Category Archives: Coaching

by | June 19, 2012 · 9:30 am

Confessions of a Success Sherpa

by Faith Monson
www.FaithMonson.com

Sherpas are the guides who help mountain climbers safely reach the crest of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.  I don’t climb mountains, but some days, it feels like it.  Instead, I help my clients reach their personal peak—in business and in life.

Sometimes, it feels as if we’re climbing up hill, carrying heavy baggage, breathing thin air.  When that happens, it’s my job to know the safe trails, recognize the skills and limitations of my client, and be a ceaseless source of encouragement.  It’s a combination of recognizing real-life pitfalls, knowing the path, and believing that my client can do what he or she has set out to do.  It’s hard, but it’s worth it for the view from the peak.

Every good guide has his or her own tools for tackling the trail.  Here are few of my favorites:

A 360 evaluation.  Since people are usually blind to their own true strengths and areas for improvement, I take a look at what others have written, such as testimonials or interviews.  It’s amazing what will surface when we step back and see what other people value about my client that he or she didn’t even think was important.

Competitor research.  I look at my clients’ competitors until I find something new and different or better and excellent or something that gives me a new perspective on my client’s approach. I want to see the variety of ways the best people in their industry are presenting themselves and their services.  Once we have a fresh look at the competition, we can best decide how to differentiate, where we can adapt something they’re doing, or where the market sees a gap we can fill.

I’ll be sharing more of my Sherpa Secrets over the next few posts, with a goal of helping you think about the tools, mindset shifts and approaches that can help you get unstuck.  There’s a reason people hire Sherpas to climb Mt. Everest –it’s because they couldn’t get to the other side without help.

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by | October 18, 2011 · 10:00 am

Is Your Authenticity Shining Through?

by Rochelle Togo-Figa
originally published at https://breakthroughstrategist.blogspot.com/2011/09/is-your-authenticity-shining-through.html

Imagine you’re sitting across from the prospect, you’ve just presented your services and you’re unsure what to do next. You end up leaving the meeting not knowing what the next steps are. Sadly, you realize you spent more time during the meeting in your head wondering what to say than learning what’s important to the prospect. You leave discouraged and believe you don’t have what it takes to sell. If this has ever happened to you, you’re not alone.

Many people believe there’s a certain way they have to sell if they’re going to be successful. They’re stopped before they even get started because they believe they’re lacking a special style.

The truth is, we’ve been selling ourselves since we were very young. When you were in school and making new friends, you were selling yourself. When you were looking for a job, you were selling yourself. What helped you make new friends and get that job was your authentic style. It’s the same in business. What helps you close sales are the innate qualities you already have.

None of us was born to sell. Successful people learn sales skills and techniques that help close the sale. Most importantly, successful people work at creating the relationship with the client right from the start by being authentic.

The key to authentic selling is to sell from your heart. When you sell from your heart, you’re not following a canned script. Nor are you trying to copy anyone else’s style. You’re being genuinely interested in the other person by asking the right questions and listening keenly to what’s being said.

Have you ever noticed how much more you enjoy a conversation when you feel heard and listened to? Well, that’s what you’re doing when you’re authentically selling. You’re allowing the prospect to do most of the talking. When you follow these steps you’re creating a long-lasting relationship that leads to getting the business. You’re showing you want to learn as much as you can about him or her to see how you can help.

Most people buy based on the K-L-T Factor. They first want to get to know you, they need to like you, and then trust you. Once you establish the K-L-T Factor with prospects, they’re ready to listen to what you have to say. The business relationship begins when you relax and allow your authenticity to shine through.

I remember early in my career how inauthentic I was with people. I was more concerned about how I was doing than learning about the prospect. I covered up my insecurities well. To everyone I looked as if I had everything handled. The truth is, I didn’t—far from it.

The turning point came when I became seriously ill. My life came to a screeching halt. It was then I slowed down and took an honest look at myself. For the first time in my life, I let my guard down and became real. Instead of listening to myself, I started listening to others. Rather than pushing and forcing things to happen, I began to listen to people with a genuine interest in them.

I let go of being pushy and aggressive. And within a short time I noticed a lot more business started coming to me easily. The sense of urgency and intensity I used to display disappeared and I started having fun.

Start to look for yourself to see where in your life or your business you’re pushing too hard and trying to force things to happen. Write down the areas where you’ve been inauthentic and covering it up. How is this impacting your life and your business? What are you committed to changing? Once you begin to make these changes and apply them in your business and life, you’ll feel more confident and relaxed because you’re being authentic.

All you need is to be genuine. Clients will be attracted to you when you become more interested then interesting. You’re allowing your authenticity to shine through!

Continue reading →

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by | April 7, 2011 · 4:39 pm

Reality Check, Please

By Sheryl Eldene, MBA, MA

As we begin the second quarter of the year – it is finally Spring, after all – I’m inviting us to do a reality check on where we are compared to our original intentions. Whatever you are doing now with the majority of your day, is that what you wanted to be doing when you started this endeavor? For most of us, what we do with the majority of our day is a job or a business – what we do with our energy and our time in exchange for assets/money. Of these four types of intentions, where did you start, and where have you ended up:

  1. IT’S A JOB. When I started this job/business, my intention was to make money to support the lifestyle of my dreams. I wanted this job to be lucrative and to provide security. I wanted those two results as a result of using my skills and talents and possibly learning new skills along the way.
  2. IT’S A CAREER. When I started on this track, I intended to create a path that I could follow over many years. I hoped that it would create wealth (“Do what you love and the money will follow”), but my main intention was to engage in a field that would bring me passion and joy just in the doing of it.
  3. IT’S A CALLING. When I started this endeavor, I felt called by the Spirit that helps direct my life. I felt that my engaging in life in this way would fulfill a greater mission and would serve my family, my community, my world, my contribution to heaven-on-earth for all of us.
  4. IT’S DEEP SATISFACTION. When I started this work, I imagined that it would complete my heart. Although I do not have a sense of a ‘Calling’, this work felt like something that I have always longed to do, and succeeding at this endeavor would be the high point in my life.

This month is all about setting intentions. What intentions did you set, and how has that progressed for you, or did you unconsciously shift your focus from, say ‘satisfaction’ to ‘a job’, or from ‘a job’ to ‘a calling’?

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Filed under Business Planning, Coaching, Dreams, Intentions, Passion & Potential, Sheryl Eldene

by | March 16, 2011 · 10:07 am

How are those resolutions coming?

By Gail Z. Martin

Do you remember what your New Year resolutions were?  Have you given up on them, or are you still trying to make them happen?  Two of my resolutions included losing some weight and scheduling more speaking engagements.  Both are coming along, although the speaking part is happening a little faster.  And as I head back on the road with out-of-town presentations, I’m realizing that increasing the speaking events has a definite impact on how easy it is to shave off some pounds, due to missed time at the gym and hotel/airport food.  The good news is, at a recent convention I teamed up with another artist friend to take long morning walks despite the cold, and we kept each other honest on the dinner buffet.  I’ve gotten better at finding healthy options at airports, and I’m not as likely to just eat whatever’s easiest at a reception.

In other words, I’m making progress even though it’s not big and flashy.  I talk a lot about my Rule of 30 in my 30 Days to Social Media Success book.  The Rule of 30 days that any action you repeat 30 times begins to create impact.  The action doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be targeted and repeated.  So….making connections to land new speaking engagements count toward my Rule of 30.  Every time I make a better food choice and pass up a not-so-good choice, it’s part of that Rule of 30.

Sometimes it’s hard to see how the little things add up.  But the truth is, most of the time little things are all we can do in the short term.  There are very few opportunities to make huge sweeping changes in life, business or world politics.  On the other hand, history proves that small actions can lead to amazing changes.

How will you apply the Rule of 30 to your New Year’s resolutions?

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by | February 10, 2011 · 11:21 pm

If it Matters, Write it Down

SCIENCE OF AFFIRMATIONS

by Sheryl Eldene, MA, MBA

We know from a study from Yale in 1953 that the 3% of Yale graduates who had written goals had more wealth years later than the other 97% of the class combined. Also, in 1964, Harvard Business School did a similar study on the financial status of its students 10 years after graduation and found that:

  • 27% of them needed financial assistance
  • 60% of them were living paycheck to paycheck
  • 10% of them were living comfortably
  • 3% of them were financially independent.

The study also looked at goal setting and found these interesting correlations.

  • The 27% that needed financial assistance had absolutely no goal setting process in their lives
  • The 60% that were living paycheck to paycheck had basic survival goals;such as managing to live paycheck to paycheck
  • The 10% that were living comfortably had general goals. They thought they knew where they were going to be in the next five years
  • The 3% that were financially independent had written out their goals and the steps required to reach them.

What’s your goal setting process, and how does it work for you?  Leave your reply and let us know.

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