Is It Time for a Coach?

As a professional coach and consultant I am frequently asked, "When is the right time to consider seeking a coach?" A good question that was recently answered by Paul McCord in a blog from the Wall Street Journal [http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/diet-nutrition-fitness-exercise/15480576-1.html] He rightly points out that you shouldn't even consider a coach if you can't afford one. Let's expand that a little. If you have to go into debt to pay for a coach, your business probably isn't doing well enough to justify the expense; that is, even if you dramatically increase your revenues, you might still have difficulty paying the cost of coaching. However, 1)if your business is already successful and providing a good revenue stream, 2)you want to improve / streamline some aspect of it, and / or 3) you want to completely re-examine your business to take it to the next level, then coaching may be just the answer you're looking for.

Paul McCord states that coaching costs between $300.00 per month to over $1,000.00 per month. That's true. However, in a survey of hundreds of coaches throughout the U.S., the Harvard Business Review found that coaching costs range from $300.00 to $3,000.00 per session [typically one hour], with the most common fee being $500.00 per session and most coaches meeting with their clients bi-weekly. Again, what this means is that if you / your team are creating a revenue stream in excess of $1 million per year, you don't need to increase it much to more than pay the $10,000.00 to $13,000.00 fees for a year's coaching. However, if your income stream is only a fourth of that, coaching can seem very expensive. In such cases, you may benefit from taking a group coaching program or an actual class focused on your area of greatest concern.

McCord points out that the quality of coaches, like the quality of psychotherapists, varies across a wide range and can not be predicted by either price or "certification." On the positive side, if you show up for all the sessions and do all the "homework" assigned between sessions, even an average coach will help you to improve your business sufficiently to more than compensate for his or her fees, and a good coach will help you move to the next level of success. In my experience, there are three keys to selecting a coach:

1) Is he / she competent? Ask for contact information of satisfied clients and then call them.
2) Does his expertise include the area of your concern? For example, my partners and I have extensive experience using systems theory [think Peter Senge, "The Fifth Discipline"] to help teams. If you're looking for help to improve your team, speak with teams with whom he / she has worked. And,
3) Are you comfortable with the coach and his or her approach?

If you can answer yes to each of these questions, have identified a specific goal you want to achieve through coaching, can afford the cost AND are committed, come heck or high water, to see the process through to the end, then this may well be the time to begin working with a coach. Thanks and good luck. kfg

Market Anxieties

In light of the turmoil in North Africa and the Persian Gulf, as well as the earth quake and tsunami in Japan, a lot of people are very concerned about the stability of the economic recovery. Many need to be reassured that you and your firm understand what's going on and have a solid plan of action that you can suggest. Like the crisis of 2008-9 this is NOT the time to hide under your desk and avoid client calls. It IS the time to proactively reach out to them and, if necessary, "hold their hands." Note: this makes this a great prospecting opportunity as well.

It is times like this when financial planning becomes a real asset to you, the financial advisor. By providing a context within which to understand their investments and the current markets, you can use their financial plan to explain how they will be affected and what steps you / your firm recommend. If you haven't already offered your top clients a financial plan, this is an excellent time to do so. It will not only help to calm them, but will almost invariably result in referrals and greater asset penetration.

On a positive note, I have just returned from a week in Kuwait where I provided consultative sales training to executives and sales staff from financial firms around the region. I can cheerfully report that Kuwait is experiencing complete calm and there is no rebellion waiting to break out. This is one area of oil production and financial institutions that is and will remain sound. Have a great day. Thanks. kfg