Before you go out and make your next funding pitch to investors, or meet with your managers, coaching experts have some advice on how to better prepare yourself and your business for success.
“Most people get caught up in talking about their company ‘data dumping’ is what I call it,” said Dan Sapp, a communications coach based in Mill Valley who helps small-business owners prepare for funding presentations. “I try to get my clients focused on what it is they want to happen, and what the investor needs to hear.”
After being in the coaching field for seven years, working for a firm called Speakeasy in Atlanta, Sapp started his own company, Dan Sapp and Associates, in 1998. The coaching profession has been around for years, according to Sapp, but now it’s a resource that business people are more willing to use.
“Having a coaching relationship has become de-stigmatized,” said Sapp. “Now, it seems to be easier for folks to say, ‘Yeah, I need a certain kind of help.'”
Sapp’s fees are at the high end: Clients pay $4,500 a day for his time, although he will often exchange his expertise for stock or equity in client companies. He helps clients with their body language, voice and overall presence when they give a presentation. He also works on the content.
“From a delivery standpoint, presenters have to be comfortable, or investors are going to go home,” said Sapp, adding that investors want to make a connection with a real person. “Otherwise, we’d all be doing our presentations on CD-ROMs and videotapes.”
A good presentation focuses on what the audience needs to hear.
“They don’t care about how long you slaved in your garage,” said Sapp. “They just need to know why your company is going to win in the market.”
Even if you can’t afford his fee, Sapp has some suggestions for your next presentation.
– When you’re standing up, make sure that your weight is balanced on both feet.
– Be comfortable with silence. Say something and pause. Think about what you want to say next. Give yourself time to think and breathe.
– Use a strong downward inflection. We have a pattern of ending our sentences on an upward note, which makes people seem less confident.
Working with workaholics
While Sapp focuses on preparing people for pitching their businesses to investors, Audree Halasz helps workaholics find balance in their lives.
Halasz owned a bagel store for five years, and then worked in the fitness industry for 12 years before she started her own personal-coaching company, Axis Coaching, in 1999. She says the fitness coaching made for an easy transition to business coaching, because both require balance and time-management skills.
“I got attracted to coaching because I love helping people figure out who they are as a person,” said Halasz. “Many people are working in a field that is totally out of line for who they are as a person.”
Halasz says most of her business clients love what they do, but “work is their lifeline.” Her most common recommendation is to take hours off in the middle of the day, forcing entrepreneurs to blend their personal time with their workday.
“I tell people to do something for themselves at lunch,” said Halasz. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s having a manicure, taking a spinning class or going for a walk.”
Halasz recommends exercise, but only if it’s something you enjoy. “Our society really encourages exercise,” she says. “People think, ‘Oh, what can I do to release; I’ll work out,’ but I don’t think it’s the solution unless it feels good to the individual.”
Halasz recommends doing things that organize and separate your business life from your personal life.
“She assigned me to write out a schedule at the end of each day,” said Harlow Newton, one of the founders of SF Station, which produces an online city guide in San Francisco. “She got me in the habit of planning for my week and then planning my company’s week.”
Learning to relax
Eric Bergman, publisher of Web Techniques magazine in San Francisco, has been working with Halasz for several months. She’s helping him find more time for fun and make the most of his time at work.
“She’s helping me learn how to relax my mind to quit thinking about work,” said Bergman. “She’s also helping me organize and figure out how to do everything that needs to be done.”
A basic personal coaching session with Halasz costs $200, which covers two half-hour sessions by phone and unlimited e-mail coaching, as well as “laser coaching” (Five-minute phone consultations).
Halasz offers this quick list of indicators that might mean you need a coach:
– I’m so unmotivated it’s hard to get out of bed.
– My boss doesn’t understand me.
– I don’t have passion for my work anymore.
– I’ve got so much to handle that I’m burned out.
– My desk is so cluttered I can’t work.
– I have a huge presentation, and I’m not ready.
She also suggests clients make a list of annoying things they should deal with, such as water leaks. Then just handle it, and get it out of your life.
Reporting by Julie Neal. Jane Applegate is the author of “201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business,” and is founder of ApplegateWay.com, a multimedia Web site for busy entrepreneurs. She can be reached via e-mail at
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