As an experienced business coach, you provide high performers with an “edge” in their chosen field. You’ll likely use fundamental “tried and tested” coaching principles in an attempt to achieve results, but are these results “exceptional” for both yourself and your clients? Or, are your coaching methods missing that little something to give your clients the edge they seek?
To ensure client success, make sure you’re covering these following keys to exceptional coaching results.
- Focus on the Fundamentals
When a business owner seeks out your coaching services, they’ve often read books, attended seminars and done a lot of research on successful business principles, but the one piece they’re often missing is the basic fundamentals of a successful business.
For a business to be a success, your client needs to understand the elements that form a traditional business: financial statements and credentials, business plans, taxation and accounting basics, success metrics, marketing and promotion, and investing. Then, outside of the financials, your client needs coaching to understand their ideal client – demographics, desires, needs, wants, and other important profiling fundamentals. To provide exceptional business coaching, your first session needs to start here.
- Allow Your Client to “Figure It Out”
Although, as a business coach, you’re getting paid to provide valuable insights and suggestions, don’t be too quick to offer your knowledge. Remember back to your pre-coaching days, and you’ll appreciate that, like your former self, most business owners have spent a lifetime taking pride in figuring things out on their own. If you – the calm, confident, and cocky “coach” – come flying in at top-speed to give them all the answers, you can imagine it’s probably not going to go down all that well.
Your job as a successful business coach is to teach your client, and guide them to a solution that has (likely) been staring them straight in the face. Through their limiting beliefs, their lack of understanding of values, and misconstrued assumptions, they may have been missing the bigger picture all along. But with your guidance, accountability, and gentle persuasion, you’re there to help them figure it out on their own.
- Understand Why They Are in Business
Not all entrepreneurs pursue business for the same reasons. Some do it for the money, some do it for the fame and recognition, and others do it because they’re tired of having a traditional boss. As an exceptional business coach, the key is to find out their “WHY”, and remind them of it every chance you get. Some reasons may be painful, and you may need to use your coaching skills in an effort to build rapport and trust with your client, so you can get to the root cause of their desire to do business for themselves. Take your time and delve deep to determine real motivating reasons and the effort will be well worth it, for both your success and the success of your client.
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