SOF February Newsletter
Kirsty Lewis
Founder of School of Facilitation. Teaching workshop design, fantastic facilitation & training trainers make my ?? sing. Podcaster|Host of Gatherings & the community pod|Flourishing Facilitator.
Tomorrow is March - where has the time gone?!
We made it through January, which felt very long.
I have been talking a lot about Ghosting recently on here, so scroll down to read more about what I have to say on the topic ??
What’s coming up?
In the past, this section has been pushed to the bottom of the newsletter and I realised I should share with pride what we have to offer you, so I am experimenting with talking about everything we do before the monthly musings.
Let's start with the freebies..
A Facilitator’s Journey
This is the bi-weekly podcast from SOF that talks about the running of a facilitator/trainer business.??I hypothesised that many of us do what we do as we have a passion for our subject/topic vs the desire to run a business.??Therefore, I wanted to explore the different facets of managing a business and share that with you all.
There are currently eleven episodes ready for your ears on Spotify , Apple and Youtube .??The topics range from collaborative partnerships, the ending of business relationships, competition and community, finances and much much more.
The SOF Community Pod
The topic is reflection and how we weave it into our everyday work and lives.??I am joined by Fiona McBride who will lead us through a practise that we can use. Register for the event here
Upcoming Events in March
22nd March, 0930 - 1500, London.?
￡99 +VAT
The quarterly gathering is a wonderful opportunity to connect and gather with like-minded souls.??We start with a poem, silence and a check-in.??We uncover what each of us is bringing on the day and co-create the flow.??
You may wish to celebrate a win, ask questions, have a business conundrum that you would like the group's help with, or want to explore a topic with others.??Whatever it may be there will be conversation, laughter, thoughtful moments, good coffee, and jammy dodgers!
Session One:??Friday 1st March, 1130 - 1300 GMT
Session Two:??Friday 15th March, 1130 - 1300 GMT
Session Three:??Monday 25th March, 1600 - 1730 GMT
After the success of the pricing survey and various debriefs it became apparent that many people were unsure how to price their services.??This three-part program will support you to work out your pricing so that you can say your numbers with pride and conviction.
As this is a pilot programme the investment is lower in return for your feedback.
领英推荐
?New time-zone friendly time!?27th March, 1900 - 2100 GMT
A staple in the SOF timetable.??Come learn more about designing workshops, or check-in on how you design and pick up some new ideas and tips.
Ghostbusting ?? OR Professional Persistence
A client requests a call to share a brief for a piece of work.??You spend an hour understanding their needs, asking questions, checking you have captured their thoughts, furiously scribbling notes, and nodding. An invitation to write a proposal is proferred and off you trot to write a proposal.
If you are anything like me, a proposal can take anything between a couple of hours, up to a day. The time spent on a proposal is a reflection on the complexity of the work.
Once you have finished lovingly crafting this proposal masterpiece you whip up an email and hit send.
Sit back and wait for the email of acknowledgment………
A week goes by and nothing has come back, you assume they are busy and let it go.
Another week flies by and still nothing.??You drop a polite email checking they received the proposal, asking when a good time to talk is.
Nothing.
Silence.
Crickets ??
It happens.??Clients go quiet.??Sometimes it is down to them being busy and this project not being a high priority.?
Sometimes the proposal misses the mark and the receiver is unsure how to tell you this.??
So what can we do to not get to the point of despair and frustration?
Sign up to my newsletter here and I will resend you our newsletter to see what tips I sent to my subscribers. Here's some of the feedback I received after I sent it:
"Kirsty, I had to hit reply to say thank you for the tips on ghosting. 1 and 2 are things I do already, 3 hadn't crossed my mind! I consider myself bold so I'll definitely be adding that to my checklist for discovery calls."
Oh that ghosting piece was what I needed to hear yesterday
One thing I want you to know is - when you are ghosted it has nothing to do with you and your work.??It is a pure reflection of the receiver. It shows that maybe they are unable to express their thoughts, unsure how to say no or what to do next.
Whilst this is very frustrating for you, and no one likes silence - it can happen.
What do you do when you experience silence post-proposal?
What advice would you pass on to others??
As ever thank you for reading this far. I hope to see you at a forthcoming event.
Sending love and hugs
Kirsty and the SOF team