Do you need a business coach and if so how do you choose one?

Do You Need A Business Coach?

Written by Marc Parham, Business Development Consultant, Partec Consulting Group, www.marceparham.com ,marcp@partecgroup.com , www.partecgroup.com

 

Business coaching has become a very popular topic of discussion for many people starting out in business today. There also many people out there that call themselves business coaches that really don’t have any idea on how to coach someone in business.

Generally if you have to ask yourself if you need a business coach you do need one. Using a business coach is no different than using a personal trainer to get into shape or a language tutor to learn another language.

The purpose of using these types of professionals is to help you learn the right way to do something…the first time.

How many of you have gone to the gym to work out and tried some of the newfangled workout equipment? You sit down, do a set and then get up. Someone else sits down in a totally different position and does their set and everyone after that uses the same position. You realize that although you are working out you are not using the tools the correct way to get the correct benefit. This is when you decided to hire a trainer to show you how to take the best advantage of the tools.

The same goes for using a business coach. A good business coach will help you with the following;

Access your strengths and weaknesses

Develop your business action plan

Selection of the correct tools to achieve the plan

Help you stay on track as you execute the plan

Selecting the right business coach will help you move forward with more intention and success with your business goals and objectives.

How to find and select a coach

The term business coach has become a very popular title used by many consultants today. Just about every new consultant is now either a life coach or business coach. There are even new organizations that give training and education to certify these coaches.

To me the easiest way to determine if a business coach is successful is by the results of their own business and the success of their clients.

A Few Questions to Ask

How long have the person been in business?

If they are new to the coaching business and have no direct past experience how can they help you? They are most likely using the equipment the wrong way.

How successful is their business?

They should be able to show you how successful they are by either listing past clients or projects.

Can they show you a defined coaching plan?

They should have a defined documented plan that they can show you. This plan will be modified specify for you but it must exist. Otherwise they will be charging you to develop a plan that they should have.

Can they provide you with references from clients?

They should have a proven track record of providing coaching services to other businesses and organ izations and be able to quickly provide you with the contact information for you to contact.

Can you do your own research to find out information about their business?

You should be able to use the internet to do research on them to find websites, articles, books, reviews and other information that will support the success of their business.

Business Coaching Methods

Business coaching comes in many different flavors. The usual methods are;

One on One Coaching

Lesson by lesson coaching

Online webinar based coaching

Group coaching

Self paced coaching

Tele seminars coaching

These are only a few. Your coaching program will most likely have a mixture of all the above. Your plan will be developed to match your available time and life style.

Summary

Hiring the right business coach can help you developed the strong foundation for your business to grow. You will have more confidence that your initial steps are the right ones.

A good business coach will show you how to use the tools to move forward confidently. They will make sure that you know how to do the work yourself or how to select the right resources to get the work done.

Remember, a good coach helps you learn how to do something, a consultant does it for you.

Click here to receive a FREE Coaching Session from Marc E. Parham

 

 

Author Bio- Marc Parham

Marc Parham has been successfully consulting for all types of businesses for over 20 years. He has consulted for small to mid-sized business, large corporations, and non-profit organizations in all areas of business development. He has certifications in Project management, Network Engineering, Non-profit Management and other areas of business development.