In the world of business development there’s so much ‘you just need this ONE thing’ thinking. You know what I mean – you just need Instagram Reels, you just need to grow your list; you just need this one thing!!!
By now, you’ve probably figured out that if that ‘ONE thing’ thinking was true – then you’d already be successful.
There is no ONE thing.
Building a sustainable, profitable business needs a holistic approach!
It doesn’t matter if you’re a financial advisor, mortgage broker, consultant, lawyer or another expert – the business of business is multi-faceted.
If you’re anything like my clients or myself, over the years, I didn’t need help being the ‘expert’ but I did need help running the business and the marketing side of things. For myself, there were definite signs that I could use the help of a business coach – and I’ve almost always had one.
Here are 7 signs that you might need the support of a business coach:
1. You aren’t hitting your financial goals
One of the telltale signs it’s time to hire a coach is that you’re not hitting the financial goals you set for yourself. Very often the reason is that you are too close to your business to see some of the problems that an outsider could see. It’s not that your business is broken or needs fixing, it’s very often that something needs a bit of tweaking; some re-alignment.
A coach can help you re-evaluate your goals and the strategies you’ve been using to attempt to achieve them. I help my clients to outline a step by step plan to achieve their goals and along the way, help them re-tweak strategies and keep them accountable.
2. You want to grow, scale or expand your business.
A teenager often has growing pains and so do our businesses. When you’re finding that the activities and strategies that used to work are no longer working, it might be time to get an outside opinion to help you gain traction.
A coach will help you determine the right strategies for your stage of business growth, like my Business Growth Checklist.
3. You’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start
Sometimes our businesses end up running us instead of the other way around. We feel exhausted trying to keep up with the day to day events.
However, a coach can show you a variety of techniques for regaining your time and creating systems that can turn your business into a well-oiled machine instead of a hot mess. Episode 23 of the Grow Equation business podcast deals with that exact topic – listen here!
4. You feel lonely at the top and you need someone to run your ideas by
As the owner of your business, it’s often lonely at the top. Often you have no one else in the business or at home to brainstorm ideas with and this makes you feel alone and unsure. A coach is a great person to brainstorm with and someone who can help keep those creative ideas from being a distraction.
5. You’ve been marketing your business but you really need a plan
Not many business owners are marketers! They have other expertise and the marketing of their business can often seem overwhelming. A coach, with marketing expertise, can help you put together a simple, written 90-day marketing plan that you can execute easily without complicated funnels, paid advertising or perhaps even without social media.
6. You want to differentiate yourself in the marketplace
No matter what type of business you have, it’s essential to stand out in the marketplace. Bland and vanilla marketing messaging and content won’t bring you the type of clients you truly desire.
Financial advisors are a dime a dozen and most of them look and sound exactly the same (no brand differentiation). The same is true for life coaches, real estate agents and so many other businesses. A coach can help you stand out and become the undeniable authority in your field. There are many ways to create a stand out brand.
7. You need to prospect for the right kind of clients
Most business owners don’t want MORE clients… they want to find a select few of their perfect-fit clients! There’s a big difference between the two. A good business coach can help you create distinct messaging and content that will magnetize your perfect-fit clients.
My question is… do you resonate with one or more of these challenges?
If you do then the next step is to find the right business coach for you!
Here’s some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years…
a. An online course is not a business coach! Typically, there isn’t the amount of feedback you’ll need to create the changes and momentum that you truly desire. Typically, an online course is not a holistic look at your business so you often end up missing pieces of the puzzle.
b. You can ‘interview’ potential prospects! I remember years ago ‘interviewing’ an accountant – he was highly insulted that I should be the one asking the questions! Really—I was the one going to be paying him. You need to find a business coach that has will help you get the results that you desire.
c. Take time to ask questions and be sure that the business coach is listening to your questions and not just talking about their ‘process’ or themselves. Also notice whether they come to the call prepared (i.e. have truly read your application or looked at your website).
d. Ask whether the business coach has experience and has produced the kind of results that you are searching for….. be clear on what your goals are with a coach i.e. increase in profit; increase your audience, etc.
e. Ask yourself whether you felt at ease with the coach; whether you actually like the person because remember you’ll be spending a lot of time together (once I didn’t hire a coach because I hated the sound of her voice – I hated getting on a call with her even though I knew she had the experience!)
f. Ask yourself whether the potential coach has a strategy or a plan for working with you or are they trying to push you into some sort of cookie-cutter program? For most business owners looking to grow and expand their business, there isn’t one cookie-cutter program that works … not everything works for everyone.
If this is making sense to you and you’re in need of a business coach, let’s chat. For almost 40 years, I’ve been a business owner and worked in over 100+ industries helping business owners explode their profits while taking more time off from their businesses.
Service providers such as financial advisors, mortgage brokers, lawyers and other knowledge-based experts are my particular expertise! Schedule your call here.
What kind of results can happen when you work with me: Listen here to my interview with Milena Cardinal, a lawyer who partnered with me to take her business from five-figure losses to being on track this year for a $400K profit. She outlines how we simplified her business including no social media marketing.
Financial Advisor, Jeffrey Quenneville stated, that the marketing strategy we created together was ‘by far the most successful marketing he ever did’!