Fall 2007 Outside the Job Box Career Certification Burning Questions 1 & 2
Like I was saying, I spent all day yesterday pouring over hundreds of survey results. I was impressed by both the quantity and the caliber of questions and comments. I can already tell this is going to be an amazing class.
Not surprisingly, your most burning questions fell into 3 main categories:
~ Training and support (what’s covered, program length, ongoing support)
~ Marketing and getting clients
~ Investment (i.e. time and money) vs. expected return (i.e. how much can I make?)
There’s a lot to say about each of these questions. In fact, I’m actually in the process of putting together a Certification description to answer these and other questions in depth. But let me at least touch on these questions now so you can begin to decide whether it’s the right program for you.
Before I answer some of your burning questions let me quickly address a few other simmering questions and concerns:
QUESTION: What if I miss a Teleclass?
ANSWER: All calls will be recorded so you can easily catch up on anything you may miss.
Considering that 71.3 percent of survey respondents said they are “Very interested” in this training program and 75.3 percent want to get started “the sooner the better,” it’s looking more likely that I’m going to have to add a Tuesday morning session to meet the demand.
When you register, you’ll be asked to select which session you want to attend. However, if you can’t make your scheduled session, you are perfectly free to drop in on the other session whenever you like. In fact, you can listen in to both sessions if you want.
QUESTION: Are you going to be limiting the number of students in the Certification?
ANSWER: Yes.
I’m going to be as accommodating as possible. But since part of the Certification involves one-on-one sessions with me, I need to make sure I provide good service to everyone and limiting the number of students is the only way to do that.
The last Certification had 24 people. I’m looking to keep this year’s class size in that general ballpark.
QUESTION: When will registration begin?
ANSWER: Soon!
My Vision Implementation Manager, Lisa Tarrant is busy setting up the registration system now. It’s a bit complicated because we need to work things out with our credit card processor so we can offer an unusually long installment payment option (credit card companies hate that). But since I want to make this as affordable as possible, that’s the only way tot do it.
While Lisa is busy setting up the “back end,” I’m equally busy writing up the final Certification description. If you’ve ever had to sit down and try to put into words something with as many components as this training program has, then you know what I’m up against.
If I continue to make good progress, it looks like I’m going to be able to open up the Certification registration by this weekend. To give you first shot, this initial registration period will be open ONLY to people who are on this Priority Notification list. The general public will not be able to register until next week when the newsletter comes out.
Okay now for your big 3 burning questions:
BURNING QUESTION 1: Will I receive the skills, information, tools, and ongoing support I need to do this kind of work effectively?
ANSWER: Absolutely!
The certification will consist of 10 weeks of instructor-led training delivered by me and a few guest experts. Each session will run 75 minutes. The 10-Teleclass series will begin on Tuesday, September 11 and after the first three sessions will run every other week through January 8th.
These sessions will be a complete brain dumb of everything I’ve learned over the last decade about how to be a successful Outside the Job Box Career Consultant. You’ll learn the exact words to say when potential client calls, the two words to say to people who are too afraid to act on their dreams, how to prepare for a client session, key questions to use during a consultation, proven techniques for helping clients see how they can turn the things they love to do into one or more viable income streams, and much, much more.
Support – both during and after the Certification program – is integral to helping you keep your business development plan on track.
That’s why the Certification consists of an additional 7 student-led sessions. Starting in October, during the non-instructor led weeks, you’ll be working in smaller groups with 5-6 other trainees. This is your opportunity to practice key consulting techniques, discuss topics, complete group assignments, work on your business development plan, network, and generally get and give support so you can master the concepts (and therefore start earning income) faster.
Once the Teleclass portion of the training ends in January, you’ll receive lots of ongoing support to include three individual consultations with me. Plus, I’ll be facilitating a series of special group brainstorming and problem solving meetings to keep you on track.
Seminar attendees and previous Certification graduates who have made the greatest strides are those who have continued to meet regularly with other members. So Lisa is also working out the logistics so you can continue to attend regular check-in meetings with your Dream Team for at least a year… longer if you choose.
As part of your Certification, you will also receive an entire binder full of immediately useful tools and information including scripts, email and form templates, case studies, action lists, and exercises.
But by far the most valuable part of your Certification Tool Kit is something brand new…
It only makes sense that the best ways to really master a new skill is to learn from someone who has already mastered that skill. So, when you sign up for this year’s Outside the Job Box Certification program you will have the opportunity to basically “ease drop” on over 15 hours of recorded consultation sessions I personally conducted with my own clients. These recordings alone are worth the price of admission.
On the business side of starting a business, you’ll also learn how to set up the back end operations including accepting credit cards, getting a website, managing paperwork, and other logistics to make your life easier and get moving faster.
Plus – and this is a huge benefit – if you are not already enrolled in the Fast Track Your Dream Community, you will automatically receive password-protected access to all of the tools and resources available to members – including a very full Fast Track Kit.
If I took the time to list all of books, CDs, Teleclasses, and online resources that are a part of the Kit and ongoing Membership program here, it would take over 30 pages. So if you want to get an idea of what’s included I suggest hop over to Fast Track Your Dreams and browse the lengthy list for yourself.
The moment you register for the Certification, an order will be placed for your Fast Track Kit. That way, if you want to start building those “changing course” muscles right away you won’t have to wait until September.
If you are currently an active Fast Track member, you won’t be at all surprised when I tell you that interest in the Certification program is pretty high. FYI, Lisa will be setting up a separate Certification registration page just for Fast Track members with a special discounted price.
BURNING QUESTION 2: How will I marketing myself and get clients?
In my last post, I talked in really broad strokes about how the Certification program will provide you with the knowledge and skills to be a great Outside the Job Box Career Consultant. Next to this, the biggest thing people want to make sure the Certification covers is how market yourself and get clients. Here again I could write a dozen pages.
In brief though, let me say that the whole point of training you to be an Outside the Job Box Career Consultants is so that you can GET PAID to do what comes naturally to you!
I want you to be successful.
And being successful means getting clients. Before I started Changing Course, I spent seven years in corporate marketing. For the last thirteen years, I’ve successfully marketed myself. I don’t mean to brag but my career change tips have been featured in…
- The Wall Street Journal (twice)
- Entrepreneur magazine
- Inc. magazine
- Kiplinger’s magazine
- Women’s Day magazine
- Redbook magazine
- Glamour magazine (UK)
- USA Weekend magazine
- Parade magazine
- The Chicago Tribune
- The Boston Globe (twice)
- The Globe & Mail
- The Sydney Morning Herald
- MSN.com
- iVillage
- Careerbuilder
A number of people asked about becoming credentialed to do this work. “How,” they asked, “can I establish credibility with my clients when I have no prior experience?”
Okay I’m going to go on a small rant here…
This is a valid question. But, as you read through the list of magazines, newspapers, and mega web sites that have cited me as an expert, keep in mind that not once has a reporter asked me if I had any formal training or credentials in career counseling. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of prospective clients who wanted to know if I had a degree in career counseling.
I’m not training you to be a traditional career counselor because you will not be offering traditional career counseling. What your clients are paying you for is your ability to brainstorm ways they can turn their gifts and interests into income and to then point them to the resources to make it happen. You don’t need a fancy credential. You just need someone to channel your natural gift for helping people see possibilities.
Okay, end of rant.
Suffice it to say I know a thing or two about marketing and PR. And I will be passing along everything I know to you. And just for good measure, friend and colleague Barbara Winter author of Making a Living Without a Job has agreed to personally lead a session on How to Establish Yourself as an Expert.
But by far the most valuable marketing benefit is something new that I’m adding for the first time this year. You see, I want you spending your valuable time developing your expertise as an Outside the Job Box Career Consultant. I don’t want you spinning your wheels writing marketing copy.
So I’ll be working closely with a specially trained copywriter who will be putting together material that you can literally just cut and paste onto a future website, blog, or brochure. Plus you’ll get a customized bio that positions you as a credible resource even without a track record. Now that’s what I call marketing made easy!
Good copywriters do not come cheap. But I have seen far too many great business ideas fail because of lousy descriptions. And I don’t want that to happen to you. If you paid for copywriting services out of pocket it could easily cost you $2000 to $3000. Instead these marketing tools will be included as part of the Certification.
Okay this is as far as I got before I had to leave to meet my family. Today is my Intel gig, so tomorrow I’ll send out another update answering Burning Question 3 which is “What will the program cost and how much can I expect to earn?”
To your dreams,
Valerie
P.S. I’ll be answering burning questions 1 & 2 in FAR MORE depth in the actual Certification description available hopefully this weekend.
