Dear Co-Active Coaches,

Welcome! Over the past few months, there’s been a consistent theme of growth at CTI—international expansion, new leaders, new courses. We’re continuing that theme this month, this time with a physical move for the CTI headquarters. After more than eight years, we completely outgrew our location on Second Street in San Rafael and have moved on up—literally. Read about our new home in CTI News.

Our topic this month is marketing: How do you effectively market yourself as a coach? What is this thing called “branding” and how does it apply to coaches? What advice would you give to a new coach starting out…or to an experienced coach wanting to take his/her business to a new level? We’re thrilled to have an abundance of articles from our community.

CPCCs Leslie Lupinsky and Dorcas Kelley share a straightforward approach to marketing yourself as a coach. ICF president and CPCC Steve Mitten shares the energetic secrets of getting more clients. Coach Amy Selwyn talks about the “brand called you” and coach Mark Stamper looks at the basics of effective marketing. Plus, if you’re thinking about producing a newsletter to market your coaching business, be sure to check out Linda Puig’s article on the DOs and DON’Ts of newsletter marketing.

Under Community, check out what’s new in the Co-Active Network and read the topics for upcoming issues of The Inquiry and think about sharing your insights by writing an article. And, as always, join us in celebrating our newest CPCCs.

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Kathy Curry, CPCC
Director of Marketing

CTI Is Moving Up!
Once again, change is happening at CTI. This time, it’s a new physical space for our offices. For the past eight+ years, CTI’s headquarters have been on Second Street in San Rafael, CA. Some of you may have taken your CTI courses in that building, and if you’ve stopped by to visit us in the past couple of years, you know we’ve been bursting at the seams. As our business grew, classrooms gave way to office space and our staff has grown closer and closer—literally! It was a bittersweet goodbye to leave the space that has held so many great memories…and…we’re excited to announce that CTI has moved up!

After a long search for space that would meet our needs—room for a training area, sufficient parking and the right CTI “feel”—we officially moved on June 6. Yes, that’s our building in the photo to the right. Our new space is the 6,000-square-foot fifth floor with views from the San Francisco Bay to the Marin hills and Mt. Tamalpais. We’re the only tenants of our floor and have access to the deck that surrounds the entire space.

Aside from the spectacular views, one of the most exciting features of our new home is a beautiful training room that we’ll be using for some of our San Rafael courses, beginning in July. If you are taking a course in the CTI headquarters building or if you just happen to be in the area, stop by and say “Hi.”

Our toll-free and local phone numbers (and of course our website) stay the same. Our address and fax numbers are new. You can reach us at:

The Coaches Training Institute
4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 500
San Rafael, CA 94903

800-691-6008 toll free US and Canada
415-451-6000 local and international
415-472-1204 fax

Website: www.thecoaches.com

Co-Active Network
Continuing the theme of growth, there are now more than 4,600 members in the Co-Active Network in the main community as well as more than 40 niche and geographic communities. The purpose of the network is to support every member in achieving his/her greatest vision for co-active coaching and leadership in the world.

Each community has resources, discussions and community events. Check the full calendar on the Co-Active Network. There are an amazing array of exciting events. Also, many of the events held on the Main Community have been recorded on audio podium. The list of recorded sessions is available under the “Resources” section of the Main Community. Look for the topic “Audio Podiums from Network Main Event Sessions” for a full list.

Would you like to share your insight with fellow coaches?
We love to learn from our community, and sharing your thoughts with your fellow coaches is a great way to let us know what’s happening in your world. The Inquiry focuses on a specific topic each month. Topics for the next few months are:

July—Diversity: What’s your perspective on diversity in the world of coaching? How can we increase diversity in the coaching community? And in the community of people being coached?

August—Ritual: How do you use ritual in your coaching, in workshops, or in self-care as a coach? How does ritual enrich your coaching? How has the use of ritual benefited your clients?

September—Research and Return on Investment (ROI): How do you know whether coaching is working—either with individual clients or in an organizational setting? What were the results of any research you’ve done? How have you measured the ROI of bringing coaching into an organization?

We invite you to submit articles and share your insight in The Inquiry. It is a fantastic way to increase your visibility in the coaching profession. Please send articles to newsletter@thecoaches.com. Read the detailed submission guidelines.

The Basics of Effective Marketing—Accessible to YOU
Leslie Lupinsky, CPCC, MCC, and Dorcas Kelley, CPCC, ACC, are the developers and leaders for the Business Catalyst portion of CTI’s Business Development program. They’ve come together yet again to offer this straightforward approach to marketing yourself as a coach, answering the most common questions they’ve been asked: How do I effectively market myself as a coach? How do I enroll clients? And what is this thing called “branding” anyway? Read the article to see their answers. Read more.

Italian Cannoli and the Energetic Secrets of Getting More Clients
Steve Mitten, CPCC, MCC, current president of the International Coach Federation and author of Marketing Essentials For Coaches, gives us a peek into his secrets for getting more clients. It’s actually all about the cannoli—if you eat them, you get clients! Just kidding. To find out about Steve’s secret recipe for an abundant client roster, read the article.

Branding: What Is It and Why Should I Care?
“In some recent work I did with a group of fellow CTI-trained coaches on how to market ourselves and generate more business, I started with the idea of ‘The Brand Called You.’ I asked each of my colleagues to write down on a piece of paper no more than five VALUES they believe define the promise they bring to their coaching clients. In other words, what is their individual brand promise?” Makes you wonder what your individual brand promise might be, doesn’t it? To find out more about this topic, read the article by Amy Selwyn, a full-time strategy consultant and life coach who works with organizations to help define strategies for planned change.

Good Coaching Is Good Marketing?
“Every semester, I tell my marketing students that I see two main reasons why businesses fail, especially new entrepreneurs. Ears perk up by those taking the class because some are also wanting to start their own business. So pay attention here coaches, because if you charge for your services, you are also in business.” Mark Stamper teaches marketing at Ivy Tech State College and is a CTI coach-in-training. He offers some valuable insight into the importance of having a good marketing strategy, the place where coaches often fall down. Don’t let that be you—read the article!

The DOs and DON’Ts of Great Newsletter Marketing
Linda C. Puig is a newsletter marketing expert and president of Claire Communications, a company that produces state-of-the-art customized newsletters for coaches, consultants, therapists and other solo practitioners. She has written a hands-on approach to creating your own newsletter specifically tailored to the coaching profession. Read more about how to use this fabulous marketing tool to boost your own coaching business.

Please join the CTI team in congratulating all of the Certified Professional Co-Active Coaches that have finished the rigorous certification program and passed their exams!

New CPCCs Through May 15
David Basch, Basilia Brownell, Jillian Dixon Boxer, Brian Dowd, Ben Frommherz, Julia James, Sheila Kelly, Ute Kueffner, Wendy Leshgold, Barb Messenger, Kathy O’Connor, Carol Page, Eve Reddin, Bethany Robson, David Thomson, Dawn Tolley, Beth Walker, Ray Williams.