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Interview Coaching

Are You Ready for Interview Coaching?

We offer specialized, expert interview coaching for high tech, engineering, the executive suite, sales, finance, consulting, customer service, education, politicians, government, medical school, dental school, all allied health professions and all other professional interviews. We help you answer difficult and tricky questions, tell compelling stories that showcase your strengths, and help you handle any situation that can arise in an interview so you can perform with confidence. We give you insightful and practical feedback and guidance on your answers, vocal skills, eye contact and body language.

If you experience interview anxiety or stage fright we have a special mental training program to teach you mental toughness, poise, and calmness and focus skills so you'll go into your interviews feeling confident.

If you tend to freeze up and go blank, or forget what you wanted to say, we teach you advanced communication techniques that help you gracefully and diplomatically "stall for time" and gain more data while you can think of what to say.

We teach you the art and science of rapport building so you can reduce your discomfort with small talk and have the interviewer like you.

Our collaborative, professional relationship supports, guides and advises you across the full range of the interview process.

Ultimately, we help you come across to interviewers as a person who will be highly desirable and successful at their institution.

Video And Telephone Coaching: US, Internationally

We do coaching all over North America and globally via telephone and video conferencing using Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime.


One on One Coaching: Silicon Valley Bay Area, Globally

For over 20 years we maintained first-class offices in the heart of Silicon Valley, in Cupertino, and Palo Alto, California. However, with the 2020 COVID-19 phenomenon, we have decided to move our business to a virtual basis.

We've been doing distance coaching all over the world each week for decades and the quality of coaching using video is completely equal to coaching done in an office.

It's also possible that we could come to your location in the San Francisco Bay Area to see you practice, to compete or for coaching in your home or office. We've done that for years. Please contact us for details. Travel fees may apply. We are based in Palo Alto, California.

Which of these interview situations apply to you?


  • High tech, the executive suite, engineering, sales, finance, consulting, customer service, education, politicians and government interviews

  • Medical school, osteopathic school, dental school, pharmacy school, chiropractic school, physical therapy school, nursing school, and all other allied health care field interviews

  • The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)

  • Foreign dentists and physicians wishing to begin US practices

  • Physicians and dentists seeking residency programs and fellowships

  • Psychiatrist, psychologist, MFT, LCSW, therapist, and counselor interviews

  • Police, law enforcement and civil service interviews

  • Television, radio and other media interviews


  • Law firm interviews


  • MBA Business school interviews


  • Prep school interviews, boarding school interviews


  • Ivy league alumni interviews with school admissions interviewers, alumni admissions interviewers and college ambassador interviewers


Bill Cole, MS, MA regularly helps people excel in each of these situations.

"Bill Cole is not only an outstanding coach, he will give you the best advice, preparation and coaching you need to be at your best during all your interviews. What impressed me the most in him is that he does exactly what he teaches. He will observe you, and create a rapport with you, remembering everything you told him, and deciphering who you really are to create a plan that best prepares you for your tough interviews, and puts you in the best frame of mind to win the mind game that occurs during an interview. The advice, coaching and recommendations he teaches you are not mere words to him, but values that he follows and lives by. It was a real privilege to be coached by Mr. Cole and I know that you too will be impressed by his rare listening and motivational skills. And by the way, I got a great job after working with him!"

Catherine Stevenson

"I just wanted to express my heartfelt appreciation to you for the work you did with me in preparing for my medical school interviews. Your advice was right on target and proved invaluable as I went through the various interviews. One of the most useful aspects of our coaching sessions was how you helped me identify how my particular non-traditional background could be used to craft a unique story applicable to medicine.

I am happy to share that I received four acceptances out of four medical school interviews! I have decided to attend Touro University in Vallejo, California.

Our coaching sessions were essential to my success during these interviews, so I will definitely look you up again when it is time to apply for residency.

Thank you again for your great work with me Bill. I'll keep in touch!"

Elaine Lee, Aptos, CA

Quick Links for Interview Coaching

Need Help With Interviewing Prospective Employees?


Bill regularly helps companies improve their interviewing process so they can bring in the best talent. He can conduct interviews for you, create interview questions and tasks or assist you in crafting interview questions, scoring and formats. He can also train your people in state of the art interviewing strategies so they can become excellent interviewers.

Why Interview Coaching is for You


If you get psyched out, stressed out, and are afraid of, and tired of, performing below your abilities in media and job and interview situations, our Interview Coaching is for you.

Read a
 Personal Message from William B. Cole Consultants CEO Bill Cole to learn about Interview Coaching and the results you can expect when you work with a coach.

Interview Coaching For Prep School Interviews, Boarding School Interviews And Ivy League College Interviews


We also do interview coaching for people wanting to be successful in their prep school interviews, boarding school interviews and high school students wanting to do well in Ivy league alumni interviews with school admissions interviewers, alumni admissions interviewers and college ambassador interviewers.

View a short video Introduction to Interview Coaching, featuring CEO Bill Cole, MS, MA.

Are You Ready To Improve Your Interview Skills And Learn The Secrets Of Being Great At Interviewing?

I will help you put your best foot forward in all your interviews, and help you get the results you desire. I will be your advisor, consultant and coach, every step of the way.

Here are 20 ways I can help you succeed in your interviews, and in your overall interviewing campaign.


  1. Demystify the entire interview process for you so you can understand what's going on every step of the way.
  2. Help you craft a powerful personal branding statement and strategy.
  3. Review the job or school prospectus to help you precisely target your application and candidacy to it, both in writing and in the interview.
  4. Interview you to uncover your strengths, talents, skills, values and goals to be able to match your unique abilities to what the school or job is seeking.
  5. Provide mock interview practice simulation sessions, to make them feel exactly like the "real thing" so you can "practice to the interview", so there are no surprises.
  6. Show you how to create an overall, winning job hunt or school hunt strategy, from research to planning to preparing, to organizing to presenting yourself.
  7. Give you detailed and accurate feedback on how you are coming across as an interviewee and how the interviewer will assess you.
  8. Give you multiple strategies and interventions to reduce feeling self-conscious.
  9. Show you many ways to counter and overcome objections an interviewer may have about you.
  10. Tell you the things not to do and say that can alienate an interviewer.
  11. Give you multiple strategies for handling an interviewer who is attempting to intimidate you.
  12. Show you how to manage the wide variety of interview types-panel, group, serial, dining, case study, behavioral, scenario, MMI and others.
  13. Guide you in the art of managing both written and spoken communication with the interviewer before, during and after your interview.
  14. Show you how to ask key clarifying and uncovering questions early in the interview so you can target the rest of your interview remarks to what the interviewer is "really seeking".
  15. Give you objective feedback and guidance on your wardrobe choices so you can make a great impression.
  16. Review your resume and help you improve it, line by line.
  17. Help you follow proper interview protocol and etiquette so you come across with good manners and poise.
  18. Carefully listen to your answers and then work with you to edit and craft the best possible answers that will favorably impact the interviewer.
  19. Help you maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
  20. Demonstrate what to say and coach you to give the proper responses to the most challenging questions so you can handle the toughest questions they can throw at you.


Take This Free Interview Skills Assessment

Discover Your Strengths And Weaknesses


We are making this valuable 65-item assessment tool available to you at no charge to assist you in determining what is getting in the way of your performing to your full potential in interview situations. It will help you quickly discover your strengths and weaknesses and provide you with an overview of where you stand in these often stressful, yet critical performances.

Take this free 
Interview Skills Assessment now.

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Specialized Interview Skills Books And Coaching Categories

It would take you dozens and dozens of hours of research to find, read, and categorize the exact lists of questions you need to study for giving a successful interview. Bill has done all the legwork for you. He has complied this voluminous research into multiple specialized, manageable, easy to use question book resources.

When you begin coaching with us, you receive, at no additional charge, a copy of Bill's well-selling book, The Interview Success Guide, AND the appropriate specialty interview questions book in your niche.

CLICK ON A COVER TO GO TO YOUR INTERVIEW SPECIALTY AREA

Organizations

Order Interview Coaching Services

The standard hourly coaching rate for one person in corporate, governmental, academic, military or other organizational entities is $275, with some potential adjustments, based on a quote as part of a custom volume package, and for example, when we include speaking, training and consulting. For coaching sessions outside our offices, for sessions with more than one person, and for coaching with organizations, whether in person, or by distance, additional coaching fees and travel fees apply. We also offer two discounted packages, one of five hours and one of ten hours.

Discounted packages are valid only if paid in full, in advance.

1 hr

Buy one hour of

Interview Coaching
$275/hour - one person, organizational rate

Buy Now at $275USD

5 hrs

Coaching Five-Pack: Buy 5 hours of coaching at $265/hour - one person, organizational rate

You SAVE $50.

Buy Now at $1350USD

10 hrs

Coaching Ten-Pack: Buy 10 hours of coaching at $260/hour - one person, organizational rate

You SAVE $150.

Buy Now at $2600USD

The Traction-To-Action™ Interview Coaching Starter Package


I will help you build more interview confidence, make a positive impact and sell yourself and your ideas to people. Here's what I will teach you:


  1. Give you multiple ways to remove a negative attitude and mental blocks about interviewing, so you can remain positive.

  2. Give you ways to immediately show you have the credibility, authenticity and integrity the interviewer is looking for.

  3. Help you be at your best on telephone and videoconference interviews.

  4. Help you overcome the fear of success, and the fear of failure.

  5. Help you to have natural eye contact and facial expressions.

  6. Show you numerous ways to structure your answers, with handy and easy to use formulas.

  7. Help you time your answers so they're not too short or too long.

  8. Ask you questions that help uncover your best stories you can tell that highlight your strengths and capabilities.

  9. Show you how and when to ask questions of the interviewer.

  10. Advise you on how to answer confidently, but so you don't come across as being arrogant or cocky.

  11. Review and edit your cover letter and all other correspondence.

  12. Teach you ways to practice so you don't come across as stiff, scripted or artificial in the actual interview.

  13. Give you clever ways to "stay in touch" with the interviewer, so you show your continued interest, and so you stay "top of mind" without being seen as a pest.

  14. Show you content organizational methods that stop you from talking about irrelevant material and instead, help you target the most important details in your answers.

  15. Help you craft a personalized, custom final statement that tells the interviewer what you will do for them, how much you want the position, and that will leave them with a highly positive impression of you.


New Client Coaching Package Offer - Traction-To-Action™ Interview Coaching


Our standard coaching fees for private pay individuals are $125 an hour, but we want to give you a new client package rate. Choose this Traction-To-Action Starter Package and take off $75 over three hours of coaching. You pay only $300 for all the above 14 points over three valuable hours of coaching with Bill. Travel and associated expenses are extra, if we come to you.


Please note that this private pay for individuals (not organizations) reduced-fee coaching structure is applicable only to individuals who take telephone, Skype or FaceTime sessions, and for an individual taking sessions in our offices in Palo Alto, California. Private pay coaching rates are not applicable to professional athletes or coaches. Professional athletes and coaches would pay the organizational rate, even if not connected with a team. For coaching sessions outside our offices, for sessions with more than one person, and for coaching with organizations, whether in person, or by distance, additional coaching fees and travel fees apply. The hourly coaching rate for one person in corporate, governmental, academic, military or other organizational entities is $275, with some potential adjustments, based on a quote as part of a custom volume package, and for example, when we include speaking, training and consulting.


We have coached individuals from San Jose, Saratoga, Los Gatos, San Francisco, Campbell, Cupertino, Palo Alto, Almaden Valley, Los Altos, Santa Cruz, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Alameda, Atherton, Berkeley, Burlingame, Campbell, Concord, Daly City, Danville, Dublin, Foster City, Fremont, Hillsborough, Livermore, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Milpitas, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Ramon, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Union City, Woodside, and many other locations in the San Francisco Bay area, Silicon Valley, and around the United States. You can come to us, or we can come to you, or the coaching can be conducted by telephone or Skype.

We can also work virtually. We also regularly consult with clients by phone and email from countries around the world, such as England, Portugal, Australia, Mexico, China, Canada, Israel and South Africa.

To start your interview coaching, simply email us, call us at 510-270-0311, or click on the button below to sign up now.
This new client discount package is for first-time clients only. If you are a continuing client, please choose one of the Interview Coaching Services packages below.

Traction-To-Action™ Interview Coaching Package

New Clients Only

Buy the Interview Coaching New Client 3-Hour Package
($300USD)

Valid for one time use.

Buy the Traction-To-Action New Client Package $300USD

Private Pay - Individuals

Order Interview Coaching Services


Please note that this private pay for individuals (not organizations) reduced-fee coaching structure is applicable only to individuals who take telephone, Skype or FaceTime sessions, and for an individual taking sessions in our offices in Palo Alto, California. Private pay coaching rates are not applicable to professional athletes or coaches. Professional athletes and coaches would pay the organizational rate, even if not connected with a team. For coaching sessions outside our offices, for sessions with more than one person, and for coaching with organizations, whether in person, or by distance, additional coaching fees and travel fees apply. The hourly coaching rate for one person in corporate, governmental, academic, military or other organizational entities is $275, with some potential adjustments, based on a quote as part of a custom volume package, and for example, when we include speaking, training and consulting.


Our discounted coaching fees are $75 for one half hour (30 minutes) and $125 per hour, with additional price reductions offered for blocks of four, six and twelve hours.

.5 hr

Buy 30 minutes of

coaching for $75



Buy Now at $75USD

1 hr

Buy one hour of coaching for $125/hour.

Please note that a one-hour purchase cannot be split into two half-hour coaching sessions. If you wish to book a 30-minute session you must buy the half-hour.

Buy Now at $125USD

4 hrs

Coaching Four-Pack: Buy four hours of coaching and instead of paying $125/hour, you pay only $117.50/hour. You SAVE $30.

Buy Now at $470USD

6 hrs

Coaching Six-Pack: Buy six hours of coaching and instead of paying $125/hour, you pay only $115/hour. You SAVE $60.

Buy Now at $690USD

12 hrs

Coaching Twelve-Pack: Buy twelve hours of coaching and instead of paying $125/hour, you pay only $110/hour. You SAVE $180.

Buy Now at $1320USD

Read These Interview Coaching Articles

These articles describe different types of interviews and provide guidelines to help you prepare for a job interview and sell yourself in the interview.

Do You Know The 21 Types Of Interviews?

To Win At The Interview Game You Must Be Ready For All These Interview Formats

Bill Cole, MS, MA

Before you launch yourself into the interview cauldron you need to know the lay of the land. Not only do you need to be aware of how interviews are conducted from a question and answer level, you need to know their structural format. Read this 
article about Types of Interviews to learn the big picture on the 21 different types of interview formats and what to expect as you move through the interview process.

Behavioral Interviewing Techniques

Smart Strategies To Help You Master This Challenging Approach

Bill Cole, MS, MA

Behavioral interviewing techniques use open-ended questions that require you to tell timelines of your behavior, thoughts, analysis, values and character, in story form. These are known as "competency-based" interviews that attempt to gauge your "behavioral competencies", where traditional interview questions cannot. Read this article about Behavioral Interviewing Techniques to learn about this approach and find guidelines on preparing for and performing well in a behavioral interview.

How To Sell Yourself In A Job Interview

Sales Secrets From An Interviewing Skills Coach

Bill Cole, MS, MA

As an interviewing skills coach, I help people navigate their job campaigns from the moment they realize they need or want a job, to the time they shake hands and sign the employment contract. Since I am also an experienced sales coach, I can help my clients gain that extra special edge in promoting themselves to an interviewer, to convince the interviewer they are indeed perfect for the job. Gain that special edge in promoting yourself by reading this article about Selling Yourself in a Job Interview.

Policies Quick Links

Bill Cole, Expert Interview Coach

Bill Cole MS MA

Bill Cole, MS, MA is a nationally-recognized interview coach and the author of the well-selling book, The Interview Success Guide.


Bill is regularly interviewed by the media on interviewing strategies by such career outlets as U. S. News & World Report, Monster.com, LEADx.org, Riley Guide Careers Blog, Yahoo! Finance, Chief Executive Magazine, Dice magazine, Workforcexpert.com, SimplyHired.com, Yahoo Style Magazine, Business Insider Magazine-Malaysia, Business Insider Magazine-Singapore, Business Insider Magazine-US and College Recruiter Magazine, and many others.


Bill has trained people in better interview and career-strategies in high tech, the executive suite, engineering, sales, finance, consulting, customer service, education, politics, government, medical school, osteopathic school, dental school, pharmacy school, chiropractic school, physical therapy school, nursing school, and all other allied health care field interviews. He has taught state of the art interviewing skills to foreign dentists and physicians wishing to begin US practices, physicians seeking residency programs and fellowships, psychiatrists, psychologists, MFT's, LCSW's, therapists, counselors, police, law enforcement, civil service, and law firms.

Interview Coaching Expert For Job And School Interviews


How does anyone become an interview coach or trainer? How many people go to college thinking, "I'd like to be an interview coach!" Well, Bill has been regularly interviewed by the media over the past 20 years, and he's studied how to give great interviews for his own purposes. He also is interviewed daily by firms and individuals wishing to hire him as a coach, trainer, speaker and consultant.

For many, many years Bill has been helping people deal with the stresses and pressures of sports competitions, as a mental game coach, and years ago, many of his sports clients asked, "Can you also help me with the stress of an interview? I get terrible stage fright". Bill said, "Yes, it's the same set of performance psychology skills", and a new coaching division was born in Bill's company. Bill also had already been providing presentation coaching for many years, and shifting into interview coaching was a natural progression.

Since then, Bill extensively studied the art and science of the interview game and became deeply knowledgeable about the field. Bill wrote the well-selling book, The Interview Success Guide in 2012, and has other interview skills books and audios under development.

There is a counseling and career coaching perspective to Bill's work as an interview coach that few other interview coaches possess. He was a psychotherapist at one time and holds a master's degree in Counseling Psychology. Bill regularly helps his clients "figure out who they are" and what their values, goals and dreams are so they can portray themselves authentically in their interviews and match themselves precisely to the position or school they are seeking.

Media Interview Coaching Expert For Authors And Subject Matter Experts


Bill Cole is an expert at coaching people on how to shine in media interviews. He developed this skill set over decades of being involved with the media—on the inside—and on the outside. Countless times, Bill has either been interviewed by the media himself and/or coached people to give successful interviews with them. You no doubt recognize these big media outlets where Bill's work has appeared, and/or where he has helped his clients get press attention:

MSNBC.com, Golf Magazine, the BBC, ABC-TV, Fox News, the Associated Press Radio, Sirius Radio, The New York Times, Success Magazine, The Washington Post, Corporate & Incentive Travel magazine, The San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle, Yahoo! Sports, ABC-TV, Entrepreneur Magazine, The San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post, The Detroit News, The Buffalo News, The Kansas City Star, Tennis Magazine, Runner's World, Fitness Magazine, Presentations Magazine, Professionally Speaking, Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. There are many others.

Bill practices what he preaches.

Bill understands the pressures, challenges and interests of the media. He should. He's a former sports writer, business and sports columnist, magazine correspondent, book author and the executive editor of numerous professional newsletters. He earned his first press credentials in 1980. He has conducted hundreds of interviews himself with experts and celebrities and knows how the media work. He'll team with you to make your media interview successful.

Bill has interviewed celebrities, famous sports figures, musicians, artists, politicians, well-known book authors, military figures, business owners, executives and social figures. He'll help you craft smart strategies to navigate the media world to create the right kind of street buzz and polished image that will help you and your cause.

A best-selling book author called Bill to help her navigate the media on her book tours and she said this about Bill's interview coaching and consulting:

"As a Stanford performance expert and credentialed sports psychologist who worked with top athletes at the Olympic Training Center in Greece, I was looking for the best media coach possible to help me prepare for my international interviews on major TV networks - BBC, ABC, Fox News, and Associated Press Radio.

Choosing to work with Bill Cole, The Mental Game Coach, is without a doubt, one of the best decisions I've ever made. His brilliant media coaching, including scripting, clever sound bytes, media strategies, and performance methods helped me to feel prepared for anything that might happen during my national TV interviews. The mock interviews we did helped me to think through and craft my material to the reporter's needs. With Bill's expertise, I learned how to play the media game and feel comfortable in high pressure media situations.

As a result of our intensive coaching, the TV interviews went extremely well. I felt relaxed and ready, I was confident with my material and delivery. The reporters loved the sound bytes that we created, and I got national and international exposure that I never thought possible.

Bill Cole knows the media well and he is fun and a joy to work with. I always enjoy our sessions. He comes up with some amazingly clever phrases that keep the media coming back again and again.

Bill is an expert at creating and building good relationships with his clients and with the media. While in Greece at the Olympic Games, I was interviewed by the Associated Press Radio. This interview was syndicated and broadcast to over 5,000 stations worldwide. I've done repeat interviews with the BBC-TV and ABC, as well as the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times and USA Today.

I highly recommend Bill Cole's media coaching services to anyone who wants more positive exposure to skyrocket their career. If you really want to see IMMEDIATE and SIGNIFICANT results, Bill Cole, the Mental Game Coach is the best resource in the business. His coaching was well worth the investment."

JoAnn Dahlkoetter, Ph.D
Keynote Speaker
Best-selling book author, YOUR PERFORMING EDGE
Winner, San Francisco Marathon
Stanford Performance Expert

www.YourPerformingEdge.com

Bill was hired as the head speech writer and presentation coach to famed Silicon Valley SnapTrack CEO and Founder Steve Poizner, who is ranked in the top six of all-time Silicon Valley CEO's, since selling his company to Qualcomm for $1 billion. He has served as the California State Insurance Commissioner. Poizner ran for the State Assembly in California in 2004 and was one of a handful of politicians who were endorsed by "The California Governator", Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bill crafted the content and staging for Poizner's speeches, debates, TV and radio spots and other appearances. Steve had this to say about Bill's presentation consultation:

"Bill, thank you for your excellent writing, coaching and guidance with my speeches and presentations. Your help was invaluable in my political campaign."

Bill also helped Steve Poizner as Speechwriter and Presentation Coach in his role as the California State Insurance Commissioner.

To learn more: 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Poizner

Bill prepared this internationally known inventor-speaker-author before he shot a national TV infomercial in Los Angeles.

"Bill Cole was helpful from the first minute we started media training coaching. He was insightful, supportive and clearly possessed a level of expertise and understanding that allowed us to be very productive. The net effect was that while on camera, I was rock solid confident that I knew how to come across, due to my training with Bill. I recommend him highly."

Ed Strachar
Author/Speaker

www.geniuszone.com

Bill recently provided interview coaching services for an Assistant Superintendent of Schools in a major school district in her quest for interviewing for the top Education Chief's position. This included interview strategies, crafting position modules, peak performance approaches and videotape of her in action. She got the job. She was quite grateful and wrote:

"Bill, I wanted to tell you how much you helped me prepare for the series of interviews I recently completed in seeking the position of Superintendent. Your assistance was invaluable in helping me achieve success in this job-seeking campaign.

Our sessions prior to each interview gave me a lot of confidence and helped me prepare in ways I couldn't have by myself. Thanks for coming over to my office that time on such short notice, and on a weekend! That's going the extra mile for your clients. I really appreciate it.

I used many of the things we had talked about. The 'interview mini-speeches' content we crafted and the facial expressions you helped me be aware of, including 'smiles' was very, very helpful. Our videotape sessions were eye-opening! You helped me know what to expect once in the interview, and how to turn the stress into peak performance. I felt very calm once I got through the very first question. You are a great coach! So, thanks to you for all of your support and helpful feedback. Once the dust settles, I know I would like to call upon you again--there will be many speaking opportunities and I would like to continue to work on my skills in this area.

I will certainly recommend you to other people who could use your expert coaching. Many thanks again for all your help and your great coaching."

Suzanne Boxer-Gassman, Ed. D.
Superintendent
Los Gatos Union School District
17010 Roberts Road
Los Gatos, CA 95032

"Coach Bill has the winning blueprint to help you feel more confident, polished and prepared in any speaking or performing situation. His energetic and witty approach makes learning fun. It's obvious he loves what he does and he's the best at it."

Nancy Pristine, author of the books The Zen Of Tennis and The Victory Dance: Placing Yourself in the Winner's Circle

For more about Bill, see his full bio.


Go to the 
FAQ section about our coaching systems.

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