While most business owners, looking for advice on how to grow their company, have a limited amount of resources to turn to, so many people are out there having the dream to become a business coach. Yes! It is what they love to do and intend to make an income from, through solving business problems but the problem for most of these persons is that, this only ends up as a dream that never sees the light of day.
While some give up just a few months or years into business coaching as a result of lack of adequate skills and personnel. Some, despite their skills and knowledge keep getting it wrong just because they have the wrong ideas and beliefs about what it actually takes to become a great business coach with a sustainable successful business.
Being a coach doesn’t just require you having a business card with a title and a name to it. Becoming a successful business coach is about understanding your skills, gifts, and talents.It’s about tuning into your niche, working from your zone of genius and serving the right audience – the people who need your expertise. It’s about having the right tools and strategies to build your credibility and grow your audience.
Who is a Business Coach?
Business coaches are typically experienced entrepreneurs and business owners themselves who decide to use their talents for building and growing a business to help other business owners, usually for a fee, reach their goals.
They work alongside executives and owners to help them define their goals, polish their vision for their business, and set in place a series of strategies that will help the owner achieve their goals and vision.
If a person wants to become the best footballer in the future, it’s much easier to find a team with a great coach than it is to teach him or herself. Likewise it is for someone aiming to be successful in business, such a person would also require the advice of a business coach to help him or her achieve their business goals.
Whether your business is struggling and you need a way to revive it or you simply want to take your brand to get the next level, bringing on a professional business coach is one of the most effective options you have available.
What Does a Business Coach Do?
Business coaches serve as both trainers and mentors, training you in the skills you need to be successful in your business and serving as a source of information should you ever have any questions about what you should do.
Much like any other coach, business coaches work to refine your talents, hone your goals, guide your decisions, and do everything else that they can do to ensure that you and your business is successful.
They learn everything they can about their customers brand, from its value propositions to its target customers to the challenges it will face and beyond. Their vision for the company and the goals they have for it.
They help business owners answer tough questions and tackle problems they run into along the way in their businesses, and solve their issues in the most effective way possible.
A business coach will work with business owners to set beneficial and attainable goals for their team in line with their vision and help in meeting them, by aiding and advising the business owners and executives in devising and putting in place both long-term and short-term strategies and action plans designed to push their businesses to meet its goals and helping them navigate any challenges that come up along the way.
A business coach is able to help business owners that have attained a certain height in their company’s growth, figure out how to take their business to the next level.
For one having the belief of becoming a business coach there are certain things that you must know in order for you not just to be one among the numbers, but a successful business coach standing out among the crowd. Here are important points that will guide you in how to become a business coach.
How to Be a Successful Business Coach
1. Define Your Niche
Now that you know you want to be a business coach, do you know your niche?
This usually should be one of the first things that comes to mind when making a decision on your coaching business. failure in picking a suitable niche for yourself most especially one that excites you, might bring about a struggle and eventual collapse of your coaching business.
It is quite understandable that you want to solve as many problems as you can in the coaching business, but this vision will most likely work to your disadvantage and diminish your area of strength in the face of too many specialties. This will leave your clients and potential clients going after coaches who are specialized in a particular area of their need and will be assumed to be probably more informed to give the best assistance to them.
As a coach it is important you pick an area that excites you, one that you are passionate about, and not necessarily choosing it because it is easy. Unlike before, the coaching space has become exponentially more crowded and competitive, hence the need for you having a coach niche is highly paramount. Standing out from the growing number of coaches today, should be your utmost concern.
The more specific your niche, the more you set yourself apart from other coaches. Do you want to help small businesses or large businesses? Whichever one you may choose ask yourself, “What business area am I passionate about: sales, marketing, productivity, business mindset, finance, etc.?” If you are interested about finance, you should definitely check out my previous article about profit coaching to get a better overall picture.
What comes naturally to me? Organization skills, time management, writing, communication, negotiation, etc.? In terms of income, ask yourself: Do you want to get to 6-figure mark (or more) as soon as possible? If yes, choose a profitable niche.
A big part of your job of a business coach is to learn as much as you can about each company and owner that you are working with and to develop a strategy that is uniquely suited to the specifics of each situation. So it is very important you are sure about what aspect you want to delve into.
2. Your Mindset
If you want to become a successful business coach, it makes sense to take a cue from the mindset of successful business coaches.
Here’s a look inside the mind of a successful business coach.
- They believe in their coaching skills, products, and services. They have 100% belief in their ability to help others.
- They never stop learning. They’re always looking for ways to improve their personal and professional growth through seminars, trainings, online courses and lots more.
- They are driven and motivated by their goals and ambitions by putting much hard work to become the best possible business coach they can be.
- They don’t seek praise and approval – especially not from clients. All of their attention and energy is on helping clients hit their goals. The best business coaches are brave enough to tell their clients what they need to hear not what they want to hear.
- They hold themselves accountable for the results they create in their lives. They’re extremely focused on their goals and dreams.
- They want to help as many people as they can with the work they do. They enjoy contributing and being of service to others and they love that business coaching gives them the chance to do that.
- They’re dedicated to creating a great income with their business through problems (in their niche) they are passionate about helping business owners solve.
3. Identify Your Target Audience
After identifying your niche, it is ideal for your to identify those you would want as your potential customers.If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one.That’s a well-known saying in marketing and it applies here.
Everything you do is connected to who you want to work with as a business coach.
From designing your client sessions and coaching offers to designing your website, you must have your ideal target audience at the top of your mind. If you don’t, you could wind up with a failed business.
knowing your ideal clients and understanding their needs will help you create irresistible coaching packages and products that are a perfect fit. It’s why successful business coaches always have a long waitlist of clients and it’s the secret behind their sellout group coaching programs and offers.
Answer the following questions Who inspires you? Who would you spend time with even if you weren’t getting paid? Who brings out the best in you? Who would you enjoy helping?
Who would you dislike working with? Note: knowing who you don’t want to work with can help clarify who you do want to work with.Who would benefit from your niche as a business coach?
Have a clear picture of both the demographics and psychographic data of your ideal target Think about the ideal client you’ll actually enjoy working with, because if you don’t, you’re in for a world of trouble. Working for just anyone without clearly defining your ideal clients could make you work for clients who doesn’t fit into your description of the type of client you would love to work with.
For example you could get a client who keeps trying for a discount or a freebie, one who is too outspoken or maybe someone who is too quiet. Or one who doesn’t respect your boundaries or someone who challenges you and your ideas in all the wrong ways. This could leave you devastated, disillusioned… And ready to give up. Identifying your ideal client early in the game can prevent all these issues and more.
4. Build Your Credibility as a Business Coach
Credibility is all about trust. As a business coach, building trust with your clients means building a solid reputation of your business in the minds of your clients and this will earn you loyal customers that will always keep running to you for more of your services and new customers as well
In coaching, trust is about results.
From the first day you start as a business coach, you need to focus on creating results for your clients. Results speak for you. Results create your reputation. Results inspire word-of-mouth referrals.
If you’ve never worked with a client, think about other ways you can include credibility in your marketing and copy.Do you have a business degree or certification? Have you worked in a corporation or 9-to-5 environment in your niche or specialty? Are you a serial entrepreneur with a proven track record?Dig into your past. Think about all that you’ve achieved…Then include anything and everything that supports you as a credible, trustworthy business coach.
Authentic messaging, partnering with a reputable acclaimed coach, Volunteering your services for a good cause or non-profit organization, testimonials from happy clients. building genuine relationships with your audience and clients and consistency in improving your skills as a business coach will definitely add to your credibility.
Never sacrifice your credibility for profits or personal gain.Whether you’re making a decision to partner with someone, price your coaching services and products, or write copy for a sales page ask yourself…
Will this hurt or help my credibility?
Remember, building credibility takes time so don’t rush this. Be patient, be persistent and you’ll see results.Create your own, unique coaching methodology that you want to be known for.
5. Grow an Engaged, Responsive Audience
Growing an audience that is engaging and responsive needs to be a major priority from the get-go.
Think of your audience as the energy that powers your business
You can grow your audience through your shared blog posts, articles, emails videos etc on a number of platforms such as your website, email or top social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube or Instagram.
Growing an engaged audience has more to do with consistency and persistence than anything else. Make research about the best platform you cannot connect with your audience and devise strategies that you can use to keep constant communication with them.This could be through your website, emails, a freebie you offer on social media or a Facebook Livestream or YouTube video.
Keep in mind that all of your content must be valuable for your audience and relevant to your niche as a business coach this will help not only to get an engaging audience but also attract the right kinds of clients you desire.