Vol VXThe Courage & Gift to Refer Business
IN THIS ISSUE:
- December Celebration
- About this Newsletter
- Why Don’t We Courageously Refer Business to Colleagues to Increase Our Income?
- Capturing Courage Through a Camera with Edina Clagett
- Book of the Month: Pinpointing Excellence: Succeed with Great Executive Coaching and Steer Clear of the Rest
- Coming Soon!
- Invitation to Join Our Podcast Nation
What is your story of courage in your industry/office/work?
Please send a note to me if you wish to be interviewed: CB@cbbowman.com
WHY DON’T WE COURAGEOUSLY REFER BUSINESS TO COLLEAGUES TO INCREASE OUR INCOME?
by CB Bowman-Ottomanelli
In thinking about how to have stronger colleague relationships in 2023, I sent out a survey to a group of master-level corporate executive coaches. These are some of the most successful and brilliant corporate executive coaches in the world who work with top-of-house leaders ad potential leaders. I asked the following power-packed questions:
1. What is your current referral fee? (this means if you refer a job out what do you charge the coach).
2. What % of your work do you refer out due to a packed work schedule, capacity to fill the order, or needed skill set?
3. What % of assignments are you walking away from/ leaving on the table? / How much money are you losing?
4. How many assignments have you successfully referred out to another member?
5. What would make it easy for you to refer an assignment to another coach?
Thank you to my colleagues who responded because they represented a profession at the highest level. Coaches who are willing to share their knowledge for the sake of improving our field.
- In general, people don’t know the protocol for referring out business… non-existing contacts
- In general, people don’t have the contacts…enough prequalified and pre-vetted contacts to fill assignments
- In general, people don’t think anyone is as good as them.. In the coaching space, we as coaches tend to be nurturing to the point of concern about if another coach can take as good of care as they could with their existing or potential clients.
- A lack of trust… Sadly many people may not prove trustworthy with a potential client, or a current client. This thinking comes from a view of scarcity versus abundance from the coach accepting the referral. This is where belonging and selecting someone who is a member of an association with a code of conduct can make a major difference and were members are pre-vetted. Of course, adding a solid contract can support referrals
- They don’t think the client is worth a referral… the expression “there is someone for everyone” comes to mind. If you think of the client as not being your cup of tea, how about thinking a different way? They are a perfect fit for X and I could walk away with a 10 to 20% referral fee.
- They don’t want to hurt a friendship…this is where setting ground rules where you separate friendship and business helps tremendously.
- The coach hopes for business back, they think they’re using the “Feedforward” (doing a good deed) methodology… If only we lived in a perfect world of abundance, economic integrity, and economic inclusion.
CAPTURING COURAGE THROUGH A CAMERA WITH EDINA CLAGETT
- Foundations of an adventurer
- How Edina found her sweet spot
- Supporting self-confidence
As I reached the next phase in writing my book: Courage to Leap & Lead…A Roadmap for Redefining Failure Into Success…My publisher mentioned to me that I needed a recent photograph for the back of the book. Absolute paralyzing fear and anxiety struck me, but I knew he was right. I started my research for a photographer.
Having been a photographer in my early life, I knew what I was looking for, and I knew I’d recognize it the minute I saw it. Yet, I could not describe what I was seeking, other than that I did not want dull photographs of me taken. In addition, I had all of the female thoughts about how I would look. That was until I came upon Edina’s website. She made women look extraordinary, you could see their beauty and their story in their eyes!
Foundations of An Adventurer
Edina Clagett is not a stranger to courage. Her courageous spirit has taken her through 50 countries, most often solo with nothing but a backpack and a heart for adventure.
She has captured countless moments throughout her travels showcasing different cultures and bringing people who had — in some cases — never seen a camera before into the light.
“My main interest was the harder it is to travel to places, the more unique the experience was.” Edina shares, “I wanted to capture the rawness. That’s how my passion for portraiture and photography started.”
Edina grew up in Hungary, Southern Europe, and now resides in the United States with her husband and children.
“I got pregnant with twins. That was a big aha moment, I already had a little boy.” she continues, “That’s when I realized we needed it to increase our income, yet I wanted to be with my children. So I thought ‘I’m gonna pick up my camera once again and see where it takes me, see if I can learn the craft more in studio photography and start shooting different genres.”
How Edina Found Her Sweet Spot
Edina explored multiple types of photography when she unearthed her camera. From weddings to real estate, she tried it all. But one experiment proved to be the spark she was looking for in terms of a solid income and personal fulfillment.
One of her friends asked if she would do a special sexy photoshoot for her husband’s birthday, and Edina didn’t hesitate. “We had a great time [doing the photo shoot]. She came over, and I showed her the pictures on the computer. I thought they were beautiful — she was quiet.” Edina explains.
It wasn’t until that night when Edina’s friend called her that her initial silence made sense. “She told me, ‘the more I look at these pictures, the more I realize that I’m still a woman inside. And I just can’t stop looking at them.’ I had goosebumps.” Edina shares.
That photo shoot turned on a lightbulb for Edina and would prove to be the answer to the career questions she had been asking herself.
Supporting Self-Confidence
Edina does not only capture rawness; she celebrates it. When women like her friend — who had just given birth — enter her studio, they’re not there to stand behind the camera or hold the bags, they’re there to embrace themselves as feminine, powerful, beautiful women and let their characters shine through every photo.
Self-confidence is a rough road for most women. Why? Because we’re focused on taking care of people other than ourselves, we’re hiding, and we’re scared to show ourselves as we truly are. Fear and self-doubt are long-standing. It’s baked into us as we grow up.
“I want to give women three or four hours to forget about the outside world and look and feel confident and beautiful.” Edina explains, “Most importantly, my goal for the final results, when I show them these images, is for them to see the beauty in themselves. I want them to be able to look into their own eyes and see the beautiful woman that they once were but is still within their soul.”
The world will try to tell us that our beauty is external, that it fades as we age, and we somehow lose our shine — that’s asinine. The truth about each of us is that we cannot lose our beauty because we always have our souls, and that speaks through any amount of external alteration.
Women must find the courage to get their pictures taken. Not only to see for themselves the truth of their light but to let their loved ones keep images of them, no matter their outward appearance.
I remember the advice my girlfriend gave me when I met my husband, “If he loves you, you will always look beautiful to him.” It was the best dating advice I ever received.
Book of the Month:
What does an executive coach need to do to earn the right to work in the field? Answer: Absolutely nothing. Does this surprise you? For many of us, the process of hiring an executive coach in an unregulated industry feels fraught with risk. As we hurtle into the intensified uncertainties of post-pandemic business dynamics, Pinpointing Excellence: Succeed with Great Executive Coaching and Steer Clear of the Rest equips you in this “buyer beware” industry with a process to ensure that your chosen coach has depth in at least four fundamental competencies: business, psychology, coaching, and ethic
Don’t forget to follow CB, comment, rate, review, and subscribe to the show on your preferred platform!
Rating/reviews: https://lovethepodcast.com/courage; Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34Q2dcI; iHeart Radio: https://ihr.fm/3sKaUgM; Amazon: https://amzn.to/36j2DZz; Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3I6jXzc