Building Your Circle of Influence
Your network is the lifeblood of your coaching practice. The relationships you cultivate help you to build a sustainable and profitable business. As an entrepreneur, networking is one of the most powerful business building tools you have at your disposal. When you know how to network effectively, you can develop a powerful circle of influence, one that will translate into the growth of your coaching practice. The key is to network authentically by focusing on building relationships and providing value to others.
What Networking is
- Developing connections with other people
- Understanding who they are and what is important to them
- Listening for opportunities to support others (and not necessarily just by providing your coaching services)
What Networking is not
- Handing out your cards to everyone you see
- Turning off the people you meet by flogging the virtues of coaching at every opportunity
- Focusing on what you can get
In the Passion into Profit program, I talk a lot about the importance of networking. One of the first tasks I assign to the coaches in the program is to create a list of 500 people. Your 500-person list is a snapshot of all the people you are connected to. It is also an invaluable networking tool.
The trick with the list is to think beyond our clients and even beyond the people we think may become clients. Your network is much bigger than that. Opportunities to create raving fans, (people who send you referrals) come both from your clients and your circle of influence.
A circle of influence is a strategic alliance. What industries serve the same client as you but do not compete with you? Who are the professionals you know in these industries? These people go on your 500-person list. This list is meant to be a living document, a tool you are working with and adding to all the time. So if you don’t know professionals in those industries, now is the time to create networking opportunities that will allow you to connect with them.
Your circle of influence is made up of people who may or may not become your direct clients. Your job is to turn them into raving fans who will refer your services. Your other job is to look for opportunities to help them. The best networkers look for what they can give to others.
How to Build Your Circle of Influence
Start with the low hanging fruit, the professionals you are already connected to (i.e. your webmaster, counsellor or writer). Reach out with the intent to build a strategic alliance. Offer them a complimentary session.
You might say the following:
“I’m building my coaching practice and would love to have you as part of my team. I’m not sure what that would look like at this time, but I’d like to explore ways we can support each other. As part of that, I’d like to offer you a complimentary session so you can have first-hand experience of coaching.”
As you continue to make networking a part of your business building strategy, remember to resist the impulse to focus on what you can get. Shift your thinking. What if you ceased to treat networking as a specific marketing or sales methodology? Instead, what if it was an opportunity to develop connections, based on what you bring to the table? This approach will not only make you stand out, it will make you very popular in your network!
Passion Into Profit Challenge: Start working on your own 500-person list.
Teresia LaRocque
Teresia LaRocque, MAA, is Canada's first Master Certified Coach and a co-founder of ICF Vancouver. Over the past 20 years, she has been a key player in developing the coaching industry in Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada. As the Director of Entrepreneur for Erickson International College, she mentors emerging coaches in the art and science of entrepreneurship, teaching practical steps and actionable strategies to increase your passion, generate more profit and raise your quality of life. Her "Passion into Profit" program delivers a time-tested, step-by-step process for developing a sustainable six-figure coaching practice. More than just business strategies, this interactive program also lays the foundation for a balanced, fulfilling lifestyle--a mission-critical component of entrepreneurial success.
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[…] most valuable marketing strategy a coach can have is a strong network. As I shared in my last blog, in the Passion into Profit program we talk about networking all the time. We talk about how to use […]