Cat Got Your Tongue?
by Emily Woodman-Nance

Have you ever had a loss of words? Well, just know you are not alone.  There have been several writings on this topic.  The question now is how do you move forward?  For me, I was able to move forward after the March 11, 2010 ICF-OC monthly meeting.

A few months ago, I developed some coaching products. Up until March 11, 2010, I found it challenging to talk, let alone sell my coaching products. Each time I would attempt to sell a CD or book, I would either hesitate or somewhat babble.  I knew the products were rock solid and would be useful to the audience I was addressing.  So, why did the cat have my tongue?  At the March monthly ICF-OC meeting, my eyes were opened and I realized what was causing the blockage.  I was unsuccessful selling my coaching products because I was use to providing weekly services to clients.  Selling a product can be a one-time purchase and in some cases be the end of a personal relationship.  This required a paradigm shift for me.

During “The Art of Sales” presentation by Randy Tabor, it clicked when he stated the following:

“You sell with questions, not answers”.
“You decide what type of relationship you want to have with a prospect”

I soon realized that I have great power!  After I ask questions, listen and correctly assessed the needs of a prospect, I would then move forward with mentioning my products.  Armed with this thought process, I concluded that in certain situations a specific product may be most optimal for a prospect. This is what I already do with my services.  Wow, how great to be able to offer both my services and products based on client needs.  So, I was on fire after Randy’s presentation! 

Next, the headliner presentation “Speak Up-Cash In” with Arvee Robinson. Arvee’s presentation gave me the final ingredient.  She demonstrated where to place a product when showing it to an audience.  Prior to the meeting, when I showed my product it was airborne and enroute to some undetermined destination.  No one could really see it.  Thanks to Arvee I learned how to hold the product at chest level and slightly wave my hand underneath the product.   Similar to what Vanna White does on “Wheel of Fortune”. Equipped with insight and information from the March presentations off I went! 

The following day I carried my products with me.  After speaking with a prospect, it became clear that one of my products would be appropriate.  He purchased the product and asked if he could buy one for a colleague.  Later that day, I went to a meeting and applied the techniques I learned.  Before I knew it people were asking if they could get one of the products.  Of course, I had several on hand.  Now, everywhere I go I have my products at arms length and if appropriate, I pitch them. I am now working on mass distribution of my products. Thank you Randy and Arvee for the major breakthrough!  The cat no longer has my tongue.  

Perhaps, your challenge is not with selling products.  It can be any aspect of your personal or business life where you want a dramatic shift.  The point is if you want to reach a particular pinnacle, you can make the first step by doing the following:

• Write down the personal or business area where you want to achieve a dramatic shift
• Brainstorm about the ways you can accomplish your objective
• Formulate and execute a plan of action

What is so great about coaches is that we are use to asking challenging questions and letting clients come up with the answers.  So let the self-probing begin.  I look forward to hearing how you released the cat and moved forward. 

Warm regards, 

Emily Woodman-Nance
ICF-OC President

Happy Spring Everyone! My name is Rita Conley and I am honored to be the Membership/Participant Director for ICF- Orange County. My vision for this year will be to continue providing a warm welcome to all new members of ICF - Orange County and assimilating all new members into our coaching community.  The membership committee will be reaching out to all new members and provide them with an orientation to our chapter.  This orientation will help members understand what ICF-Orange County is all about and give the new member an opportunity to take an active role in our community.

If you would like to be a part of this committee please do not hesitate to contact me. We would love your participation.  I am always open to all suggestions and recommendations that any member may have to improve our new member experience. I look forward to continue meeting all of our new members and continue providing a warm greeting to all of our current members. If you know of a coach that has not joined the ICF- Orange County I encourage you to please invite them to just one meeting and they can experience for themselves what kind of environment we have and what makes us so special.

Please contact me at:  ritabconley@ca.rr.com

What to Tweet About?
By Nahid Casazza

People keep saying, “You should be on Twitter”. Yes, I know. I’m on there all right. But I don’t “tweet” much, because up until now, I haven’t really “gotten” what I should be saying. I mean, who in the world cares when I wash my hair or that I had a great talk with my daughter or whether I’m answering e-mail or talking to a client in any given work moment? And I know people definitely don’t want to read a bunch of workshop or coaching advertisements. So, what to write?

And then, today, the answer began to form around the edges of my mind. It happened when I was writing my weekly update to the Aspyrre Community members. I realized that the update created intimacy, a conversation for those who did not have time to show up for the live event that week. And for the first time, I realized I wanted to have that kind of conversation with more people. It occurred to me that the question “what do I tweet about?” is the exact same question as “what do I write about?” when I think about writing an e-mail or a blog.

Except with my blog and articles, I take time to write, and my readers take time to read.

But the world is changing, accelerating at an outrageous pace. Nobody has time to read or write anymore.

In my recent workshops on time management, participants grappled with the idea that they simply can NOT complete or even begin everything there is to do anymore. They have to choose. In my career transition workshops, job-seekers are learning how to write resumes that will not actually be read unless they make it through the first few rounds of selection. Everything has to be in bullets.

So the pieces of the puzzle begin to converge, as I realize what twitter gives me – a place to blog in bullets.

The whole world has access to the bullets, and yes, they are quite lost in a sea – like “pings” from a submarine. But there’s always someone else on line the same time I am and, the more followers I have, the more interested those “per chance” people are in what I have to say. After reading the bullets, some will honor me with more of their time, and read a paragraph or an article. And some of those people might want to delve in deeper and join the community, attend a workshop, hire me as their coach.

We live in a new world, where people can choose who, where, when, and what to engage with. Twitter is a selection tool that enables people to come together quickly around what they care about, and disengage just as quickly when they need space.

At least I think. But today, I’m going to step in and give it a try.

Our monthly meetings are every second Thursday of the month.

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April 8, 2010 meeting:
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Business and Coaching Excellence Program (BCE):  Coaching Challenges with Master Coaches Carly Anderson, MCC and Michael Stratford, MCC
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Networking
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Dinner and Announcements
8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Dinner and Featured presentation: Core Competencies Revealed with Master Coaches Carly Anderson, MCC and Michael Stratford, MCC

Business & Coaching Excellence

Coaching Challenges: What do I do when? with Master Coaches Carly Anderson, MCC and Michael Stratford, MCC

Have you ever run into a challenging coaching situation and silently asked yourself, “What do I do now?”

This is one of the most common problems both new and experienced coaches face, say Master Coaches Michael Stratford and Carly Anderson, and leads to one of the most common questions they hear, “What do I do when…?”.

To give you tools to handle these situations, Michael and Carly will lead a provocative interactive session focusing on this common question. They will demonstrate that, regardless of the focus, there are always three aspects to the answer:

• Where am I approaching the question from?
• What is the question really about?
• What is the ideal action or speaking that answers the question?

The critical distinction, according to Michael and Carly, is Preparation vs. Planning. Properly prepared coaches can improvise and respond in the moment.  Michael and Carly will use Coaching Challenge questions presented by the participants to address these three aspects along with others such as:

• How to Manage Client Expectations
• How to end the relationship
• How to get the clients to understand what coaching is/is not

You will leave this session with a clear understanding of how to use these three questions as a framework to approach any “What do I do when?” question you may encounter.  You can then effectively improvise and respond instead of creating artificial, pre-emptive cookie cutter answers to anticipate questions.

Click HERE to register.
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Featured Presentation

Core Competencies Revealed: The ‘beingness’ and language that signals their presence with Master Coaches Carly Anderson, MCC and Michael Stratford, MCC

One of the most important aspects of a credentialing examination is demonstration that a coach knows and uses the ICF Core Competencies. Last year, Carly and Michael presented a BCE showing exactly how an assessor perceives the presence and demonstration of a Core Competency during an exam.

Tonight they will present an expanded session where they will give specific examples of Core Competencies and show how to recognize the precise language Assessors use that indicates how acutely they are listening for the presence of all the competencies.

Once they hear and integrate these elements into their day to day coaching, attendees will be better equipped to show their full, competent presence and skills during an exam, giving them the confidence that they will exhibit the level of professionalism they’ve worked so hard to attain.

Carly and Michael will also address the crucial state of mind that effectively takes anxiety off the table when approaching the exam.

Click HERE to register.

Affiliate Events

PCMA-OC Co-sponsored Workshop April 10, 2010 Social Media Strategies to Grow and Maintain a Coaching/Consulting Practice In A Tough Economy with Lee Pound and John Hall The workshop will cover: How to set up the major social media sites How social media can dramatically increase your practice How to inter connect social media sites for maximum Google exposure How to set up and use blogs that drive traffic to your business A step-by-step approach to get started within two hours The interactive three-hour workshop will be held at Brandman University 16355 Laguna Canyon Road Irvine, CA 92618 on April 10, 2010 from 9:00 – 12:00 pm. To register: Call or email John Hall 949.387.2004 • jhirvine@aol.com $15 Cash or check at the door Free for ICF Members ICF-LA Monthly Meeting April 21, 2010 7:00-9:15 PM The Belief Closet Process “Changing Your Beliefs Is Now As Easy As Changing Your ClothesTM” Presented by Lion Goodman, Coach, Author, Workshop Leader, Public Speaker, and Businessman Have you, or one of your clients, ever noticed that no matter what you try, one of those pesky Limiting Beliefs still keeps popping up? Coaches and therapists recognize that false or limiting beliefs are the source of human problems and suffering, but are not taught how to change those beliefs rapidly and permanently. Professionals who can help their clients transform beliefs produce better results and attract more clients. In this exciting talk and demonstration, Lion Goodman shows how “The BeliefCloset Process” permanently eliminates negative and limiting beliefs that hold people back and prevent forward momentum. He explains how beliefs function, how they impact our lives, and how to replace them with new, productive, and empowering beliefs. Belief change in the BeliefCloset Process can be felt experientially, and it creates immediate shifts in the client's mindset, behavior and life. Go to www.icf-la.org to get more information and to register.

Congratulations

ICF-OC is delighted to welcome new member Ken Gryske