5 Important Questions to Ask When Hiring a Strategic Business Coach

Getting the right help to grow your business can be quite a maze. The problem is it’s hard to pinpoint the professional qualifications or requirements for someone to become a business coach, which makes it ten times more difficult to find a business coach with actual expertise on how to succeed in business. The only way to seek out someone who can provide the proper guidance that you need is to seek out a high performer and ask them the right questions. These questions will help you get a firm grasp of their capabilities and how they can help you.

- What Kind of Training Have You Attended?

The question may sound simple enough, but it actually tells a lot about the person’s experiences. Ask them to elaborate on those training programs and what exactly they have learned and applied to their previous clients. This is where a good "buyer beware" sense could really come in handy. If the coach tells you they’ve been "coaching their entire life" without substantiating the claim, then you better move on to your next choice.

- What Size of Business Do You Specialize in Coaching?

In every stage of the life cycle of a business, their needs evolve and differ. A small startup will require a different kind of coaching and guidance than a well-established company with a large customer base. You need to select a coach who understands the challenges and opportunities your business faces. He should understand that it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach for every business.

- Do You Have Experience Running Your Own Business Other Than Coaching?

There are many coaches out there, and you need to distinguish a life coach from a business coach. That person should have some experience running their own business. Some of these coaches may have experience being employed in a corporate setting, but that does not equate to the experience of actually running and managing a business. Running their own business coaching services doesn’t count. Find a coach that has run a business before and has experienced strong results.

- Have You Experienced Failure?

This is something that you can’t learn from any university course or a book about business and economics. Failure can only be taught by someone who experienced it firsthand and overcame it when they were running a business. The experience of failure is crucial when hiring a coach because their personal experience with resilience is reflective of who they are. Someone who experienced being on the brink of losing everything can offer deeper and more impactful wisdom as a coach.

- Will Working with You Finally Get Me the Breakthrough That I’ve Worked So Hard to Achieve?

This is perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer that only an experienced business coach can properly substantiate. As a business owner, you want to grow faster than your competitors and build a better long-term legacy. If you choose to work with that coach, will you finally be able to achieve that through his wisdom and guidance? That is the question they should answer, and they should tell you how they would do it.

Conclusion

Finding the right strategic business coach is never a walk in the park. You’re basically paying someone to influence your business decisions and your growth as a business owner. At the end of the day, a business coach should be able to win your confidence. By asking this sensible set of questions, you can cut through all the charades and determine if they are the right fit for your business.

Do you need business coaching for sustainable growth? Four Tree Coaching is here to teach you how to succeed in business. Through the guidance of our business coach, Don Vierboom, MBA, you get a straightforward analysis of your marketing and sales programs and everything you need to start growing your business in Alberta. Book a consultation with our business coach today!