Ultimately, we are looking to create something within our own lives, through our work as a coach. Connecting what we do to the actual creation of this ultimate outcome, is key. Cause and effect.

Getting started is often the difficult part. There are three great questions we can use - to get started with 'online marketing'.

What, Why, and How.

Building your business, achieving the lifestyle you want – is ultimately dependent on one simple point:

It requires another person to take a specific action.

Let’s give a name to this person – let’s make it personal. I’ll call my person Bob – you choose your own name.

Question 1: What action do you want Bob to actually take?

Again - what specifically do you want Bob to do?

There might be a big list of actions – but which action is the most critical – for you to build your own coaching practice, and live the life you want to live?

Warning: with this question – it’s tempting to think about the ‘how’ – don’t – not yet. Focus on defining with precision, the exact action you want Bob to take. You might not even like it, or agree with it. It might make you feel uncomfortable, bringing up some resistance.

This is ok – we simply need to acknowledge ‘what’ we want Bob to do. We’ll focus on the ‘how’ later.

Use the worksheet if you can - make a list of all the specific actions that will contribute to the creation of your ultimate outcome.

I’m guessing, that after some thought, you’ll end up with the conclusion, that what you really want Bob to do – is to give you some money?

Note: money is simply a tool. It enables us to do two things: first - to be comfortable, and second - to extend our influence beyond our physical presence. Bob will give you money in exchange for the value you give to Bob. The more value you give, the more money Bob will give.

Ok – onto the second question.

Bob will only take action, when he is motivated to. Motivation and drive are all about feelings.

Bob will take action because of what he is feeling – in the moment. Even after reflection, and maybe some rationalisation, Bob will still only act based on what he is feeling right now.

You may have noticed that the standard 'internet marketing sales letters' appeal to your emotions. Over-coming your pain, frustration, confusion. Connecting with your passions, your dream and aspirations. And then offering immediate gratification through the 'buy-now' button.  :-)

Question 2: Why is Bob motivated to act?

Bob could be motivated by any sort of feeling: fear, desperation, exhilaration, inspiration, passion, yearning, love. You need to know what will motivate Bob to act.

What keeps Bob awake at night. What does Bob dream about and yearn for? Where is Bob’s passion?

Use the worksheet, list what will motivate Bob to act.

Note: Different types of people are motivated in different ways, by different things. Some people are more re-active and tend to be motivated more externally to move away from what they don’t want. Some people are more pro-active and tend to be motivated internally to move towards what they do want. We all have aspects of both.

Ok - once we have those two questions answered; what do we want Bob to do, and why will Bob do that, we can focus on the ‘how’.

Question 3: How do we want this action to happen?

Do we want to meet Bob personally, talk with him, understand his need, establish the coaching commitment, shake his hand (and take payment!) and welcome him into the coaching relationship?

Perhaps we want Bob to download a product, pay for it online, and learn how to use it – all without ever talking to us in real-time?

Do we want it to be a real time activity with Bob, where we are present and giving our ‘time’ to Bob, which leads to him taking the action?

Or do we want it to happen without any ‘time’ requirement from us – where Bob takes action on his own – without us being personally involved in the moment - completely on auto-pilot?

In reality – different stages of the relationship will require different approaches. So how do we make a distinction, about when the best time is to be present with Bob, and when we can help Bob on auto-pilot?

Understanding the value of your time is critical. Second to your own unique strengths and talents – ‘time’ is your most valuable resource. Limit the spending of your time to doing things that can’t be done any other way, by anyone else. High value activities.

A proven model, is to create an automated marketing funnel. Where we attract people to our website, offer them something of real value in exchange for their contact details, and then nurture the relationship.

At some point, the relationship reaches the point where they see and want to experience the value in our products/services, and they purchase. We continue to nurture, over-deliver, creating more value – still on auto pilot.

At some point, they want to meet us – and see the high value in giving time to working with us personally, where we bring our ‘real-time’ to the experience. Our time is valuable – we charge a lot more for that value.

Once you've answered these three questions - you have something to work towards, that will make a measurable difference and move you closer to your outcome.

If you would like a worksheet for these questions, you can download it here:

http://TheCoachHub.com/media/what-why-how-plan.pdf

Keep it simple, move quickly and efficiently, value your time and your unique gifts most highly. Take care of Bob.

To your success,

Paul

p.s. To take this further - download and go through the 'Perfect Customer Lifecycle' workbook and videos here (all free).