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Make It Real August 2009
News and Views from Clarity to Business, LLC
Discover what you love. Build your business. Prosper. | |
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Greetings!
I'm on a quest to find out what people want from coaching. Thanks to the clients I've talked to so far for taking the time to tell me about
their coaching needs. (If I haven't set an appointment to talk to you
yet, you're on the list!)
I've already received a lot of valuable feedback. Look for new groups forming in October that will focus on business numbers, marketing, and creating business plans.
My process involved not only listening to individual clients, but also to the general environment, or the "Level Three." Level Three Listening is the topic of this month's newsletter. It's powerful stuff.
I'm looking for four new coaching clients this month; if you are on the verge of creating something new in your business, or you want to break through barriers that have been stopping you, please call. If you refer someone to me who becomes a client, I will give you a free 30-minute coaching session.
Cheers,
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Level Three Listening
There are Different Levels of Listening.
Level One listening is when my attention is on me, me, me--what's going on in my head, with my emotions, my life.
Level Two listening is outward, on you, the person I'm interacting with. It focuses on your feelings, your thoughts, etc.
Level Three listening directs your listening skills out into the world. On this level, we listen to what's going on in the space around us.
Tuning into the Level Three
Right this minute, if you tune into the Level Three in the U.S. you'll sense anxiety about the economy, hope that things are changing, distress about our health care system being overhauled (among lot of other issues).
In a coincidental combination of factors, my coach assigned me the task of interviewing my clients to ask them what they wanted more of from me in my business. At the same time I received this assignment, I was assisting at a six-day leadership retreat, where participants spent much of the time honing their Level 3 listening skills. (To read more about this way of listening, check out the book Co-Active Coaching, by Whitworth, et. al.)
My book Passion, Plan, Profit is about to come out (details in the September newsletter!). Based on some of the needs I was feeling in the Level 3, I need to change what I'm doing in my business to incorporate the book. This started me on the client interviewing quest.
Success Comes to Those Who Listen
Businesses that pay attention to the energy, feelings, and needs in the environment-and meet them-do a lot better (are more profitable) than businesses that don't. If you don't believe me, compare some businesses tuned into the Level 3 (Apple, Google) and their success, with businesses that aren't tuned in (General Motors, the U.S. government, in response to Hurricane Katrina).
How to Listen
There are various ways to listen to the Level 3. You can ask clients what they want directly. You can read about what's happening to other companies in your niche. You can sit quietly and write down what you already know that you haven't brought into your conscious mind. You can notice what parts of your business, or which services or products you offer that frustrate you. There may even be services or products the environment wants that are logical for you to provide to people who aren't even your clients yet.
How do you find out what these needs might be? I'm asking my existing clients first. Then I'm going to move to talking to former clients. Then...I'm going to follow this month's tip below, and see what comes to me. Stay tuned.
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Listening to Level Three
 This month's quiet time in the coffee shop is dedicated to listening to Level 3. If it seems too woo-woo to stare off into space and try to actually listen, take your laptop with you and do some unfocused research on the Internet. Poke around at competitors' websites or even at websites completely unrelated to what you do, and see what you find. You can also survey your existing clients. Or, if you're feeling particularly in tune with the energy of the universe, sit quietly and write down what you hear; then run it by some of your clients.
If you want to read a more left-brained book on this subject, check out Tuned In. The authors tell you how to create focus groups of people who aren't yet your clients, and how to survey them about what they need that isn't currently being provided. I'd love to hear your results.
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Client Spotlight
 Suzanne Lorenz and Sam Beasley have written a new book called Wealth and Well-Being. Public response to the book is a great example of current Level 3 needs and how they're influencing the way the authors are marketing their book.
The book originally targeted therapists who work with clients who have issues with money. According to the authors' website, "Wealth and Well-Being teaches about money in the United States and addresses the emotional roadblocks that stop clients from achieving the wealth and abundance they desire. These roadblocks include anxiety and compulsive behaviors with money and spending, depression, trauma, and poor self-care."
Since they've begun their marketing, Suzanne and Sam have noticed that it isn't only therapists who want to clear these roadblocks. The authors have appeared on several radio call-in shows, and it turns out the majority of callers are from the general public.
This feedback from the Level 3 is changing how they talk about the book. It's also changed how they are writing their second book, a workbook companion to Wealth and Well-Being.
Even though I'm not part of the book's original target audience, the information in their book was extremely valuable to me. If you have roadblocks around money check out the book yourself. You can get a signed copy from their website.
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