It’s a great question – after all, you buy a car and it goes from 0-60mph in say 5 seconds – you know what you are getting for your money straight away! Investing on Business coaching on the other hand – what do you get back?

Potentially a lot! By allying your expertise in your product/service with the knowledge and experience of a seasoned Business Coach who has worked with lots of businesses, the return could be great. So here are 6 points to consider when looking to invest in a Business Coach.

FEES

The fee that you will pay for Coaching services will vary according to how quickly you want to move; how frequently you would like to have coaching sessions; and whether you would prefer 121 or group coaching.

If you opt for a group coaching programme, then you will benefit from the interaction with other Business Owners and enjoy the cost savings, though you won’t get the individual focus of a 121 programme.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Whenever we buy something, we do so because we get some value or benefit from it. So what will represent a good return for you on an investment in coaching? Is it an increase in profit of a certain size? A better work/life balance?

Ask the Coach how will the work they do with you be measured and/or tell them what benefit you are looking for. You don’t buy a new laptop for it to slow you down so make sure you link the investment you make in coaching to the results you are looking for.

Bear in mind that you won’t get an instant improvement – the actions you instigate will take time to have an effect i.e putting in place a new marketing strategy or training staff to work in a more productive way. As a rule of thumb, you need to commit to Coaching for at least six months to be able to reap the benefits.

Also, do they offer a guarantee on the coaching work they do? Just as you can offer warranties and guarantees on the products and services you offer, what about a prospective coach you are talking to?

YOU NEED TO BE READY TO LEARN

Do understand that Coaches don’t do things for you – their role is to help a Business Owner become self-sufficient and most importantly help them become the best possible version of themselves. So if you want to improve your capabilities as a Business Owner, you need to commit to learning and developing YOURSELF. “The more you put in, the more you will get out” certainly holds true here.

A Coach holds you accountable for the things you need to be doing but often don’t do.If you’re not prepared to be challenged and learn, then coaching won’t work.

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE COACHED?

As a rule of thumb, coaching sessions are no more frequent than every week or no less frequent than every month. This is because anything more frequent than every week doesn’t give you a chance to work on the actions identified, and anything more than every month can mean things drift.

So think about what you would like in terms of delivery of coaching support. We all have our preferences, and coaching is most likely to work because it is delivered in a manner that suits you.

THE COACHING RELATIONSHIP

Make sure that there is a connection and rapport with your Coach – the nature of a coaching relationship means it’s critical that there is respect and commitment on both sides so ask yourself the question “can I see myself enjoying working with this person?”

Coaching can definitely be the right choice for you and your business but the Coach may not be the right one for you, so take care! Don’t be seduced by the claims of amazing results – think about the quality of questions a Coach asks you when you first speak to them and what value you get from the conversation. That will be a better benchmark of whether a Coach is right for YOU.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

Finally, DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE! A great coaching relationship can have a transformational impact on both your business and, even better, your life so here are 10 questions you could ask when vetting a Coach –

  • Who else do you work with?
  • What type of support for Business Owners do you specialise in?
  • What type of work are you doing with clients right now?
  • Can I speak to your clients to hear about their experience of being coached by you?
  • Can I choose which of your clients I can talk to?
  • What do you expect of your clients in a coaching relationship?
  • What other resources do you have access to that can help me?
  • How will you hold me to account?
  • How do I measure the impact of the coaching work you do with me?
  • How are your fees calculated/what do you charge?