Mentor Coach Tips

Lock in Coaches Console Rates

If you’ve been thinking about Coaches Console or interested in a quality client management system, this might be the time to make your move.

Coaches Console – the client management system that I’ve been using for the last 6 months – recently announced a fee increase.  On August 28^th, Coaches Console monthly fees for new subscribers will increase to $49 per month.

 

However, subscribers prior to August 28^th can lock in current rates ($39 per month) forever. 

 

Coaches Console keeps me organized and saves time.  And clients appreciate session reminders and their private client area.  Since my review a few months ago, I’ve gotten to like it even more.

 

Visit Coaches Console to learn more and lock in lower rates before they increase.

Useful Changes at LinkedIn

Speaking of using social media efficiently and effectively (see previous post about George Kao's upcoming telesession), check out this informative video about the changes being rolled out for LinkedIn Groups:

Like Justin Levy, I wasted too much time hitting the delete button for group email updates or surfing through group pages looking for interesting discussions ... and so I've been avoiding LinkedIn Groups.  With these revisions, I expect that will quickly change.  I'm really looking forward to being part of interesting conversations and discovering new thought leaders ... without paging through volumes of "stuff".

Btw, if we're not connected on LinkedIn or Facebook, let's do that! It will give me a headstart on following the best conversations.

Social Media for Coaches with George Kao

Tired of getting lost in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, but know social media can be an important piece of your marketing strategy?  Connections and relationships are extremely important, but so is making every minute count.

Check out the upcoming telesession with George Kao, sponsored by Choice Magazine.  Last month's call (find the achived recording here) was full of simple time-saving tips.  George has been invited back for a repeat performance -- Tuesday, June 29, 1 p.m. eastern -- "The Definitive Guide to Efficiently Using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter to Grow a Coaching Business".  You can register at Choice Magazine.

David Rock: Unlocking Mysteries of the Brain

Many of us know how to drive a car.  We can get from place to place without knowing much about what's going on under the hood.

As coaches, however, our ability to help people get where they want to go benefits greatly from knowing more about what's under our client's "hood" -- their brain.  Recent discoveries about how our brains work can demystify why thinking can be such an effort, what conditions encourage insights and creativity, how emotions hi-jack our thinking, and what we can do to make better, smarter choices.

David Rock writes, speaks and teaches about the brain and its influence on performance.  This video highlights key points from his latest book Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long.  The video's a long one -- almost an hour -- but fast-moving and chock full of information.

Watch it and get hooked on learning more.
 

 

Coaches Console: The Results

And now for the results of my experiment ... Coaches Console is a keeper!

Yes, it does have some downsides -- I imagine that's true of any system that is so robust.  When taking session notes, remember to click "save" ... otherwise, those nifty notes are gone for good.  After one "disappearing act," I quickly got into the habit of periodically hitting "save" during calls.

And it does take time to set up ... again because there are so many features.  If you want to use your own client questionnaires, expect to spend about 15-20 hours to get "client ready".  It's not difficult (and there are plenty of how-to videos for reference) ... it just takes time to remove the Coaches Console samples and add your own content.

However, if you don't want to do much customization and are relatively familiar with the ins and outs of WYSIWYG formatting, you can probably get started in just a few hours.  A mentor coach client told me she was up and running -- and proudly professional -- in a day.

I expect to stick with my current QuickBooks routine for invoicing, payment recording and financial reporting.  Although Coaches Console has a QuickBooks export function, it doesn't match the QuickBooks level of detail that I desire.  And I didn't have much luck with importing Outlook contacts -- even though I took great care to match data fields.  In general, the jury is still out on Coaches Console's ability to easly interface with other programs.

But who cares what I think?  My clients LOVE it!  They easily found their way around.  The e-mail session reminders are a hit.  They love the private client log (and I do too).  Overall, it provides valuable structure for the coaching relationship, helps clients recognize and anchor their progress, and maintains a professional coaching image. 

One more thing: Customer Service. The staff is responsive to questions and fix requests via an on-line "ticket" system.  There's a growing library of help videos and weekly business building calls, with much available even before you sign on to the service.

I still have to integrate Coaches Console into my company website.  In the meantime, if you'd like to take a look, you can find it here:  https://transformingwork.coachesconsole.com

And if you give it a try, let me know how it works for you.

Coaches Console: Trial Run

Each month I block out a few days for a "project" ... researching a new idea, reading the next book, catching up with contacts, or maybe some important R&R working in the garden.

This month's project is trying out The Coaches Console, a web-based business management system for coaches and consultants.

Over the years I've developed a pretty slick, paperless system of calendaring, invoicing, and client management using MS Outlook, QuickBooks, and a password-protected area of my website.  But lately I've been intrigued with the idea of moving everything to the "cloud" ... for easy access by both me and my clients.

Mentoring clients have asked about The Coaches Console ... but I hadn't heard much about it.  A recently advertised upgrade promising ability to extensively customize and brand client forms and questionnaires caught my attention -- after all, I want to continue or upgrade my client process, not use someone else's.

Yet their website mentions "a week or more" to get started -- yikes!  And a user told me she's been working on her setup for a couple months -- including purchased support from a virtual assistant -- and it's still not client-ready.

But I'm a sucker for a challenge ... and a fast run-through of their videos and free trial account look promising ... so I'm giving it a go.

So far I've invested 8 hours of time and have my client forms re-created ... and I'm picking up speed as I get more familiar with the format.

Stay tuned.  Will let you know how it goes.

Coaching, Credentials, Competencies, and Confusion

You didn't have to go too far in the coaching world during these past weeks to run into the ruckus around the International Coach Federation's proposed move to a single professional credential, intended to comply with ISO standards.

Whether a long-time coach who has already earned ICF credentials, a member of the ICF assessor team, or a newer coach getting started on a professional path, everyone has questions, opinions, concerns.  Much of the more thoughtful dialog is posted at Coaching Commons.

For me it's a reminder of the importance of the second and foundational ICF coaching competency: Establishing the Coaching Agreement ... the ability to first explore fully what is wanted, establishing measures of success, and ensuring both coach and client are clear about the purpose ... fully understanding WHAT before running off to figure out HOW.

I'm still not clear about the importance of this proposal ...for me, the coaching profession, or clients.  Am hoping this becomes clearer in the upcoming weeks.  But it's easy to imagine just how differently this would be playing out if the ICF had paid more attention to first building an understanding around the purpose.  Ah, well ... that's the beauty of this profession.  Every situation is an opportunity to learn.

Meanwhile, you might want to stop by the site www.ICFCoachesTakeaStand.org and join with 600+ coaches in a call for a do-over.

Responding to Demand

Be sure to read yesterday's Wall Street Journal article on demand for professional coaches.   How are you helping even more business leaders be at the top of their game, despite the recession?

From the article:

Even with the recession, many coaches say some companies are retaining their services to help them get lean and efficient. Coaches also said they are seeing an increase in individuals hiring coaches on their own.