Three Ways to Pick the Best Coach for You

It has been said by many people that working with a coach is one of the fastest ways to fast track results in your business.  That is assuming you have picked the RIGHT coach for you.

I know what it feels like to know that I need guidance and to be challenged in finding who the right person is.  When you work for a company, your BOSS gets paid to coach you.  When you work for yourself, you have the freedom to choose anyone – and you are responsible for picking up the bill.

This means you want to choose wisely.

In my C.A.S.H model video I talk about Aptitude.  As a business owner, you absolutely need to go out there and ensure you have all the right aptitude when it comes to your business.  You can do that by reading, attending workshops, buying online programs or, you can achieve this through working with a coach.

Because I remember what it was like to fret over spending $50 an hour on a coach (I now will spend 20x that easily) I want to share with you how I got from there to where I am now.

1) Have they done what you want to do?

Gary Vaynerchuk did an interview a while back saying 99.5% of all social media experts are clowns.  His point was, the majority of people in the social media space, fell into the space and have no real business acumen. Think about the following questions:

If someone is teaching you “Social Media for Business” do they have real business experience?

If someone is teaching you Leaderships Skills, have they ever led a team and achieved great results?

If someone is teaching you about how to build Wealth – have they amassed wealth of their own?

There is an expression that I want you to consider when choosing a coach:  “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”

If you are going to invest money in fast tracking your own learning, your own development, learn from someone who has achieved what you want to achieve.

Let me tell you why:

The person who has created this type of success in their life once, can do it again and can also tell you all the things they did wrong along the way so you do not make the same mistakes. They stay up-to-date on the trends and changes in their field and are ready to teach them to you without hesitation.

I ran into exactly this situation with one of my coaching clients yesterday during the Facebook Marketing Conference. She sent me a message to ask if I was watching and getting all the details on the new changes. When I told her yes, she replied, “Just got in, glad you are on top of this!”. That is the value of a coach.

Don’t learn about wealth building from someone who has no money.

Don’t learn about social media from someone who doesn’t use it on a regular basis or has no idea what it means to run a successful business.

Don’t get caught up in the hype and flash that people can show you online, look for the proof.  It is easy to find.

2) Do they have a reputation for being able to transfer skill?

Being able to transfer skill is a SKILL in itself.  You want a coach who can show you why, what and how in a way that makes it easy for you to do what they have done.

One of the best ways to determine this, is to look for individuals who have worked with this coach before. You can usually find testimonials on anyone’s website and do your research from there.  Ask that person what their experiences were like.  Look for the proof! Ask them to give you a specific example around what they learned.

Is it theoretical or is it a skill that they have been able to apply over and over again?

When I spent my first $2,000 on an online program I Googled every person who left a testimonial and checked them out to see what they were doing.  I wanted to see if they were legit, to see if they STILL HAD A BUSINESS before I bought.

The internet makes it easy to check these things out on the social web – and, for you to ask these people what their experience was like.  You will be in a much better spot to decide if this is the right coach for you if you check out their ability to teach others first.

3) Do you like them?

This is important.  If you spend money to work with someone but you don’t really like them, then chances are you won’t be successful learning from them. (Take note – this is the same if you are a coach and you don’t really like your client)

If your intuition is telling you something is off – listen to that voice in your gut. Explore what it means.  Chances are there is a reason you should not select this person.

I want to feel excited and inspired to talk to my coach.  I want to feel eager to show them my accomplishments, and walk away from our conversations empowered to take on whatever challenge I am facing.

There are LOTS of coaches out there and, while I think you should work with someone, I don’t think you should work with just anyone.

I think you need to invest in yourself all the time if you want to continue to grow and move forward.  But like any significant investment you make in your business you should be able to measure the ROI you got.

One last thing – DO NOT hire a coach if you are not prepared to do the work.

You MUST be committed.

If you are NOT going to do what needs to be done, you are going to sit on the exact same problem month after month.  Then, it’s not the coach who was ineffective – there is something inside of you that is not ready.

Hold yourself accountable to the investment you make in yourself.  Pick the right person and be ready to “do the work.”

If you are interested in my private coaching programs just contact me, we will send you an application package and some details around how it works. I only work with a small number of people privately so we may, or may not have openings available, but we are happy to explain how it works.

In the comments below, I’d love it if you would share some of the best experiences you have had working with a coach or mentor.