Frequently Asked Questions

Click on your question and you'll be taken directly to the answer.

If you don't see your question, please click here to email us.

What Is Coaching?

  • The client and coach strive to create a relationship based on trust, that's challenging and supportive.
  • The client uses coaching as a resource, taking action weekly to accomplish desired results.
  • A coach expects a lot from the client, but will never put the results ahead of the relationship.

Coaching is a Technology of Development

  • A coach develops a client's personal foundation so their natural gifts and talents are leveraged and appreciated.
  • A coach helps the client to fully experience the present balanced with planning for the future.
  • A coach uses advanced personal development tools assisting clients in their work, and promoting both personal and professional growth.

Coaching is a Form of Consulting

  • Like consulting, the client discusses challenges and opportunities and asks for information and advice.
  • Assessments are used to understand the complete picture of a client's unique abilities and strengths.
  • The client pays a fee, usually monthly for services rendered.

Coaching Focuses on the Entire Person

  • A coach helps the client to balance and integrate all areas of life so they work harmoniously.
  • A coach helps the client strengthen their communication and relationship skills.
  • A coach helps the client clarify values, set goals, develop action plans, and implement them.

©1999 CoachU, for use by graduates or students only. Adapted by Maria Marsala an April 2000 Coach U Graduate

What's the Difference Between a Consultant And Coach?

Here's an analogy to explain the differences between a therapist, coach, consultant and mentor. (NOTE: Maria is nota trained therapist, counselor, accountant, or lawyer - but she can refer you to them!)

  1. A therapist or counselor helps people to explore their past and fears.
  2. A consultant will create a report and provide you with the problems they see and solutions to those problems.
  3. A contractor does the daily work for you; as much as they are able.
  4. A coach or advisor will provide you with tools, honesty, and support to help you as you move past your fears.
  5. A mentor will show you how to be courageous.
  6. An advisor listens and then provides suggestions and solutions.
  7. A trainer will facilitate learning about fears, where they come from, etc.

Specifically we help clients leverage their strengths, learn new skills, take action, and achieve their business and life goals by providing EduCoaching™, our proprietary blend of practical learning tools, and all the above except therapy.

What Does a Coach Deliver? 15 Coaching Deliverables

At Elevating Your Business we deliver on these 15 core coaching concepts:

  1. Perspective: Provides fresh or alternative ways of looking at a situation or context.
  2. Validation: Validate via encouragement and acknowledgement.
  3. Message: Share fitting knowledge, opinions, or wisdom.
  4. Energy: Provide energy and support as needed.
  5. Solution: Share a solution to a problem or issue.
  6. Plan: Co-develop a plan of action with the client.
  7. Structure: Provide support and a check-in structure for the client.
  8. Resource: Suggest/refer client to experts, books, tools, assessments.
  9. Options: Expand the number of options the client has available.
  10. Caring: Care via listening, patience, safety and love (with a NY attitude).
  11. Training: Train clients in personal and business skills.
  12. Advice: Provide advice via recommendations and suggestions.
  13. Strategy: Develop or co-develops a personal or business strategy.
  14. Challenge: Provide challenges to the client to stretch or make a change.
  15. Feedback: Offer feedback, observation, insight, ideas and opinion. Maria does this confidentially, with 100% honesty, and her usual no bull-shit let's-get-it fixed approach.

©1999 CoachU, for use by graduates or students only. Adapted by Maria Marsala, an April 2000 Coach U Graduate

Six Benefits of Working with a Coach

Coaching is proven to work when two factors are present:

  1. You are willing to grow.
  2. There is a huge gap between where you are now and where you want to be.

That's all that is necessary for you and your coach to solve problems, create goals which reflect your values, and above all design then implement a plan of action. You can create a new life direction or plan to ensure that you have what you need to get more of what you want.

With a Coach You Will:

  1. Take Action - BECAUSE YOU SET THE GOALS YOU REALLY WANT:
     Ultimately, humans do only what they really want to do, when they want to do it. Finding out exactly what it is that you really want for yourself and your business is our first task together. Maria will help you to distinguish between what you "coulda, shoulda, oughta, and hafta" from what you truly want for yourself. Once you create the ideal goal that is designed to act in concert with your highest values, you're more likely to naturally and consistently take actions to reach it.

  2. Have a Balanced Life - BECAUSE YOU DESIGNED IT "SELFISHLY":
    Sorry, but having it all means starting with a balanced life and you know what that means. It's time to be very, very Selfish. Not egotistical, but Selfish with a capital S. We will show you how to be selfish yet responsible; and how to get your needs met and still be liked by other people! This process is called establishing your Personal Foundation and there are only 25 steps. You'll love building your foundation because you know you're worth it. You need this base if you are to be your Self.

  3. Make & Keep More Money- YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN YOU'RE MAKING:
     Money, money, money! You need it and need a lot more of it than you think. We'll help you increase your business, fill your practice, pay off old bills, set up a financial plan, and design strategies for you to double your earnings.

  4. Reach for More, Much More - AND DON'T BE CONSUMED IN THE PROCESS:
     When a client has a partner they can trust, they will always reach for more because they have a foundation of strength, and support. We provide you with experience, feedback, and tried and true methods for success.

  5. Make Better Decisions for Yourself and Your Business: BECAUSE YOUR FOCUS IS CLEAR:
     Every single client of Elevating Your Business is smart, smart, and smart! Yet, they still use us. Why? Because they know the value of sharing ideas with someone who understands. Just talking about your options with someone who can listen objectively is enough to have it all become very clear. You'll always be given honest opinions and constructive ideas.

  6. Have a Lot More Sustainable Energy - NO MORE CHUGGING ALONG:
     When you're happy, productive, and free from tolerations and problems, you are going to feel better. It's that simple!

©1999 CoachU, for use by graduates or students only. Adapted by Maria Marsala, an April 2000 Coach U Graduate

When I Hire Your Company, Can I Choose To Work With Maria?

Yes! You'll work directly with Maria, although you might occasionally hear from her assistant. We will provide you with information or schedule any sessions that you haven't scheduled online. Although Maria does license her products to be used by other coaches and consultants, it's Maria who answers her phone, and Maria who partners with you to help bring you greater success.

How Long Can I Expect Coaching to Last?

Our most successful clients are coached 1-3 years. They start with our 12-month plan and it's common for them to be coached fewer hours in year two. Based on the work you do, expect to reach your goals much quicker than you've done in the past. We'll chop the 1, 2 and 5 year goals into bite-size pieces.

How Do I Ensure Our Work Together Remains Confidential?

Confidentiality is a hallmark of the work we do with clients (although we appreciate your referrals and testimonials). Before we start to work with you, we'll send you a signed confidentiality agreement. We do not reveal that you have contacted us for a consultation, what was discussed during the call, or reveal what occurs between you and Elevating Your Business. The only ways someone will discover that you are a client or requested a free consultation is a) if you tell them b) you provide us with written permission or a testimonial.

Why Would I Want Email Coaching, too?

As you implement the ideas and strategies we discuss during our phone sessions, you will most likely come up with other questions. You may need a critique on something you're working on, or need another opinion. Maybe something new has come along and you'd like our opinion or a suggestion for a resource or tool. Email coaching provides you with the option to contact us between calls with questions or requests for feedback. Some clients never contact us in between sessions while others contact us daily.

How Much Do You Charge?

Our fees depend on the services or products you choose, how often the sessions are held, length of session, and type of coaching (1:1 or group). Travel to your local is extra.

Here are the ranges of our services, programs, and products:

  • 1:1 Coaching: $1000 to $2500 per month
  • Business Plans: 1:1- $3000-$5000, sometimes included in programs, or as in groups or teams for $999-$1299
  • Peak Performance Study Group are: $299 to $999 per person per month
  • Products: Free to $1299
  • Speaking/Webinars: $5K not including travel, meals, and hotel.

What Payment Options Do I Have?

We accept cash, checks, and major credit cards using a few different methods. We also take PayPal credit. We can send you Purchase Orders and always at the end of each year send you a complete Statement for possible tax consequences.

Are Your Services Tax Deductible?

Typically small business coaching, consulting, and training is tax deductible as a business expense. Save your receipts for tax time. Executive coaching may be tax deductible, but it depends on your situation. If you are not sure of the tax consequences, check with your CPA, EA, or accountant BEFORE hiring us.

What if I Can't Afford It?

This is the #1 concern of clients globally (isn't this what you hear most often from prospects as well?) And sometimes it's true, you can't afford our services. But if this is your main concern, the question we have for you is, "What has it cost you to NOT get help?" If you really need a scholarship in order to grow your business, we save 2 slots in our schedule to help special cases. Click here to see if you qualify to have a meeting with us regarding scholarships. If not, you can become a client our usual way.

I Don't Live Near You. How Would I Work With You?

We work with clients via phone, Skype, video conferencing, and in person at your location or ours. Years of results have proven that meeting in person is not mandatory. In fact, we have clients that we've never met and other clients we've met during our travels across the county. We've worked with clients from outside the USA such as Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Korea, Australia, Spain, and the UK. Many of our clients will send a photo, which makes our working together more personal. And we'll send you our photo, too.

Where Do I Begin?

Request a Qualification Session here. OR ask for an hour-session now. Fees involved in the hour sessions are non-refundable and if you hire us 1:1 within 7 days of the call, the fee goes towards your first month of services. If you join a group then your credit is 1/2 the hour fee.

Been There, Done That Already and it Didn't Work

We've seen it all too often, clients who have already invested a lot of time in training and other coaching programs that didn't help.

Maria Marsala is a life-long learner, and has had it happen to her too! Yes, Maria hired coaches and consultants to help her business grow; because there is always something new to learn or something that can be done better. We're not just delivering coaching; we're EduCoaching™ a mixture of coaching, consulting, advising, and training. Over time, we've found this to work best for our clients.

Action alone is not enough; without the right plan and the right process, it won't work. With our 1:1 or group coaching programs you will create two plans to use as your guides- a life plan and business plan. We provide knowledge, experience, resources, and support to get you through the necessary steps in your businesses development. Many of our clients have told us that they get more in resources from us in 1 week, in their Welcome Kit, than from their previous coaches over 6-12 months. Every resource you receive from us will be used during our time together. And most importantly, you'll take consistent action to reach your goals!

I Don't Have a Minute of Extra Time to Add More Work to My Full Schedule

Here is our guess: You are doing what we call "to doing", in a constant scramble to "get things to done". You may never seem to catch up. You aren't focused on the key things that will bring you the most money or free time. You may be focusing on the wrong things. We've been there and done that.

We can guarantee that when you become hyper-focused on your life and business priorities you will have the time to do more than you ever thought possible. How? You'll eliminate or delegate whatever is no longer working and concentrate your time and efforts on those high pay-off activities (HPOA) that will bring you the results you deserve.

If I'm Already Successful, Why Should I Want to Work With You?

If you are here reading this, then chances are, that deep down you want more than you have. You might be like "Mary" who wanted to double her already terrific revenues. Or "Joan" who wanted to get her business running like a well-oiled machine so that she can work 1 day a month and start a nonprofit. Or "Theresa" who wanted to set her business up so it generated 16 million in sales, while she only worked 1 day a month. "Barbara" originally said she wanted to open one branch office; but after prodding her on her "big audacious goals", she admitted that she wanted at least 6 offices! On the other hand, maybe you want to make your business sellable in "x" years and get the most money for your investment. Maybe you want to create products, speak, write a book, or have more time off to do whatever it is you want to do.

No matter what your goals are, we can help you attain them faster. Let's talk, and find out which program would be the best fit for your situation. Schedule a session today.

I Don't Want to Create A Life, Business or Marketing Plan because ____________ (your excuse here).

Sorry, we're unable to help you. It's imperative that you recreate your business foundation after working on your life plan. We run a tight ship and have a proven system. We will not take on new clients who won't create a roadmap to their greatest success.

Do You Work With People Outside the Financial Industry?

Yes, we do. In fact, over the years we've helped business owners and CEOs in more than 40 industries to grow their businesses or careers. If you feel that the things you've read on this website pertain to you, contact us. Request a free session and we'll talk to you to see if we're a good match. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain! Qualification Session here.

Who Do You Not Work With?

We no longer work with business owners who are very happy doing all the work in their businesses themselves. However, such folks may enjoy purchasing "do it yourself" products from our library View the library here



Top of Page

Home        Is This You?        How We Work        Success Tools        Events        Speaking        About        Contact Us



We specialize in Business Growth Coaching and provide Marketing Advice to financial advisors and professionals.

© 1998-2013 Elevating Your Business.com Your use of this site constitutes your acceptance of our terms and conditions and all disclosures