| Are you Dabbling in the Four Disciplines? | | | | more intimately as they share practical |
| | | | information with their audiences. The goal of |
| Our industry offers four different | | | | a trainer is to impart a body of knowledge, |
| professional roles to choose from -- and | | | | and to make sure that knowledge has been |
| making the right choice is crucial to your | | | | absorbed to whatever degree the client has |
| success. In this article, we'll describe | | | | asked them to attain. If the trainer does a |
| four types of private practices -- Speaking, | | | | good job, then the likelihood of being asked |
| Training, Consulting and Coaching and explore | | | | to come back and do more training is very |
| the pros and cons -- and earnings potential | | | | high. Also, since trainers focus on longer |
| -- for each. We'll discuss the dangers of | | | | programs than speakers -- routinely |
| dabbling and take a personal inventory of its | | | | conducting programs ranging from a full day |
| impact on your future. | | | | to an entire week -- trainers tend to be more |
| | | | content-rich. If they choose to focus on |
| "Dabblers are rarely DO-ers and DO-ers are | | | | mission-critical topics like sales, |
| rarely dabblers." | | | | leadership and customer service, trainers |
| | | | have an even greater opportunity for repeat |
| One of the things that people in our industry | | | | business with their clients. When a corporate |
| have in common is that many of our business | | | | client finds a trainer they love and a |
| cards say that we are a "Speaker, Trainer, | | | | training program they love, then they are |
| Consultant, Coach". Some may choose just two | | | | going to continue to use that program and |
| or three of those identifiers, but more and | | | | that trainer in whatever frequency they need |
| more are putting ALL 4 or even MORE. In | | | | it done. In addition, training engagements |
| addition to Speaker, Trainer, Consultant, and | | | | generally feature far more billable hours in |
| Coach we also have Author, Facilitator, | | | | the customization process prior to and the |
| Counselor, Lecturer, Professor and a growing | | | | reinforcement program following the main |
| litany of others. Its amazing the kind of | | | | training program. A trainer markets their |
| creative labels that some people have put on | | | | programs as much as they market themselves |
| their cards, but the four basic disciplines | | | | and building a successful training practice |
| in our industry are Speaker, Trainer, | | | | requires a very different approach than the |
| Consultant and Coach. | | | | route taken by speakers. |
| | | | |
| Over the more than two decades we've been | | | | Consultant -- A Consultant is an individual |
| working with human development professionals, | | | | with very specific knowledge and skills, who |
| we've discovered that the people who achieve | | | | is brought in to serve as an adjunct to a |
| success in our industry are the people who | | | | client's management team. They are |
| entered the profession with a very clear | | | | contracted to work on a particular project, |
| picture of who they are and what they were | | | | deal with a challenging issue, serve in an |
| trying to do. We believe it is such a | | | | advisory capacity, or complete a specific |
| critical factor to their success that it has | | | | task, but one way or another, consultants are |
| become central to the work we do with our | | | | brought in to DO something. Once that |
| instructors and instructor candidates. As | | | | something is done, the contract ends. While |
| someone progresses through the pre-work for | | | | consultants may travel to a destination |
| becoming certified in the MasterStream | | | | anywhere on the planet, once they arrive, |
| Method, we help them explore the differences | | | | they are there for the duration of the |
| between the four disciplines in vivid detail, | | | | contract, so in their daily routine, they |
| and before their certification is over, each | | | | stay pretty local to where they landed. The |
| newly-certified professional has to make a | | | | challenge with consulting (and coaching for |
| personal choice as to which one of them he or | | | | that matter) is that you are trading time for |
| she favors. Likewise, the success you will | | | | dollars. As a trainer or speaker you develop |
| achieve and the speed at which you will | | | | one program and you can keep doing it over |
| achieve it depends on you understanding the | | | | and over, but the work you do as a consultant |
| choices -- and making the one that is best | | | | is unique to each specific client more often |
| for you. | | | | than not. But the biggest problem with |
| | | | building a stable and successful consulting |
| So your first step -- whether you are | | | | practice is that during the time the |
| embarking on a new career or trying to take | | | | consultant is working with a particular |
| your existing business to a new level -- is | | | | client, they don't have or take the time to |
| to distinguish between the various roles you | | | | continue marketing themselves. The longer |
| can serve. Keep in mind your background, | | | | the contract, the longer the period of |
| skills, experience, and goals when making | | | | unemployment that follows. Feast or famine |
| your evaluation. Your choice will establish a | | | | is the reality for most consultants. |
| basis on which you will focus your business | | | | |
| strategy and marketing plan. | | | | Coach -- Coaches work primarily with |
| | | | individuals on a one-on-one basis to pinpoint |
| Let's take a closer look at each of the | | | | areas in which they might be in need of |
| professional roles and explore some of their | | | | attention and focus their energy on helping |
| pro's and con's: | | | | their clients take care of whatever their |
| | | | issues happen to be. Within the realm of |
| Speaker -- A Speaker is someone who travels | | | | coaches, you will find a broad range of |
| frequently on a national or even | | | | levels of intensity and involvement from |
| international basis, stands in front of a | | | | "life coach" to "performance coach." Whether |
| large audience for a relatively short period | | | | the individual is trying to better understand |
| of time, delivers an upbeat message, and gets | | | | themselves, to set meaningful goals, to be |
| paid a substantial amount of money for doing | | | | held accountable or to develop greater |
| so. On the downside, as the audience gets | | | | skills, a coach could be the perfect tool for |
| bigger, the chance for meaningful audience | | | | the right client. In general terms, a coach |
| contact suffers -- and regardless of the | | | | is a professional who is working with an |
| quality of work they do, when they step off | | | | individual to deal with specific areas of |
| stage they are generally unemployed. That's | | | | need. It is certainly possible for a coach to |
| the nature of the beast for being a | | | | do more of a group kind of thing, maybe a |
| professional speaker. In order for a speaker | | | | small cluster of 3 or 4 people, but by and |
| to fill 100 days of billable services over | | | | large what they are doing is just for those |
| the course of a year, he or she is going to | | | | specific people. As a result, the likelihood |
| need to have the better part of 100 different | | | | that these clients will become large |
| clients. They may have the occasional client | | | | contracts is low because they are dealing |
| who will bring them back again, but in all | | | | with individuals. Coaches have very little |
| likely hood the intervals between those | | | | need to travel and can work very effectively |
| engagements is going to be measured in months | | | | with their clients over the telephone. But, |
| or years before someone will be brought back. | | | | while a coach's goal is to build a rather |
| To make matters worse, the Speaking | | | | small pool of lifetime clients, the truth is |
| profession is the one most susceptible to | | | | that most people who seek out the guidance of |
| changes in the economy and, as the events of | | | | a coach do so for a much shorter period, |
| 9/11 clearly demonstrated, changes in the | | | | generally a few weeks to a few months. |
| marketplace's willingness to travel to or sit | | | | Creating a stable and consistent income |
| in a large public venue. While speakers | | | | stream proves to be the coach's greatest |
| command a seemingly large fee for their | | | | challenge since the hourly rate tends to be |
| services, their total income divided by a | | | | lower than that of any of the other three |
| 40-hour workweek normalizes their actual | | | | professional roles and the coach must collect |
| earnings. For example, a speaker with two | | | | their fees from an individual rather than an |
| $5,000 engagements per week is actually | | | | organization. |
| making about the same as a consultant billing | | | | |
| themselves out at $300 per hour. Finally, to | | | | Perhaps the biggest problem that people in |
| develop a successful career as a speaker | | | | our industry face is dabbling in these four |
| requires a very specific marketing plan, very | | | | roles and not focusing on just one of them. |
| specific marketing tools, a very marketable | | | | If someone were to focus their energy on one |
| "main stage" image and a lot of time "paying | | | | of these roles, they have a much greater |
| your dues" before your reputation earns you | | | | chance of becoming successful in that |
| access to the bureaus and meeting planners | | | | discipline. But if you start to spread your |
| who in large part control the pool of | | | | energy across multiple and very different |
| potential bookings. | | | | roles then you are also spreading out your |
| | | | marketing resources too thin to have any real |
| Trainer -- A Trainer spends considerably less | | | | impact, and you are also confusing the market |
| time in airplanes and rental cars, and can | | | | place as to what it is that you do and what |
| build a very tidy practice while staying | | | | it is that that they can call on you for. By |
| relatively close to home. They spend more | | | | putting your time and energy into just ONE of |
| time with a smaller group of people and have | | | | these four areas, you will find that success |
| an opportunity to get to know their students | | | | is a much easier summit to reach. |