are within my targeted audience, like marketing professionals in the design industry. So it's super, like, relevant. And then also there's another one, the eia, the American Institute of Architects. They have different chapters. There's a one in South Carolina and Georgia and that region that's requesting proposals. So if I can get in and they select me, then I'll be able to do something in September. So have you ever pitched proposals like that and found success?

Yeah, for speaking engagements, yeah.

I'm sure you have. But like, how best do you do that?

I assume that the organizer doesn't care about me whatsoever. They only care about their audience. So when I'm writing these, these emails, I would say, hey, I'm wondering if you ever bring in speakers for professional development. I talk about these topics. I think it'll help your audience because of this. And that's the gist of it. Just make it all about the audience. Like, don't go on and on about your credentials. What I would do, like, if we're talking about, again, like, you know, the research you've done that's relevant. You would say, I, you know, I've surveyed all these people and, and I, you know, combine it into this information for you. It's going to help your audience achieve this goal. But it's all about the audience. That's what I would do. And if you look at, I'm not saying you didn't do your due diligence, but if I think it's in module six, I actually give you a copy that you can use for that.

Oh, wow. Okay.

If actually, no, it's in the, it's in the coaching and consulting playbook. That's what it is. So it's in the playbook. It's still referencing module six, but there's an actual copy you can use from that. And then if you don't hear back like two weeks later, just have like a one sentence email. Do you ever bring in speakers? Just like, ask that one thing. Don't like, vomit out a bunch more information. But I want to go back to this one in June real quick.

Yeah.

Are you allowed to do this for your job or. No.

Do what you're just saying.

No, no, no. Are you. This the one that you're doing in June? Are you allowed to be public about it, like on your, on LinkedIn or something?

I. Yes, I think so. Yes. Yeah.

Okay. Let me just give you one more tip then.

Yeah.

Whenever you're doing an event like this, you might see people in like the chat window talking to each other and going back and forth. And what I love doing, this is like almost like a cheat code. What I love doing is I say this, I say, hey, it looks like there's a lot of us, you know, trying to, you know, network. That's great. You all should be doing that. What I'm going to do right after this presentation is on my LinkedIn, I'm going to have a post that says, did you attend my talk about this? If so, you know, what were your key takeaways? And then what do you do and who do you do it for? Because then what happens is everyone starts following you on LinkedIn. They all chime in on that post, and you just get so many views for that post because the more engagement you get for a post, the more views you get. But then next time you want to land a speaking engagement, if someone's like, oh, can you tell us about the past feedback? Yeah, go look at this post. There's 30 people saying how awesome I am.

That's so interesting. What were the two questions again? You said, what was your biggest takeaway?

And what do you do? Who do you do it for? Yeah, whatever feels like a good fit for your audience. But it's important to say, what are your key takeaways first? Because that way, if you want to screenshot it as a comment, you can use that. But I did that last week for a webinar that I led, and I think, like, 30 people commented on it, and within, like, a day, it had, like, 7,000 views. But then people see that, and they're like, oh, when's your next one? Can you do it for my organization? Can you help me? So it's like you're. You're. You're using your audience more or less to market your business, which is pretty cool.

So much helpful information. Okay, great. Okay, thank you. Thank you so much.

Cool. Yeah. So we have time before June. Anything else comes up, let me know. But I'm happy to help.

Yeah, absolutely. As I keep progressing through this crazy world of e learning, which there's marketing funnels, all of that. I'm not there yet, but I have lots of questions.

Yeah, well, you got time, too, but I'm glad we got a chance to chat. So thanks for joining today. All right, well, and I think that's actually our last question. I don't see anything else coming in. So, everyone, thanks for attending. Wait, hold on. Let me double check here. Actually, Dennis, I see you just joined. If you have any questions, let me know. If you want to come on and talk live, we can do that, too. But I want to make sure that you have everything you need. So, yeah, just let me know if you want to connect or if you're just hanging out today. Cool. All right. Just wanted to learn. Okay. Well, hopefully that was beneficial to you and everyone else, but I will see here, right here, next week. So enjoy your weekend, and I will talk to you soon. Take care.