CoachEase Blog

Check Out the Videos

Don — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 19:02:19 +0000

Several new training videos were added to our growing library in the past week.

On the Videos page, you’ll find step-by-step demonstrations of recently added features including how to add your branding to everything your clients see, how to upload your files to the CoachEase server, and how to make a specific file (such as an article, e-book, or audio) available to an individual client.

Plus, there are several quick videos going over the basics of CoachEase as well. All the videos download quickly and conveniently display right in your browser.

If you haven’t yet watched a video, or if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or uncertain about a CoachEase feature, check out the Video Training Library at http://www.coachease.com/pub/videos.

If there’s anything about CoachEase that has you confused, let us know. We’ll try to demystify the process. We’re aiming for this to be the most useful, accessible, intuitive service on the planet.

Thanks for using CoachEase!

New, Improved!

Don — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:28:11 +0000

Usually when marketers proclaim, “New & Improved!” they’re fudging a bit. Whatever product change they’re heralding is either new or improved. Rarely both.

So we’re proud to say that today’s release of CoachEase truly is New and Improved.

New: Easily make specific files available to specific clients. Just assign your files to a particular Action Item.

Have a client whose challenge of the day could benefit from your super-duper checklist or nifty e-book or other file in your arsenal of helpful resources? Just upload the appropriate file to CoachEase. It’s easy! (To see how to upload your files, watch this quick Training Video.)

Then go to the client’s Coachee Dashboard. Create a new Action Item or use an existing one. Assign the file to the Action Item, and voila! Your client can download your file. (Watch the Training Video.)

Improved: The lay-out. Now it’s in two columns. Less busy, easier to read than the previous three column version.

It may take a few minutes to orient yourself to the new look. Once you do, we think you’ll find that simpler is better.

Questions? Challenges? Drop us a line: support@coachease.com

Thanks for using CoachEase!

Setting the Stage with a New Client

Don — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 21:52:12 +0000

When you start serving a new coaching client with whom you’ll work via CoachEase, you might want to advise your client that you’re going to gather information from them using a nifty online system, and let them know how it works.

Something along these lines:

To help me gather information useful to your coaching, you’ll receive emails that contain links to some brief online forms I’ve created. The Subject line will be “New Coaching Assignment” and the return address on those emails is system@coachease.com.

Please, put that address on your mail system’s approved sender list, if you need to, so that these important emails reach your in-box.

After you receive your “New Coaching Assignment” message, clicking the link or pasting it in your browser will take you to a secure web page where you can easily provide the information I need from you. It’s simple, will save us both time and effort, and other clients even report that they find it an enjoyable process!

What’s your tip for how you use CoachEase with your clients? Share a thought or two with our growing community of users by clicking the Comment link.

BIG Changes Today!

Don — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 21:54:53 +0000

A major upgrade to CoachEase was posted today. We’ve been listening to your requests since the ICF conference. Thank you for your great feedback! Here’s a rundown on what’s new:

Your clients now can access their own page on CoachEase — if you decide — to see their goals, Forms, your session Follow Up Notes, and access documents and files you’ve made available to them (more on that below!) Plus they can add new Action Items and check off ones they’ve completed. And, yes, their page is linked to your Dashboard. When they tick-off an Action Item as Complete, it instantly shows up as Complete on your Coachee Dashboard for that client! (See an example of what your clients will see — imagine it with your branding — here.)
You can make a library of files — such as documents, PDFs, even recordings — available to your clients. Your coachees can download those “digital assets” at their convenience from their client page on CoachEase. Please note, at this time all your clients will have access to all the files you make available. We know that you might want certain clients to have access to specific files. We’re working on that.
You can now assign a Form to multiple clients at one time! Just point your mouse on the Coachee names and Control-click (or Apple-click) the names you want to receive the Form. (Note: All clients will receive the same note that you create to accompany the Form.)
Two new Form item types have been added to your choices for creating your own Forms:
1. A “Yes / No” choice (yeah, we know, how did we miss that one?!); 2. A 1 - 5 scale
You can enhance the branding of your Forms by uploading your logo to our server (not just pointing an existing file on the web), and by customizing the font and colors used on your Forms so they look a little more stylin’!

As for The Client Page component of CoachEase, your clients will only see the page if you authorize them to see it. You’ll have to specifically invite them — by going to the Coachee’s Dashboard, clicking the client’s name and selecting EDIT link, then going to the box at the bottom of the page and selecting the INVITATION link. REMEMBER: Your client will see the Goals and Action Items as you created them. If you have anything you wouldn’t want your client to see in those two categories, do some editing before extending the invitation.

Watch this space for more information and specific how-tos on all these new features.

Please let us know what you think. Comment away!

And send us an email if you have challenges with any aspect of CoachEase: support@coachease.com

Much more is in store for you! We have a full agenda of enhancements to come! We’re excited, thrilled to serve you, and very much appreciate your support.

On the Drawing Board

blogger — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:25:06 +0000

One of the beautiful things about CoachEase being Internet-based is that it evolves every day. Each time you log on, you have the latest version of the software.

So what’s coming? Here’s what you can expect from us in the near future:

Integration with Quickbooks and Quicken for your billing and business management
A client dashboard where your coachees can see their Action Items, Forms, and so on. UPDATE: DONE!
A send file-to-client capacity. Sometimes you have the perfect solution right there on your hard drive. CoachEase is going to make it easy to click-n-send! (Hey, it’s what we do!) UPDATE: DONE!

What else would you like to see? Let us know! We’re committed to CoachEase being the best coach support software on the planet! (How’s that for a vision statement?!)

CoachEase and Outlook

blogger — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:17:09 +0000

Coaches ask, “Does CoachEase work with Microsoft Outlook?” The answer, yes!

Here’s how. CoachEase uses the industry standard iCalendar format for its scheduling. If you’ve used other Internet calendars such as those from Apple, Google, or others, you probably already are familiar with iCalendar stuff. If not, don’t worry. It’s simple.

It’s especially simple with Outlook 2007 (about to be released) because iCalendar comes standard. But you can use earlier versions of Outlook with iCalendar as well using a little program to help Outlook keep up with industry standards.

You can use iCal for MS Outlook 2 with Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP (2002), or 2003. There’s a free trial version for the $30 program available at http://www.kenner-price.com/icalendar/.

There’s also a free solution called Remote Calendars available from http://remotecalendars.sourceforge.net/ that works with Outlook 2003.

Let us know what calendar solution you prefer to use with CoachEase. (We know coaches who swear by Google calendar with CoachEase…)

ICF Today!

Don — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:39:01 +0000

The International Coach Federation 2006 Annual Conference opens today in St. Louis, MO and we’re there!

It’s our grand debut, our coming out party, the long-awaited unveiling of CoachEase! (Long-awaited for us, anyway.)

Please come see a demonstration. Get a sense of how this service can improve your practice. And sign-up for your own free CoachEase account. Then pick up some chocolate at our booth. (We know what coaches really want.)

We’re in Booth 202 right near the main entrance on the main drag. (Clever marketing, eh?)

Look for our big monitors, our friendly staff smiling above their black turtlenecks, and our decanters filled with chocolate. (Do you get the sense we’re trying to lure you with chocolate?)

Looking forward to meeting you!

Coachee Dashboard Overview

blogger — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 06:11:44 +0000

You manage your relationship with each individual client through their Coachee Dashboard (which you access by clicking the client’s name on your Coach Dashboard).

Let’s go over the Coachee Dashboard. We’ve included some pictures to give you some context.
On the left: Access existing coachees and add new clients. And set your preferences for CoachEase.

Goals: list your client’s major objectives for the coaching assignment
People: Add or search for the individuals your client mentions during your conversations. Click the green New link to add details about a new person. Note that the Relationship and Job fields suggest auto-complete entries for you. Hit the tab key to accept the suggestion. Click the Create button when finished.
Action Items: These are specific tasks for your client to work on between sessions. You may want to copy these into your follow-up message. And then mark as completed as your coachee reports the tasks as accomplished.
- Completed Items: This category displays after an Action Item has been marked as completed. Unmarking a completed item returns it to the Action Items category.

In the center

Click the coachee’s name (or the ) for contact info. To change or update the information, click the edit link that will then appear.
Click the Envelope icon to send an email to your client using your preferred email program.
Click the large green Start New Session button to create a new session with your client
Click the large gold Schedule Session button to schedule a session (and arrange email notifications and reminders for your client)
Scheduled Sessions and Recent Sessions function just as they do in the Coach’s Dashboard

To the right

Forms and New Submissions function just as they do in the Coach’s Dashboard
Incomplete Exchanges: Entries listed here indicate Forms assigned to this client that have not yet been completed

Confused? Sometimes we are, too. Feel free to drop us a line with a question — or a few. Just send an email to support@coachease.com. We’ll respond as fast as we can.

Coach Dashboard Overview

blogger — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 05:56:53 +0000

The Coach Dashboard is your launching point for most activities in CoachEase. It’s the nerve center, the Central Command of CoachEase. This post provides you with an overview of the Coach Dashboard, complete with images, simple explanations, and a link to a short how-to video. Hey, we’re full service!

On the left side of your Coach Dashboard screen you’ll see the list of your Coachees. This is where you access your existing clients and add new coachees.

Access a Coachee’s Dashboard (the gateway to their complete information) by clicking a name. To access a client’s contact information, click the plus sign ( ) to the left of his or her name
Add a Coachee to your practice by clicking the green New link above or below the Coachees list. Watch a Video to See How

Center screen: Coaching sessions are listed in chronological order — upcoming, “Scheduled Sessions” and “Recent Sessions.”

Scheduled Sessions
- See a summary of recent coachee activity: Forms that clients submitted or follow-up notes you sent. Click the plus sign ( ) next to their name
- Send a reminder to a client about an upcoming session by clicking the session date or the Pre-Session link.
- Enter the Session by clicking “In-Session”.
Recent Sessions
- Review and edit previous session notes by clicking the date
- Send an email follow-up to the client by clicking the “Post-Session” link

Right Side:

Manage all your Forms — see and edit the included sample Forms by clicking Browse Forms; assign a Form to a client by clicking Begin Exchange; or Create a Form
See the list of Forms your clients have recently submitted to you by clicking New Submissions

Most everything you need to do in CoachEase, you can get started from your Coach Dashboard by clicking a link there.

To easily return to your Coach Dashboard from anywhere within CoachEase, look up at the top of your screen. You’ll see the navigation path, a series of links starting with: “You are here,” followed by what our cute techies call “bread crumbs” (remember Hansel & Gretel?). Those are the links separated by arrows (–>).

To get to your Coach Dashboard, just find your name to the left of You are here. Click on it. And, poof, you’re back at your Coach Dashboard!

Once you’re at the Coach Dashboard, you’re ready to navigate to wherever you’d like to go in CoachEase.

Confused? Good sign of life. Feel free to drop us a line with a question. Just send an email to support@coachease.com. We’ll respond as fast as we can.

Branding Your Forms

Don — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:57:06 +0000

Your clients should see your logo and your company colors on the Forms you send them, right?

CoachEase makes it easy for you to add your company’s visual identity on your Forms. Here’s how…

Go to your Coach Dashboard, and look on the lower left corner of your screen. You’ll see the My Preferences section. Click the Branding link.

You’ll come to a page that let’s you either enter specific color codes by hex number (ask your designer) in the box under the vertical rainbow — the code always starts with a # symbol. But don’t worry if you don’t have a clue about this!

You also can choose some colors that you like by ~~playing~~ working with the color selectors. If you want to use this method, note that there are two controls to work with: The vertical rainbow slider, which you click and drag with your mouse to move through the color spectrum, and the hue slider — shaped like a cross-hair — which you also click and drag.

Note that as you move the color sliders, the frame around the sample question item changes, as does the color sample box on the left beneath the hue selector. And the hex code for the current color automatically appears in the code box. So if you want to note a few possible choices, use your mouse to highlight the code and then copy and paste it into a document so you can keep a record of some colors you might want to review again while you make up your mind later.

To add your logo, you’ll need to have its file hosted on the Internet somewhere, such as on your web site. If you can see your logo — or any graphic file that you’d like to appear on your CoachEase Forms — online, you can have that graphic appear on your CoachEase Forms.

You do not need to upload a file to CoachEase for your Forms to include your favorite graphic. Just tell CoachEase where on the Internet it can find your file and it will automatically include the graphic by “grabbing” it from that location. So keep the file there!

Here’s a simple way to enter the correct address of your graphic file.

Find the web page that has your graphic on it.
Right-click on the graphic. You’ll see a menu of choices.
Select the option to the effect of Copy Image Location. (or something similar such as Copy Image Address…)
If you do not see that choice, select Properties, and then in the box that appears, find the Address (URL). Drag your mouse across the web address to highlight it. Right click the highlighted address and select Copy.
Paste the address into a document so you have a record of it.
Return to the CoachEase Forms Branding page. Go to the bottom of the page and find the box labeled Custom Logo URL. Paste in the web address of the graphic that you obtained in the steps above.

Voila! You’ve just branded your CoachEase Forms! You’ll see the branding in all your Forms Previews, and your coachees will see your nifty artsy side when they access your Forms.

You can change the colors and logo/graphic anytime you want.

If you don’t have a logo and your own color scheme, no worries! Use one of the color schemes that CoachEase includes for your convenience. Try the combinations from the drop-down box on the right under the heading Default Color Schemes.

But watch out! Our designer was in some mood the day he added Gauche. That color combination is appropriately labeled and we suggest using that color scheme only if you want to go into early retirement by driving away your clients.

Have fun. Let your creative side come out to play. Express yourself!