I wanted to tell you about a situation that REALLY boiled my buns…

It’s about how NOT to create your private coaching program – and the exact kind of idiot who should NEVER set up shop as a coach or mentor to others (which is our main business, as you know…)

I hate to embarrass people in public.

Even if they deeply and richly deserve it.

And I’m not about to start now, even though this story about an otherwise respected professional who wanted to start a private coaching program (for all the wrong reasons and with zero preparation) may send chills down your spine.

All names have been removed to protect the goofy.

By the way, if you want to cut to the chase and find out how we can help you transform your speaking, consulting, or expert business to a high-fee, high-fun profit-rich adventure, then book a call time on the calendar right now while you have this article open in front of you:

Back to our story… It all began with this exchange (via Facebook message) between me and a successful international keynote speaker with whom I am friendly (and who earns in excess of $20,000 per speech). This is copied verbatim – typos and all:

HIM: hey you do ongoing coaching type programs, right?

like you get clients that pay you X per month or year for telephone time or something else?

im asking because i was approached recently by a CEO who wants me to do executive coaching/mentoring for him. do you have some sort of outline i could follow please? i havent structured a deal like this before

David Newman: I do marketing coaching, not “executive coaching” but many of my clients DO. Usual structure is 2-3 phone meetings per month with email access to you in between and for CEOs I wouldn’t charge less than $5k per month. 7500-10k per month if the meetings are in person. Normally you’d lock them in for a 6- or 12-month commitment.

That’s all you need to know to close the deal. Boom – you owe me a Pepsi.

HIM: lol thanks. but what do they get for their money ? in terms of time commitments etc and i dont have any formal program structured. or is it pretty informal? they call and you just shoot the shit?

David Newman: If the content of the expertise you’re trying to sell isn’t in line with what the CEO needs or expects, you’re toast – you can’t just charge for something and “wing it” – don’t mean to be harsh, bro – but are you playing to your strengths here??

HIM: he approached me, not the other way around

he was in my audience recently and came over to me and said he wants to hire me to be his executive coach

so i certainly havent promised him anything i cant deliver

but i dont have a bunch of papers and programs and checklists or any formal program, because this is not something i normally do.

—

I’ll stop there simply to spare you the pain and embarrassment of more.

What’s wrong with this picture? I could go on and on but I promised myself this would be short (Ha!!)

Here’s my 6 cents on what is dangerous and crazy about this exchange:

1. Someone who can deliver a killer keynote speech (regardless of fee level) does NOT automatically qualify as an executive coach. Totally different skill set. It’s like hiring a virtuoso pianist to build a custom stereo – yes, they both make music. But the similarity ends there.
2. “Do you have some sort of outline I could follow?” Imagine this question coming from a jet fighter pilot, a brain surgeon, or a trial attorney. There is no outline — it’s a skill set that is a combination of serious expertise plus deep experience. You don’t “follow an outline.”
3. “I don’t have any formal program structured.” Here’s your first clue, Sherlock Holmes – if you don’t have a formal program for what you’re trying to sell, then you have no business selling it. Holy cow, do I really have to spell this out? Shouldn’t this just FEEL wrong? Apparently not…
4. “They call and you just shoot the shit?” Umm, no. I just gave my friend some pricing guidance that a high-level executive coaching program is at least $5,000 per month. And he asks me if that money goes toward “shooting the shit”? Seriously? Meanwhile – there are serious, committed, high-value executive coaches who just read that line and their foreheads are exploding. And I don’t blame them.
5. “But Dad – HE started it!” OK, that’s not exactly what he said. It was “he approached me, not the other way around” as if THIS makes it OK to charge money for a service that my friend is neither qualified nor prepared to offer. But wait. we’re not quite done – it gets worse…
6. “I don’t have a bunch of papers and programs and checklists or any formal program, because this is not something I normally do.” Again, let’s transplant this statement to a different profession – forensic accounting, cancer research, or defusing bombs. You’d probably want each of these professionals to show up with more than “a bunch of papers and checklists” to fulfill their responsibilities, correct? And you might even be more nervous to learn that “this is not something they normally do.” The lesson? THEN DON’T DO IT!!!

We have an amazing team of highly trained and seasoned coaches and mentors on my team to help me deliver the Expert Profit Formula marketing and mentoring program.

It’s not run by has-been speakers whose careers have run out of gas.

It’s not run by bored keynoters who will give you “a bunch of papers and checklists” and call that mentorship.

It’s not run by $2500 per gig college speakers or magicians who figured they could set up a website and start fleecing newbies for a $297 collection of useless generalities about the speaking business.

In fact, you probably deserve a buying guide – something to reference with objective criteria before you hire ANY speaker marketing or business coach.

Here’s that guide – I dare you to use it.

Wouldn’t it feel incredible to start implementing the system proven by more than 800 speakers, consultants, and experts to ramp up your speaking-driven revenue, reach once-unimaginable lifestyle goals all while making a bigger impact on the audiences and clients who matter most… without the loneliness and frustration of trying to figure it all out on your own?

For the best chance at getting a time that works for you, Check the Call Schedule Now. What are you waiting for?