What Kind of Coach Is Right For You?
Choosing The Best Business Coach For You
The Best Business Coaches - are all my clients. (If you ask me, this is true!)
I wanted to say a few words about coaches. Not the soccer or tennis kind of coach, but the kind who helps you achieve bigger goals - personal, professional, or even physical. What a wonderful world we live in to have so many choices! One thing I have learned by working with so many coaches is that you really need to find the right coach for your needs. There are coaches who specialize in a lot of different areas, and also coaches for different personality types: Do you need someone to ride your ass? Or do you want to work on meeting goals about personal goals such as traveling around the world? A coach for your mult-level marketing (MLM) expansion? A coach to help you overcome a physical disability? A coach for SAT scores? What about a coach to help you expand your creative practice? Do you want a coach who shares your values? Or someone who can bring different perspective?
As a branding photographer, I’ve had the joy of having a number of coaches as clients. And as I’ve gotten to know each of them, I really can see how different they are in their approach and offerings. Coaches come from many different careers and educational backgrounds to provide very different types of guidance. I really value all the perspectives they bring. And I have learned that working with the wrong coach might actually be worse than working with no coach at all.
What is a coach?
I decided to go back to the dictionary on this one to see the original definition of a coach. Spoiler: there are three.
A coach is someone who trains, tutors, or instructs.
These might sound like synonyms, but the result is a really different approach. Training is a very intensive, hands-on process focused on form and habits; tutoring is all about preparation but the student takes on the responsibility; instruction is far more educational, more of a transfer of knowledge and information.
So, before you start looking at the types of coaches available to you, consider what kind of help and support you need.
Different types of coaches
The need to niche down is real, especially for coaches. It’s why there are so many coaches offering unique and specific services for a particular segment of people.
There are life coaches and business coaches. There’s a coach who helps you find your life purpose and create goals, and another who helps you go after them and achieve them. Coaches for career advancement in the corporate world, and coaches for career advancement as an entrepreneur.
I know coaches who only work in the non-profit sector or the arts or for direct sales reps. One of my clients only coaches financial advisors. I know a coach who only works with women who are are pregnant or have babies and trying to find their new normal as an employee or entrepreneur.
There’s a coach for the specific, individual thing you want to do.
How to find the right coach for you
1 | Do your research
Once you know what you need help with, you can start doing your research for coaches who serve that niche. Ask friends and colleagues for recommendations. And start building a list of potential candidates. Feel free to ask me for referrals!
2 | Get to know the options
Reach out to the candidates who seem like they’d be a good fit. Each one will ask you questions, but be sure to come prepared with your own questions. You can ask the basic questions about their experience, process, pricing, the type of results you can expect, and how long coaching normally lasts. You can also dig deeper by asking questions about their approach to the problems you are trying to address.
3 | Trust yourself
Like bathing suit shopping, you’ll find a few great candidates in your search, but it will ultimately come down to what feels good. Know your priority list in terms of qualities you’re looking for. If price is the 2nd most important, don’t let it make the decision for you.