Business Coaching

[Graham]

Ok then I admit it business is stagnating a bit and i've probably been concentrating in other areas more than i should, so i need to kickstart things a little...


I've had a business coaching chappy round today trying to help me part the best part of 20 grand over the next 12 months to get things back on track, with lots of promises about massive turnover increases and money back guarantees..


does anyone have any experience of these companies or even is one themselves...

are they any good or is it all expensive smoke and mirrors and nothing I couldnt pick up with a bit of googling

[GarrettMacD]

Graham said:

been concentrating in other areas more than i should


I've had a business coaching chappy round today trying to help me part the best part of 20 grand over the next 12 months to get things back on track, with lots of promises about massive turnover increases and money back guarantees..


does anyone have any experience of these companies or even is one themselves...

are they any good or is it all expensive smoke and mirrors and nothing I couldnt pick up with a bit of googling

I think you've already picked up on the weakness - lack of focus, or simply doing other, more enjoyable things...

Any business coach will offer a promose of higher revenue, but be careful about the money-back bit. There may be some clauses that they can use to get out of this - especially if you are expected to complete certain tasks and don't do so. In that scenario they will take the money and blame you for not progressing the company - - so then you're worse off to the tune of £20k... and your sales haven't improved.

You could try getting some business/entrepreneurship CD's etc from Ebay. Just a few I would suggest are;

Michael Gerber - for business improvement
Jay Abraham - for new marketing ideas for your business
Brian Tracy - a master salesman, but also a great motivator*
Zig Ziglar - also a master salesman

Finally, set a GOAL and FOCUS on it. That could be X sales in Y period of time. When you have achieved X sales the profits from that can be used to fund something you really want to do - like racing in the British GT Championship???

• When I say 'motivator' I don't mean shouting "Aaargh, I'm a tiger" into the mirror every morning. People will just think you're a goon...

[TDIPLC]

You may find that these people don't really know much more than you do already but they may just point you in a particular direction and support you to stay on track.

As has been said already, clear objectives and committed focus are prerequisites.

Personally I find it helpful to ensure wherever possible that I'm with successful people. Mentoring is very important and can be gained for the cost of a lunch now and then

HTH

[shadowninja]

TDIPLC said:

You may find that these people don't really know much more than you do already but they may just point you in a particular direction and support you to stay on track.

You're getting coaching confused with mentoring! These people aren't supposed to know anything about your business. They help you achieve goals not tell you what you are supposed to do...

[JustinP1]

Graham said:

Ok then I admit it business is stagnating a bit and i've probably been concentrating in other areas more than i should, so i need to kickstart things a little...


I've had a business coaching chappy round today trying to help me part the best part of 20 grand over the next 12 months to get things back on track, with lots of promises about massive turnover increases and money back guarantees..


does anyone have any experience of these companies or even is one themselves...

are they any good or is it all expensive smoke and mirrors and nothing I couldnt pick up with a bit of googling

I did it for a single client, a friend of my Dad's earlier in my business career.

He was literally just starting, and quickly had not only an IT system that I set up, but marketing, comms and basically a business plan. He did very well and now still does very well!

If I were to pick it up again it would be on the following terms, and you should be looking at similar terms. From an agreed starting point or an agreed present situation the coach/mentor should be paid from the increase in profits.

For example, you could agree that if in November 2006 you turned over £10,000 and this year you turnover an extra £10,000 as say a 50% margin you have made an extra £5000. The coach would get an agreed percentage of the increase in profits - 20%, 30% or whatever is agreed.

To simplify things though it would probably make sense to estimate the margin and then make how they get paid as a percentage of the increased turnover, this will make the accounting easier and add clarity for both of you. Of course, if on the coaches advice you spend another £2000 to increase the turnover then this is taken off the equation.

The main point is to outline *exactly* how they get paid before you start in a way which they get paid fairly in an unambiguous way which also means that if your company does not see the promised increases then they don't get paid at all.

What you don't want to do is pay a fixed amount monthly just for them to tell you to spend more money on marketing - which will increase your turnover anyway.

I wouldn't personally use one myself, but I can see the attraction - and it should be at no risk for the business owner and payment structured on hard results of the coach.

[TDIPLC]

shadowninja said:

TDIPLC said:

You may find that these people don't really know much more than you do already but they may just point you in a particular direction and support you to stay on track.

You're getting coaching confused with mentoring! These people aren't supposed to know anything about your business. They help you achieve goals not tell you what you are supposed to do...

Surely that depends on the circumstances.

It seems to me that a Coach hasn't necessarly really done anything of much value himself but still advises people, whereas a business Mentor (if he is to be of any value) should have made a success of his commercial life and be happy to share his experiences.

My view and my experience is that if you can find yourself good Mentors you will not need a Coach




Edited: Hi Shadowninja - I just read your profile. No offence intended mate, I wa just sharing my experience

Edited by TDIPLC on Wednesday 31st October 16:49

Edited by TDIPLC on Wednesday 31st October 16:52

[shadowninja]

TDIPLC said:

It seems to me that a Coach hasn't necessarly really done anything of much value himself but still advises people, whereas a business Mentor (if he is to be of any value) should have made a success of his commercial life and be happy to share his experiences.

My view and my experience is that if you can find yourself good Mentors you will not need a Coach

Edited: Hi Shadowninja - I just read your profile. No offence intended mate, I wa just sharing my experience

You're right in that they haven't necessarily done anything of value per se. They are not there to advise, though. They are there to help the individual work out the problem themselves and provide motivation. If in this instance, the OP is stagnating, then having a coach would mean that he is answering to someone other than himself. It is a great motivator. You could argue that a good mate could do similar, but they tend to be biased in some way or end up restricting possibilities by making their own suggestions.

This seems to cover the differences: http://www.coachingnetwork.org.uk/resourcecentre/W...

Oh, as to whether £20k is worth it, that depends on how good the coach is.

btw I'm not actually a coach; I just use the principles of business coaching, when appropriate.

[thewave]

I've done a few business consultancy cases aided with another colleague, and sometimes some specialist external help.

What we did was assess the financial standing, look at ways to streamline, increase profitability (or turnover, depending on concerns - sometimes turnover is more important to a business than profit - very occasionally - basically wanted as much turnover as possible, little profit, then got taken over by a massive company, for which he made a bomb...again)

Anyway, we developed some new systems, implemented a few ideas, and in one case, told them to get rid of dead wood. Not nice, but they wanted answers.

As a fee, we agreed 10% of the increase in net profit of the financial year following implementation. 2% of increase in turnover on the other case.