FAQs About Business Coaching
What is Business Coaching?
What do we do when we meet?
Is this another name for consulting?
Improve me and my business. What does this mean?
This sounds too good to be true...
I'm doing pretty well. Why do I need a coach?
Why does the coaching process take a minimum of a year?
What about the rest of my team?
I'm not sure it applies to my industry/market...
How much does coaching cost?
How can Business Coaching benefit my organization?
Business Coaching is a fairly new concept. It combines the coaching skills seen in executive coaching along with the business skills that are needed by business owners. Here is how it works:
It starts with an evaluation of your business from a financial, marketing and human resource view. Many business owners see their financials and only look at a few lines. They have learned to track the items that the banker looks at. Who are you working for, you or the banker?
If you depend on your web site as your primary marketing strategy, does your web designer know marketing, or know web design? You can have a great web site that does absolutely nothing to bring in selling opportunities. What about human resources? How do you learn about all the people issues that bring financial liability to you and your company?
Once the coach and the business owner complete the evaluation, they agree on issues that are of most critical need or risk. They meet regularly to discuss, learn, plan, implement, and review to improve those items of need. The coach will lean on his/her experience and business knowledge to ask hard questions and push the owner to think in new ways.
A common coaching relationship will include weekly meetings either in person or via phone. It takes time to develop and implement a variety of good plans so expect the relationship to last about a year. Since a coach is often viewed as a sounding board for new ideas, business owners will often continue working with their coach on a monthly basis to have that sounding board.
- Could this bring more dollars to your bottom line?
- Bring your business closer to what you picture it can be?
- Could it help you find more personal time to spend with your family?
- Are you interested in finding out more?
If you still don't know, do a little exercise: Name three things you would like to change. How long have you struggled with these three things? Business Coaching can help you find the answers.
Initially, you meet with your coach on a weekly basis, and the focus is getting to know each other so that the coach learns your business strengths and weaknesses. Then together, once we have identified the areas of greatest need and have identified some untapped opportunities, we develop an action plan for moving forward. This is followed by assigning you specific actions to take before next week's meeting.
Every meeting we discuss your prior week, i.e. what you specifically did to move your business forward, exchange ideas about upcoming projects or challenges, and develop another action plan for the upcoming week.
Is this another name for consulting?
No. While a business coach definitely does some consulting, a consultant does not coach.
A pure consultant is basically a specialist dealing with a certain area of a business. For example, a consultant might be able to tell you how to eliminate waste in a manufacturing process. Typically, a consultant is project/problem specific, and details his findings in a report.
A coach doesn't concentrate on a single area, doesn't necessarily prepare formal reports, doesn't concentrate on ONLY the business, and doesn't leave once a specific project is completed. A coach is there for you - 24 hours a day - to help you, guide you, motivate you, improve you, and improve your entire business.
Improve me and my business. What does that mean?
As the owner, it is up to you to lead your company to where you want it to be. However, you may not be conscious of all of the areas of your business that, if addressed, can have massive results. Very often, business owners like you are too busy doing the everyday tasks.
We will help you maximize your strengths. You will be trained on leadership, relationships, strategy, motivation, productivity, and organizational skills.
Your coach also focuses on your personal life. The business world has seen thousands of great leaders that are miserable with their personal lives, and the effects are disastrous. The line between your business and personal life is too closely connected to ignore the effects on each other.
This sounds like a miracle cure. It has to be "too good to be true...."
That's up to you. Think back to the dreams that you had when you started your business. Do you have the same passion now that you did before? Probably not.
The coaching process - by combining your pursuit for personal excellence with excellent business strategies - is the best of both worlds. Once you know what you want in your life, develop a plan that will provide it, and take congruent actions on a daily basis, your enthusiasm returns. It becomes fun again, and your profits climb!
There's NOTHING like it.
I'm already doing well. Why do I need a coach?
You may not need a coach. You may not even be "coachable," i.e. you may already "know everything." However, every top performer in the world - from athletes like Tiger Woods, to the President of the United States - has mentors, coaches and advisors.
In studies of successful individuals, certain characteristics are always found: They are always goal oriented, they are always very persistent, and finally, they always have a person or group of persons that they meet with regularly to brainstorm and learn!
Simply ask yourself: On a scale of 1-100, "how do I perform right now?" If your honest answer is less than 100 - a coach can help you. Period.
Why does the coaching process take a minimum of a year?
The process is not a magic wand. Certainly, you have been to a seminar and left recharged and planning wonderful changes. Almost as certain is that you probably forgot everything from the seminar within ninety days. We all do it.
Creating lasting change is a process of acquiring skills and developing positive habits. As Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit." Coaching is a process to get you to develop positive congruent habits that maximize your life and drive your business forward.
The process is important in creating real change that lasts.
What about the rest of my team? Do you offer anything for them?
Absolutely. We have seminars and workshops to improve every area of your business depending on your needs. In addition, we have assessments to ensure that you are building the best team possible.
For our seminars, we offer topics such as team and morale building, developing the mission and vision, marketing more effectively, sales effectiveness, customer service excellence, personal effectiveness, leadership, goal setting, and many more. We can custom design them for your particular business also.
Getting input from your employees in each area of your business goes a long way to them taking a level of "ownership" in the success of the business and it empowers them. Since they will have ownership in the ideas that develop, they will have a personal interest in the success. The results can be incredible.
In addition, we are available to work one-on-one with some of your key people in areas that challenge them!
I'm not sure that it applies to my industry/market...
Coaching only applies to your business if you want:
- More prospects inquiring about your service or product,
- To sell a higher percentage of these leads,
- To serve your customers so that they buy more often,
- Better control of your profit margins,
- To be a better leader,
- Better systems to run your business,
- More effective, engaged employees,
- To make more and work less.
- If these don't apply to your industry - then perhaps coaching won't apply to your industry/market.
In most cases – nothing! In fact, you should be able to make more than enough in the growth of your company to pay for the coaching. And, the results last for years after the coaching process has ended. It's the greatest investment that you will ever make!
But if that's not a good enough answer, we'll tell you this: It would cost you more to hire a receptionist to answer your phones for a year than it will cost you to hire a coach. Think about that.
How can business coaching benefit my organization?
We work with you, the owner, on a regular basis (weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly as needed) to set goals, plan with you, strategize with you, prepare action plans, and hold you accountable, to get you and your business performing at the highest levels.
We are not magicians. We will not promise that by simply hiring us or attending one of our workshops that you will achieve instant prosperity. But we do promise that the application of the basic tenets of successful businesses that we implement will do FAR more to move you to your goals than any consultant, seminar, or discussion with a relative can!
In working with us over the next year, we will help you: drive more people to your business, sell to them more effectively, service them better so they buy more often, and manage your finances - better than you ever have previously. In addition, you will have more money and free time to do things outside of work that you enjoy.
We are very proud to say that we have never lost a client - and we maintain a pledge to NEVER lose a client - because what we do works! Therefore, it is important that we only work with business owners that are serious about winning the game of life and the game of business.
Receive a free business evaluation!
Fill out our contact form to receive free, no obligation business evaluation and find out if business coaching is right for you!
Sign up for our Email Newsletter!
Newsletter Issue 7 - 2006-02-25 02:53
Newsletter Issue 6 - 2006-02-24 20:22
Newsletter Issue 5 - 2006-02-24 19:25
Newsletter Issue 4 - 2006-02-24 18:51
Newsletter Issue 3 - 2006-02-24 15:25
Newsletter Issue 2 - 2006-02-24 15:23
Newsletter Issue 1 - 2006-02-24 14:10
NEWS
The Secrets of Success Newsletter is a monthly ezine for small business owners who want to achieve personal and financial freedom through their business. Each month we will send you timely and pertinent information on small business topics. Our goal is to "Use the HOW of business to achieve the WHY of the owner". Each newsletter subscriber will receive the ebook “Mega Sales and Marketing written by Dave Dee which contains 104 pages jam packed with interesting and useful marketing tips and tips.
