Time to Reflect

With the Christmas and New Year period fast approaching you may find yourself with some extra time on your hands. Amid the time for food, drink, family and friends consider setting aside some time to reflect on the past performance and future goals of your coaching practice.

I find that some coaches simply do not check the performance of their coaching practice anywhere near frequently enough, if at all. Some may be scared at what they will find. Others prefer to 'let the Universe take care of the details.' Whatever the reason, infrequent checks often lead to infrequent cheques ;-)

Personally, I prefer to check the performance of my practice in little chunks frequently rather than one big chunk at the end of the year. This way you can tell if you're on track or off track and make the necessary adjustments as early as possible. Waiting until the end of the year to find out you drifted off track a long time ago is tantamount to negligence. Don't let this be you.

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Season's Greetings

I'd just like to take this opportunity to offer you the very best of wishes over the festive period. I would also like to thank you for being a subscriber to this newsletter and I hope that you have obtained valuable information from it. As a gift to you, here is a link to the newsletter archives for the whole of 2004. Enjoy!

http://www.authenticpractice.com/archives2004.htm

I have a number of exciting things planned for the newsletter next year and look forward to sharing these with you in 2005.

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> Tips for your reflection time

Here are some tips to help you to make the most of the time you spend reflecting on the past performance and future goals of your coaching practice:

1. Have a Board Meeting - Note that I say board meeting and not a bored meeting :-) Are you familiar with the concept of having an imaginary board of directors to help and guide you? This was idea was popularised by Napoleon Hill.

As it's an imaginary board of directors, you can have anyone on it you wish. Who would you like to invite? Anita Roddick? Richard Branson? Oprah Winfrey? You choose when to have a meeting and they can help you at will!

Now, who would you like on your Imaginary Board of Directors?

2. Best Clients - Make a list of all the clients you have served in the past year. Write their names down the left-hand side of a sheet of paper.

First highlight the clients you most enjoyed working with. What was it about these clients that made them so enjoyable to coach? Was it the subject area you coached them in or the type of person that made your sessions so enjoyable? Does this suggest a potential niche for you?

I did this exercise a couple of years ago and it helped me to identify my niche of helping coaches in the attracting clients into their coaching practice.

3. Not So Good Clients - Use the list of clients you have served in the past year.

Circle the clients you did not enjoy working with that much (if you have had any at all). What was it about these clients that made them not so enjoyable to coach? Was it the subject area you coached them in or the type of person that made your sessions not so enjoyable? Does this suggest a potential niche to avoid?

For example, a few years I coached an IFA and on reflection I found him to be arrogant, self-centred and overly focused on the green stuff. I did not particularly look forward to the calls and this did not serve me or my client very well at all. However, I utilised this experience to help me to identify the types of people I do not enjoy working with. I also flipped over the characteristics to get greater clarity on the profile of my ideal clients.

4. The Figures - Take a look at the numbers. Like a camera - they never lie. What was your total turnover last year? More importantly, how much pr*fit did you actually make? These are the type of figures to monitor on a more frequent basis than simply yearly. Commit to keep the finger on the pulse of your practice on at least a monthly basis.

5. Vision and Goals - What vision do you have for your coaching practice next year and beyond? How many clients do you want to be working with on a regular basis? How much do you want to generate from your practice next year?

So, when are you going to take the time to reflect?

Like you, I'll be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year. However, the next issue of the Authentic Practice newsletter will be back on Wednesday, 5th January 2005.

With very best wishes,

Authentic Practice
helping coaches to get more clients
3 Larchdene Avenue
Wollaton
Nottingham
NG8 2PF

Website: http://www.authenticpractice.com

Tel.: (0845) 123 5105
Mobile: (07811) 262 111

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I hope that you have enjoyed reading this issue of Authentic Practice and have found the information valuable. Please forward this issue onto any friends or colleagues that you think would benefit.

I work with coaches who have a strong desire to help others but are currently struggling to get clients. I help them to attract more clients and create a stable coaching practice that makes a bigger difference in the world.

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