8 Steps to Finding the Right Personal Coach

A fresh start. A new you.

The beginning of the year marks a time where many of us set new personal and professional goals for ourselves. Depending on the change you’re seeking in your life, the starting point in this journey may include seeking outside help. In the form of a personal coach.

With so many people practicing in this field (the International Coaching Federation estimates that there are 71,000 coach practitioners globally), you may ask yourself one important question. How do I find the right coach for me?

Recently, I spent quite a bit of time talking with personal friends and my professional network about this topic. Specifically on how to identify the right professional service or product to invest in. We kept coming back to how tricky the selection process is. How do you determine who is actually good at what they do versus those who are really good at marketing themselves but offer a mediocre product?

One person I spoke with said that she decided to purchase an online course with a big name brand only to regret it later. Because the quality of the content didn’t match the price she paid for it.

Here are 8 steps you can follow to avoid the mistake of investing in the wrong expert and find the right personal coach to match your needs.

Step 1 – Self Reflection

It may come as a surprise to see this listed first. Before making any contact with a coach, I recommend looking inward with some self-reflection work. This will help you determine what you’re hoping to gain from a personal coach and define what your goals are.

Conducting this exercise upfront will ensure you’re getting the most out of your money and time. Personal coaches are not cheap. Price tags range from $100 to $1,000+ per session, depending on their expertise and experience.

The more specific you can get with your goals, the closer you will move towards fine tuning your search. For example, if your goal is to get a promotion you may look at a pool of career coaches, not life coaches. However, if your goal is to get a promotion to a senior management position you may want to target executive coaches who specialize in preparing clients for their first senior level position.

Some of the questions you can start with are:

·      What am I hoping to gain from this experience? What is my goal?

·      When do I want to achieve this goal?

·      How much time can I commit to coaching each week? Each month?

·      What is my budget?

·      What type of expertise do I need to help me reach my goal?

·      What do I actually need? Is it coaching, mentoring, an advisor, workshop or course?

Step 2 – Describe Your Goal in 1-3 Sentences

Once you finish the self-reflection exercise the next step is to describe what you’re looking for in a succinct message. Similar to an elevator pitch.

Example:

My goal is to get promoted to a senior management marketing position within the next 6 months. I’m looking for an executive coach who can help me define my personal brand, understand what I’m doing today that may be getting in my own way and develop good habits that embody the type of senior leader I want to become.

In the example above, the person is clear about what their goal is- getting promoted to a senior management marketing position. The person is also specific about when they want to see this change occur by specifying a time frame. Additionally, they make it clear that what they are looking for is an executive coach and what they want to gain from the coaching experience.

Step 3 – Referrals

Getting referrals from people you trust is a good starting point to create a list of potential coaches who are already vetted by your professional network, friends or family. Using the description you developed in Step 2, pose your ‘ask’ to them when searching for referrals.

This step does require you to be transparent with your contacts about your goal(s). Share with those you trust and feel most comfortable with.

Step 4 – Research

If outreach to your personal network is not an option for privacy reasons, conducting your own independent research is an alternative option. It’s also a good measure to explore other coaches who may be a match with your needs but exist outside of your network.

Where is the best place to conduct your search for a personal coach? My pick is LinkedIn. Many coaches have a profile set up and identify themselves on the platform. You can apply the Boolean logic to your search to filter and connect with the right person. Learn more about how to use Boolean logic here if you’re not familiar with this tool.

Step 5 – Criteria for Evaluation & Selection

Before you begin making contact with your compiled list of coaches it’s important to outline the criteria you want to evaluate them on. Doing this prior to your consultation calls will ensure that you make an objective decision. Instead of selecting someone who you enjoyed talking to but does not meet the criteria or goal you’re aiming for.

Items that can go on your criteria list include coach availability to start, goals you’re hoping to achieve, previous client feedback/testimonials, price, methodology (e.g. assessments, 360 feedback, assignments), coaching type (individual, group), certifications, expertise, professional experience, chemistry and/or overall value to you.

Where possible, utilize a rating scale to measure where each coach stands against each criteria. That will make it easier to compare multiple coaches.

Step 6 – Prep for Consultation Calls

After your criteria is finalized you’re now ready to begin preparing for your consultation calls. This step involves looking at your goals outlined in Step 1 and your criteria in Step 5 to develop your list of questions. This preparation ensures that you maximize the initial consultation call.  Collecting as much information possible to help you make your decision.

Step 7 – Consultation Calls

Going through the list that you generated in Steps 3 and 4 you can begin contacting the coach. Set up an initial consultation call or meeting. Most coaches will offer a complimentary call (be wary of those who charge for this conversation) to understand your coaching needs and provide you with a sample of what you will experience if you become a client.

This conversation may feel a little like an interview. That’s normal. The coach understands that it’s a big decision for you and you want to shop around to make sure you find the right person to partner with.

Using the criteria you created in Step 5, evaluate each coach after the call.

Step 8 – Select a Coach

After you complete all your consultation calls and evaluate every coach, you’re now ready to make a selection.

If there is a tie, go with the person you enjoyed speaking with the most as a tie breaker. Depending on what you’re looking to accomplish, the coaching engagement may be a lengthy one. Selecting someone who has the expertise you need and is enjoyable to speak with is a win on multiple fronts for you.

There are a lot of options for you and plenty of compelling marketers in the world of personal coaching. Following this structured approach to finding and selecting a coach will help you discover the person that brings the greatest value to you.