 |
Linda |
From the Editor
Welcome to the November 2012 issue of the IAC VOICE!
President's Message – In the Eye of the Storm
Susan R. Meyer, MCC (IAC)
Hurricane Sandy got Susan R. Meyer thinking about what’s real and what’s
hype when it comes to the coaching industry. She also has some important questions
for you to answer. Scroll down or click to read more.
The IAC Coaching Masteries: A Beautiful Interdependence – Mastery #1
[Infographic] Inside Scoop – Natalie Tucker Miller, MCC (IAC)
In her latest instalment in this series of infographics, Lead Certifier Natalie
Tucker Miller puts Mastery #1 in the center and explores its relationships with
the other Masteries. Click
to read more.
Social Media 101 – Expand Your Coaching Practice through Social
Media
Featured Member Benefit – Sara Sims, CoachingWebsites.com
This month's featured member benefit is the CoachingWebsites.com website service
for coaches. In this article, Sara Sims offers some tips for coaches who are
just getting started with social media. Scroll down to view the full article,
or click to read the article online.
How to Coach a Viking
Tools for Coaching Mastery – David Papini
IAC Licensee David Papini found himself watching a children's cartoon movie
for the nth time, but this time he discovered a masterful and efficient coaching
session between two Vikings. Read the very creative way he spotted the IAC Coaching
Masteries throughout this brief exchange. Click
to read the article.
Submissions
to the VOICE are welcome anytime through the month. Click here to
read our submission
guidelines.
If
there are topics you would like to read about in future issues, or
if you have feedback about today's issue, please
contact me directly.
Warm
wishes,
Linda
Linda
Dessau, CPCC
Editor, IAC® VOICE
Email: voice@certifiedcoach.org
www.contentmasteryguide.com
P.S.
Are you on Twitter? You can follow the IAC at http://twitter.com/IACCoachMastery.
There is also a list of VOICE authors, columnists and IAC BOG members
at http://twitter.com/lindadessau/iac-voice-contributors.
From
the President
by Susan R. Meyer,
MCC (IAC)
president@certifiedcoach.org
In the Eye of the Storm
This month’s President’s Message is being written as Hurricane
Sandy makes its way slowly up the eastern seaboard of the US. Winds have been
high since last night. The entire transportation system has been shut down.
People have been asked to evacuate. The electricity may or may not go out. Hype
or reality? Who knows.
As I look at the IAC and the coaching industry as a whole, though, I find myself
asking the same question. My Inbox continues to be flooded with dire warnings
about how coaches are not making any money, don’t have skills, need to
learn how to market, sell books, create programs, etc. And all of these have
a grain of truth, perhaps. I read articles about how coaching is: not a profession,
an emerging profession, a fad that has peaked, life-changing, useless, not well-researched,
carefully documented or not regulated. Others claim that coach preparation is
not sound, is excellent, is based on educational principles or is based on nothing.
This, to quote Oprah, is what I know for sure:
- I have a deep, abiding appreciation for the IAC Masteries and continue to
find applications for them in my business and in my life. - Most of the coaches I know are well-trained and are life-long learners.
There are many successful coaches out there—and a large group of them
are part of the IAC.
This is what I don’t know:
- What do you want from a professional association?
- Where are we serving—or not serving—you well?
- As we approach our second decade, what would you like to see in our future?
I’d love to hear your answers. You can reach me at president@certifiedcoach.org
or join our LinkedIn
group or our Facebook
group.
I’m listening. Your Board of Governors is listening. How can we serve
you?
With
warm wishes for your success,
Susan R. Meyer
Susan R. Meyer, MCC (IAC) is President of Susan R. Meyer, Coaching
and Consulting and of Life-Work Coach. She provides personal and executive
coaching and facilitates seminars on topics including life planning,
emotional intelligence, leadership development, communication, and
coaching skills for managers. www.susanrmeyer.com.
Social Media 101 – Expand Your Coaching Practice through Social
Media
by
Sara Sims
Coaches know they need to have an effective online presence to grow their practice,
and part of that includes participating in the social media networking phenomenon.
Don’t be overwhelmed, it can be very easy and I’ll show you how.
Social media includes popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
YouTube and blogs. You can build your following by seeking connections with
your current clients and colleagues, and also by linking yourself with any organization
or association that you are part of.
Today there is a large audience looking for great coaches, and 96% are looking
online – this is where social media can make such a difference. Your posts
and tweets will enhance your reputation and pique people’s interest when
they are looking for coaching services.
Start with Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to create a separate Twitter account
and Facebook page for your business. The benefits to having a page for your
practice are that users can endorse you by promoting your page to their friends,
and the page can be strictly professional. Then lock the privacy settings on
your personal profile to keep the public from viewing your personal interactions.
Your clients want to engage with you and are looking for fresh content, articles,
interesting tips, and thoughts for the day. Using social media, coaches can
also help enhance their brand awareness in the community by establishing their
niche in their area of expertise. You can build partnerships with helpful referral
organizations to create a wider following. Most importantly, keeping your services
“top of mind” to your followers will help encourage them to schedule
appointments with you.
Tips for posting updates on social media:
- Make your updates timeless so they are relevant no matter when someone reads
them. - 75% of your comments should provide value to the reader. These could be
inspirational quotes, questions that elicit thought and feedback, interesting
metaphors or encouragement to take an action. - 25% of your comments could ask them to do something, such as complete a
survey, subscribe to your e-newsletter or register for a free workshop. Even
better, offer package deals or discounts for sessions with you. - Set aside time to post on social media and have fun with it! Spending focused
time just twice a week is easy to manage, and that consistency can make a
big difference to your results. - To save time, you can link your Facebook and Twitter accounts so that when
you post something on Facebook, it automatically posts on Twitter. Just be
mindful that Twitter has a 140-character limit.
Sara Sims is the Director of Business Development at CoachingWebsites.com.
CoachingWebsites offers a comprehensive website service designed just
for coaches that includes domain, hosting, design, content, SEO, credit
card processing, online appointment requests and more with no set-up
fees or long-term contracts for only $59 a month.
Member benefit: IAC members receive their first three months free.
Log
into the members-only section for more details.
Your Feedback
We'd love to get your feedback on any issue related to the IAC. Do
you have any questions, concerns, encouragement or ideas for improvement
regarding membership benefits, certification, the VOICE, the direction
of the organization or anything else at all? Please send an email
to voice@certifiedcoach.org.
Please help us improve.
