Marketing is an on-going focus for business at all stages - whether we are new or established businesses, spending time consistently on marketing is key.

Here are five elements you may want to include in your marketing strategy for the rest of the year.

#1 – Outreach
What is on your plan to reach out to new people as well as your network. What are the touchpoints you have planned to keep people in the loop?

What are you doing on a consistent basis to be in conversation with your community?

If it’s not scheduled, put some outreach time in your schedule right now.

#2 - Content Creation and Repurposing
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the many reasons content creation is important. So is repurposing the materials. What are the 3 things you are excited about creating?

#3 – Digitization
2020 has been the year of the pivot to all things virtual and digital. I’ll be doing a series of blog posts this all on digitization. Let’s get you thinking of this already.

What products do you have that could be made into a digital version?

If you have a book, what could become an e-book?

If you have a card deck, how could that become digitized?

#4 – Tracking What You Are Doing
What do you notice about revenue flows? Time investments and what’s getting you traction?

With your metrics in mind, what do you want to say YES to? NO to?

#5 - Dedicated Time to Marketing and Moving Key Projects Forward – Regularly
A final piece of this is to ensure that you have time built in to dedicate to marketing and executing your programming on a regular basis. What time have you earmarked? What do you notice about your productivity during that time?
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Enjoy your focus!
Jennifer

This year I’ve been having a lot of fun working with coaches on going a bit deeper into what they know about their clients. For several years, I’ve shared the Sweetspot Exercise of exploring what your strengths are, what your clients want and what you are great at. I first published this back in 2013 in From One to Many (download a copy of that marketing chapter here. (Use code 4411 and access the Marketing Chapter on Coaching Many).

This year I’ve been going deeper than this in the Coaching Biz Growth Lab and Learning Lab and Design Studio. We’ve turned to a number of tools from the Design Thinking Toolbox, including empathy maps, as well as thinking about how focus groups can help to broaden your understanding of what your clients want.

Having led focus groups in most of my roles over the last 3 decades – whether it was with government officials, community groups, leaders, HR teams, or executive committees – there can be a great cross section of generic questions you may want to tap into including questions along the lines of:

1. What’s important for you?
2. As you consider your industry/role/focus, what are the current trends?
3. What are the current opportunities you see in your role/focus/industry?
4. What do you see as some of the challenges in your role/focus/industry?
5. What do you need in order to do your best work (or thrive/excel etc)?
6. What supports are of greatest benefit to you – (explore things like on-demand vs. live, coaching vs learning)
7. How much time do you have to dedicate to learning?
8. What’s the most important goal you have for the next year

What else is important to explore within the time you have?

Enjoy the conversations!
​Jennifer

Here at the Coaching Business Builder, during the mid part of 2019 I did a series of marketing posts around the nine promotional vehicles I touch on in Section 3 of Coaching Business Builder. They include: Speaking, Blogging, Podcasting, Networking, Article Writing, Product Development, Lunch and Learns, Associations, Trade Shows and Conferences

Given that marketing is usually an ongoing effort for businesses of all ages (yes, even if you’ve been around for a while, marketing is still important – there’s always a next inflection point), it can be useful to build in time on a regular basis to be putting attention around marketing campaigns.

Just like the tagline of Daily Steps + Consistent Action = Momentum asserts, in marketing it often about the consistency which is important. A one-off email or one-off tweet may not capture the attention of who you want to connect with.

Some of the marketing approaches I’ve been experimenting with this year include my focus on podcasting, as well as my continued focus on Instagram, articles and also blogging.

What are the approaches you are experimenting with at the moment?

What are you noticing you are enjoying?

What’s feeling like it needs a boost?
 
Regardless of marketing vehicle, it can be useful to have a variety of ideas to pull from. Whether you are focusing on Instagram and need a list of post ideas, or you are focusing on podcasting and want to focus in on your exploration.

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized 
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join us for an upcoming ICF-CCE approved program including Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs), or the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training (24 CCEs). 
What's possible if you take daily steps on your business for 60 Days? Join our 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator program here!
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]
​

One of the terms that stands out for me in terms of last year’s focus in the business development world was that of the marketing funnel. The marketing funnel is a term that describes the ways you invite prospective clients and customers into your orbit.
The funnel simply looks like an inverted pyramid or a funnel. The top is wide, scaling down to the bottom. If you have a copy of the Coaching Business Builder you can work through your own funnel on page 8.  I've also included one here to the side bar.
 
We can explore the funnel on two levels –

1. What’s our mix of products and services at each layer of the funnel? 
2. What are we doing at every level to bring people into the different layers of the funnel – building deepening layers of awareness, relationship, purchase and advocacy?

We will look at each level from the perspective of what you are offering in terms of your products or services. Then we’ll look at it in terms of how you are building relationships.

At the top of the funnel we have those items which are free or no fee. This is the widest part of the funnel and it is geared to attract the most amount of people.  It’s also the place where we want to build brand awareness around our different products and services. The focus at this top end of the funnel is to ATTRACT new people and to share with them what you have to offer at a FREE or LOW FEE way. It’s an opportunity to spotlight snippets of what you offer.
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At this level we might include things like:

• A downloadable checklist or template to support our clients
• Blog posts or Instagram feeds
• A daily challenge (5 days) to support clients in taking action towards their goals
• Facebook Live calls or Community Calls where we discuss some of the more common questions opportunities, challenges and resources for our focus of work
• Delivering a webinar for a larger association or group

The goal here is to start building a connection and conversation with people.

What do you have at the widest part of the funnel - FREE or VERY LOW FEE, focused on ATTRACT?

At the next level of the funnel, you will have low priced offerings. Again, the purpose is to continue the conversation, and strengthen relationships and start generating money. It is often to help people consider your services at a lower price point and start the conversation with you. They will get more than a taster and probably get an experience of what your services can provide for them.

At this second level, which is geared to get people to CONVERT to a higher level or next product, this might include:

• A book
• A short e-book bringing together some of your blog posts in a compendium
• A short video-based course highlighting some of the tips or latest research around the topics you coach around
• A longer challenge (7 days for example)

At this layer you are starting to share more about your business, the philosophies which underpin it and who you are and what you offer.

At the third layer, ENGAGE, we have mid-priced programming. This is perhaps where your live offerings of retreats or group coaching might reside. At this point, people are making an investment into your offerings, and they are likely to become a fan of what you offer. They are the ones who are likely to move to even higher priced items, now or later.

There may be a next layer where people work with you on an ongoing basis on mainstream offerings. For some coaches this is where your regular one-on-one coaching will reside, or retreat day with a team.

Finally, at the top end of the funnel (the smallest part), where it is likely at the highest rate, and most intensive (or highest touch) work – you have the CONNECT phase where these people are likely to become the ADVOCATES of your work. They are the “RAVING fans” or people who will buy everything you have to offer.  This might include a face-to-face piece of Intensive work with you through a Weekend Program OR a VIP Day.

Exercise:
As you consider your business mix for your work, what would you put in each of these layers? Which programs could benefit from some attention and/or need to be developed?

All the best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized 
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join us for an upcoming ICF-CCE approved program including Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs), or the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training (24 CCEs). 
What's possible if you take daily steps on your business for 60 Days? Join our 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator program here!
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]

One of the more challenging parts of being a business owner can be getting marketing off the ground. As a coach, you may be great at coaching, but letting people know what you are offering, may be the stretch or hard space.
 
Four things to keep in mind as you go about letting others know what you have to offer:
#1 – Keep connected with your WHY. Remembering why you are doing something can help you go the extra mile. It is usually the thing that pulls us out of the trough to try that next thing. As I continue to see in my own business, it’s often that one next thing that creates the breakthrough, or the sale!
#2 – Remember that communicating something only once may not be enough. In marketing we often talk about the 7-11 times rule.  That it takes multiple touchpoints (hopefully in different ways – i.e. video, article, blog post, call etc) for someone to become aware of what you have to offer. That’s even before they decide they need it now.
#3 – Not everyone is going to need what you have to offer now. One of the challenges of creating a “pent up demand” where something is only available for the next 5 days is that people may not need it now, but they may need it later, when it’s no longer even available. Thinking in the medium-term so that you might make it an annual offer each winter can help to maximize your own investment, while also planting the seed, and creating awareness by others.
#4 – Track your results. Always be asking where people heard about you when they register or engage you. What are those sources which are netting business. Which aren’t? How much time are you investing?
 
Over the last year I’ve posted quite a few posts on marketing – you may want to take a look at these to go a bit deeper into these ideas:

• Solopreneur Myth – I need social media to be my most important channel – Read it here.
• Solopreneur Myth – Build it they will come – read it here.
• Solopreneur Myth – Once is enough – read it here.

 
In the Spotlight Series I did last summer, I highlighted 9 of the more common marketing vehicles coaches may leverage. Take a look at them in the July 2019 archives and August archives.
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Already this year I am enjoying the conversations we’re having at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab. It’s an annual group which meets bi-weekly throughout the year on Friday afternoon for learning, coaching and accountability. Consider joining us for a quarter or the year!
 
Best wishes,
Jennifer

 
Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized 
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join us for an upcoming ICF-CCE approved program including Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs), or the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training (24 CCEs). 
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]

As we go to wind-down 2019 I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for joining us here at the Coaching Business Builder. As I think back to this year it's been amazing to serve so many of you through individual coaching, the PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreats, group coaching at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab and also via the 52 Weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking .  I also hosted monthly calls related to the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack many of which you can find at my YouTube channel - check out the Coaching Business Builder and  PlanDoTrack Playlists.
I'm also excited for what is just around the corner. January 1st I get to kick off the NEW 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator program. for the first 60 days of the year you'll be supported through group calls, some 1-1 time with me weekly, and also lots of peer support. I hope that you'll consider joining us for this once-in-a-lifetime decade kick-er-off-er! Learn more and grab your spot. Spaces are limited.

It's been quite a year here at the blog as well! I shared weekly posts every Monday with posts covering a range of topics critical for coaching business success from:

Creating a Free Giveaway - Check out May's posts
Habits in Your Coaching Business - Check out these posts
The Monthly 1 Biz Step a Day - 12 separate monthly posts
A focus on project management
An exploration during July and August around the 9 Marketing and Promotional Strategies covered in Coaching Business Builder Section 3
Solopreneur Myths
and Preparation for Year-end planning

As I have been sharing in the FAcilitator Training I have been doing with those who will be taking PlanDoTrack out as one of their offerings, I've got another set of 52 weeks of blog posts planned in 2020, which will support continued dialogue around business development topics over at the Conversation Sparker Zone - the social community I started earlier this year. Join us for some community building and sharing. I'd also love to hear what topics you are eager to explore during 2020 here at the blog. Please take a few minutes and let us know!

Once again, it's been a pleasure serving you this year - I look forward to bringing you more useful and practical posts during 2020.

Hope you are enjoying some down-time this season and time with loved ones,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Coaching Business Builder | Group Coaching Essentials
Supporting coaches to grow their business and skills in the areas of group coaching
If you want more like this post, join us starting January 1st for the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator OR throughout 2020 at the CoachingBizGrowthLab in 2020.
Contact Jennifer to set up a call to see how her 1-1 coaching or group coaching support can help you move towards your 2020 goals.
Phone: (416)996-8326

It's almost the start of a new decade and with that, it might be time to do a "refresh" on your toolbox.
On a practical business level, there are many areas I like to have a variety of resources in, including marketing, design, and communication. As I thought about all my creative projects this year, I was aware of how many of these tools have become standard fare in my work.
Here are the top 10 go-to resources I used this year in my remote business:

Zoom - My absolute go-to for any sort of client communication. Some days I spend upwards of 5-7 hours  leading groups, holding individual coaching calls and also leading meetings with members of my project teams. Zoom has many "Bells and whistles" including breakouts, and annotation, which may be available with the type of account you ahave.

Rev and Temi for transcription. As someone who leads dozens of hours of training and calls a week, it's important to be able to quickly transcribe many of these videos and audio calls. Both services are great, and at a different price point. What could be important to transcribe? How is your speaking creating new content for your business?

Lumen 5 - Lumen 5 has been my go-to for years in terms of transcribing blog to video. IT's always a nice change to be able to include video content, instead of just written media. Check them out at : https://www.lumen5.com

AdobeSpark - AdobeSpark is another option for great video creation. Check them out and consider how you might use them in creating some new video messages.

Loom - If you want to do a demo or lead people thorugh your screen, nothing beats loom. I've incorporated a few loom videos to take people around the Conversation Sparker website, and it has led to sales! Check it out.

Dropbox - I've been a dropbox user for years and it's where I house most of my videos to share with groups I lead.
​
Teachable - Teachable is the back end of what I use to house my on-demand programs as well as the backbone for my annual programs. I've found it to be a very scalable framework for both on-demand and live programming. Check out what the Coaching Design Studio has to offer - and perhaps join us for 2020 programming which will include the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator, and the annual Learning Lab and Design Studio, and the Coaching Biz Growth Lab (meets on Friday afternoons).

Mighty Networks - Earlier this year I created the Conversation Sparker Zone over at Mighty Networks. It's a community hub for people to connect around group and team coaching issues, business development as well as virtual and remote work. Check it out and join in on the conversation!

AdobeStock and Unsplash - For all things graphics I leverage my subscription through AdobeStock and also turn to Unsplash for photos to use in design. They usually get incorporated into any design work in Canva. 

What are the things you use on an ongoing basis?

We'll be exploring these, and many other resources to help you thrive in your business next year, starting on January 1st with the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator. Part on-demand program, part live calls (Mondays and Fridays), you also have access to me for a weekly laser 1-1 call throughout the program which runs January 1 - March 1, 2020. Hope that you will join us!

With best wishes,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January are two groups of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - a Friday group and a Monday group. If you want to see many of these tools in practice, and get experience in using them. Consider joining us for this virtual train-the-trainer.

The landscape of business and communication has changed so significantly in the last ten to fifteen years, due to the change in our technology, devices and also communication channels. Think about your work and what is possible now that you couldn't do a decade ago.
​
One of the areas that I continue to see many solopreneurs and business professionals struggle with is the amount of time and focus on social media. Consider your time spent in the last week or two. How much time was dedicated to social media? What did you do? Did you surf? Have connections? Follow a trail that maybe took you into a rabbit's hole?

While social media can be a great ecosystem to spend time in and has leveled the playing field for many of us that are "one person businesses" it does not always mean that social media may be your most important channel.

Relationships are important to cultivate in all their varieties. While social media may be a great connector, it may not be the best place to have detailed conversations or make deeper connections.

I love social media as an enhancement to face-to-face events — people who I have met at conferences, or when I have been speaking.
 
As much as my own business is virtual, after all these years I've found that the face-to-face connection still yields an important return I can't find in the social media space.
 
Questions to consider as you think about this myth for yourself:

• How does your time spent on social media translate to business results?
• What is important for you as a business?
• What connections are you looking to cultivate?
• What blend do you want to have with social media and other channels?
• What is the role of social media in your work — marketing, programming, programming support etc.?
• Are there certain social media channels you want to invest your time in? If so, how much time? Which ones?
• Where are your folk/community?
• What's important to note for yourself going forward?

Enjoy your exploration,
Jennifer

Our next Solopreneur Myth is “Build it, they will come”. For the last few months, I focused on marketing strategies, bringing to life the nine different vehicles I explore with you in Section 3 of Coaching Business Builder.
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With “build it, they will come” we can fall into the trap of thinking that once something exists it will be in high demand. In fact, the design and creation parts are usually only one part of the process. Much of the heavy lifting then begins with marketing and sales, and also program or product delivery!

Proactive marketing at all stages of your business, along with regular and consistent actions, can help ensure that you do build a thriving set of fans for your next offering.

Some key things to be doing to ensure that when you build, they will come:

• Ensure you are focusing on the things that people want.

• Ensure that you are focusing on the things that they value.
• Ensure that they are in the right format they want.
• Lean into your strengths and experience.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate – right to the end!
• Solicit feedback about your products and services.
• Get your customers/clients to share their story about what they like about your work and products.
• Demonstrate what you offer – show the world. This might be via a video, or at a speaking engagement. By hosting an evening demonstration or a webinar.

​What are the things you want to focus on?

Enjoy your conversations,
Jennifer

For the last few months I’ve been focusing on a series around marketing. If you didn’t catch the July and August 2019 posts, be sure to check them out here.

For the next couple of months, I am going to be rolling out a new series on Solopreneur Myths. You’ll be able to view them each Monday. They will focus on some of the more common things we hear in the landscape of building a coaching or virtual business at the moment. I’m framing them as myths given that they don’t necessarily hold true. Having worked with thousands of professionals in the last 15 years via my own business and also as a former business studies faculty member I am looking forward to debunking the myths and commonly voiced messages for solopreneurs.

We’re starting with the myth of Once is Enough. This holds true on so many different levels for us - from communicating something once, to sharing a link to a blog post only on one channel once, to running a program only once.

Only doing something once may lead to us short-changing ourselves!
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Part of the power of social media, and part of cutting through the noise, requires that we share our content more than once.  Take a look back at what you have created in the last few months and consider how you can share it more OR repurpose it. Sharing it might mean that you look to post it on other channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram). Repurposing may mean retooling content in a new way – so taking blog content and making it into a video (Think Lumen5) OR bundling blog posts to create a new article or white paper series.

If you are a program designer, you will know how important it is to consider recouping the design investment in running a program more than once. Many of my own public offerings have become quarterly or monthly favorites. Some have been around for a few years. One of my longest standing programs is the Group Coaching Essentials program which I’ve been offering on almost a monthly basis since it’s launch back in January of 2006. Consistency is key in making inroads into today’s VUCA worlds, and Word of Mouth and referrals can be a powerful business booster.

Where is it going to be useful to explore the myth of Once is Enough in your business?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer