There are many reasons why you may choose to take on the services of a coach in some aspect of your life. And, with so many different types of coaches out there, you’re certainly spoiled for choice! One of the most common areas that people choose to hire a coach in is business. This is especially true of small or medium-sized business owners who are looking to grow their operations. A good business coach will help these people to achieve their goals, whether this is growing their business, expanding their team, making more sales, or something else. However, hiring a coach can be an investment. You need to make sure that it’s one that’s going to pay off! So, it’s important to hire a business coach that suits your needs, whatever they may be. But this is often easier said than done. How can you be sure you’re picking a coach that you will work well with? Everyone is different, and so what works for one person may not be the best solution for the next.

Having said that, there are some guidelines you can follow to find the best coaching companies to work with for you and your business. In this article, you can discover ten top tips and things that you must consider when picking the perfect business coach, in order to help you decide if it is a worthwhile investment. From their qualifications to their working hours, asking yourself these key questions about a potential coach should definitely help you on your journey.

What are our tips for finding the best coaching companies to work with?

There are so many different coaching companies out there to choose from. So, picking just one of them can seem like a minefield! Often, business owners simply give up on trying to choose altogether. But, this could mean that they are missing out on valuable advice and business growth. These tips should help the way forward become clearer so that you can feel more comfortable in your decision.

1. What are their qualifications?

It’s true that there are no formal qualifications needed to become a business coach. This is great in some ways, as it means that the industry is open for so many talented coaches. But it also means that, in theory, this means that almost anyone could offer up their services as one, even if they have no relevant experience. So, it’s important to do some research to ensure that the coach you want to work with is actually qualified to help you. After all, coaching other businesses takes knowledge and skills that not everyone will possess!

So, what sort of qualifications should you be looking for? Well, experience is the number one marker of a qualified coach. What does their work history look like? What sort of businesses have they worked with before? Have they held any senior positions? Have they owned their own business in the past or present? All of these questions should help guide you in your choices. A good business coach who has relevant experience will be proud to shout about what they’ve done in the past. If you can’t find any evidence of their work history on their website or LinkedIn profile, this may not be a good sign- do they have something to hide, such as a lack of experience? If in doubt, ask the coach directly and they should be more than happy to share with you.

2. Have they worked with businesses like yours before?

As a part of your research into the best coaching companies to work with, you should also be looking into whether they have experience working as a coach with businesses that are similar to yours. Of course, every business is completely different. But, a coach who knows their niche and is comfortable working with businesses of a similar size, type, and industry to yours will probably be the most valuable to you. After all, a coach that is amazing at working with small businesses may not be as comfortable working with huge multinationals, as these types of projects both tend to require very different skills.

3. Are they committed to their own development?

The main role of a business coach is to help you and your business to thrive and grow. Often, this involves teaching you about ways to develop yourself professionally, to the benefit of your business. But, does your coach apply the same rules to themselves? Any good business coach should be committed to developing themselves and their own business, in order to offer better services to their clients. After all, the business world is constantly evolving, and a good business coach should be making a big effort to keep up.

4. What do their testimonials look like?

How can you be sure that you’ve selected one of the best coaching companies to work with for you? Well, a good place to check is through their reviews and client testimonials. In other words, what do their previous clients think about the experiences they had with the coach? A good coach who has worked with plenty of clients in the past should be more than happy to share testimonials with them. In fact, many of them display these testimonials on their websites and social media pages. If this isn’t the case, you can also check review sites such as Google and Trustpilot, or simply ask to be put in touch with one of their previous clients in order to discuss their experience.

5. Are they an expert in their field?

Most business coaches tend to focus in on one specific niche or a particular industry. And, a good business coach should be active in their industry. This can mean many different things, but there are a few pointers to look out for that could be the mark of a particularly good coach. For example, are they vocal about their opinion on industry topics? Do they write or speak about the industry, for example on their own blog, social media page, speeches, or panels? Finally, do others in the industry seem to listen to them and respect their opinions? These are all markers of someone who is an expert in their field, which is exactly the sort of person you should be looking for in a business coach!

6. Are they knowledgeable in lots of different areas?

While they may have a certain niche, the best coaching companies will have extensive knowledge in more than one area of business. This could include marketing, finance, operations, customer service, planning, strategy, and so on. Having this breadth of knowledge means that they will be able to help you in more ways than one. As every business is looking for something slightly different from their business coach, it’s up to you what skills and knowledge you are looking for, but you should find it highly useful if they have expertise in more than one.

7. Are they actually available?

It’s no good finding the perfect coach to work with, only to find out that they are not actually available when you want to work with them. The best coaching companies do get booked up quite far in advance, so be prepared to wait a little while. And, it’s not just about availability in terms of when they can start working with you. It’s also important to think about how often you would want to work with them and at what times, for example during normal working hours or in the evenings or weekends. Does their schedule fit with yours? This is an important consideration, as your work with the business coach is unlikely to be effective if you can only meet once in a blue moon due to clashing schedules!

8. Do you know who you will be working with?

Most coaching companies will have a selection of coaches available for you to work with. You may pick one yourself, or they may assign you the coach that they think will be the best fit for you. No matter what, it’s important that you know exactly who you’ll be working with, as well as their specific skills, experience, and qualifications, before you commit to anything. This gives you the opportunity to ensure that you believe you will be a good fit, they are suitably qualified to help coach you and your business, and just generally sets everything off on the right foot.

9. How do they work?

One of the most important things to consider when selecting a business coach is to fully understand how they work before you commit to working with them. As the owner, you know your business better than anyone. As a result, you should have a clear idea of exactly how you want to work with a coach, and the benefits that you hope they will bring to your business. You can then compare these expectations against the coaches you are considering to help you find the best fit for your specific business.

10. The best coaching companies look different for every business

Finally, it’s important that the business coach that you choose to work with is genuinely a good fit for you. Ideally, you should get along well with them on a personal level as well as strictly professional. Your personalities shouldn’t clash, and you should certainly feel comfortable being open and honest with them- as they will be doing the same to you! Most importantly, you should feel as though you can trust your chosen business coach. After all, you are dealing in something that should be very important to you- your business. Ultimately, it is completely your decision on whether you feel a particular business coach is the right fit for you and your business. Choosing the wrong coach could be a costly mistake, so listen to your gut and choose wisely!

Final thoughts on finding the best coaching companies to work with

Finding your ideal business coach is not always an easy process. As you can see, there are plenty of things that you should consider before you make your final decision. Growing your business should be an ever-evolving task, and as your needs change, you may find that you need your business coach more or less than before. So, finding one that is the right fit for you and understanding of your business needs is absolutely key if you want the best chance of success and the results you were hoping for out of your partnership.

Here at Chrysalis Partners South, I like to see the businesses I work with thrive. If that’s the sort of business coach that you want to work with, then I would love to hear from you! I’m here to help you build a better future, whatever that looks like for you. Contact me today at graham@grahamgarman.com or complete the contact form here and I’ll get back to your shortly to discuss your individual requirements.