Business coaching is not just about you

Business coaching is now becoming more common; it’s a useful way of improving confidence, performance and more often than not, it can improve turnover and net profits.

For me, business coaching is all about focusing on thriving and being the very best you can be. Business coaching is not just about making money; it’s about focusing on getting as far ahead as you can get and also focusing on staying there. What does all this mean?

For my own clients, it means many different things; it can mean growth, profits, performance, customer service, sales and most importantly, developing effective, motivating and meaningful business goals. You could say that business coaching is all about plotting your course and focusing on maintaining the direction that is right for your business.

There is one particular thing that many clients don’t even think about; it’s their competitors and we all have them. Many business owners don’t take too much notice of their competitors. Many may be unaware that their customers can choose from a vast array of options and services, some of which they don’t offer themselves. There are many factors to take into account and which can be overlooked, these being: new technologies, updates and modifications. New technologies can often be cheaper and more time efficient.

Maintaining staff effectiveness by updating training, especially on computer systems, is essential, as software programs are constantly improving. To add to this, newly hired staff don’t always receive the correct training; this is very common in small businesses and affects confidence, morale and productivity. 

There are also times when someone with the wrong skills is hired, just because time wasn’t spent identifying what specifically the new role would entail and why that might be important, now and in the future! Poorly trained and poorly developed staff can cause conflict and reduce overall business performance. It’s easy to blame staff; in reality, in small businesses, the buck stops with the business owner.

Marketing can be expensive and be of little value. One reason and probably the most important reason for this, lies with the business owner who doesn’t know how to describe their business correctly, how to explain why customers should buy from them, or the value of the services they provide and their unique selling point (USP.)

I always remember when I sat once, between two accountants, at a breakfast networking meeting, I asked one accountant what he did; he said, “I’m an accountant and I can do all of your books and make sure they are all correct and are in on time”. When I asked the accountant on the other side what she did, she replied, “I am an accountant and I can save you money”. Passionately knowing who you are, why you are in business and being able to sell yourself, is the key to your success. From my observations, many business owners can tell you very proficiently what they do; they cannot tell you why you should buy from them.

Finally, on many occasions I drive past two offices, located within half a mile of each other, that are in exactly the same line of business. I popped into both of them one day. One, sadly is quiet and in an office with six desks, there can be only one member of staff inside and one car in their car park. The other is a hive of activity and energy, with non-stop phone calls, many people coming and going and their car park is always full. One uses a business coach; the other doesn’t see a need. You can guess which of the two businesses uses a business coach!

What has to be remembered is that if your competition is growing and working confidently, efficiently and effectively, then you are probably losing customers, profits and most importantly, sleep.

Business coaching can give you more peace of mind, a more restful sleep and a framework for growth and success. Of course with growth and success come growing pains… more on this in the future!