Coaching Tip No. 18 - Referrals, an easy way to win business or promote yourself

"You create your opportunities by asking for them."
Patty Hansen, Author

In
Coaching Tip No. 15 we looked at asking for help and that very often, people unconsciously feel the need to ‘be strong’ and don’t ask for help when it would be both easy and fruitful to do so.

This tip builds on the same principle - that if you stop and ask yourself "What resources do I have available to me that I’m are not currently using?" there is more than likely something there that can help you.

The tip is mostly for salespeople or sales managers but the same principle can be used by anybody running their own business, and also in the area of career development.
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Coaching Tip No. 17 - "Never confuse movement with action" Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961)

I love this quote by Ernest Hemingway. He had a talent for saying things of real import very simply.  Whilst this coaching tip relates to the quote above, how I came to this tip is better described by a quotation of Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who said "A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind."

My mind must have been prepared, for it was seemingly by accident I asked the following question of a delegate on a workshop.

"Yes, but what do you want them to DO?".....
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Coaching Tip No.16 - Not too much, not too little, just right...

"It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it."
Arnold Toynbee - English historian & historical philosopher (1889 - 1975)


Have you ever had the experience where you've been using a tool for years (e.g. a technique, a program or even the onboard computer in the car.) and then you suddenly realise there's a far better, easier or more elegant way of using that tool? I had one of those moments recently and like the last tip, it harked back to my original coaching training in 2001.

When facilitating, my associate Waqar and I often talk about 'serving the need in the room'. Meaning, it's more important for us to be clear about the needs of the people we are working with and serving their need rather than prioritising the process or model we are using.

I was doing just this, 'serving the need in the room', when it came to me...... Read More...
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Why the delay between postings?

I’m sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve published a tip. I have developed quite a severe back problem which means that it is very painful to sit down and it’s amazing the impact of an inability to sit down has! I used to do all my coaching tips whilst sitting on the train so, even when busy, I could still get them out. I've also found out that not only does chronic back pain impact your short term memory, it destroys your grey matter at the rate of 1cm3 per annum - so thinking has been harder!

I’ve now got a desk I can stand at and have the pain more under control so hopefully I'll get back to more regular tips. Thanks for your patience. Read More...
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