Do I Need A Business Coach?

Chances are, if you’re already asking this question, then the answer is yes, but you need to know more. How can a business coach help me? How do you choose a business coach? What should you expect from your relationship with a business coach?

Anyone in business should experience the knowledge and assistance of a business coach. Even high-flying executives and CEOs have business coaches, someone to bounce ideas off of, someone who is not directly linked to the business.

This article is going to look at B2B business owners and SaaS business owners, where the definition of a customer can sometimes be a little different, and be tricky to market to or grow your business around.

Why Should You Listen To Me?

My name is Andrew MacFarlane. I bring over 15 years of sales and marketing experience to The Entourage team, and I am the Coaching Manager for our Elevate program.

I have been the Director of Sales for The Star, one of the largest ASX-listed integrated resort and entertainment companies. I know what it takes to build sales strategies that work. I know how to implement marketing strategies that will bring in customers and grow your business.

I know business coaching works, and that it can work for you, but let me tell you about what business coaching is, and how The Entourage can help you elevate your business game to the next level.

What Is A Business Coach?

A business coach is someone who has business experience, who has shown success in the world of B2B sales, or Saas marketing, and can bring that experience to guide you along a path of your own success. We help you build relationships with other businesses to create a customer base. We can help you recruit staff for your business in a smart way and more.

You may have some great ideas on how to promote yourself, and your business, but because you’re stuck IN the business, you might not have the full scope of the landscape. 

A business coach is an independent observer, with different ideas and different points of view. They don’t have a stake in your business, so their advice won’t be influenced by that. They will direct you in the best direction, and explain why they’re doing what they’re doing.

A business coach can help you make the hard decisions.

Also, because you’re paying a business coach, you should expect results. It is in the coach’s best interest to bring you top results. With the team here at The Entourage, I’m confident we can deliver.

How Can A Business Coach Help Me?

Have I stirred an interest? Are you thinking- yes, I want a business coach, but what do I get out of it? Here are the top 5 ways business coaches help you.

1. Hold you accountable

A business coach will give you a lot of great advice and initiatives to implement, but you do have to action them. In the end, it is up to you to make your business a success. To keep you in line, a business coach will check on you, and ensure that you’re doing what you promised to do.

This accountability also helps you justify what you’re paying for a coach. If you pay a coach to help you, and then you don’t do the work, how will you feel?

2. Guide and direct you

Is your business heading in the right direction? You can so easily be caught up in the day-to-day running of your business that you may forget about the bigger picture.

A business coach is an impartial 3rd party who can see the bigger picture, and help show you. Small changes here and there can have a massive impact over the long term, and this is what a business coach will want to do with you. They will give you direction, and advice on where to take your business, and help you get there.

They might find a new target audience you’d never thought of, perhaps a new service you could offer to open a new income stream. Who knows what great things could happen?

3. Impart knowledge upon you

A business coach comes to you with knowledge and experience in the world of business. With The Entourage, we try to match up coaches directly with you in a similar business world. We have B2B experts, and Sass experts ready to coach you.

Through the process of coaching, they will give you knowledge, and you will learn from them and grow as a business person. The great thing about this teaching process, the more you know, the more I can teach you - here is a small step. Now you’ve learned that, let's use the knowledge of that, and move to a bigger step.

You grow in confidence, and you grow bolder in your dreams for your business.

4. Lift the wool from your eyes

As a business owner, you may have your head down and your butt up, working hard on your business. You might not be able to see new opportunities or new competitors.

A business coach can give you ideas and can show you ways of doing business you possibly didn't have the time to entertain. That’s okay, it is very time-consuming running your own business, and this is why you get a business coach.

5. Help you out of your comfort zone

By helping you build your knowledge and confidence, when a business coach asks you to try something new and innovative, to have you step outside your comfort zone, it won’t be as scary. Plus, they will be there to support you, to be your anchor, and to reassure you that you’ll be alright.

Personal growth only happens when you step outside your comfort zone. Not only can a business coach help your business grow, but they can help you grow too.

How To Choose A Business Coach?

Choosing a person who is going to become intimate with your business is a scary proposition. This is your baby, and someone else is going to tell you what to do? So what do you look for in a business coach?

• You want rapport. It’s no good finding the most experienced person in the world if you don’t get along. Butting heads with someone will only frustrate you. A frustrated business owner can do damage to their business.
• Experience and skills. I put this second, as I said, because if you don’t get along with a coach, then the relationship you build will be tainted. But, on the flip side, you don’t want to have someone as your best mate, if they’re not experienced and understand your industry. You want someone with runs on the board.
• A critical eye. Getting along with them is all well and good, but the coach also needs to be able to dissect your business and give you feedback in a critical way. You need to hear some hard truths and be given tough love.
  Courageous. It will take courage, leaps of faith and dipping your toe outside your comfort zone to grow. A business coach will help you do these things with you.
• Ethics. You don’t want a coach who will cheat the system, or take shortcuts, to get you quick returns. That’s not the way to sustainably grow your business. They are the wrong lessons to learn.
• Driven by your success. As a business coach, while I know it's my job, I get thrilled when you succeed. I’ve invested myself in your business, and to see you get some wins, makes me happy too.

Where To Find A Business Coach? 

If you’re reading this, you are at the perfect location to find a business coach. We can train you to be a business coach, or help you find the ideal business coach through our Elevate Program, which I manage.

We can also give you some training in the skills of sales and marketing, helping you grow your business yourself, and giving you a head start when a business coach sits next to you and takes you higher.

Get yourself a free 30-minute Discovery Session, and let’s elevate your business.