I sometimes run an Ask Me Anything for my private clients or my Facebook community.
I’ve gathered together 88 of the most interesting questions and my answers from the last few sessions.
You can read my answers to the first 63 questions here, here, and here.
Here are the next 16 questions…
- How do I send a great LinkedIn message to invite someone to a call?
Focus less on trying to invite someone to a call. Focus instead on what value you can create for that person. Read every social media post they’ve ever written. Read their blog. Review their company reports. Become intensely and genuinely curious about them.
- What’s the process for understanding your clients’ maps of their world?
The Three Levels of Transformation™.
- Do you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain?
Actually, I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, Because I’m easy come, easy go, Little high, little low, Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me…
- How do you define yourself as a leader in your field?
Margaret Thatcher once said, “Being a leader is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you’re one, you’re probably not.”
Anyone can call themselves a leader. But the test of leadership is simple: turn around and see if anyone is following. The answer isn’t in you. It’s in your team or your community. Ask them what makes you a leader.
- I’m struggling to feel congruent with my fee for a year of coaching. How did you get your first $20,000 (or $100K) client?
I made my numbers up.
But the secret is that it’s all made up. The price of the steak in your favorite restaurant, the price of your last massage, or the price of the chocolate croissant in the local bakery.
Your waiter, masseur, or baker doesn’t need congruence to say their price. Nor do you.
Don’t wait to feel congruent. Practice saying your number out loud, again and again and again. Don’t be attached to getting a yes. Be attached to serving people as powerfully as you can.
- Can you explain the color code you use on your calendar?
I use 2 colors on my calendar: red and blue. Anything in blue is a paying client. Anything in red is a potential client.
Each month, I need a balance of those colors. Too much blue and I’ve got plenty of paying clients but there will come a moment when my agreements will end and I’ll be panicking that I don’t have enough clients.
- What’s the color coding system you use for taking notes?
- Blue for facts.
- Red for emotions.
- Green for insights.
- Purple for spiritual ideas.
- What’s the most counterintuitive advice you give to clients?
The less time you work, the more money you will make…
- How do you handle a new client who is uncoachable?
1. The gentle approach: “Let’s pause the coaching for a moment. It appears you already know all the answers. I assumed you’re here because you wanted coaching but would you prefer to end the session now?”
2. High flame: “Look, you called me. I didn’t call you. Why are you here?”
- You often say: “Most people want to be successful without making a sacrifice.” What have you sacrificed?
At the start of my working life, I sacrificed time. I spent far too many hours working. I don’t regret it. It’s what you do (and sometimes need to do) early in your career.
At times I’ve sacrificed my relationship by prioritizing my career. At times I’ve sacrificed my own well-being, at the cost of serving others. That’s not usually a healthy thing to do.
- How do you prepare yourself before a coaching call, especially if you have to transition from another activity?
Get your heart pumping. Do 20 pushups, or 20 burpees, or 50 jumping jacks. Anything that gets you out of your head and into your body…
- How are you so comfortable not answering questions asked to you, or not responding to all the emails from people who really look up to you?
I’m here to serve people, not please them.
- Do you regret moving from being a boutique coach, to having a wide audience?
The irony of writing The Prosperous Coach – a book about how to build a word-of-mouth business – is that I’ve become a thought leader in the coaching world.
My next book is about how to stand out in an overcrowded world – by sharing ideas of distinction, creating your own IP, and a body of work. When you become an Influential Coach, people seek YOU out…
I’ve been in this game for 20 years. There was a time when I couldn’t imagine… coaching someone virtually, or doing group coaching, or coaching a group larger than ten people, or coaching on a stage, or coaching in front of an audience of 1,000 people, or having an audience of 45,000+.
Remember, I didn’t want to go wide when I started my career. Instead I went deep. It’s what I recommend for most coaches. I was ten years into my career before I began to widen my reach.
- What should I do when my friends and family are in resistance to the changes I want to make in my life?
The people who love us the most sometimes don’t actually want us to be successful. It’s not because they don’t love us – they really do. It’s because our success could bring risks and they want us to stay safe. Plus, our success holds up a mirror to their own timidity.
- What do you wish you would have known before you started coaching?
You don’t need perfection, you need action. Learn as you go. One small act of courage at a time.
- What advice do you wish you could have given to your younger self?
I believe in you. You’ve got this.
This Ask Me Anything continues next time. Future questions include:
- Why do you charge so much for The Prosperous Coach?
- Is there a cheaper way to learn The Prosperous Coach Approach?
- How on earth do I explain my unique value when everyone is a coach?
- Will you be my coach, Rich? [Spoiler alert: the answer is “Probably not!”]
Love. Rich