How to Leverage Your Time and Income with Creative Group Services

Using Conference Calls to Grow Your Business
Easy Seminar Quick Start Program- Week #6
How to Leverage Your Time and
Income with Creative Group Services
A. Introduction
1:1 services means limiting your income by exchanging time for
dollars and is dependent upon the schedules, circumstances, and
whims of individuals.
Group services leverages your time and multiplies your income
while limiting the risk and hassle factor of 1:1.
Can start small by offering group program to complement 1:1
program (better service and client retention)
Business and marketing model is “one to many,” which ideally
requiresa.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Choosing a specialty and niche
Market research and creative, targeted marketing
Attractive, professional website
Testimonials
Accept credit cards online (merchant account and shoppingcart)
Clear, attractive packaging and service delivery system
Taking a leadership role, seeking to “own” your niche
Actively speaking, writing, and networking
Building your “platform”
Amazing practice-filling machine!
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B. Options
1. Teleclasses
2. Workshops
3. Conference
4. Programs
5. Teams/Groups (see “The Coaching Team” supplement below)
6. Niche Community (on and off-line) More info here
7. Membership organization/website (examples and info here,
great “how-to” video demo here)
8. Tele-Clinic/Q&A
9. Subscription services (interesting one here) for audio (podcast),
newsletter, products (CDs, DVDs, consumables, etc), group and
individual services (think HMO)
10. Info Products (group program included)
11. White Label/Private Label Program
12. Joint Venture Partnership
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C. Suggested Marketing Strategy/Business Model
Step 1: Put together and pilot targeted niche group program
Step 2: Create and market (free) niche membership website using
trifecta of website-blog-social networking (facebook,
twitter, linkedin, etc) along with publishing articles, press
releases, joint ventures
Step 3: Market and conduct high-value free tele-seminar
addressing top problem/goal, communicating strong
message and mission
Step 4: Follow up with preview conference call (w/live testimonials)
Step 5: Entry level, affordable class/workshop (offer 2 for 1 discount)
Step 6: On-going group or team for graduates of class/workshop
Step 7: Offer 1:1 as needed to group participants
Step 8: Repeat 3-6 quarterly
Step 9: Expand marketing with affiliate program and joint ventures
Step 10: Expand into products, paid membership website,
subscription services, etc.
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D. Tips for Conducting Creative Group Services
1. Start small and build
2. Conduct pilot program and get testimonials, referrals
3. Recruit new and ongoing members as salespeople
4. Have strong message and mission that resonates
5. Reach out and communicate through website, blog, articles,
twitter (see supplement below), podcast, facebook, etc.
6. Program/service delivery system must be easy to understand
7. Provide options for the 3 kinds of prospects
8. Consider tiered levels of service (silver, gold, platinum)
9. Recurring billing is your best friend!
10. Consider a paid membership system with annual fee (must be
member to join any program, receive services)
11. Be responsive to the needs of your members
12. Know your limits and get help for areas you’re unskilled
13. Consider a partnership
14. Have fun!
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E. Recommended Resources for Quick Start Week #6
1. Top recommended autoresponder, merchant account,
shoppingcart here
2. Free membership website hostinghttp://groups.yahoo.com/
http://groups.google.com/
http://www.ning.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups.php
3. Paid membership website hosting http://membershipwebsitehosting.com/ (Joomla)
http://www.wildapricot.com
http://www.fullpartner.com
Wordpress “how to” video here
4. Membership software http://www.amember.com/
5. E-commerce alternatives here
6. Affiliate program alternatives here
7. Own Your Niche by Building a Niche Community- More info here
8. Podcasting Basics- http://www.buildingyouridealpractice.com/podcasting.html
9. Find just about everything you need for this module in our
Resource Bank for creating a blog, publishing articles and press
releases, Twitter, podcasting, etcwww.buildingyouridealpractice.com/resource_bank.html
10. First class web design- Greg Lowes- http://www.compassebg.com
(Designer of www.consciousrelationshipsummit.com)
11. Graphic Artists- Sam Wall and Jaime Soelberg
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F. Action Plan for Quick Start Week #6
1. Get your “nuts and bolts” in place- Website, merchant account, autoresponder, etc
- Tracking system for partners (affiliate, system, etc)
- Group program, products and service delivery system
- Testimonials and endorsements
- Free or paid membership website for niche
- Marketing channels (social networking, JVs, podcasting, article
syndication, etc)
2. Follow these stepsStep 1: Put together and pilot targeted niche group program
Step 2: Create and market (free) niche membership website using
trifecta of website-blog-social networking (facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc) along
with publishing articles, press releases, joint ventures
Step 3: Market and conduct high-value free tele-seminar
addressing top problem/goal, communicating strong message and mission
Step 4: Follow up with preview conference call (w/live testimonials)
Step 5: Entry level, affordable class/workshop (offer 2 for 1 discount)
Step 6: On-going group or team for graduates of class/workshop
Step 7: Offer 1:1 as needed to group participants
Step 8: Repeat 3-6 quarterly
3. This is not “get rich quick” and “lone rangers” usually wash out- Do your homework (especially market research)
- Strive to be of service to your niche, be mission-oriented
- Get the support that you need
- Remember to have fun!
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Thanks so much for joining our Easy Seminar Quick Start
Program!
PLEASE take a moment and give us your feedbackTakes less than a minute, I promise!
http://www.easyseminar.com/quickstartfeedback.html
My best wishes in building a successful business using
conference calls and tele-seminars. Please keep in touch!
David Steele
If you would like my personal help with your project- sign up here
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Supplements
GETTING STARTED WITH TWITTER
by David Steele
You might have heard of Twitter by now, which is becoming huge. Why? It's a fun and
effective way to communicate and network, both personally and professionally. Setting
up and using Twitter is very easy. My kids even have their own Twitter accounts now!
For example, check out RCI's Conscious Love twitter feed-
http://www.twitter.com/ConsciousLove
"Daily tips and quotes to inspire you to experience and practice conscious love in your
relationships."
Use the above URL to check it out; you don't need a Twitter account to do so.
I also created a twitter feed for singles at http://www.twitter.com/FindMySoulMate and a
personal twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/davidasteele
Here are my favorite Twitter apps so farTweetLater- http://www.tweetlater.com for managing, scheduling tweets
Splitweet- http://splitweet.com for managing and tweeting multiple accounts
Twollow- http://www.twollow.com to automatically follow people based upon your
keywords (best way to get followers is to follow others!)
Tweetie- best iPhone app that supports multiple accounts
WeFollow- http://wefollow.com great twitter directory (add yourself!)
SocialToo- http://www.socialtoo.com create surveys for your Facebook and Twitter
subscribers
TwitterDmer- http://twitterdmer.com send welcome message to your new subscribers
To sign up for Twitter you simply go to http://www.twitter.com and select "Get Started."
There are 4 boxes to fill in, click "Create my Account," and that's it! Takes less than two
minutes. You can create multiple accounts if you like- so far I have three- one
personal and two professional.
Here's good 2 minute video introduction to Twitter- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o
Building your Twitter following to the thousands is easy. In my opinion, Twitter is a great
supplement your marketing efforts and can drive lots of traffic to your blog and website.
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THE COACHING TEAM
by David Steele
The Coaching Team is a powerful group coaching model that can be an integral part of
a coaching practice that attracts and keeps clients.
A "team" is a group of people working together, committed to each other's success. A
Team works together in very concrete ways; it is not a group of people sitting around
listening sympathetically and nodding their heads. This model can be effective for any
coaching niche, and works especially well for people who tend to be too isolated, such
as singles, entrepreneurs, CEO's, small business owners, etc.
When you combine "coaching", which helps people to achieve their goals, with the
"team" concept of doing so in a committed group, you have a very powerful
combination. A homogenous group is best for the coaching team, so that members can
pull together in the same direction with compatible goals.
Over time, I found the most successful group service delivery model for me was to offer
classes for my niche, followed by coaching teams for applying what they learned in the
class to everyday life. I found that when introducing the structure and benefits of a
coaching team at the end of the class, about 50% choose to continue and join the
coaching team. My speculation about the reason for the success of this model is that by
the end of the class, participants are excited about the class content and it's application
to their life, have bonded with each other, are comfortable with the coach, are more
comfortable with the idea of coaching, and the thought of the support ending and going
out there on their own is scary!
A typical practice mix for a coaching niche using coaching teams might be:
1. Free intro classes monthly (2 hours per month)
2. New fee-based class bi-monthly (8 hours per month)
3. Graduates from class join coaching team (8 hours per month)
4. New coaching team formed when existing team full (8 hours per month per team)
5. Individual coaching for clients who are not interested in the class, for class
participants not interested in coaching team, or coaching team participants as needed
The Coaching Team helps participants implement their goals and overcome their
barriers to doing so, but so can individual coaching, or a computer program for that
matter. What makes a coaching team unique is having a group of men and women
committed to each other's success, which means showing up for each other in very
concrete ways outside of the meeting, and team mates can provide wonderful feedback
and support that is not as effective when coming from friends or family. In addition, it is
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very common for coaching team participants to choose to work with the coach 1:1 on an
as-needed basis.
This brings me to the issues of supportability, which is our ability to identify our support
needs and initiate getting them met with others. We can go so much further if we allow
ourselves to be supportable and get and accept help from others, but in our "do it
yourself" culture, this can be hard to do on your own. The coach's most valuable role is
to facilitate supportability, which would most likely not happen if the participant were not
on the coaching team.
Two important features that differentiate a Coaching Team from other group models are
(1) Everyone coaches, and (2) Support goes beyond the meeting.
1. Everyone coaches; participants love this. Coaching skills are effective relationship,
leadership, and life skills, and we teach our participants how to listen, ask questions,
reserve judgment, hold each other accountable, and most other coaching skills you can
imagine. It is magic when the Team starts functioning smoothly, with the coach fading
out as the leader/teacher and becoming more of a facilitator. Learning how to give
support is equally valuable to participants as receiving support from the Team. Some
coaches worry about working themselves out of a job- not a problem! Participants of a
coaching team become a tight family and remain very loyal. If anything, retention seems
to be increased.
2. Support goes beyond the meeting; participants don't just interact during meeting
times, the mark of a good Coaching Team is when members show up for each other
outside of the Team meeting. The coach can facilitate this when a participant expresses
a need or challenge by asking them what support they need, and facilitating the support
coming from the team. For example, if a participant is nervous about a job interview,
and when asked indicates that being able to practice with someone would be helpful,
the facilitator will prompt him or her to make a request to the team and make sure the
team finds a way to meet the request.
Coaching Team Meeting Format
1. The Whip – Each chooses a number, which is representative of their subjective units
of need on a scale from 1 to 5 (the higher the number, the higher the need for support
or air time), and an adjective or two describing their feelings, mood, or attitude in the
room. The highest numbers check in first. (5 minutes total)
2. Each member checks in with the group about their activities, successes, failures,
frustrations, and progress toward meeting their goals. (approx. 5 minutes per person)
3. At the end of each report (or check-in), the team:
-Asks questions
-Provides feedback
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-Celebrates, acknowledges
-Invites reporter to request support from the team
(approx. 10 minutes per person)
Coaching Team Guidelines
A. Confidentiality; privacy of team members is absolute, and participants agree not to
share details of each others life outside the team meeting, especially in a manner that
might identify the source. Discussion about other team members confined to team
meetings
B. Emotional Safety; all emotions and judgments must be owned; respect and
compassion are expected and practiced
C. Listening; participants agree and are coached to be fully present and listen with full
attention and focus on the speaker
D. Attitude; participants agree to bring a positive attitude to the group
E. Group Focus; on future goals, problem solving, personal growth
F. Support; participants agree to be supportive and supportable
G. Everyone is a coach; participants learn to ask powerful questions, mirror, etc
H. Confrontation; ask permission first, and remind receiver of the positive intent
I. Storytelling; is kept to a minimum as time is precious
J. Flexibility; Team is flexible and responsive to needs of team members
K. Dating; no dating of team members
L. Timeliness; meetings start and end on time
M. Attendance; regular, timely attendance is required
N. Commitment; initial 3 month commitment is required, followed by a minimum one
month’s notice of termination to the team.
O. Expulsion; team or coach may expel a member at any time for violation of these
guidelines.
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P. Payment; due in advance on the 1st of every month.
Coaching teams are fun for participants and coach, profitable (provide steady,
predictable income), and are a powerful and effective support mechanism
for participants. The format and structure of a coaching team builds participant loyalty
and retention as they bond, help each other, and experience a boost in their quality of
life as a result.
©2009 by David Steele / All rights reserved / www.RelationshipCoachingInstitute.com
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