6 Questions to Ask when Interviewing a Business Coach
DEAR ADVISORS,
Imagine waking up in the morning with a smile on your face because you don’t have to worry about anything in your advisory firm! Your marketing is bringing in new clients and you have the perfect team and technology in place to run it all! You only have to show up for meetings with your ideal clients and take home a nice, big paycheck!
I don’t know a single advisory firm owner who feels this way… We see all the flaws and carry all the worries, doubts, and insecurities. It’s even worse for solo advisory firm owners. Twenty years ago, hiring a business coach would be seen as a sign of weak leadership, but now it’s widely accepted, and even respected. There are business coaches who specialize in almost anything you could possibly need! Why spend months, or thousands of dollars, on a problem that an experienced business coach could help you resolve over a phone call?
If you’re thinking about hiring a coach, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a list of the top 6 questions to ask the coaches you interview. At the same time, we included a relevant question to ask yourself to see if you’re ready to hire a coach.
What is your niche? (It may be a specific type of person, or a specific size or stage of advisory firm.)
Rationale - If a coach doesn’t know who they’re passionate about serving and why, they haven’t done the real work of branding and marketing and will struggle to help you with yours.
Before hiring a coach, ask yourself - What kind of coach am I looking for? What are the pain points in my business today? (Examples: marketing, technology, leadership, time management, growth, company culture, etc.)
Have you ever owned or run a business that failed?
Rationale - Knowing how they dealt with failure will tell you a lot about who they are personally and professionally. If they’ve only ever been successful, explaining the cause of their success gives you a good idea of what coaching you can expect to receive.
Before hiring a coach, ask yourself - How do I want to receive feedback from a coach during times when I fail to reach my goals?
How has coaching changed your life?
Rationale - Does your coach take their own advice? Do they have a coach of their own? It’s similar to how the best investment managers over the long-term invest the bulk of their own money in the fund. The best coaches hire their own coaches so they can focus on their clients.
Before hiring a coach, ask yourself - Do I take my own advice? Have I hired my own financial planner? Why or why not?
Can you give me an example of how your own business isn’t living up to your standards and what you’re doing to fix that?
Rationale - Everybody has their weaknesses. You’ll never open up to a coach with yours if they won’t own up to theirs.
Before hiring a coach, ask yourself - In what ways am I resistant to coaching? What areas of my life or business am I NOT willing to change during this process?
Do you follow a proven framework to achieve results for your clients?
Rationale - You want to weed out all the people who say they’re a coach but don’t have training or experience. You also want to understand if the coach is someone you call to talk through issues together, or if they’re going to track progress and achieve results alongside you.
Before hiring a coach, ask yourself - Am I looking for an unbiased second opinion, or an accountability partner to help make changes in your firm? There’s not a right or wrong answer, but if you’re looking to make some big changes, you need a coach who focuses on key performance indicators, action, and results.
What is your definition of success?
Rationale - Does it match your own definition in the ways that matter? You want a coach who shares your perspective on building a meaningful life and how to accomplish that.
Before hiring a coach, ask yourself - What are my specific goals in hiring a coach? Calculate how much time or money you will get back if the coaching is successful. That should tell you how much you can mentally budget to spend on a coach.
We make a special effort to gather resources from businesses and industries outside the financial advisory industry. Advisors are trained in financial advice, not as much in actually running a business! There’s so much we can learn from other industries to improve our own! One such resource is the eMyth, whose article inspired today’s blog post. Another good resource is almost everything from Michael Hyatt, but more specifically, his article on how to choose a business coach.
In addition to the questions above, you might also consider researching your prospective business coaches on social media, and asking to speak with their past clients as a referral. With these questions in your pocket, you’re well on your way to finding the right business coach to help you secure the future of your advisory firm!
Warm regards,
Brooklyn
P.S.
At Ellevate Advisors, we believe that advisors deserve to retire too. What does that look like for you, your family, and your business? Let’s figure it out together! Click here to schedule an initial phone call with our team today.