Telling Your Story

My marketing coach recommended I include this question in a personal interview statement designed to answer questions from potential clients about what I do, my qualifications, how I work, and the benefit they will get from working with me. This question is designed to build trust between the client and the provider. I share it here for that purpose, as well as to present the suggestion to others of preparing a similar response for themselves. It's a part of telling your story, which is a valuable marketing tool.

The question is: How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be doing it? Go ahead and send me your statement of how you came to be doing what you do; and I will post here those that I can with or without your name as you like. Email me at raycoach@rcn.com.


My question: How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a coach for legal professional?

While the coaching profession is relatively young, 10 or so years, I have been coaching all my life - from programs I developed as an undergraduate in college to my children’s soccer team. I learned about coaching as a profession in 1997 when I was developing a program to utilize the stimulus of nature (another passion of mine) to help people clarify their vision. I found a mentor who told me that what I was trying to do fell into the realm of a business or personal coach, and with his encouragement I completed training with one of the top coach training institutions in the country. I feel it is what I am supposed to do.

From the start of the training I was required to get clients; and, as they say, I never looked back. I now coach attorneys, small business owners, entrepreneurs and executives. I also now teach in the coach training certificate program at New York University.

As I started to coach, I focused on my experience and knowledge about small business. I have been a small business owner, myself, for over 20 years, and come from a family where my father, his father and his father, as well as all my siblings have been small business owners – a kind of apprenticeship.

I now coach people in the context of their work and remain committed to working with people around their business or profession. The “what do you do” response from the businessperson or entrepreneur always draws my attention. A business, to me, is about providing a service or product, and taking care of a problem or need that someone has; and I never get tired in hearing people’s stories in how they do this.

While a good work-life balance is critical to success – and I have worked successfully with a number of attorneys on their balance issue - business people and professionals spend 50-75% of their life being of direct service to others through work, family and community involvement. For the better or worse, most of this is work and the balance of one’s time is spent eating and sleeping. I love to hear what people do for a living.

I identified a niche of coaching attorneys when I noticed that most of my clients were attorneys, and found working with them to be challenging and rewarding. I find attorneys to be intelligent people, handling complex situations, leading complex lives requiring thought, integrity and understanding of human relationships. Being an integral part in helping people who help others is gratifying. As far as the connection to small business goes, a successful law practices is a small businesses.

Equally exciting, and for the same reasons, I enjoy working with entrepreneurs.

I have a belief about our innate talents and supporting what we well naturally, rather than trying to make improvements in areas that we do not have natural abilities. I became a coach to help others develop and excel at their own strengths – to help people operate from their greatest gifts and talents and be nourished by what they do – so that at the end of the day you are more energized than when you started the day. Coaching does that for me, and I want it for my clients.

Being extraordinary

I love first times. I was recently asked to write an endorsement for a book – the short words of praise for a book found on the back of the book jacket. That was a first for me. The book “Extraordinary Life Skills” by Mel Arat describes how we can live ordinary, or even less than ordinary lives, and choose to live extraordinary or “supra-ordinary” lives. Mel is from Turkey, and was a student in my “Start Your Own Business” class I teach at New York University.

Mel's book makes sense to me and I was thrilled for the opportunity to write an endorsement. One of the most important and new concepts to me that he presented was a distinction made for the person who is supra-ordinary. A critical trait, he writes, of the supra-ordinary man or woman is that they accept responsibility and are ready to pay for the products and services that they want. Mel calls this the demand, as in an economic sense - creating something that someone else is willing to pay for. It is not about the money, however, but about the effort that is needed to realize the goal. The ordinary person may want something but is not willing to go through the effort required to obtain it fully. It is about money, as well as effort. For the supra-ordinary person money is a tool not an end and will without hesitation pay for what he or she wants in their life in recognition of the person and effort of the person providing the product or service.

I think it applies to all parts of ones life.

First posting

Writing my first blog, I thought it was important to provide some perspective or background on who I am and why I am writing. I discovered this blogging service from a former client who emailed me after several years of not having spoken with her, and provided a link to her blog. Thank you Monica.

The “about me” took some time in preparing to provide a perspective that I felt was valid and informative, as well as give the reader an understanding of how I might be of help to them.

Over the life span of this blog I expect to be writing about my own learning experiences and awareness, and how it can help others. It will cover issues of visions, goals, balance, money, leadership, networking, rainmaking, and holistic growth – as initial topics.

I will also write about other resources that I find to be particularly useful, and want to pass on including Dave Asomaning, founder of Synchromind (www.synchromind.com), and Robert Middleton, Action Plan Marketing (www.actionplan.com/).

If I can be of assistance I want to. I find that when I am helping someone develop their abilities I feel I am operating from my greatest gifts and natural talents, and at the end of the day I am more energized than when I started the day. I want this for myself and I want it for others.

If you like what I have to say, I would enjoy hearing from you. If I can help you in any specific way let me know and I will try to write about it or, if you prefer, just enjoy what I post.