Brian Basilico
Do you know who my favorite coach was? It was my dad! He spent a lot of time coaching all of us at baseball, softball, and swimming. When I was a kid I used to have to shop at the husky section of Robert Hall to get clothes. I was the fat kid who just could not run the bases or swim. Somehow and someway, he always found a way to get me in to bat, play first base you get a chance to feel as special as all the other the kids.
That is what a good coach does. They get the most out of you to help you feel special while you do it. There’re are all kinds of coaches. I used a sports coach tell me improve my golfing. I was hitting the ball 20 to 30 yards farther because of increased strength and flexibility. Their are life coaches that can help you work through rough spot to maximize your potential. The kind of coach I want to focus on and this blog is a business coach. A business coach has one and only focus and that’s help you grow your business.
We All Need Help
One my favorite sayings is… every doctor needs a doctor, every mentor needs a mentor, every coach needs a coach!
After writing my book I knew I needed help to market a better get more speeches and promote myself and my business. I hired a speaking coach, but she turned into be much more than that. She started me down the road to building my brand, creating products to sell, and getting better paid speaking gigs. I can truly say I saw return on my investment.
What Is A Coach?
I have seen, met, and even worked with various different coaches throughout my career. Anybody can hang the shingle and say that they are coach. You can pay to go through certification programs like the ICF (International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach Credential). But what you really want is somebody who has been there and done that. If you’re trying to take $ 10,000 and turn it into a $ 20 million company, you need to find somebody who’s done that before. Not just somebody’s work at a $ 20 million company. You want to find somebody that has achieved a level of success that you aspire to attain.
A good coach is a mixture of three different people.
- Part teacher –they can teach you things that you don’t know. They have the resources and experience to be able to take you to a next level.
- Part mastermind–they help you brainstorm through rough patches and help you overcome roadblocks that you don’t even know you have.
- Part mentor–they use real life experience to help you maximize your potential and your business.
Types Of Coaching
Coaching comes in many flavors and price points. Most coaches will offer you the taste of coaching through short one-on-one evaluation. Someone offer you the ability to get into group coaching sessions, which are part mastermind but still offer you the benefits a private coaching at a lower price point. Finally there is the one-on-one coaching, which gives you the full on attention that you may need to succeed. It all really just depends on where you’re at and what you can afford.
So what can a coach do and what can you expect?
- Set Business Goals – A lot of times we can have ambiguous goals like we want to earn “X” amount of income, when what we are really saying is that we need to increase our revenue stream, while reducing the amount of time it’s taking us to work in our business. Sometimes it’s not just about setting the goals, it’s about creating the plan to achieve the goal that often alludes us. That’s what a coach can really help you do.
- Accountability – A good business coach we’ll help you set goals and expectations, and then hold you accountable with each session. Trust me a coach many people and laid out great plans only to have them come back and say “This or that happened, I just did not have the time to complete the task”. If that happened once it’s understandable, but haven’t three times in a row it’s pattern.
- Achieve Measurable Results – Some coaches are really great at helping you create to do lists and feel like you’re accomplishing things by checking them off. But you want to find a coach that not only help you set goals and create list to achieve them, but actually understands and helps you measure the results I’m all that activity. There’s a big difference between being in motion and moving forward.
How Do You Find A Great Coach?
Finding a great coach is not a whole heck of a lot different than trying to find a great plumber. You could try going through the Yellow Pages if you can even find a book. You could do a Google search online to find directories and see who gets the best reviews. Or you can reach out to people in your industry and asked them who they know who the use. If somebody is actively using a coach then not be so willing to give you their name because I want to lose them. But you log into LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups and ask people in your industry.
The next thing you want to do is have a conversation with the coach. How do you know if they’re good match? The first thing have to ask yourself is do you need your butt kicked or to be nurtured. You might have to some outside influencers that question first but it really needs to be answered. Then you have to get a sense of their style, expectations, and the level of commitment. Finally you have to assess your ability to actually work with them in their program.
Is It Worth it?
That really depends on you, your expectations, and your business. I’ve worked with coaches that have far exceeded my expectations and pay for themselves 4 to 5 times over. I’ve coached some business people on Internet Marketing, who have increased their revenues by over 50% in less than a year. I have also worked with some coaches that offered me little to no benefit. Then I’ve coaching clients, who knew they needed help, loved the progress that we made, but never had the time or commitment execute what needed to be done for them to be successful.
So if you are a coach, or looking for a coach, I would love to hear your comments and feedback, successes or horror stories. Jump in on this conversation help others to move business their forward.
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