I have had amazing coaches. And I’ve had coaches that really didn’t live up to the hype. One seemed to have dropped off the planet at the end of a mastermind that I paid pretty big bucks to attend. But, even in that situation, I was forced to stop and think about my business on a regular basis – and that was beneficial.
That’s the benefit of a coach. Someone who ensures that you are moving your strategy forward. My current coaches (Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach team) are a perfect fit for me and have helped me increase business 30%.
Here are 3 quick tips for hiring the right coach:
1. ALIGNING VALUES. Your coach and you should have similar values. If you value honesty and integrity and your coach does the same, it will go well. If you value working hard and playing hard and they value the same, it should go smoothly. For instance, I don’t attract that many work-alcoholics to my practice, because I have values around family and freedom. If my clients expected me to be available to them 24/7/365, they would be disappointed.
2. EXPERIENCE/EXPERTISE. You want your coach to have “been there and done that”. It seems as though there are coaches popping up daily to offer you get-rich-quick schemes. I don’t know, perhaps some speakers who didn’t do all that well at speaking thought they would coach speakers instead. Vet them thoroughly. Have they been where you want to go? Sure, maybe they have spoken 100 times a year, but at what fee? And do they know your market?
3. MANAGE EXPECTATIONS. Check into how your coach works. (Sometimes we offer some sort of “try before you buy” scenario so that you can experience our style of coaching prior to purchasing.) Set up realistic expectations for yourself and your coach and know that you will largely be responsible for the implementation of ideas. Sometimes people will throw money at a problem without taking any action. If nothing changes, nothing changes. No amount of coaching will help that.
BONUS TIP: Know what kind of a coach you need and how you want them to help you BEFORE you begin your search – that will help you exclude some of the options.
Do your homework and you will find yourself a great fit in a coach. Any more tips to add – please add your comment on our blog here.
See you soon Wealthy Speakers!
PS: Of course, this would be a good time for me to pitch you on becoming my client. But instead, I’ll just say this. If you have a question about whether or not I might be a fit for you, check out my Focus 40 session. And note that I’m fully booked until later in May (see, I’m managing expectations).
