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