Do you want to create an amazing 2022?
Then finish 2021 strong…
I wasn’t much of an athlete at high school but I never forgot what my coach taught me about running track…
Finish strong.
If you slow down because you’re overconfident in the lead, you’ll lose. If you turn around to see who’s behind you, you’ll lose.
If you want to have an amazing start to 2022, then finish 2021 strong.
Most coaches drift at the end of the year.
“Yay, it’s Halloween! Oh look, it’s Thanksgiving! Hey, it’s Christmas/Hanukkah/Diwali/Kwanzaa! Oh my gosh, it’s New Year! Oh shit, I’ve got no clients!”
They had a fun end to the year and they got to relax but they’re now desperate for a client—at exactly the same time that most coaches on the planet are desperate for a client.
Don’t be THAT coach.
Finish the year strong. You can rest in January when every coach you know is desperate for clients.
Commit
Before I teach you how to finish 2021 strong, I need to teach you a lesson I learned from an alcoholic.
I have a friend who calls himself an alcoholic. He’s not touched a drop of alcohol in 29 years.
He taught me an important coaching distinction between the actions to “decide” and to “commit.”
He told me that alcoholics decide all the time to stop drinking.
It’s only the ones who commit to stop drinking that actually stop.
A decision is a shift in what you are thinking. A commitment is a shift in who you are being.
Fill your calendar
If you are committed to finishing 2021 strong, I have a framework for you.
It’s called The Prosperous Coach Approach.
Your mission is to fill your calendar, for the next two weeks, with conversations with interesting people. And it’s to book your calendar, in January, with conversations with interesting people.
There are 5 steps to follow—in any order:
- Only connect
- Astonish former clients
- Do your homework
- Start a research project
- The 1 Person Question
1. Only connect
The simplest way to connect with people is to call or text them and be genuinely curious how they are doing. Do not try to “get” them as a client.
Only connect.
2. Astonish former clients
Do you know who is most likely to pay you money?
It’s someone who has ALREADY paid you money.
This time of year is a great time of year to reach out to former clients.
Do NOT send a blind copy email to everyone you know. Do NOT post this on your Facebook page.
Instead, reach out ONE PERSON AT A TIME.
A 30 second video text gets the best response.
“Hi _____. I was thinking of you.
Towards the end of the year, I block out 3 spots for former clients who want to set up next year as their best year ever.
This will be 90 minutes where you and I put all of our attention on one thing: YOUR goals and dreams… and what’s getting in your way.
One of the spots has already gone but there’s one still available in the second week of December and another in the second week of January.
There’s no charge for this, as you’re a former client.
Let me know if you’d like to reserve a spot. And if you’re good, you don’t even need to reply to this text…”
3. Do your homework
You can reach out to a stranger on social media. Just don’t be like those people who send spam emails to my LinkedIn inbox.
Reach out to a stranger AFTER you’ve done your homework.
“Hey ____, I see you’re a leader in the field where I worked for almost 20 years. I appreciated [state something specific] in the article you just published. I’ve read your last 3 company reports and I notice [state something specific].”
Or be like the online marketing expert who sent me a 3 minute video with a series of personalized ideas (based on an unsolicited review of my material) that I could implement immediately. She sold the experience of working with her, not the concept of working with her.
You can even send a similar video text to someone you don’t know so well.
4. Start a research project
Start to research a book, a white paper, or an executive summary on a topic that interests you. This is a great way to uplevel your connections with potential high-level clients.
It gives you an opportunity to reach out to fascinating people.
“Hi ____, I’m researching a book on resilience in high-level leaders. And our mutual friend ____ told me that you are the most high-level leader she knows.
Could we speak for just 15 minutes, so I can ask you 3 questions as part of my research?
I promise to share my results when the research is complete.”
Don’t use this tool as a sort of bait and switch. You can’t promise to interview people but *secretly* try to get them as a client.
But if you genuinely care about the topic you’re researching, you’ll connect with fascinating people—as a peer. And this is key. You’ll get all sorts of insights about the challenges faced by your next level of clients.
5. The 1 Person Question
A client of mine told me last week that he would love to make an additional $100,000.
I reminded him of The Prosperous Coach Approach.
Multiple that number by three to discover how much money you need to make in “Proposals.”
“That’s $300,000,” he said.
I replied, “The rest is just math. Eg. You could make 10x $30,000 proposals, or 50x $6,000 proposals.
Now let me REALLY mess with your thinking…
Who is the ONE person, or what is the ONE organization, that could write you a check for the entire $300,000?”
Usually my clients go quiet when I ask the 1 Person Question. But he laughed out loud!
He said he knew exactly who that was and what he needed to do. It turns out that he has connections with one of the top sporting teams in the country. It had never dawned on him that he could create such a fascinating proposal for them.
If you want to have an amazing start to 2022, then finish 2021 strong.
Most coaches drift at the end of the year.
Don’t be that coach.
Finish the year strong. Then rest in January, when every coach you know is desperate for clients.
Love. Rich