How To Choose Your Business Coach (5 Essential Things to check before engaging one)

Business Coaching is increasingly gaining acceptance as people see the need and the benefits. The downside is, however, it’s all too easy for someone to call themselves a business coach. There are many “certification” and “accreditation” bodies where you go through a series of courses and become a certified coach. Quite frankly, these are just minimum requirements.

In my experience, unfortunately, I’ve come across people who have had less than satisfactory experiences from being coached.

Recently, I met 3 partners of a retail business who made losses while being coached for about a year to grow their business. They over-expanded without a clear strategy and plan and ran into cash and operating expense difficulties. They released the coach and took about another year to scale back and regain control of their business themselves. Realizing they still needed guidance, they did some research and engaged me.   

         Here are 5 essential things to check before engaging a coach for you and your business …

1.          A Clear Coaching Process

         Does the coach have a clear process to take you from where you are to where you want to get to? Is he or she able to show or explain the process to you so that you clearly understand what the process will be like?

         Importantly, do they also have a framework or model to grow businesses?

         Not many coaches do. Many may rely on theories and concepts books they’ve read.

         In my case, I use our proprietary C.A.S.T.L.E. Framework to coach businesses from Good to GREAT and from So-so to HO-HO. The C stands for Control, control of your numbers - how to make sure you maintain cash flow and profit margins as well as monitor your marketing machine in terms of lead generation, conversion and so on.

         The A stands for Aspiration which is another word for goals.

         The S stands for Strategy, the T for tactics, the L for Leverage and finally the E for Evolving Leadership.

         Really skilled coaches should be able to define your key challenges and where you’re starting from as well as help you clarify where you’d like to bring the business. They should also have a clear process of how they will coach you (and sometimes your team) to get you there.

2.          Measurable Results

         A coach is expected to be a “sounding board” for your ideas. They may not always agree with you and sometimes, the best value in a coach is making you think about alternatives or other approaches. They do this by asking thought-provoking questions and sometimes offering a different perspective.

A coach is a cheerleader as well as motivator too. They spur you on and encourage you when the going gets tough. They celebrate your wins and victories and are always rooting for you, always in your corner.

In addition, a good coach should also be able to assure you that results are quantifiable and will be measured and tracked throughout the coaching engagement. They should be able to guide you on strategy and how to grow your business profitably. Good business coaches work with numbers and are able to analyze your current critical numbers with you before coming up with strategies and an action plan to drive the numbers up.

3.          Experience and Track Record

         Obviously, a coach with wide experience and many years’ experience will likely be a better coach. You should be able to verify this by looking at or checking his or her track record. Do they have raving testimonials from happy clients or can they at least point to some successes of past clients? Are they asking deep, thought-provoking questions?

         The coach may not necessarily have worked on your particular industry but he or she should have enough experience coaching a diverse range of different businesses from various industries, to success.

         They should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the way they communicate. How much business experience do they have? Do they have broad real-life corporate experience as well, preferably gained from a solid and progressive career in senior management with renowned multi-national companies? Such organisations have institutionalised Best Practices and cutting-edge systems. These can oftentimes be skillfully incorporated to transform SME’s and bring their game to a higher level.

         And they should be complemented by their clients for their wisdom as well as their integrity and trustworthiness. After all, client confidentially is paramount.

         It’s also a plus if the coach is certified by a credible body. Better still if they’ve won some award for coaching.

4.     Character and Chemistry

         If all the above are there, then it boils down to what I call “character and chemistry.” Do you like the coach? Do you relate well with him/her, does (s)he respect you and you him/her? Does he or she have the courage to be demanding yet understanding? Most of all, do you feel their sincerity?

         This “likeability” and mutual respect are very important. Coaching is a partnership. A good coach will stick with you through the tough times and challenges. They are dependable and have your best interest at heart.

5.  Inspire and Empower

Your coach has to inspire you yet tell you what may not be pleasant to hear. He or she has to hold you accountable too and make sure you carry out what you said you would. Otherwise, it’s all fluff and “feeling good” with perhaps not much actual tangible business results.

         Your coach should be someone who believes in You, is on your side and wants you to succeed. He or she is able to see the potential in you and bring that to surface so that you shine. I call it “evolving leadership”. And, it’s a process.

         So, there you have it. I’ve tried to keep it simple – there’s a lot more involved. Obviously, it’s a tall order to have all the skills and traits. Choosing the right business coach or consultant for you will lead to a productive and inspiring relationship. Take the time to do your evaluation, and you'll certainly find the right coach for you.

         Don’t let anyone sell you or intimidate you into making a decision that’s not right for you. Remember, this is your business. And you have the ultimate responsibility and authority to decide what’s best for you.

? 2019 Peter Lam