Published in the April & May 2009 Issue of Make it Business (Canada)
by Chelsea Bowles
Originally published in the April & May 2009 Issue of ?Make it Business? (Canada)
Is hiring a business coach your path to success? For Rob Thompson (right), it was. In six months, Soho Sales Coaching?s Tom Abbott guided Thompson of Cornerstone Technology to a 300-per-cent increase in revenue.
Impatience is a virtue. At least it was for Rob Thompson. Six months after launching Cornerstone Business Technology in 2008, Thompson felt his on-demand I.T. service company wasn?t growing fast enough. He was also overwhelmed by the amount of information and work involved in running a business. Thompson needed someone to guide him, while offering him objective perspective and encouragement.
He knew he needed a business coach. Working with Tom Abbott of Soho Sales Coaching, Thompson propelled Cornerstone to a 300-per-cent sales increase. And those valuable lessons have kept his company growing, even in this tough economy.
?I?ve had success in the past with coaches on the personal side and I expected that on the business side. After we started working together it confirmed it was the right thing to do,? Cornerstone?s president says.
During his six months coaching Thompson in late 2008, Abbott helped triple Cornerstone?s clientele and revenue by clarifying the business focus for services, target customers and branding. As well, Abbott taught Thompson to better utilize his strengths and build relationships.
Abbott?s coaching involves building trust, asking tough questions and providing tools. He starts by gauging expectations, goals and challenges. He holds the mirror up to find a business?s weak areas, then assesses how to quantify and reach goals.
To gain clients, Thompson first needed to clarify his ideal customer. Conversations and Abbott?s Niche Detector tool helped him decide to focus on smaller offices with a network of four to 49 computers, such as accounting and engineering firms. Now, Cornerstone?s team of four services the North Shore,? downtown and immediate surrounding areas, rather than all of Vancouver.
Having clarified the target market, Thompson then had to tailor his message specifically to them. ?One of the key challenges was how to be more effective in marketing,? he recalls.
Abbott reviewed Thompson?s presentations, helping him communicate more concisely to the people who already needed his services. Abbott also taught Cornerstone?s president that it?s about sharing customer benefits, not touting bells and whistles.
Through a survey, Thompson?s abilities came to light. Next he had to learn how to use them. ?There were things I wasn?t doing that I was good at, like talking with people. Tom told me to spend more time on that.?
Thompson was initially hesitant. He had to overcome his misconception that sales are about convincing people to buy what they don?t need. ?Tom isolated that once you I.D. who needs your services, all you have to do is inform them about your service, and convey confidence to deliver it.?
Cornerstone?s founder believes that entrepreneurs, like athletes, need coaches to succeed. ?Coaching helps you understand how to be present in your business genuinely rather than artificially. Instead of trying to impose something somebody else recommends, I find something I have myself and channel it and use it.?
There are many myths about coaches, namely that they have all the answers and do all the work. In reality, you do the work. A business coach helps you do the right things with the right tools.
There are many terms for business coaches, and many areas of specialization, but it boils down to someone who will give you the tools and clarity to move forward successfully.
?A coach is someone who will help your business grow,? says Abbott, whose area of expertise is sales. Ten years ago, led by passion for small business and a love of the entrepreneurial drive, he started his company
to help others work on their businesses, not in their businesses.
?At its core is a series of guided conversations,? Abbott says. He also offers content, such as sales strategies
and business tactics. He coaches over the phone and via e-mail, so while most of his customers are in BC, he
can offer his services worldwide.
Abbott coaches by modelling behaviour he wants his clients to adopt, and by using a structured, proprietary
program created based on his experience. Abbott?s program, outlined below, is called the Soho Sales? Fundamentals: Five Pillars of Personal Selling. The five pillars are:
Customer Strategy: Who?s your ideal customer? What?s important to them? What are their buying habits? How do you qualify prospects? Product Strategy: What solution do you offer? What makes you unique? How do you match your offering to meet clients? needs? How do you brand and position your company?
Presentation Strategy: How do you assess communication styles? What questions reveal a prospect?s needs? Which opening/closing techniques work for you? What does non-verbal communication tell you? How can you project confidence? How can you get proof devices (testimonials, guarantees, references)? How do you handle objections?
Relationship Strategy: How do you build and nurture relationships with the four key groups (team/support staff, partners/investors, customers and secondary decision makers)? How do you turn gatekeepers into ambassadors? How can you improve yourself? How do you improve customer? touchpoints (e-mail, website, voicemail, etc.)?
Management Strategy: How do you run your business/its records? How do you manage yourself and others?
How do you manage your time and stress? What are the qualities of good managers? How do you create an effective system? How do you maintain self-discipline and direction? How do you recruit and train? How do you assess productivity?
Abbott?s pillars have brought success to him and his clients. The common struggle for all his Soho business
clients is sales. One challenge Abbott believes entrepreneurs face is creating systems that can be replicated for training, making sales or taking vacations. Another is target market ambiguity.
?It starts with who you?re going after. Your messaging comes from that,? Abbott says, noting that knowing the
interests, attitudes and values of your target market is essential. With a 100-per-cent success rate and a? willingness to coach anyone willing to work, Abbott says, ?Coaching with me works if you work it. If you do what I say, you?ll see results.? Most clients see results quickly, but Abbott warns no one is going to turn their business around after one session. Most of his clients need coaching for three to six months.
With the economic downturn, Abbott?s clients are increasing. They realize that now is the time to gain the
market advantage, while other companies cut back on advertising.
A client at a crossroads
A business coach isn?t just for entrepreneurs, but also for those at a crossroads, debating the transition
from employee to entrepreneur. Alice Shin was one such person. With a management background and
insurance licence, Shin didn?t know what direction to take in a large industry.
?Even though I?d been in the insurance industry for almost three years, I couldn?t get myself to put my energy
forward. I didn?t know where to put it,? Shin says. ?It kept coming back to: What are my values? What do I? want? Whom do I resonate with??
Shin says coaching is about taking action and overcoming challenges. One of her challenges was sales.
?I discovered a natural market among women and business entrepreneurs. Tom then taught me a communicative approach to marketing and helped me with my pitches. My self-imposed barriers fell.?
During her three months with Abbott, Shin got her mutual funds licence and completed her branch manager course for mutual funds. She?s now working on becoming a certified financial planner. Abbott helped Shin determine how to develop her business and earn a six-figure financial target.
Since her coaching ended in late 2008, Shin has begun the transition by letting half her salary go. She?s running
her new financial and consulting business, structuring employee benefit plans for small businesses and corporations, providing employees with retirement and pension planning and setting up income replacement
for business owners.
She believes coaches can help Soho business owners just as they help corporate executives, providing objective advice and clear focus. ?They give us a road map for how to build.?
Abbott affirms this. ?I worked with a coach during 2008. He helped me in the same ways that I help my clients.
It gave me the client?s perspective.?
With the competition hungry and aggressive, it?s crucial to have clarity
about your business and an effective sales strategy to ensure success.
As Abbott says, ?You have to be doing the right things. Working hard doesn?t guarantee success.?
About Tom
Source: http://www.sohosalescoaching.com/2012/02/15/business-coaching/
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