From the President

Dear ACO Members,

Last month one of our members brought the following to my attention. On some coaching list serve there was a post by someone alarmed that any coach would "build a practice around a diagnosis." They felt this was unethical and a threat to the whole profession of coaching.

This isn't the first time this has come up, nor of course will it be the last. To me, it is a knee-jerk reaction that misses the broader perspective. No one can coach everyone on everything. Ergo, life coaches have niches.

Coaching niches are often defined both by a coach's own life experiences and by a certain set of challenges a particular demographic faces and wishes help in addressing and moving through. For example, within the realm of life coaching there are dating coaches, relationship coaches, divorce coaches, and life transition coaches. There are also diabetes coaches, cancer coaches, and chronic illness coaches. Dating, relationships, divorce, life transitions, diabetes, cancer, and chronic illness are all part of life. Even if the coach's practice is built around the demographic of a diagnosis, coaches don't coach the diagnosis. They coach their client on the life challenges that diagnosis creates. They help their clients to become empowered and to move forward. That is the essence of life coaching.

The concern that ADHD coaching is a threat to the whole life coach profession is more than a little ironic. In my view, ADHD coaches are in fact closer to the traditional idea of a coach than are most life coaches. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition says a coach is:

1. A person who gives instruction, as in singing or acting.
2. In sports, a person who trains or directs athletes or athletic teams.
3. A private tutor employed to prepare a student for an examination.

Unlike other life coaches, ADHD coaches often instruct, train, and tutor in addition to employing traditional life coaching skills and techniques. For example, ADHD coaches often share information about ADHD to their clients. ADHD coaches also often work on development of specific skills with their clients, including specific planning, organization, and time management skills.

People go to a coach to get better at doing something. People with ADHD come to us to get better at living their lives the way they want them to be. And we're really very good at helping them do that. Rather than ADHD coaching being unethical and a threat, I think the profession of coaching is pretty safe with us.

All my best,
Sarah Wright
President

Connections 2007 SuperSession Speaker

Pink Spoon Marketing: A Primer

by Andrea J. Lee

Ever scratch your head about how this thing called a 'business' works? If you've ever bought ice cream, you can understand what it takes to grow your biz.

Think about the last time you went into an ice cream shop and had a taste of a flavor before you actually bought a cone. What if you could create an experience much like the one you've just imagined for people who walk into your ‘store?'

What if their experience of spending money with you could be as painless and pleasurable?

It doesn't matter if you have a physical store, you run your business from an office building, or perhaps your ‘store' is a completely virtual one where people visit you strictly on the Internet. Experience tells us if you're willing to look beneath the surface of the metaphor of that ice cream store, there are a dozen connections you can make that can bring your business more money.

The Idea of a Pink Spoon.

In the case of the ice cream store, a Pink Spoon is the tiny little utensil you get when you ask for a taste. What's more important than the name is the concept behind it. It's simple, really. Give away a small taste of something you are selling, for free, and if done right, more often than not, earn a paying client as a result.

The Pink Spoon model is based on real-world success, NOT theory.

You ask what can coaches give away besides a sample session?
The answer is usually something that educates your market. A simple brochure, pamphlet, online ecourse or other format containing the top 5 reasons why your service is essential, can often do the trick.

All great Pink Spoons have 5 main characteristics:

• They are free.
• They are compelling and sought after.
• They are small in size, a true sample.
• They are easy for the business owner to give away, don't require an ongoing time commitment to deliver, and aren't too costly to be wise.
• They are a natural lead in to the core product or service you want to sell.

To brainstorm with other business owners about Pink Spoons in real-time, there is an open community online that can help. Details are at www.MoneyMeaningandBeyond.com.

Read more on line.

Connections 2007 SuperSession Speaker

Conversational Marketing

by Michelle Schubnel

Don't you love it when a simple conversation generates a new client or a referral?

If you are not generating business opportunities you'd like to through your day-to-day interactions, try using Conversational Marketing -- a specific way of speaking confidently about your coaching business.

1. Create Your Compelling Message
   Craft your message in terms of who you coach and what you coach on. Be as specific as possible. For example:
   I'm a life coach. I work with recent divorcees who want to consciously design their new life as a single according to their true values. My specialty is coaching people who have joint custody of their children.
2. Speak with Confidence
   If you don't fully believe in yourself and the value your coaching provides, no one else will.
3. Ask and Listen
   After you share your compelling message, focus the conversation on the other person.
4. Be Who You Are
   You don't need to work to impress. You are amazing exactly the way you are.
5. Make a Specific Request or Invitation
   Consistently offer a complimentary coaching consultation. Make it easy for them by asking for it.
6. Leverage the Law of Attraction
   The Law of Attraction says that you don't need to worry about all the specific details of how something will happen. Instead, identify what you want, believe you can have it, take inspired action and allow for what you desire to arrive.

Conversational Marketing Is the Icing, Not the Cake

I'm not recommending that you aggressively promote your coaching to everyone you meet. Instead, focus on the primary marketing activities that are most effective for you and have fun with Conversational Marketing. Practice using the strategies above. Be open to the possibilities but unattached to the outcome. Just see what happens when you are prepared and confident.

Want to Learn More?

Michelle Schubnel, Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. President and one of the Keynote Speakers at Connections 2007 is offering a special NO COST teleclass on this topic just for the ACO:

Speak Confidently About Your Coaching… even if you are a new coach!

Get the full details and the rest of the info here.

Or register directly for this F.R.E.E. 60 minute teleclass here: www.coachandgrowrich.net/aco
Day: Monday, February 12
Time: 8-9 pm Eastern/NY

Coaching around self esteem

by Kerch McConlogue, CPCC, PCC

Self esteem can be affected any time a person evaluates himself, or feels judged, against some standard either internal or external. Self doubt, an internal judgment, can lead to poor choices which lead to bad outcomes which reinforce self doubt and poor self esteem. Sometimes self esteem can be affected situationally – a bad boss, teacher, spouse, neighbor or even friend can repeatedly judge a person as inferior.

I particularly like using the book Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell. (A brief outline is also available on the web at http://thework.com) They say, "When you argue with reality you loose, but only 100% of the time." Self esteem can cloud reality. So try using the questions Katie and Mitchell pose. They ask:

1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely know that it's true?
3. How do you react when you believe that thought?
4. Who would you be without that thought?

These are great coaching questions. When clients look clearly at events and situations, consider what they have learned and evaluate the truth about the whole, they have an opportunity to nudge their self esteem towards the positive or at the very least, to keep it from slipping down a peg without their noticing.

If you are a member you can read more on line here.

Or Join Us here.

Ready for Tax Time:
A short guide for coaches and other self-employed professionals

by Viveca Monahan, CPC ACG

If your system for managing your files and supporting documents isn't all it could be, here are a couple of tips:

• Set aside an hour or two just to read up on what's new for individual taxpayers www.irs.gov/individuals/index.html
• Read up on rules for the self-employed available from the IRS at www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98202,00.html .
• Pick up an easy to read copy of J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax.
• Set up your files. Ask for friendly support from a family member or friend while you gather and sort.
• Schedule your appointment even if you're not ready. The deadline will provide the motivation to get ready.
• Finally, plan how you will celebrate once you've completed your work. Ideally, your celebration might be a trip or theater tickets or other event that has a date attached to it. You can complete your tax work knowing that the deadline you are working toward has a guaranteed happy ending.

(Editor's note: I just got a link to this article in Forbes magazine called: "Should you deduct that home office?" Check it out online here}

If you are a member you can read more and learn some specific tips on a workable system here.

Or Join Us here.

The Physician's Little Blue Book

by Sarah Wright, MS, ACT

Building a referral network using only the people you're told about can be a slow and tedious process. You can accelerate your search by using WebMD's Little Blue Book. They say, "When it comes to reaching practicing physicians, we wrote the book."

WebMD has put together a nation-wide database of practicing physicians. It includes specialty, contact information, and insurance affiliations. The online version is available here. You can also get printed directories for your local area. There are WebMD Little Blue Books available for 146 metropolitan areas. Click here to see if yours is included.

If you are a member you can read more on line.

Or Join Us here.

New classes listed in the Education section

There are new classes listed in our Find ADHD Coach Training section here. And we've added a form you can use if you'd like us to include your classes in our listings. You can find that form here.