Ten Signs of a Great Life or Business Coach

Are you ready for Ten Signs of a Great Life or Business Coach? If you are, read on.

Isn’t it incredible how many amazing people out there are offering their coaching services? It’s the fastest growing industry in the world today and with good reason.

Coaching is a vehicle for helping you to identify where you are currently and supporting you to move to where you’d like to be.

Having a great coach can help you to move the envelope in almost any area of your life towards greater health, wealth and relationship success.

So how do you choose the best coach for you?

It depends upon a few things. In this week’s article below, I’m sharing the top ten signs of a great coach. There’s plenty more, but these are the things I look for in all my coaches.

P.S.: I have a few signed copies of my book ‘Healing the Heart of Your Business – sustainable success for heart-centred women’ left-over from the Ausmumpreneur conference (see some happy snaps of this glorious event below). I’ll send you a signed copy anywhere in the world for $30.00AUD. This is an amazing offer especially if you live in the U.S. Simply send me an email and say ‘yes please to a signed copy’ with your best postal address and best email for invoicing.

P.P.S.: Writing my book could not have been possible without the guidance of my fabulous coach, Alex Mitchell from Author Support Services. Thanks Alex! I’ve been called to share the exact path I took towards getting my book published. This month, I’m offering 5 coaching intensives ‘Map Your Book and Get Published’. If you’re interested in mapping out your book and learning exactly what it takes to self-publish, I’d be delighted to guide you in a 2 hour intensive. For $495.00 AUD you get the exact steps I took from crafting my book outline to writing my book and getting it self-published. I’ll even share my secret rolodex of industry favourites who helped me to get my book printed and for sale in all the major online bookstores. Simply send me an email and say ‘yes please to your Map Your Book intensive’ and I’ll get back to you to book a time for our skype call.

ARTICLE:
10 SIGNS OF A GREAT LIFE OR BUSINESS COACH

{+ HOW TO CHOOSE WISELY)

There’s been a steep rise in the number of coaches out there claiming to be able to support you in every area of life. A great coach can support you to experience major transformation in so many areas of life and business. There’s a number of things to look for when you’re choosing a coach.

1. Investigate their testimonials: Testimonials are like references for a job interview and should be treated the same. When you’re thinking about working with someone, it’s worth reaching out and contacting their clients directly to affirm their testimonials. Just last week I heard about someone who claimed she hadn’t given permission for her testimonial to be used by a coach who advertised it on her website. Testimonials give a powerful insight into the benefits of coaching but should also be investigated for their authenticity and a real-life reference check or conversation is a good idea before you seriously invest.
2. Trust your gut instincts: That first instinct you have about someone is often the purest insight of all. Trust that your instincts are right and if you get an unsettling feeling about working with someone then don’t. Your radar will be sharper if you can get on the phone with them too, so have a conversation with them first if you can.
3. They are happy to take time to speak to you in person: Signing up for a coach is a pretty big deal. It means that you trust them with a part of your life that’s important to you. Take the time to speak to them in person before you work with them. If they don’t have the capacity to speak to you in person as part of a discovery process, ask yourself what that potentially means for you as a client.
4. They share similar values to yours or your business: You might wish to engage a coach in order to make more money in your business, but you’re not prepared to sacrifice your important heart-felt ethics and values. Choosing someone who shares your values means that the coaching to-do list will feel aligned to your deeper why. It might feel uncomfortable to step outside your comfort zone and great coaching will challenge you to do so. However, it won’t be at the expense of your moral and ethical fibre if you’re working with someone who truly understands that that means.
5. They contract their service with due diligence: A great coach will be proud to protect you and will also model a good, secure business with a coaching contract also known as a coaching agreement. A contract is a signed or written agreement between you and your coach, which outlines expectations. It might outline the terms and conditions of your engagement, the fee policies and the nature of your engagement. It will contain any disclaimers and exemptions that you may need to know. No contract = uncertain expectations. This is an agreement that creates trust and safety for both parties so that you can have a win-win outcome.
6. They take pride in their business: A coach who takes pride in his or her business isn’t afraid to talk openly about what they do and who they serve. You can hear the passion in their voice. It’s obvious that they are committed to serving their clients and delivering a quality service when you hear them speak about their service. You need to be able to hear the passion and the spontaneity in their emotion (otherwise, ask the question – are they speaking from a script and is this really a genuine conversation?). The most passionate coaches often specialise in a niche that turns them on and they’re not afraid to rave about it. Their offering needs to be relevant for your particular circumstances in life or business. So make sure their niche is the right fit for where you’re currently at, and if you’re not sure then ask them. Hear the why behind their coaching practice. The most passionate people are driven by a strong why, which resonates with your values.
7. They’ve done the hard yards: Beware of the instant overnight success stories. There are coaches out there who have made a huge amount of money in a very short period of time. However, from the backend, I’ve seen some of these poor souls collapsing from overwhelm and even quitting because they’re unable to replicate the same level of intensity and the same outcomes in a sustainable way. A great coach will have been in business for a while and will know how to manage things sustainably. They’ll be able to serve their clients well because they’ve already done the hard yards of calibrating their level of service and adjusting their offerings to suit their particular coaching business model.
8. They don’t make outlandish claims: With every success story there’s a lot of hidden factors that may not be obvious from the surface. A coach might claim to have had a $30 000 month but the truth is, they’ve made $30 000 to serve several clients in a longer term 12 month package which means there’s another 11 months to space that income out. Be discerning about the claims being made and ask the question – ‘what did it really take to have the result?’
9. You know, like and trust them: It’s age-old marketing advice to build the know, like and trust factor in business. It’s no different with choosing a coach. Ask yourself the question, how well do you know their work? Have you been following them for a while? Are they likeable? Do you trust them? I remember following someone for over 18 months and trying to make the decision as to whether I’d coach with them. As soon as I tuned into some videos and heard this particular person speaking, I instantly disconnected from their message. It might have been because their voice reminded me of someone or something negative (and not because they weren’t awesome), but I doubt the coaching relationship would have worked out, regardless.  I’m glad I heard them speak before I signed up for their expensive program.
10. Investigate what qualifies them to be a coach: This is probably one of the most controversial things about the coaching industry because it’s not well regulated by any official bodies. However, many coaches have been experts in their industries and are well qualified to deliver transformational insights in their particular area of expertise. I chose to do an expensive and comprehensive coaching training because I knew it would support me to feel qualified to coach effectively.  I invested over $50 000 in my training and many hours of pro-bono coaching perfecting the art of coaching because I wanted to be able to offer a great service. However, I know a few coaches who did short term training (or no training at all in coaching but several years of training in a particular modality that they use) who are competent at getting results for their clients. It really depends upon what you’re comfortable with as a client. The truth is, coaching isn’t an easy business. To stay in the industry requires deeper understanding of the art of coaching, so the coaches who continue to invest in their coaching training will have greater fulfilment and satisfaction and longevity due to their depth of understanding and knowledge.

Choosing the right coach is a personal decision that can support you to completely transform your business or life. Choosing the wrong coach can lead to heart-ache, disappointment and a waste of precious time and money.

If you’d like to explore coaching with me and see if we’re a good fit, don’t hesitate to reach out and email me at lisa@lisafitzpatrick.com.au with an ‘I’m ready.’

AUSMUMPRENEUR CONFERENCE
2016 HIGHLIGHTS

The buzz at the #ausmum16 conference was absolutely incredible this year. Picture over 300 mums gathered in the name of business. It was exciting to deliver my signature workshop ‘Embodied Feminine Leadership – 7 Practices for Charismatic and Magnetic Feminine Influence’.  To celebrate a glorious turn out of warm, friendly, inspiring mums to my workshop at the event, I’ve got a special offer for you this week. I’m happy to email you my manual for this training if you put your request forward. Hit ‘reply’ to this email with a ‘Yes please to your feminine influence manual’ and I’ll send you a copy at no charge.

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STAR CLIENT SHOUT-OUT:

If you’ve been feeling like you need a little recharging and a life-affirming boost to your vitality, Sacred Women’s Business would like to highly recommend ‘Replenish Retreats for women’ hosted by Divine Star in the Byron Hinterland. The next one is coming up in October and all the juicy details are below.