Better Business Coaching

In a downturn, exceeding your customer’s expectations can make all the difference in whether or not you win the next job.  The following tips show how you can go above and beyond and win a customer for life.

1.    Ask proactive questions – customers appreciate it when you act as business coach and demonstrate your concern for the process and its result.

2.    Know when to defer – deference it important but too much of it positions you as a hired help.  Inspire confidence by acting collegial and proving yourself to be a competent business expert in your field.

3.    Beat the deadline – getting the work done ahead of time gives the customer flexibility and demonstrates you are efficient and customer-focused.  When you agree a deadline with your customer choose one that you know you can beat.

4.    Give feedback – every process can be improved; you are in a unique position to provide feedback.  If you feel the circumstances are right, tactfully give thoughtful and constructive criticism.

Carole Davidson is an Executive Coach inspiring businesses to succeed.

In these troubled times when you are not sure just where to focus your effort then the following story may help:

During a presentation to some senior managers on time management the trainer said “OK, it’s time for a quiz.”

He then put on the table a large wide-mouthed jar.  He set this next to a plate of  large rocks.  “How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?”” he asked.  After the delegates had made their guess, he said “OK, let’s find out.”  He set one rock in the jar…then another…then another until the jar was full. He then asked, “Is this jar full?”.  All the delegates looked at the rocks and said, “Yes”.

He then said “Ahhh.”  He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel and then poured some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the spaces left by the big rocks.  Then he grinned and said once more, “Is the jar full?”.  The reply back was “No”.

He said “Good” and grabbed a jug of water and began to pour it in.  He got something like a pint of water in that jar.  The he said, “Well what’s the point?”  Someone said, “Well, there are gaps, and if you work really hard you can always fit some more things into your life.”

“No, that is not the point.  The point is this; if you hadn’t put these big rocks in first, would you ever have gotten any of them in?”

The ‘big rocks’ are, of course, a metaphor for the important things in your life and that if you don’t consciously make room for the important things, they will be overwhelmed by the less important things.

What are the ‘big rocks’ in your business?  Your customers, your marketing, your employees?  Whatever your ‘big rocks’ are, do make sure that these are the things that you prioritise and put into your schedule first.

Carole Davidson is an Executive Business Coach

In the fast pace of life during these challenging times, full of stress with information overload, we rarely find the quality time to reflect.  It is very easy to lose sight of your long term goals when you are dealing with the more immediate challenges.

Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher said that one of the most important methods to learn wisdom is one of reflection.  Why is it the one thing that most people have very little time for?

Interactive Coaching

Interactive coaching provides the perfect opportunity through a range of programmes to finally give everyone, anywhere, the chance to reflect on their life and how they would like it to be.  Having the ability to think and reflect is a key skill so vital in business in these rapidly changing times. Being able to assess, evaluate and solve problems will help you grow your business more efficiently.

For coaching to be effective it should involve the coachee in a great deal of thinking and reflecting.  Through interactive coaching a coachee has the opportunity to reflect a lot on how they are going to take the action and what obstacles or barriers they might encounter on the way.  The coach will support them to find solutions and facilitate the necessary changes required.

Traditionally coaching has been conducted on a one to one basis, either face-to-face or over the telephone. With the rapid advance in technology coaching over the internet was clearly the next step.

The beauty of interactive online coaching is that, unlike traditional one-on-one coaching, it allows more quality time for reflection in a choice of environments, many of which are more conducive to reflective thinking – available 24/7 to meet the needs of the busy business executive.  Coaching interactive gives you the choice of where you work through the coaching programmes i.e. in the comfort of your own home outside of the busy pressurised environment.

Carole Davidson is an accredited Interactive Executive Coach

Increasing numbers of UK professionals are turning to Business Coaching as a means of earning a secondary income.

Professionals that have signed up to coaching courses with The Coaching Academy in the pst 12 months include:

• Business owners/company directors (12% of people training to be Coaches own their own business)
• HR managers and directors
• Estate agents
• Personal trainers
• Doctors
• Trainers and Consultants
• Accountants
• Recruitment Consultants
• Counseller
• Teachers

Small Business Coaches can earn upto £1000 per day while Corporate and Executive Coaches can earn in excess of £2000 per day. Personal Coaches otherwise known as Life Coaches can earn around £100 per hour, and often work flexible hours between 5-9pm in the evening, after their normal day jobs, even on weekends.

Alternatively, some people decide to become full time professional coaches and find themselves deployed into businesses that want to retain new staff. They also provide ongoing support to leaders and managers to increase personal effectiveness.

The Coaching Academy, the UK’s largest school for coaches, have seen a startling 148% increase year-on-year in the number of people attending their Introductory Seminars on Coaching and an overall 20% year-on-year increase in the numbers of people going on to sign up to the Coaching Academy Advanced Diploma.

The Coaching Academy is the largest coaching academy in Europe, which has trained over 23,000 coaches and celebrates its 10th anniversary in September 2009.

So, how has your business responded to the downturn?  Has it seen the economic environment as an opportunity to grow or has it downsized to manage its costs and risks?

Regardless of your answer the more progressive businesses will still have retained a solid commitment to the training and development of their people.  It’s a well know fact that leadership development provides immediate and long term increases to productivity and helps to deal with the impacts of a recession sooner rather than later.

Coaching your team is both time and cost effective and will send a powerful message about your commitment to them.  So, how do you know when it is appropriate to coach an employee or colleague?

In these challenging times employees may need some extra support in keeping motivated; however, they will not always want to ask for support.   So how do you know when to introduce coaching?

For business coaching to be effective it requires time for a good conversation in which you will need to support, challenge or give feedback.  Before you jump in too quickly with an unsuspecting employee it is always worth asking yourself: Is coaching what is needed right now and if so how can I become focused quickly?

Look for the signals; differences between how your employee behaves, e.g. unusual levels of excitement or anxiety might suggest a conversation would be helpful.

Ripples in the pond that seem to originate from one employee might indicate their words or deeds are having perhaps unintended consequences. Request or demands made of you.  Telling your employee what you want might be fine but after the 10th occasion, you may need to consider a different tack!

Over time you will pick-up a feel when to coach, and when to pick the moment, if you are still not sure, ask how you can help your employee.  Whilst it sounds obvious to say, if your leadership style encourages your team to pull together and develop their effectiveness your company is in a much stronger position to improve results.

Carole Davidson is an Executive Business Coach & Mentor
‘Inspiring business people to succeed’