One of the intentions of our Coaches Mastermind Group is to share resources that could enhance our coaching and/or business-building skills. At last month's meeting, we decided to add business skills presentations to our regular meeting agenda, in addition to the coaching skills & foundation principles that we take turns to present each month. We would like to invite speakers to talk to us about various business skills such as marketing, PR, sales, networking, public speaking, website design & optimization, etc. We couldn't find a speaker for this month, so, in the interim, Lois and I were asked to talk about what we have learned from Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid. Michael Port was interviewed by iPEC Coaching founder Bruce Schneider last week on his E-Factor show, and that's why I started reading his book again. Lois decided to talk about identifying your ideal client and niche. I decided to talk about the Super Simple Selling System.
I met Michael Port 2 years ago at the ICF (International Coach Federation) NYC-chapter annual conference, where he was one of the speakers. At that time I was a regular participant on his Think Big Revolution weekly calls, and I like his upbeat and empowering attitude on the calls. He strikes me as very warm, sincere and authentic, and very likable. I also likes that he honors his integrity. So I made a point to attend his breakout workshop at the conference and bought his Book Yourself Solid CD set afterwards (his book was not published yet).
In the 3-CD set, he talked about the Simple Selling Process, and it includes an extensive version and a condensed version of the process. That's what I presented to the group. However, I just looked at his hardcover book tonight, and found that he kept the condensed version and called it Super Simple Selling System.
Anyway, if you're like most people, you probably hate selling with a passion. Nobody likes a typical sleazy used car salesman, or the fear-based advertisement. But, as an entrepreneur, especially as a service professional, you obviously need to master, or at least get comfortable, at the selling process.
What I learned from his book changed my perspective about selling and greatly surprised my mastermind group members. First of all, he said, "You are not selling your products or services. You are not even selling yourself. You are selling a solution." That point alone shifted my perspective about selling. The focus is no longer on "proving" how good my products are, or how good I am. The focus is on offering a solution to the prospect's challenges.
The Super Simple Selling System that's outlined in the book sounds more like a coaching session than a sales session. He stressed the importance of keeping the conversation positive and empowering for the prospects, and keeping self-criticism out of it. He also asked us to "stop selling and start helping". When you are in the "helping mode", just as in any coaching sessions, you listen deeply and ask powerful questions to help the prospects zoom in on their goals and vision. More importantly, you help them visualize achieving their goals, really feel it, and come up with action steps to achieve their goals. This is exactly like a coaching session, where I ask empowering questions to help my clients clarify their goals, make them concrete, visualize their success, and create a step-by-step action plan.
You are providing a solution to the prospects, instead of trying to push a product on them. When you look at the selling process this way, you are in the "helping mode" and you are their partner in the problem-solving process. So, it only seems natural to ask the next questions:
"Would you like to have a partner to help you achieve your goals?
And, would you like that partner to be me?"
When I finished my presentation, I could see that everyone seemed so relieved to hear this information. None of us like selling (the traditional way), but, with Michael's new selling concept & process, we get to do what we love to do the most -- coaching and helping others!
My MasterMind group met last week. We're had to meet sporadically over the summer due to family obligations, job responsibilities and other situations. But our goals have not been forgotten during this time. We reflected last week on how much we have accomplished not just during the summer but throughout the year as we have met together.
Two of us have created new websites and products for sale to the public. They will be more established in a few weeks so I'll mention them in a future post.
These were items that the members had are new concepts and first items created by these members. One member had always thought of the item as a useful parenting tool. She is a counselor and thought her parents /clients would profit from such a product in dealing with their children. She felt encouraged enough by our group to pursue its production. She found it was not difficult to do and is on the road to taking it nationally.
The other member came up with the concept of a self-help item and is also pursuing the idea of taking it nationally.
I've had several magazine articles come out this year in publications that I've never been published in before. They are national and bigger regionals that is exciting to me - Farm & Ranch Living, Indianapolis Monthly, American Legacy. I'm pursuing a full-time job in an area that I love reporting on - travel writing. We'll see where that goes.
MasterMind groups are terrific for networking and emotional support. I would not have thought I could make it in the bigger magazines without my MasterMind group. The others feel strengthened also by our meetings.
We plan to meet more often in the fall. Who knows how far we'll reach collectively this year?
When it comes to success, it's all about who you know.
Hmmm, I thought that only applied to the outside world of traditional business? Nope. This is something my mentor taught me a long time ago.Meeting the right people can get you everywhere. It can help with referrals, specialized training and be the difference between finding ok business partners to excellent business partners who already have solid contacts of their own.
But how do you get to know the right people? Networking. And a mastermind group is networking in its truest form. A mastermind group can really elevate you and your contact list to a new level in this respect. When you join a group of people, you become connected to others and develop incredible partnerships and friendships.
You also develop a trust level with a select few that can really pay off in more ways than one. Although you are in different networking businesses or just different teams outside of the mastermind group you learn to help each other by sharing marketing tools, marketing ideas and a confidence in each other that if you're stuck on a computer program and contact one of your fellow master minders he will help you out. You start to leverage each other by sharing your strengths where your weaknesses may be.
That is such a powerful concept when you're doing business because it can otherwise be very difficult to start and run a home based business by yourself. Let's face it, no one is strong in every area. You don't have to be by yourself when there are so many of us out there also running a home based business. Because of our mastermind group, my business partner and husband, Brad and myself have developed incredible business contacts not just from fellow members in our mastermind group but their contacts as well. Without our mastermind group, we wouldn't have gained half the education we have from all of the incredible partnerships we know have and it keeps going like a domino effect.
Not to mention, it's resulted into some of our closest friendships. Who can replace that? We help each other with developing programs, tips on leads, give referrals, etc. These kinds of contacts are invaluable in the business world and can last a lifetime.
When we think of a mastermind group, we usually associate it with business or professional success. However, we can also apply mastermind principles for personal success, such as weight loss, parenting/motherhood, going through major life transitions or illnesses, etc.
A mastermind group, by definition, is a group of like-minded people who work toward a common goal, by supporting each other (brainstorming, networking, offering resources), and keeping each other focused and accountable, until you reach your goals. In the case of masterminding for personal success, even though you may or may not call your group a mastermind group, you can utilize the same principles and process to facilitate success for group members.
For example, when my daughter was 10 months old, we had to relocate to another state due to my husband's new job, and I decided to quit my college counselor position to be a stay-at-home mom. I joined a local MOMS Club, and found a playgroup within that chapter. All 5 moms in our playgroup were previously full-time professional women with advanced education, and all our first-borns were only a few months apart in age. At the time we all had the desire to have a successful, fulfilling stay-at-home motherhood, good marriage, and the shared goal to raise our children the best we could. We met once a week at one of the moms' neighborhood clubhouse. While the children played and snacked, we talked about our challenges & triumphs in parenting, marital & other relationships, health, personal interests. We celebrated and cheered for each other's success, and offered support and solutions for challenges. We also shared our dreams & goals, and motivated each other to go after our goals. Best of all, we became really good friends, and so did our children.
At the time when I was struggling with the transition from being a full-time working mom to a full-time stay-at-home mom, the weekly playgroup meeting was a life-savor for me. The weekly outing offered my daughter and me a good time with our friends, and the much-needed intellectual stimulation and adult conversation for me. Since we all happened to have similar level of education, core values and goals, it was easy to consult with one another when we needed a sounding board, brainstorming partner, or accountability buddy.
When I looked back at this experience, I think even though we called our group a playgroup, we actually got a lot of benefits of a mastermind group or an advisory board from our group. And even though we started the group for the sake of our children, I believe we moms had benefited from the group as much (if not more) as our children did.
Another example is a mother-daughter book club that I recently joined. All of the moms (some working, some stay-at-home) have a daughter that's entering either 6th or 7th grade this fall. We all have a strong desire to sustain our close relationships with our preteen daughters, and help them navigate through the often challenging teenage years that's right around the corner. I think the teenage years is one of the most important transformations our daughters will go through in their lives. Our goal is to help our daughters grow into healthy, happy, loving, and self-confident young women. We will read books relevant to mother-daughter relationships (you know how tricky it sometimes is to do the "mother-daughter dance"), as well as any books that would serve as a conversation starter for any issues (and there are lots of them) facing today's teenage girls.
Again, it's an out-of-the-box solution for a set of specific common goals. Even though we initially call it a mother-daughter book club (the girls are working on creating a cool name for our group), it is so much more than that. We hope to make this group a safe haven for the girls (and moms) to talk about anything they are concerned about, support one another in trying times, and learn from one another. Yes, there will be lots of learning and growing for all of us, and I expect to have lots of fun as well. In a sense, this group is our advisory board and mastermind group, too.
Associate with Successful People - Birds of a feather flock together. The rich associate with successful people; the poor often associate with unsuccessful people.
Pre-construction Investment | Preconstruction Investing - In addition, we have found that by pooling together the buying power of a group we can get much better access to really good investments. It is for these reasons that we at GetPreConstructionDeals.com have created our "Mastermind Group."
Network The Mastermind - Masterminding involves brainstorming AND networking. For a group to succeed in mining the mastermind principles it must exist in a spirit of harmony.
Jack Canfield, of Chicken Soup fame, wrote about Mastermind Groups in his recent newsletter. The information is valuable and I thought I would share it with you:
How to Accelerate Your Success with a Mastermind Group by Jack Canfield
We all know that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem or creating a result. So imagine having a permanent group of five or six people who meet every week for the purpose of problem solving, brainstorming, networking, and encouraging and motivating each other!
This process is called masterminding and is one of the most effective success tools you can adopt! It is a powerful way to support your dreams and bring unlimited resources to your business and personal life.
Participating in a mastermind group has been critical to me. I can't imagine achieving all I have without one, and it certaily made my goals happen much faster.
A Process for Accelerating Your Growth
The basic philosophy of a mastermind group is that more can be achieved in less time when people work together. Sometimes called a "dream team", your mastermind group is made up of two or more individuals who voluntarily come together on a regular basis - weekly, biweekly, or monthly - to share ideas, thoughts, information, feedback and resources.
Your group can be composed of people from your own industry or profession or people from all walks of life. You can focus on business, increasing each other's income, building a business, raising better kids, or solving a social problem.
Within your mastermind group, you benefit from the other members who empower you and draw out your full talents, resources and abilities. They trigger, stimulate, and motivate you to become all you are capable of being.
Creating Your Dream Team
The key is to choose people who are already where you'd like to be in your life - or who are at least a level above you. In forming your mastermind group, start by carefully enrolling another friendly, on-purpose, like-minded individual. Start by meeting together and then adding other selected, unanimously agreed-upon individuals who will work in total harmony for the good of each other and for the good of the group.
1. Your Dream Team should consist of 4-8 people. Most people find that 6 is the ideal number.
2. Meet weekly, if possible, for an hour to an hour and a half. This meeting must be held sacred as a life-enhancing priority. The meetings should be upbeat, enriching, encouraging and beneficial to each individual and the group's purposes. I always start our meetings with a prayer or an invocation. You could also start with an inspiring story.
3. Each member must agree to play all out -- to openly share ideas, support, contacts, information, feedback, and anything else that will help advance the individual and group goals.
4. Start by having each member share something positive and good that happened since the last meeting.
5. Next, have each member share an opportunity or problem they have experienced since the last meeting and ask for whatever support they would like on it. Appoint a time-keeper to make sure that everyone gets the same amount of time. This is important if you want your group to last. Everyone must get value at each meeting.
6. End by sharing appreciations and acknowledgements.
You'll find one of the real values of a mastermind group is the accountability factor - other members checking up on you to make sure you meet your stated commitments. It's one way to ensure you'll accomplish a lot more!
EvanCarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies. Evan also runs a series of successful Mastermind Groups in Toronto for entrepreneurs.
Guest Contributor: Hueina Su
" by SuEllen Hamkins and Renee Schultz.
