Transcript

Coach Training MicroModule
Getting Your Foot in the Corporate Door
February 26, 2002 - 4:00 p.m. EST
Thomas Leonard, Session Leader

TJL: Hi, welcome to the call! This is Thomas Leonard with…

DB: Dave Buck

Susan: And Susan Austin!

TJL: The 3 of us and about 20 other coaches are going to be talking about getting in the corporate door. We're going to be working in 3 areas. 1st is to identify some menus you'd like to draft on how to serve the corporate marketplace. 2nd - what level are you most comfortable working with people, and then 3rd - once you have that foot in the door, we'll talk about how to get the contract signed, how to organize it, etc. 

This isn't necessarily about coaching IBM, but about coaching small companies. This isn't necessarily my area of expertise or Dave's or Susan's, but we have people on the call who definitely have that experience. As you know, these modules are built around 3 steps. We thought abut starting with a menu of services - it's really helpful to identify 10-25 things that really just for you are incredibly interesting. There are that many things, and the trick is to phrase them in a way that doesn't turn them off. 

Let's get started here - I'll first start by sharing 5-10 things that I think would be interesting to work in a corporation. I haven't done much in this area; I've done it, but it wasn't my preferred place. I prefer to work with entrepreneurs, but for many coaches coming from corporate America, it's the perfect place for them. I think one thing almost every corporate coach could put is that helping the client move forward more quickly in that corporation or others. That obviously works with every manager or mid-level person in a corporation. If you're someone who's gone through the organization quicker than most, this might be for you.

DB: If I were going to work with corporations, I would want to create a service for IT, computer professionals to help them become more proficient at business skills that IT professionals don't typically have.

TJL: That's because you come from that place?

DB: Yes - an affinity and background.

TJL: Susan?

Susan: Well, looking back at my corporate experience, I would have wanted to have a coach on handling the frustrations with the people above me to help me bridge that.

TJL: That takes a unique set of skills to work through that. If I were going to work with a corporation, I think I would call myself a sounding board; I might even go further and use the words 'brand yourself' as a sounding board. It's going to be a very narrow niche, but if that's who you are, I would go very deep and market yourself that way. You could develop something quite impressive by going deep in just one area, rather than 15-25.

DB: I know a guy who was an ER doctor for many, many years and had lots of interesting experiences. He went to Afghanistan for 2 years and worked with the freedom fighters back in the 90's for example. When he approached the corporate market, he wanted to work with high-powered hard charging CEOs. He's available to them 24 hours a day, charges them $5,000 a month and only has 5 clients; he calls himself the "Warrior Coach". 

TJL: That's great; well said. 

Susan: I know you don't like working with teams, but I think team coaching is a good place to move into with corporations. 

TJL: I've heard a coach say, "I coach cross-organizational teams on creating common goals." Rather than trying to fit into the mold of what you think a corporate coach is, it might be even better to go deeper into yourself and work around that. You may also want to identify symptoms, common situations or dilemmas that come up in corporate America. If it happens to be coaching around resisting chance in corporate cultures, for example, you could play that role. A coach can be a lubricant for resistance. We've got a list of quite a few of those that are part of the module, so you might want to take a look at those. 

I'm going to turn it over to the others n the call - let's hear 1-2 sentences on what corporations are buying today. Who wants to go first?

Amanda:
I coach corporate clients that are in multiple countries t help them come together and share their ideas.

TJL: So it's part of trans-cultural communication. Is that a big market?

Amanda:
It's a massive market; there are many companies spread throughout the world that don't know how to talk to each other.

TJL: Are they outsourcing that problem to you? How d you set yourself up for them to buy you?

Amanda:
I act as a sounding board or a catalyst, and there are companies that realize they have the problem and don't know how to tackle it themselves.

TJL: And then how do you market yourself?

Amanda:
I've done it by getting into a couple of companies and getting the HR folks to market me themselves. They often have a good amount of training budget.

TJL: And if those HR folks are getting the heat, they're going to spend huge amounts of money to stop that problem for themselves. That's great, Amanda. Who else? Okay, we're going to move on. Dave, Susan, and I will share some of the things that we know. I know coaches who've been brought in to help a failing employee - this can be good or bad. You've been brought in as the last hope, so it's a bit risky. I would make sure that I was very upfront and clear with all parties about the person's current status. I would want to know all the dynamics of the current situation before I'd be willing to take on that client. Dave?

DB: I was thinking that another area - I have a client who was a former HR executive and works with people in HR departments. When one company buys another company, the HR people get stressed - she coaches HR executives on the human side of merging or buyouts. She has credibility within HR because she was in that position for many years, and that's a good thing to remember. Look for the roles you would have affinity for or have credibility in.

TJL: Great; Susan?

Susan: I've always wanted leadership skills to be taught at a bigger level in corporations than they have been in the past.

TJL: Yes; you can package yourself as a training program at either $10,000 or $50,000 and provide a 1- or 2-day training that might include individual coaching as a follow-up. Corporations like to buy packages, where they might not be as willing to buy one-on-one coaching.

XXX: I have a question - we're having a difficult time in getting through the doorway. What can we do to help this process?

TJL: Great question; the person who knocks on the front door is generally ignored; there are coaches who have done it but it's a painful process. What you're experiencing is fairly normal, though. Generally, the capillary approach seems to work; that begins by serving the individuals you can begin serving today. 2 examples of that is one of my coaches wanted to get in the corporate market in south Florida, and I told him to just start coaching 50 people - coach anybody, and then get to know some of them better and see if they have any contacts in corporations. As a result, one of his clients was a secretary to a CEO in a major company and he got in the door that way.

XXX: Thanks, Thomas. 

TJL: Also, a lot of people coming into the corporate world often actually have contacts, and that's the most common way to get into that market. You can also work with companies who already have contracts with corporations, and need coaches - you might want to network with them.

DB: Just to add onto that, I think the key to that is some personal connection. Tap into anywhere you've worked, former colleagues, friends, etc. Don't be afraid to ask; that's the main thing.

TJL; Yes; if you have things you really adore and would love to do in a corporate setting, you're not going t feel embarrassed about asking. If they know what you're up to, they can find something and will know the person to pitch it to.

DB: And also if you can find a way to tap into it with something interesting and coaching woven in…. there are many topics that are really big issues with corporations. The free agent thing is big too where corporations are having their employees work with employees in other companies, contractors, and so on.

TJL: And so many of the modules we're doing can be adapted to corporate work. The whole idea of developing an R&D team, teleclasses and teleconferences, etc. - those things aren't necessarily common in the corporate world and might work very well. It's something new rather than a re-work of the same old stuff.

DB: Also, become the most well-read person on that subject that you know; make sure you're the most informed person on that subject around, and then share it with anybody who will listen.

TJL: Basically, you get in the education business and that's another capillary marketing technique. I know my friend Dean Jackson spent 2 years working on an e-book and now makes more than half a million a year from that book. Also, corporations love assessments - just becoming aware of them and becoming certified in them is something to get your foot in the door as well, and then you can weave in coaching to resolve some of the issues raised in the assessments.

Susan: It's interesting to find out that this is really a longer-term goal than I thought.

TJL: It is a ton of work to get into the corporate door; there are some folks spending 70-80 percent of their time just getting into the door. It can really work out well, and once you're in, it can be the best payoff you've ever made. I would, though, focus on my current clients and target a problem they're all experiencing and use that to get my foot in the door.

DB: I think that idea is a very compelling one; a lot of people who are good at coaching are also good at facilitating, leading groups, etc. 

XXX: I do corporate coaching more than personal coaching. What happened with me was writing a newspaper article on corporate coaching and got a lot of calls from that about how coaching could help them. I work with them on a variety of issues. Thomas, you're very correct about people passing your name along - I've gotten a lot of work from referrals.

TJL: So referrals can come as easily in a corporate setting as in the personal setting?

XXX: Absolutely.

TJL: I'd like to debrief for a couple of minutes before we close. What did you find beneficial from today's call?

XXX: I think bringing what you're most passionate about is really key.

TJL: Well said. Who else?

Natalie: I think the capillary approach of not spending all your time marketing, but looking at other options. Just from the few things you said, I've gotten a number of ideas.

XXX: What you said earlier about assessment tools has been particularly true for me.

TJL: Good confirmation; thank you. Who else?

XXX: The idea that Margaret shared about writing newspaper articles. I also loved the idea of being a hub for a roundtable; it's really cool.

TJL: Yes, and people often want to connect but don't have the structure to do so. Who else? Thank you all for contributing to this. Bye now!





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