As a coach myself, I am always seeking out new coaches who can take me to the next level in business. I believe this is a necessity to grow a sustainable business. A coach is more than a cheerleader, but a person who can take you on a guided journey to where you need to be. All coaches are not created equal and while I am on the search for my next best coach, these are the 5 things I look for in a coach.
1. Are they where I want to be?
This is one of the main attributes that I want in a coach. I must be able to see myself where they are. Not necessarily living the same life, but offering the same type of service or close enough. Making the kind of money I aspire to make and doing it out loud and proud. This brings me to my next point
2.Are they visible?
By visible I do not mean if they have the most followers, but more so, how often do they show up, and is their messaging consistent across different platforms. I want a coach who is not afraid to say and do the hard things. The one who consistently is educating, exploring, and sharing.
My desire in a coach is someone who can aspire me to greatness just by the words they share and the actions they take
It is very easy to be duped by flashy salespeople all over social media. Anyone can talk a big game and show flashy pictures and videos. For me, I always seek social proof. What are their present and past clients saying about their results and their experience?
While as a coach, I know that every client’s experience and result may be different. There are consistencies on some levels. These are the things I look for. One bad review does not make a bad coach. But consistent bad reviews will raise a red flag. Similarly, consistent great reviews will raise a green flag.
4.What exactly are they sharing
The messaging of my coach has to be clear, concise, and in alignment with my goals. This may seem unreasonable to some. But I am very clear about my goals, so my coach has to be clear about how they can help me elevate to the next level in my business.
I also pay close attention to what information they give away and what they ask to be paid for. Any good coach is constantly educating, motivating, and inspiring their audience. My new coach would need to fulfill these criteria…and even more. I am a firm believer in testing the waters. Therefore, I buy small products or training from my intended coaches before I take the big leap. This helps me to ensure that their teaching styles are in sync with how I learn.
5.Are we energetically a good fit
A lot of people take this for granted. But just as I choose clients based on the energy we share when we get on a discovery call, similarly my energy has to align with my new coach. By nature, I am an introvert. By nature, I am a deep thinker and do not respond to fluff. By nature, I do not necessarily need a cheerleader but a no-nonsense type of coach.
I say NO to many clients who approach me to work because our energies are not similar. And I use this same benchmark when searching for a coach.
IN CONCLUSION
Everybody may not be ready to work with a coach. I choose to work with a coach consistently because I believe that I can learn better from somebody who is 10 steps ahead of me. This helps me avoid wasting time, money, and resources and gets me to my goal much faster. Like any good and successful athlete who needs a coach to prime them to perfection for their games, I believe entrepreneurs need a coach to prime them for this marathon called growing a business.
Are you ready to hire a coach? Well, let’s get on a 15-minute discovery call to see how well we are aligned?
Why is visibility important you may ask? Well, if they don’t know you exist, then they would not buy from you. It is as simple as that. When you decide to start your business, one of the major issues you will stumble across is how to get visible. Visibility leads to sales even if you are selling a very exclusive commodity.
We have been in this business of helping other businesses exceed, grow and breakthrough new markets for quite a number of years and there are a few key things that we have learnt along the way. Some of them include:
1. Always keep learning
Reading and educating yourself is key to your success. You never know too much. There is always a new way, a better way, a more unconventional way. How can you help your clients if you yourself are not educated about the products and services that are available on the market.
So you have started your business and you expect that clients will be knocking at your door begging for your product or service…but sadly it doesn’t happen.