For many of our early years in business I have to admit I did not really believe in hiring a business coach or consultant.

I think it was a mix of:

  • Seeing it as an expense and not an investment,
  • Not really trusting others as much as myself,
  • The belief that I could figure things out myself (eventually).

When we finally did break down and enthusiastically hire a marketing and sales coach (consultant) we had a pretty iffy experience. Sure the guy was pretty decent in his field.

The problem was he was more concerned about maximizing the revenue from us and not enough on maximizing the value to us in exchange. He just didn’t seem to really care about what we did nor did he really increase our performance.

In essence, he was not a Go-Giver.

This ultimately jaded our (my view) of the industry for some time.

Then Something Changed

We started building a software product aimed at helping small and mid-sized businesses succeed. In essence part of the tool’s purpose is to coach and educate business owners and entrepreneurs.

This led to us starting to work with the business coaches, advisors and consultants out there; after all we are essentially serving the same market and our product ties in nicely with what they are doing.

However, this time is was different.

The Go-Giver

I had read The Go-Giver (by Bob Burg and John David Mann). I realized that his book encapsulated exactly what I wanted business and selling to be like and was already gravitating to. The book sped up the understanding and direction.

After the clarity something interesting happened. I started noticing and being attracted to the people who were either natural Go-Givers or had read the book and were also attracted to that way of doing business (and living)… sometimes by accident.

If fact I decided to become a Certified Go-Giver Coach myself.

Because I now see the value in hiring a business coach again.

Note: I use coach loosely here to encompass the entire group of business advisors for brevity.

Choosing a Coach

You have a coach to reach your maximum potential as an individual, team or business.

Just like sports there are a few important criteria I now use in selecting a coach:

  • A coach must genuinely care about me or my business,
  • The coach must want us to succeed or win,
  • The coach needs to deliver more in value than they take in payment,
  • The coach must align with or at least support our core values, mission and vision, and
  • The coach must seek to develop our peak personal and business performance.

A business coach may or may not need specific industry or professional expertise to make these things happen for you and your business. For example, a great sports coach did not necessarily perform at the top of the sport, their talent is inherently coaching. So be careful how and why you choose.

What Coaches Want From You

But it is not all on the coach. The people receiving the coaching have some obligations to make it work. These include:

  • Committing to practice and take the action that you agree to as part of the coaching,
  • Showing respect and appreciation for your coach,
  • Meeting your obligations under your coaching agreement including not taking advantage of your coach or using excessive time,
  • Paying your coach promptly and without reservation for the value they are bringing (see last point).

Great coaches don’t want to waste their time and get their satisfaction from seeing people they work work achieve their full potential in one or more areas.

Conclusion

Ultimately hiring a coach (advisor, consultant or trainer) should be considered an investment and partnership. It takes some time to see the real value so you need to persist.

If the match is right and you both do your part, you should be able to reach your goals faster and with more satisfaction than doing it on your own. And this is why I am am part of the Go-Giver Coach family and why I am now working with one or more coaches myself.

The above process is exactly how I chose my most recent coach (and I am guessing why she accepted me into her program).

In essence you should be able to Manifast your dream business faster and more effectively.

Let’s hear your thoughts on selecting and working with a coach in the comments.