In today's special live episode, I'm thrilled to celebrate our one-year milestone with an exceptional guest, Fay Wallis, a career and executive coach with a top 2% worldwide rated podcast, "HR Coffee Time."

Fay has generously agreed to share the valuable lessons she's learned from launching and running her successful group coaching programme, Inspiring HR, six times over.

[00:01:00] Introduction to Fay Wallis

• Fay Wallis, career and executive coach, shares her journey and the dramatic shift her business experienced upon niching down to serve HR professionals. Her podcast, "HR Coffee Time," stands out in the top 2% of all podcasts globally.

[00:06:00] The Genesis of Inspiring HR

• Fay discusses the inspiration behind her group programme, addressing the unique challenges HR professionals face, from feeling isolated in their roles to struggling with senior leadership issues.

[00:12:00] Trial and Adaptation

• Launching Inspiring HR as a pilot program allowed Fay to gather invaluable feedback, leading to significant improvements and adaptations over time. This iterative approach has been key to the programme's evolution and success.

[00:19:00] The Power of Connection Over Content

• A major learning for Fay was the importance of fostering connections within the group, over delivering an overload of content. By focusing on creating a supportive environment, participants find greater value in the shared experience.

[00:25:00] Incorporating One-to-One Coaching

• Initially offering multiple one-to-one sessions, Fay adjusted the program structure based on participant feedback and her own capacity, finding a balance that maintains the program's value while managing her workload effectively.

[00:30:00] Marketing and Promotion Insights

• Fay shares her approach to filling her programme, emphasising the importance of consistent promotion, engaging with her audience, and the role of personal outreach in converting interested individuals into participants.

Key Takeaways:

• Dare to Specialise: Niching down can significantly impact your business, attracting a more engaged and relevant audience.
• Iterative Improvement: Launching with a pilot and being open to feedback allows for continuous improvement and adaptation.
• Balance Connection with Content: Ensuring participants bond and connect is as crucial as the content delivered.
• Marketing Persistence: Regular and varied promotion is key to filling group programs.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. Fay's story is an inspiration to the impact of specialisation, the power of community, and the importance of resilience in marketing.

Whether you're considering launching your own group programme or looking to refine an existing one, there's much to learn from Fay's experience.

If you'd like help with making your programme as brilliant as Fay's, I'm launching a programme called Elevate to help you to do just that. We start on Wednesday 13 March and the closing date to sign up is Friday 8 March. Here's the details to jump in quickly as I won't be running this programme for at least another 6 months.

Useful Links

Elevate: Online Course & Group Mastery Programme

How to secure more coaching clients' free training

Download the 12 ways to get clients now

Learn about The Business of Coaching programme

Connect with Jo on LinkedIn

Rate and Review the Podcast

If you found this episode of Women in the Coaching Arena helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If you’re kind enough to leave a review, please do let Jo know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: joanna@joannalottcoaching.com

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Hello and welcome to Women in

the Coaching Arena podcast.

2

I'm so glad you are here.

3

I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor

and ICF accredited coach

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Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

and I help coaches to

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build brilliant businesses.

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I know that when you prepare to enter

the arena, there is fear, self doubt,

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comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.

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You can tend to armor up and

protect yourself from vulnerability.

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In this podcast, I'll be sharing

honest, not hype, practical and

10

emotional tools to support you to make

the difference that you are here for.

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Dare greatly.

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You belong in this arena.

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Hello, welcome to the 52nd episode

of women in the coaching arena.

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I am so glad you are here.

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To celebrate this one year milestone.

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I'm super excited to have Fay Wallis here.

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She is a career and executive coach.

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She has a top rated podcast, one of the

top 2% of all podcasts in the world.

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And there are three and a

half million or so out there.

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Her podcast is called HR coffee time.

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And today she is sharing her learnings of

launching and running her group coaching

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program, inspiring HR, six times now.

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There is so much gold

in this conversation.

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She joined part of a private Facebook

group of a five day challenge I've been

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running but fortunately she has agreed.

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I can share it on my podcast as well.

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So thank you so much, Fay, for

sharing all of your amazing learnings.

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I feel blessed to have you in my world.

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And I'm super excited to share

this conversation with you today.

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we are live in the group.

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Thank you so much Fay for being

here on this last minute live.

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My last minute Lott formula

as usual came in in the end.

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Do share a bit about yourself.

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Oh, thank you so much for having me.

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I've been following

the challenge all week.

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So it's a surreal but exciting feeling

to be in the room with you and to tell

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everyone a little bit about myself.

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So I'm Fay.

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I have had my business Bright Sky Career

Coaching for nearly eight years, which I

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can't believe it's just gone so quickly.

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And I started off as a career

coach to All professions.

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I resisted niching for so long and it made

such a difference when I finally niched.

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So I only actually niched about a year and

a half ago, but that really is when I just

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saw a dramatic difference for my business.

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So Jo, I completely agree with the

advice you've been saying all week.

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So I niched to become a career and

executive coach for HR professionals.

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So that's what I do now.

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And I have a group

program, which I think is.

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the main thing you wanted to

talk about today, but I still

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do one to one coaching as well.

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Yes, you do.

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Exactly.

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And Fay has some amazing, exciting news.

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She probably is far too modest to

share it, so I will share it for her.

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But she has a podcast which is in

the top 2 percent of all podcasts,

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and there are about three and a

half million podcasts out there.

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Is that right, Fay?

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Yes, I, I honestly can't believe

that I found out yesterday, actually.

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So I have a podcast called HR Coffee Time,

and it was really after starting that

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podcast that I started to explore niching.

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And when I started it, I had

no idea if anyone would listen.

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I remember the first week, the first

episode came out, it showed like, you

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know, two listeners, me and my sister.

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And yeah, so I've been really blown

away by how well it's done really.

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It honestly doesn't feel real.

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When I saw that statistic yesterday,

that it's in the top 2 percent

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of all podcasts across the world.

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It's just, It's just odd because I

record it from here, which is like

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my spare bedroom slash home office.

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So in my mind someone with a huge

podcast is someone like Stephen

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Bartlett who's got you know Is a

millionaire slash billionaire already

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and has some fancy recording studio.

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So yeah, that's my exciting

news Yeah, congratulations.

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Yeah, it's an amazing podcast.

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I'm excited.

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I featured in the early episodes.

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You were only a little while

in when I was on there.

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So yes, your podcasts are amazing.

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And it was great inspiration

for me to start mine as well.

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So thank you so much and

huge congratulations.

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So tell us what inspired you to create a

group program to start with and how you

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got the idea of what program to launch.

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There were probably a few different things

that inspired me to do the group program.

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One is probably seeing you in

action Jo, because you were just

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amazing with your group program.

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But I think other things were, I hadn't

niched yet until that point and I was

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a career coach for all professions.

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And as part of that, I was doing

a lot of outplacement work.

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So for anyone who's not familiar with

outplacement work, that's when an

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organization is making redundancies

and they hire in an external person

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or a company to support all of the

people who are losing their jobs.

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with moving on to their next roles.

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And what I found with the outplacement

was, although I'd spent a long time

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building up my reputation in that

area, and I had regular clients, it

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was very unpredictable work, and I

would just suddenly get a call from an

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HR director saying, Oh my gosh, Fay,

we're letting all these people go, and

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we hadn't thought about outplacement.

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Can you, can you put

some in place for Friday?

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And what it meant was that I just

felt under pressure quite a lot of

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the time to just have to work really,

really hard at the last minute.

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And then I found myself on holiday with

my family working every single day to

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stay on top of the outplacement work

where I had new inquiries coming in.

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So at that point, the business

was doing really well.

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So I had other coaches supporting

me with delivering the work,

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but I still had to be, the main

point of contact with the client.

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And I just thought

something has to change.

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I just can't carry on working like this.

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It's not really fair on my family.

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And I thought, well, what can I do?

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Like, it's, it's, it's really difficult.

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What do I do about it?

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And I started thinking.

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Well, actually, if I had a group

program, then I could say how many

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people I wanted to help at once.

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I could set the date that it's

running, so I don't have this

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nightmare of having to work while

I'm on holiday, or having clients

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suddenly booking in when it's school

holidays, and I've got kids and things.

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The juggle is just really difficult, but

also from having the podcast, from having

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some other resources for HR professionals,

I'd started naturally attracting HR

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professionals towards me to have coaching.

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And I should say at this point,

I have an HR background before I.

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became a coach.

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I was an HR professional and

I suddenly started to notice

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similar themes coming up.

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So the same things, the same challenges

kept coming up again and again and again.

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And although I could help the people

with the coaching and it was very

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rewarding, I really realized the benefit

in actually bringing a group together.

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Because a lot of people in HR, especially

if they're in a standalone role where

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they haven't got a team, but I later

discovered this still impacts people,

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even if they have a team, particularly

if they're senior, is they can feel very

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alone and that they haven't got anyone to

talk to about their challenges at work.

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And it can be a very tough job.

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It can be very emotionally draining.

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If you are in senior leadership, there can

be conflict you're having to deal with.

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It can be hard to get

buy in for your ideas.

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And so I thought, gosh, actually,

if I created a group program where

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it's not just coaching, there's also

an element of training in there to

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introduce them to some concepts and

frameworks that I knew would help them.

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And by having a group, I, I work really

hard on trying to get the group to bond

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and connect because it was my dream

that once the group program was over,

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they would continue those relationships.

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I know that throughout my whole career and

as a coach as well, just what a difference

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relationships make if you're having

a bad day or you're stuck on an idea.

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So that was the inspiration

behind starting it.

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Yeah, amazing.

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And I love the way, Fay is

the best researcher ever.

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You really do go into your ideal client in

such detail and it's really inspirational.

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So things like, polls on LinkedIn

as to the topic, the name.

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Tell us more about how you made your

decision on what program to create.

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Oh, it's so funny you should say that.

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I feel like it's something I could

be much better at, the research part.

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Yes, but it's a good point.

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I suppose I have done

quite a lot around that.

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I'd really learned from learning about

marketing over the years that if you

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just say here's my group program Isn't

it great, but can't everyone everyone

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thinks man, whatever scroll past Whereas

if you involve people in the decision

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and you have a lot of this in HR work

if you want to get by and You need to

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involve people in what you're designing

if you involve people in the decision.

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They're far more likely to notice it,

to pay attention to it and to be engaged

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with it, but also even more importantly,

you're far more likely to create something

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that is useful and that they like.

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So I've tried to do that with a lot of

my marketing, not just the group program.

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I would share, for example, when I started

the podcast, I shared different images and

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said, These are two images for the podcast

cover art that have been designed for me.

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Which one do you prefer?

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And it was fascinating seeing what

people put and the reasons behind it.

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So I was then really confident

in what podcast cover I chose

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at that time, but I did similar

things with the group programs.

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So I was very stuck on a name and

I shared some different ideas for

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names and said, what do you think?

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And again, it was great

seeing the feedback.

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I ended up using a completely

different name to the ones that I

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suggested from seeing the feedback.

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So yes, definitely at the creation stage.

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You're right.

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I do actually involve people

quite a lot and do that research.

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And before I designed the program,

I also had research calls with quite

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a few HR professionals to try and

check that I was on the right track

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and see, are these really things

that people are struggling with?

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Yeah, you did.

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And it's a great reminder every time when

people launch something, they, they just

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want to go out there with their thing.

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It's that impatience of just like, I

just want to tell everyone about this

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thing, but it makes such a difference,

that kind of pre sale bit of the

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creation and getting people on board.

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It makes such a difference because,

you know, I'm standing here

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eight years into the business.

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At the beginning, I spent hours.

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Days, weeks creating an online course

thinking oh, everyone's gonna love this.

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Like I've put so much work into it and

I can't wait to share it with the world

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I didn't tell anyone I was doing it.

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I didn't do any research to see if anyone

wanted it I just thought this is an area

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I know about and that I can help people

with I launched it And I think I had

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like, you know two people buy it in the

first couple of months or something and it

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was just So demoralizing and depressing.

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I bought into this whole, lie that

you see online, not from you, Jo.

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You're the opposite of

this, thank goodness.

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But from this lie that actually anyone

can create an online course and, you

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know, it's going to be a huge success.

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Actually, that kind of research

part and the pre promotion part is

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just, it makes such a difference.

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So I've learned the hard

way to do it that way.

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Totally.

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Yeah, me too.

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And, and I think that's why, even

though it doesn't do my sales very

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good, I want people to learn that

there's things that we need to do

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before launching and it's all possible.

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And, and that's what you're

sharing with us today.

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But you know, you can't just whip

this thing out there next week,

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if you've got zero audience.

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And if you haven't really checked

that it's what people want.

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So please share more about

your program, Inspiring HR.

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I couldn't remember if it was six or

seven times you've launched it now.

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Yeah, so I'm just in the midst

of running it for the sixth time.

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So I've been running it for

just over a year and a half.

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And when I very first launched

it, I did it as a trial.

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So again, learning the lessons from

having launched online courses and

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it being a dismal failure before.

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I made sure I did the research to try and

involve everyone in the, you know, warm up

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to it and the design and delivery of it.

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And then I Launched it as a, I never know

if you say beta or beta, beta slash beta.

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Maybe I'll say pilot.

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So I offered it as, it was

half the price than it is now.

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I said if you'd like to join it, this

is what I'm planning on creating.

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I'll be creating it week by week for you.

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These are the different themes that

we'll be covering each week and in

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exchange for getting it for this low

price, I'd like to ask for your feedback.

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So that's how I filled it the first time.

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And I was really surprised actually,

it filled up quite quickly.

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I think probably because the price was

low and people knew that there's no way

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I was going to offer it like that again.

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And I did have an audience by this point.

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So I launched it and

what's really interesting.

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So much of the program now is different

to how I ran it that first time.

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So what used to really hold me back when I

first started working for myself was this

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idea that I had to get things perfect.

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I couldn't launch it until

it was absolutely perfect.

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And although I was still trying to

create it to a really high standard,

239

I just had to say to myself, actually,

there's no such thing as perfect, Fay.

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You just have to try and

make this as helpful for this

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group of people as possible.

242

And because I was asking for

feedback every week, it was

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just phenomenally helpful.

244

They told me such great things about

what would have made it even better,

245

like what I could do to improve it,

what they were really enjoying about it.

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And I could also see what was

working, what wasn't working.

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So, I learned so much from running it.

248

as a pilot at that time, and it gave

me the confidence to experiment.

249

The fact that everyone

knew it was a pilot.

250

They did have it as a cheaper price.

251

And then I've just tried to,

every single time I've run it

252

since, improve it and change it.

253

So if you attended Inspiring HR

now, and then attend it in three

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years time, it will probably be

a slightly different experience.

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There are certain things that I

have kept the same, but there are

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lots of little things I'm doing

to just tweak it and change it.

257

But I think also that's what keeps

me really interested in it and I love

258

it because I really enjoy learning.

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So it's quite exciting when you

learn new stuff, being able to

260

incorporate it into the program.

261

Oh, it is.

262

Yeah.

263

Again, another thing I admire about

you is that continuous development

264

and making your program even better.

265

Do share in the comments if

you have questions for Fay.

266

I will keep going, but if you've got

specific questions, do share in the chat.

267

Let me see where to go next.

268

Should we talk about the challenges?

269

So what were the biggest challenges

you, you're like, not really?

270

No, thank you.

271

What were the biggest challenges

and how did you overcome them?

272

Oh my gosh, so many challenges.

273

So I think I talked about some of them

around, you know, the design and the

274

promotion up front, which is where I

had learnt the hard way, not what to do.

275

So they were kind of

challenges from before.

276

But I still had challenges with

running the programme, so it'll

277

probably be helpful to explain

what happens in the six weeks.

278

So it's a six week intensive programme.

279

We meet once a week for two hours.

280

Over Zoom, during that time.

281

And as part of the program, they also

get to have some one-to-one coaching

282

with me as well as the group sessions.

283

And each group session

covers a different topic.

284

So the first one is about setting

yourself up for success, and that's

285

the one I changed the most, although

it's stayed the same, the last few

286

cohorts, and that is because the

first group didn't really bond.

287

And I was like, what, what, this is

my, this is my whole point at the, you

288

know, one of the big selling points of

the program is to help everyone bond.

289

And the mistake I had made

was, I was just so keen to get

290

straight to the helpful content.

291

So the other weeks look

at building confidence.

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There's another week on being strategic,

another one on building key relationships

293

at a senior level, and another one

on influencing at a senior level.

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And then, we move on to

planning for the future.

295

And so I just thought, right, okay,

I've got so much to share with them.

296

I mustn't miss anything out.

297

Let's dive straight into it.

298

So I had everyone introduce themselves.

299

We have a private WhatsApp group

as well in the WhatsApp group.

300

And then I didn't really give anyone

time to get to know each other

301

properly in that first session.

302

And I also didn't set

any clear expectations.

303

So I'm someone who really needs

accountability and I hadn't

304

really realized how many other

people need this as well.

305

So there was pre work to do

every week, but I would just say,

306

Oh, and here's some pre work.

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I really hope it helps.

308

And then if people didn't do the pre

work I wouldn't really say anything.

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But what happened was it was a

nightmare because I'd then turn up to

310

the group session and some people had

done the pre work and so they were

311

quite far along in their learning

journey and other people hadn't.

312

Some people were turning up late

where they were saying they were busy.

313

I kind of felt like people

just hadn't really gelled.

314

There were a couple of people who had

really gelled, but not the whole group.

315

And so I learned a massively valuable

lesson and a book that helped me with this

316

that I know you love as well, Jo is called

the art of gathering by Priya Parker.

317

So really recommend that read.

318

It's just fantastic.

319

And.

320

As part of that book, she really talks

about how important it is to help

321

people transition into your group.

322

And I can't remember if it was

definitely in that book actually,

323

or if I've got it from somewhere

else, but about helping people gel.

324

So now almost the whole first session

is about helping everyone get to know

325

each other, to relax, co creating

a learning environment, I call it.

326

So I say what does everyone in this

room need to be able to feel you are

327

getting the best out of this program.

328

And so things like confidentiality,

empathy, listening, support,

329

honesty, all this stuff comes up.

330

But if you don't ask people to share it,

they worry about speaking up or giving an

331

opinion or being vulnerable because you

haven't laid out the the ground rules.

332

And so it's not me saying, okay, everyone,

you've got to be nice to each other.

333

You've got to be supportive.

334

Instead I go around everyone

and say, what's going to help

335

this be really good for you.

336

And it's, it sounds such a small thing,

Jo, but it made such a big difference.

337

And I introduced other things as well

to try and help the group bond and over

338

time I stripped out more and more of

the content that I was sharing with the

339

group because I realized the real power

came in them being able to talk to each

340

other and to share experiences and to

think about the challenges they had

341

instead of me teaching them like, you

know, the ABC of influence, like I still

342

have parts of that in there, but overall

the bonding stuff is just so important.

343

Yeah, it's so true, isn't it?

344

And it's a great reminder for me.

345

Cause I think I used to do that a lot.

346

And I, we used to talk all the time

and you used to be going well, what you

347

don't just rock up at the session and

not have a, you know, loads of training.

348

And I used to be like, yeah,

it's, it's absolutely fine.

349

And then now actually I often

deliver training now and.

350

And you've gone the opposite way.

351

So it's a great reminder for me to

sometimes go back to a bit more free

352

flow because people need that space.

353

And we're up to here with knowledge.

354

It's about connection and all

of the other things as well.

355

Isn't it?

356

Yeah, I think it's about

getting that balance.

357

So I do still.

358

introduce content.

359

I still do training as part of the

session, but it's making sure they've

360

really got time in the breakout rooms.

361

I was cramming so much in.

362

I'd be like, and you've got

three minutes to talk about this.

363

And people would be like, what?

364

That's not long enough.

365

And I wasn't giving enough time for

people to really think and work their way.

366

through and think about how

does that content apply to me?

367

How could I use it?

368

I was just going, here it

all is, here it all is.

369

So, yeah, that's been a huge lesson

and I'm sure you are naturally

370

much better at this than me.

371

Oh, no, no, not at all.

372

But like you say, it's a great reminder

because I think all of us have that

373

tendency to want to give so much

value that we can end up overwhelming.

374

So it's a great reminder

for everyone listening.

375

And there are some

questions now in the chat.

376

So Emma says, how long did it take you

to do the research before your launch?

377

Well I'm quite a, Jo knows this,

I'm quite slow at taking action.

378

Once I get going I'm okay.

379

So I don't want you to at

all base what you do on me.

380

Because I don't think, I'm probably

an example of best practice.

381

I probably spent a good six months

thinking about the group program,

382

worrying about the group program, doing

some research on the group program,

383

reading up on content to use in the group

program, and I didn't need that long.

384

Also I actually had to educate

myself quite a lot on some

385

of the stuff I was teaching.

386

I didn't know a lot of it.

387

I might have known about it on a

shallow level, but of course when you're

388

doing what I'd call pure coaching,

you don't have to have any expertise.

389

You just have to have the great

questions and the being able to

390

hold the space and everything.

391

And I thought, Oh my gosh, I'm

actually introducing content.

392

And it's not just about.

393

You know, job search or changing

career, which is what my main

394

focus is had been before.

395

So if you're watching and thinking

of launching a group program, you

396

probably have a much deeper level

of expertise than I did at the time.

397

I was really having to learn

this stuff, which is partly

398

why it took me a long time.

399

Yeah, interesting.

400

And I guess your podcast helps you

to learn as well, though, doesn't it.

401

Because then you're constantly

having to research for your podcast.

402

But I can't remember if you

had your podcast going at the

403

time you launched your program.

404

Yes, I did.

405

I had already got the podcast going.

406

And you're right, Any sort of mechanism

where you're having to put content out

407

into the world every week in like a

long form, whether that's an article

408

or a video or a podcast, it really

makes you up your game because you,

409

you have to keep learning all the time.

410

And with a podcast, it's great because

you get to learn from the guests as well.

411

So I've learned so much from

guests who have come on the show.

412

I always ask for a book

recommendation at the end.

413

That's been brilliant.

414

Hopefully for the listeners, but

I've been able to come across all

415

these books I haven't heard of before

and learned lots of new concepts.

416

Yeah, exactly.

417

I bet you have.

418

So Liz has said she's launching her first

group coaching on the 15th of March.

419

Not sure whether to make

it four or six weeks.

420

Have you got any insight into how

you decided your program length?

421

That's a great question.

422

Because as part of the research, I

spoke to loads of people who I knew,

423

had group programs or knew about it.

424

So I remember talking to you for ages, Jo,

and I spoke to someone else as well, who

425

at the time, she doesn't do it anymore,

she was specializing in group programs,

426

and she said, Oh no, this sounds like

it should be a six month program, Fay.

427

Why are you doing it in six weeks?

428

Six months would be much better.

429

But I just, at the time, I, I

didn't have the confidence to

430

really say, okay everyone, you're

stuck with me for six months.

431

I just thought, oh my gosh, you

know, what if it doesn't work?

432

Like the inner critic was going mad,

you know, what if it's a disaster?

433

You're going to have to see these poor

people every single month with them,

434

you know, not enjoying the program.

435

So I probably designed it as six weeks for

bad reasons, which was my own confidence.

436

But I also did it as six weeks because

of, Having a family and what I had

437

realized also the very first time I ran

it was that one of the weeks overran

438

into the school holidays, and only half

the people showed up for that session.

439

So I really thought, Oh, actually,

this is quite helpful because most

440

half terms are at least six weeks.

441

So I could slot it into

my calendar that way.

442

I did worry it wasn't long enough.

443

So I think if you're thinking of

four weeks or six weeks, it's going

444

to really depend on what your focus

is and what the transformation is

445

that you're hoping to get for people.

446

With my six weeks, the first week, as I

mentioned, is very much about helping the

447

group bond, setting them up for success.

448

Setting the expectations.

449

So, you know, now everyone gets

their pre work in, everyone turns

450

up on time, everyone really bonds

because I've laid that groundwork.

451

And then the very final week is really

about saying goodbye to everybody.

452

I read another great book.

453

I think it's called The Art of

Community or something like that.

454

I can share it with you afterwards.

455

In it, the author has researched groups

and what makes them successful in

456

communities and what helps them bond.

457

And he talks about how important

it is to have a goodbye and

458

have like a ritual at the end.

459

So people really feel

like, Oh, that was great.

460

And it's come to an end and

I feel so happy about it.

461

And actually really, I'm only

have four weeks that are properly

462

focused on the topics that are

going to help them in their careers.

463

The First week is really onboarding them

and that last week is offboarding them.

464

So that's my experience, you know.

465

You might just have one topic and

actually you think, Yeah, that's fine.

466

I can, I can do some nice

onboarding and saying goodbye.

467

And I've still got plenty to

cover off in the other weeks.

468

So I think it's a really individual thing.

469

Yeah, it is totally.

470

And Emma's asked a good question and

I'm interested to know the answer now.

471

So do you include one to one

coaching in your program?

472

Because I know you used to and I

can't remember if you do anymore.

473

Yeah, so I did.

474

So we started it off saying everyone got

to have two one to one coaching sessions,

475

one at the beginning and one at the end.

476

And then, one person gave me

feedback saying, Oh, it'd be

477

nice if we could have three, Fay.

478

And so I went, okay, because I just wanted

to do anything that anyone asked me to

479

try and make it as good as possible.

480

So I introduced three sessions, and I

said, You can have one at the beginning,

481

one in the middle, one at the end.

482

But what happened was everyone booked

in the beginning one, and then they

483

thought, Let's save up our other two

sessions for when we really need them.

484

And it meant that I got

overbooked with sessions.

485

So I remember just being so stressed

out at one point because I had

486

all my regular one to one clients.

487

I had a new cohort of

inspiring HR starting up.

488

Everyone was booking in

for their meet me sessions.

489

I had all these people from

previous cohorts had saved up

490

their sessions and suddenly started

booking them all at the same time.

491

And I just thought, Oh my gosh, actually,

I really want to make this valuable

492

for people, but I've also got to

think about how is this working from a

493

business perspective, like financially,

I haven't got time to do other work

494

and starting to feel really stressed.

495

And I also noticed that, very few

people used all three sessions where

496

they would save one session up forever.

497

And, and then I thought, well, that,

that just that doesn't seem right.

498

So for my latest cohort, I thought,

you know what, I'm just gonna

499

take the one to one coaching out.

500

I had put the one to one coaching

in because at the beginning, I

501

didn't have confidence in myself.

502

I thought, what if the

group program doesn't work?

503

What if it's not good enough?

504

What if people don't get enough value?

505

And I'd been doing one to one

coaching for so long, I knew that

506

people would get value from it.

507

I'd worked so hard on my skills with that.

508

So I thought, okay, if the group program's

a disaster, at least I know they're

509

going to be getting this great value

from the one to one sessions with me.

510

But what I learned along the

way is the power of the group.

511

And I had, in my heart of hearts,

I had thought one to one coaching

512

was better than group coaching.

513

It was more valuable as a service.

514

But what I could see as I progressed

with Inspiring HR was I was wrong.

515

And actually group coaching,

when you get it right, it is

516

just so powerful for people.

517

It's so life changing that I

suddenly realized that I didn't

518

really need to be including it.

519

So I stripped it out completely and then

no one signed up for, the latest cohort.

520

So I went, oh no, I

better put some back in.

521

So, I've put a session back in.

522

So when they had several one

to one sessions, they were

523

just 40 minute sessions.

524

And now that I have added,

I've added one session back in

525

and that's a one hour session.

526

So I feel like.

527

Okay people clearly do actually still

want the reassurance of knowing they

528

can have some one to one time with

me And actually I enjoy doing the one

529

to one coaching still but one session

feels like it's manageable for me

530

Hopefully it's manageable for them.

531

Hopefully every single person will

use that session and then i'll really

532

feel like oh i've got this right But

this is the sixth time of running it.

533

So i'm hoping that shows everyone

who's watching right now that About it.

534

It helps reinforce that idea that

there's no such thing as perfect.

535

You just learn and you change and

you adapt each time you run it.

536

Yeah, totally great learning

and I've done exactly the same

537

because I used to do the same and

everyone saved up their sessions and

538

stayed stuck rather than book the session

because what if they got more stuck.

539

Well, also with that, Jo, what happened

was, because the program is all focused

540

on the like, confidence and influencing

skills and strategic skills, so the things

541

that I knew a lot of HR professionals

struggled with, people would turn up to

542

the one to one session and they'd say,

I don't really know what to talk about,

543

Fay, because I signed up for the group

program because of what you're covering,

544

and you've covered it, and I'm feeling

much better about that now, so watch me

545

use this for, and that's really when I

realized, oh, that's a real power in.

546

The way I've structured this anyway.

547

So, um, yeah, I thought it just might

be helpful to share that as well.

548

Oh yeah.

549

Super, super helpful.

550

So Sandra has said, love the point that

Fay made between content and balance.

551

I always worry about content.

552

Maybe I need to trust the process myself.

553

So true, Sandra.

554

Debbie said, great reminder

about output versus input.

555

Because that's always a tendency,

isn't it, for the value?

556

I'm so pleased that's a

helpful message to hear.

557

I had that advice from someone who

runs, uh, group programs in corporates

558

and had done it for a long time.

559

And I said, what would your advice be

for when I'm doing my group program?

560

And she said, just Keep it

as content light as possible.

561

And I remember thinking, Oh, she's wrong.

562

Um, I need to make sure I'm

really giving them a bit of value.

563

I need to make sure I'm telling

them everything they need to know.

564

And then after running it,

I'm like, Oh, she was right.

565

Again, I learned the hard way

and even when I'm running it

566

still now, I keep questioning,

should I strip a bit more out?

567

Should I include that content

as an optional extra for them?

568

It is hard getting the balance right.

569

Oh, it is totally

570

.

So Lisa said that's really helpful.

571

I know the value of giving the space

to the group, but this conflicts with

572

me wanting to offer so much value.

573

Totally.

574

Balance is key or keep this in mind.

575

Sandra said, how many times a year

do you run your group program?

576

That's a great question.

577

So it's varied.

578

But on average, three times a

year is what I'm aiming for.

579

And that's partly a fear that

I won't be able to fill it

580

if I run it more than that.

581

So I can normally fill it, running

it two to three times a year.

582

So I don't know if that's just like

a limiting belief that I wouldn't

583

be able to fill it more than that.

584

Um, or if it's true, but I quite liked

the fact that I, I do a launch and I

585

talk about the fact that programs coming

up and people can book on and, I have

586

a whole launch phase and then it's just

quite nice coming out of that launch

587

phase, for me personally and doing other

stuff and not selling all the time and

588

then I'm able to share my podcast more.

589

So that's really just down to me

and my inner workings probably,

590

rather than cold hard logic.

591

So who knows in the future,

maybe I'll run it differently.

592

I've had a few people approach

me in the last couple of weeks

593

saying, would I run it for a more

junior level of HR professionals?

594

Which has got me thinking, cause I hadn't

really thought of doing that, but then

595

that would mean running it in a slightly

different way, but more times a year.

596

So yeah, I don't know.

597

I'm still thinking about whether I

should change the frequency or not.

598

Yeah, exciting.

599

And so tell us about how you

fill the program in particular.

600

Again, lots of learning the hard way.

601

So, there was only one time

when I had a low uptake.

602

The first time I ran it, I had a maximum

of six people because I was nervous

603

about how I'd be able to manage a group,

but then I increased it to eight people

604

and I was quite comfortable with that.

605

So normally I have between seven to

eight people on the group program,

606

but when I ran it in September last

year, I only had five and I got really

607

upset about it and started really

questioning myself like, oh no, you

608

know, no one wants to do it anymore.

609

And, this is all a disaster.

610

And I remember saying to you, Jo, Oh God,

I'm feeling really rubbish about this.

611

And you were like, how many

times did you promote it, Fay?

612

And I was like I don't

like bothering people.

613

You know, I've talked about

it so many times before.

614

And you went, how many times Fay?

615

And I went, well, I did two

emails and one social media post.

616

And you were like, uh, I

think you might have to.

617

Promotes it a bit more.

618

So it just goes to show how

much our Oh, I don't know.

619

It's us, isn't it, who hold

ourselves back a lot of the time.

620

And it's not a service, I have

a product, that I sell as well,

621

which is called the HR Planner.

622

And I sell that once a year

in the run up to Christmas.

623

And I had a social media

person help me with selling it.

624

in the run up last Christmas and she

really pushed me outside my comfort zone.

625

So she said, right, Fay,

you need to do another post.

626

And I went, I only like

doing one post a week.

627

I don't want to do more.

628

And she's like, Fay, you have a

15, 000 pound printing bill that

629

you have to pay to the printers.

630

You've got to sell the planners.

631

You've got to post more than once a week.

632

So I was like, okay, okay.

633

Hopefully that won't bother people.

634

So, did some more posts.

635

And then she said, Fay, you

need a testimonial post.

636

I'm like, oh, I hate testimonials.

637

It's so uncomfortable

asking people for them.

638

And she went, go out and

ask for a testimonial.

639

So I asked someone for a testimonial.

640

She posted it for me.

641

I sold a load of planners.

642

Every time she posted, I sold planners.

643

She posted in different styles to how

I would sometimes and pushing me to do

644

things I didn't feel as comfortable with.

645

Um, and so I learned a lot from that.

646

So this time with running Inspiring HR,

I, tried to just take those learnings.

647

So I didn't just do one social media post

and two emails, Jo, I did a lot more.

648

So I was looking yesterday,

I think I sent five or six

649

emails over a five week period.

650

And I posted about it every

single week over that period.

651

And it, I also, promoted

it on my podcast as well.

652

So I had a pre-roll, it's called like a

little advert you post at the beginning.

653

And it made such a difference and

it really made me realize, gosh,

654

you've gotta listen to the wise

people like Jo and follow the advice

655

and just keep on going with it.

656

Because I'd feel like, oh gosh, people

don't want to hear about this again.

657

But then someone would book on, you

know, there were, I think I had one

658

or two emails where people didn't

book on, or I had one or two social

659

media posts where people didn't

book on, but you just never know.

660

People are so busy.

661

They often don't notice the emails landing

in their inbox and they're not sitting

662

there on LinkedIn waiting to see my post.

663

So, that's how I did it.

664

And I made sure I mixed up the

content I was sharing as well.

665

So.

666

I shared a testimonial, even

though I hate doing that.

667

You know, I checked with the person

first and I shared the testimonial.

668

I also did quite a lot of

work on my sales page as well.

669

I found the very first time I launched it,

I didn't have a sales page on my website.

670

I literally just sent an email

saying, would you be interested in

671

doing the pilot for my group program?

672

And I did social media posts.

673

Would you be interested

in doing the pilot?

674

And if anyone said yes,

Can I have the information?

675

I just sent them a PDF that

had all of the information.

676

And I filled it that way the first time.

677

So again, for anyone watching, who's

thinking, Oh no, I have to build a sales

678

page and I've got to find a way of taking

money and all of these other things.

679

You don't, you can start it off

in a really easy way, but because

680

I've run it lots of times now, I've

been able to learn from each time.

681

So also I've been able to

see which social media posts.

682

impactful before.

683

So for the very first time, I've

actually done some content repurposing,

684

which I'm rubbish at normally.

685

And so for this launch, two of the posts

I shared, I had shared about a year

686

ago, but they had done really well.

687

So I just, you know, changed the

dates in them, copied and pasted.

688

No one said, hey, didn't you

send this post before a year ago?

689

Um, instead people looked

on, which, which was great.

690

That's so, so brilliant.

691

And I think we do need to promote

way more than we feel comfortable.

692

And hilarious enough this week,

Kate Hill, who spoke on Tuesday, she

693

messaged me saying, she's been filling

her group program easily every month.

694

And this month she wasn't, and she's

like, you know, the world is ending.

695

I'm like, yeah, how many

times have you mentioned it?

696

So anyway, last night, she messaged going.

697

Fill the program.

698

Good idea.

699

You and Kate are very lucky

because generally you send one

700

message and fill the program.

701

But most people have to do

a tiny bit more than that.

702

So exactly.

703

Anytime you're thinking

this is not going to work.

704

Yeah.

705

Just take more action.

706

Yeah, and you can get

creative with it as well.

707

So, um, I remember saying to you when I

was panicking with filling this one as

708

well because in the first week I only had

one person booked on and I'm like, oh no!

709

I'm only going to have one

person on the programme!

710

But, you know, it's all

fine, thank goodness.

711

And so I sat down and I recorded 24

individual videos that I emailed to

712

people who were on my waiting list.

713

So once I've filled Inspiring HR, I

normally then just change the button

714

on the website from sign up now to

it's full or I'm not running it at

715

the moment, join the waiting list.

716

And so I had this really big

waiting list, but no one on it

717

was signing up, which was really

frustrating, just from regular emails.

718

So I sent the ones who were the most

highly engaged, or who had signed up

719

the most recently, I just made them a

little video saying, Oh, hi, it's me Fay.

720

And I used their first name.

721

So they knew I was making it for them.

722

And I said, you know, I know that

you're on the waiting list and it'd

723

be lovely to have you in the group.

724

Can you please let me know

if you'd like a place?

725

Because they just weren't

replying to my emails.

726

And then I remember saying to you,

Oh no, no one's watching the videos.

727

I spent a whole day making them and no

one's watching them, but slowly people

728

started to watch the videos and that

was a good lesson for me, but I'll send

729

an email going, you know, the deadlines

next week, but people haven't even

730

picked up the email for a week sometimes.

731

So what's happened from doing that?

732

Because I did the video so close to

the deadline is that I started having

733

all these people replying, going, Oh

no, I've only just watched the video.

734

And you've filled the program.

735

Can you put me onto it next time?

736

So for the first time ever,

I have actually got people.

737

It's forced me to be organized and set

the exact dates for when it's running

738

again and update the website and say,

this is when I'm running it again,

739

instead of just having a wait list.

740

And I've got one definite person

booked on and I'm pretty sure

741

I'm going to get a couple more.

742

So you just learn every

time you do it, you learn.

743

You do.

744

Lester has said one of the main messages

I am getting from both of you is that

745

marketing is important but it also

sounds difficult to keep track of.

746

Do you use some kind of CRM Oh,

that's such a good question.

747

Yes, not very well, is the answer.

748

So, I've tried all different kinds of

CRM software over the years, and the one

749

that I like the most is called HubSpot.

750

And it used to be extortionate, but then

a couple of years ago, um, they introduced

751

a kind of like entry level pricing band

that's About 30 pounds a month, I think.

752

So you don't get access to the

full incredible functionality,

753

but it is so good and you can

really keep track of everybody.

754

Having said that, I'm not that great

at using it for the group program.

755

I'm better at using it for tracking

where I'm up to with podcast

756

guests and also tracking where

I'm up to with one to one clients.

757

But with that software, what happens

is you can get people to fill in

758

a form on your website or online

and then they'll magically appear.

759

in the software.

760

And then if you email them and they reply,

all of that is trapped in there as well.

761

So it just means you're not,

you know, frantically scrolling

762

through your sent items to see

what you sent your last client.

763

So I really like that software, but

actually, just because I'm not disciplined

764

enough with it for the group program,

it ends up being a bit different.

765

I normally end up creating myself.

766

a spreadsheet of who's booked on, how

they're paying, when they've paid.

767

I send everybody now an

onboarding, really short survey.

768

So, you know, why have you signed up?

769

What do you want to get out of it?

770

Have you got any concerns?

771

And also from an inclusion

perspective, to make this a really

772

great learning experience for you.

773

I can't remember what the question

is that I actually asked, but it's

774

to, you know, they can then share

if they have dyslexia or they're

775

worried or there's a disability or a

nervousness about attending the session.

776

So, you can have all of

that information as well.

777

So yeah, because the groups are,

you know, eight people, I tend

778

to just keep it on a spreadsheet.

779

If I don't, I start to worry I'm

losing track, but I could easily.

780

Track it in HubSpot.

781

So maybe if you ever do this challenge

again, and I'm on cohort seven, Jo,

782

I might be able to say, woo, I've got

all organized and it's in HubSpot now.

783

But I don't use HubSpot emails because

I have, I'm very lucky to have built

784

a large, um, email list and it would

cost a fortune to host that in HubSpot.

785

I think once you get over

a thousand people on your

786

list, it's like extortionate.

787

So I actually use.

788

convert kit for my email software.

789

And it's really, really good

because you can tag people.

790

So as soon as someone has booked

to come on the, this is all, I

791

don't want to scare you because

you know, this is six cohorts in.

792

At the beginning.

793

I just said to people,

here's the PDF document.

794

And then I put their

name in a spreadsheet.

795

They've asked me about it.

796

And then I would just

send them an invoice.

797

Pay that way.

798

Whereas now that it's

progressed, it's really changed.

799

So on my website, I use a plugin

called ThriveCart, which is brilliant.

800

And people can use that to book.

801

So they can either pay for the

whole thing up front, or they can

802

choose to pay in five installments.

803

And then.

804

That then tags them in ConvertKit

and says, Inspiring HR Cohort 6.

805

That then automatically takes them

off the waiting list in ConvertKit

806

if they were in there already.

807

So it's all become a lot more

sophisticated, but it's taken

808

me, you know, pushing two

years to get to that point.

809

So don't feel you've got

whizzy and sophisticated.

810

And there's still loads more

I could be doing to make it

811

even better, to be honest.

812

Wow.

813

Well, I'm impressed by it.

814

It's a great reminder and I sold

from my PDF Word document for years.

815

And I think actually in a way I

sold this program that I'm selling

816

now through a PDF prior to this

launch and it works just fine.

817

People can just read the information

and say yes, and then you invoice them.

818

So, you know, whilst it's.

819

amazing when you get to the point

that they just hit that and then

820

it tags them and then it gives

them entry and all of that.

821

It's not always required

right away, is it?

822

But it's, it's a great

inspiration for where we're all

823

wanting to get to automation.

824

how did you ensure your course was

engaging and valuable for participants?

825

By obsessing about it?

826

Is that what drives everyone mad?

827

Who, uh, who I know who is in this world?

828

Uh, I built up to it.

829

So, when I first met Jo and Jo'

said, Oh, I love doing groups.

830

And I thought, really, really?

831

Oh, no.

832

How terrifying.

833

Like, I only like doing one to one.

834

That's where my skill set is.

835

And then that really held me back for

a long time of doing groups because

836

I just thought I couldn't do it.

837

But actually, I just hadn't

had any practice at it.

838

So, what happened was I actually

got booked as an associate coach

839

by another company who had created

a series of workshops and they

840

asked me to co run the workshops.

841

I was so nervous about it.

842

So I, about 15 people in each

workshop and I thought, oh my

843

gosh, this is so nerve wracking.

844

But I was running it alongside a far

more experienced facilitator who had

845

designed the workshops and she was the

loveliest person in the world and she

846

was just like, you're going to be great.

847

You're going to be great.

848

I was like, I don't think I can do it.

849

I'm going to be terrible.

850

I can only do one to one.

851

It's going to be a disaster.

852

And she's like, you're going to be great.

853

And then I did it and the feedback

was amazing and I really enjoyed it.

854

I mean, I felt like I was having

a panic attack before I started.

855

But by the end of it was, oh yeah, I

thought that's quite good actually.

856

You know.

857

The world didn't stop turning.

858

It wasn't a disaster.

859

I've had great feedback.

860

It was lovely seeing the group interact.

861

So I was quite lucky that, I kind

of fell into having to do it.

862

And then I started being

asked to run workshops for the

863

outplacement support I was doing.

864

And so then I was presenting

on topics I knew really well.

865

So, I felt a little bit more confident

and I always wanted to make it engaging

866

because of my own experience of attending

workshops and webinars where someone just

867

talks at you and you start just being so

bored and thinking, I'll just look at my

868

phone or, you know, turn my camera off.

869

This is horrendous.

870

So I started really watching and learning

from the things I was experiencing myself.

871

So I've attended other sort of

type group programs or masterminds

872

or group coaching things myself.

873

And whilst in them, you think,

oh, that was really good.

874

I really liked the way they did that.

875

Or that wasn't so great.

876

I'm not going to do that

in my group program.

877

So it's invaluable.

878

I think going out and actually

joining, other programs that are

879

going to help you professionally, but

you see the facilitators in action.

880

When I ran the first group program,

I had just done workshops before,

881

and I hadn't had any particular,

you know, group coaching training

882

or running workshops training.

883

I was just doing it from

feel and experience.

884

And then as I've got more into

it, I've become a bit obsessed

885

because I now love group coaching.

886

Anytime I see, oh, there's a masterclass

or some training or there's a book

887

about it, then I just, I book onto it.

888

And even if I just learn one

tiny little thing that I think

889

is going to help make my program

engaging, it's worth having done it.

890

So, but I love learning and doing

this stuff and the Priya Parker book,

891

you know, I'd highly recommend that.

892

There's a fab other book

called, the two hour workshop.

893

Blueprint which is by Leanne Hughes.

894

She's got a great podcast,

Flourishing Facilitator.

895

That's fab, and that's really helped

me to run some great sessions as well

896

in Inspiring HR and outside of it.

897

It is so good.

898

So I ran, you know, outside

of the Greek program.

899

I run workshops sometimes, and I

get myself all stressed about them.

900

Oh, why have I agreed to do this?

901

Oh, it's going to be so hard.

902

Oh, I know nothing about it.

903

Oh, it's going to be a disaster.

904

And, um, and then it's

all fine, obviously.

905

But I used the two hour workshop

blueprint for the last one I ran, and

906

half, uh, the last two that I ran,

and I really felt like, oh my gosh,

907

this has, like, pulled me up to.

908

another level now of facilitation.

909

Like the feedback was just so good.

910

You think, well, maybe all I

should do is run workshops.

911

Yeah, I'd highly recommend

her book and her podcast.

912

They're both great.

913

So it's called the flourishing

facilitator podcast.

914

Podcast.

915

Yeah.

916

And the book is called the

two hour workshop blueprints.

917

Amazing.

918

They are on my list.

919

So what would you say are your top

three lessons that you've learned from

920

building and launching your group program?

921

I think it's about going for it

even if you feel terrified, even if

922

your inner critic is saying, you're

rubbish, this is never going to work.

923

Like, I think people are always

surprised if they ask me about this

924

and I say how nervous I get beforehand.

925

But I've really learned

with the confidence.

926

Oh, there's this great quote,

confidence is fuel for action.

927

So real confidence doesn't mean that

I can stand here to you and say,

928

I've got the best group program.

929

I know it's going to be great every time.

930

It's not that.

931

I feel incredibly nervous every

single time I run it, but I don't

932

let that stop me from running it.

933

So for anyone who's watching this

thinking, Oh, I don't think I'm

934

good enough, or I haven't got long

enough, or what if everyone hates

935

it, or, what if I pass out from fear

part way through, whatever it is, I

936

would just say the lesson is just.

937

Keep going you can do it.

938

It's going to be fine.

939

Everyone gets nervous.

940

That's normal That shows you're a human

not a robot and actually your nerves

941

are just trying to really prepare you

to do your best in that Situation.

942

So I mean I so I ran it for the sixth

time this sounds so gross this week.

943

So you'd think I'd be

wildly confident by now.

944

I got like 10 out of 10

feedback last time I ran it.

945

I had video testimonials

for the first time.

946

It was already glowing.

947

I was so nervous, but no one would have

known, but my body was giving me away.

948

I was like sweating like mad.

949

I had to change my top after

running it because I had got

950

myself so nervous before.

951

So I really hope that's

reassuring for people watching

952

because people don't believe me.

953

If they hear me on a podcast interview,

say I get nervous, they're like, What?

954

What are you talking about?

955

You, you seem so confident, but on the

inside I'm not, but I'm making myself

956

do it and it's, it's, it's just been,

I'm so pleased to do make myself do it

957

because the end results are so great and

I do end up really enjoying the process.

958

So that's my very long answer for

the top one thing I've learned.

959

I can stop there Jo, if you want.

960

No, no, it was amazing and I absolutely

loved that one about real confidence is.

961

is doing it anyway.

962

And I think we all need to be more

authentic with that and not pretend

963

that we have this all sus because

like, I think everyone in life is

964

just trying, trying their best.

965

And if you are challenging yourself,

you're going to be nervous.

966

You're going to be scared.

967

And, so yeah, I really feel you on that.

968

And it's the best advice you could have

shared for your, for your first one.

969

Now I'm going to try and try

and get two more out of you.

970

That was such a good one.

971

So yeah, so your biggest

learnings, your first one was

972

feel the fear and do it anyway.

973

The second one is

progress over perfection.

974

So instead of thinking,

it's got to be perfect.

975

I've got to have done all the research.

976

I've got to have ticked every single box.

977

I've got to have it all

planned out beforehand.

978

I'm just thinking I'm going

to try my absolute best to

979

make this as good as possible.

980

And, I'm going to get feedback and

then I'm going to make it even better.

981

So it really switching from that mindset

or that can hold us back so much.

982

If it's got to be perfect, it's

got to be perfect to, thinking

983

actually, it's an iterative process.

984

You can't get it perfect the first time.

985

It's just not possible, because there

isn't any such thing as perfect.

986

So, yeah, and actually I've been

surprised by how much I enjoy adapting

987

it each time and putting in little

new things here and there and tweaks.

988

So it's more, it's a more enjoyable

process if you Drop that perfectionism,

989

but that's probably my second one.

990

Another great one.

991

Yep.

992

I hear you.

993

And I do exactly the same in my

program, always changing things and

994

always thinking, Oh, I'm spotting this.

995

I'm spotting that.

996

So yeah, just a great reminder.

997

Cause I think at the beginning,

no one will do anything

998

unless they know it should be.

999

Five sessions or six sessions, or,

you know, like, we just don't know.

00:50:28,285 --> 00:50:31,695

We're going to have to take our

best guess and just go for it.

00:50:31,725 --> 00:50:32,775

And then we'll see.

00:50:34,245 --> 00:50:37,105

And so I suppose the third one that

really leapt out from talking to

00:50:37,105 --> 00:50:41,005

you today is about the, the research

part and not really the research

00:50:41,015 --> 00:50:45,905

for the content, the research from

potential clients or your audience.

00:50:46,265 --> 00:50:50,125

I was so nervous about reaching out

to people to begin with, to ask them

00:50:50,155 --> 00:50:51,785

if they do research call with me.

00:50:52,145 --> 00:50:55,565

And I was then really shocked

by how lovely people were and

00:50:55,565 --> 00:50:56,865

how happy people were to help.

00:50:56,865 --> 00:51:01,705

So I just sent out an email saying, I

think you're putting together this program

00:51:02,085 --> 00:51:06,105

and if you have 15 minutes just to talk

to me about your challenges at work so

00:51:06,105 --> 00:51:07,675

I can design it as well as possible.

00:51:07,675 --> 00:51:08,855

I'd be really grateful.

00:51:09,065 --> 00:51:12,745

And in return, I can give you a

15 minute laser coaching session.

00:51:13,175 --> 00:51:17,920

And, um, Yeah, and it was great and

it was just so invaluable and actually

00:51:17,930 --> 00:51:21,160

from the research, some of those people

on those initial calls then went on

00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:25,520

to book me for one to one coaching

later, which was really interesting.

00:51:25,550 --> 00:51:29,480

And then one person, she ended up booking

me for her colleagues for one to one

00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:32,350

coaching and then she joined Inspiring HR.

00:51:32,820 --> 00:51:37,630

So again, it just goes to show

the power of longevity with any of

00:51:37,630 --> 00:51:39,480

this stuff, like work you do now.

00:51:39,890 --> 00:51:43,050

Even if you only managed to half fill

your program the first time or you

00:51:43,060 --> 00:51:44,180

think, Oh, that could have been better.

00:51:44,670 --> 00:51:47,220

Or, you know, you're doubting

yourself, the foundational work you

00:51:47,220 --> 00:51:50,410

do now, you're still going to reap

the rewards in the future as well.

00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:51,770

you don't know yet.

00:51:52,760 --> 00:51:54,220

Oh, that's such a good one.

00:51:54,230 --> 00:51:56,390

And I think it's something

we all need to remember.

00:51:56,890 --> 00:52:01,090

And certainly me mid a launch now,

because sometimes it's not the right time.

00:52:01,090 --> 00:52:04,660

And then September will be a great

time for people or, you know, you

00:52:04,660 --> 00:52:08,260

can't always think, Oh, it didn't

work because I've had people.

00:52:08,675 --> 00:52:14,795

Years after attending a webinar or

a discovery call, join my program.

00:52:14,795 --> 00:52:20,045

So I think that's such a great reminder

that that work will pay off and you

00:52:20,045 --> 00:52:24,515

just have to trust that it was all

worth it and everything you're doing

00:52:24,515 --> 00:52:26,405

today is going to pay off in the future.

00:52:27,245 --> 00:52:28,145

Absolutely.

00:52:28,775 --> 00:52:30,545

Thank you so, so much.

00:52:30,545 --> 00:52:33,595

There's been loads of comments

saying, thank you so much for sharing

00:52:33,595 --> 00:52:34,825

your knowledge and experience.

00:52:34,835 --> 00:52:35,415

Loved it.

00:52:35,455 --> 00:52:36,875

And it's been amazing.

00:52:36,875 --> 00:52:40,125

And I've learned so much myself,

Fay, from you joining today.

00:52:40,125 --> 00:52:41,825

So thank you so, so much.

00:52:42,195 --> 00:52:43,525

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

00:52:43,525 --> 00:52:44,495

It's been really great.

00:52:45,085 --> 00:52:46,315

Yeah, you're so welcome.

00:52:46,315 --> 00:52:47,125

Speak soon.

00:52:47,125 --> 00:52:48,535

Isn't Fay wonderful.

00:52:48,535 --> 00:52:52,705

I feel so privileged to have had this

conversation with her and to have learned

00:52:52,765 --> 00:52:55,678

so much from her generous learnings.

00:52:56,098 --> 00:53:00,838

So if you would like a step-by-step

guide, as well as the love and the care

00:53:00,838 --> 00:53:06,918

to make this happen and help you to

build, launch and deliver your own amazing

00:53:06,918 --> 00:53:09,318

group coaching program or online course.

00:53:09,708 --> 00:53:14,148

Then I'm starting a program on this

on Wednesday, the 13th of March.

00:53:14,838 --> 00:53:18,708

The closing date though is

Friday the 8th of March.

00:53:18,708 --> 00:53:21,438

So if you are interested in

signing up, you will find the

00:53:21,438 --> 00:53:22,818

details in the show notes.

00:53:23,178 --> 00:53:28,308

I appreciate as my last minute formula,

I am not giving much time, but if you

00:53:28,308 --> 00:53:33,158

hear this prior to Friday, the 8th of

March and would like to join, please sign

00:53:33,158 --> 00:53:37,438

up and I look forward to seeing you the

following week to start your online course

00:53:37,468 --> 00:53:40,828

or program creation, launch and delivery.

00:53:41,828 --> 00:53:45,248

And like I say, at the end of every

episode, trust yourself, believe

00:53:45,248 --> 00:53:49,088

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

who keeps on watering the seed.

00:53:49,588 --> 00:53:51,568

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

Thank you so much for listening to this

00:53:51,568 --> 00:53:53,908

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

00:53:54,393 --> 00:54:00,685

I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

00:54:01,005 --> 00:54:04,275

That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

00:54:04,555 --> 00:54:06,745

joannalottcoaching.com.

00:54:06,874 --> 00:54:09,214

And I'll also put links in the show notes.

00:54:10,714 --> 00:54:13,324

Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

00:54:13,354 --> 00:54:16,474

Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

00:54:16,474 --> 00:54:18,394

personally thank you for that.

00:54:19,359 --> 00:54:23,619

Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

00:54:23,679 --> 00:54:25,559

who keeps on watering the seed.

00:54:25,959 --> 00:54:28,839

Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.