Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Selecting a Business Coach can be a difficult decision.  There is no licensing agency that regulates coaching.  There are a few groups that “certify” people to be coaches but the criteria set by these agencies is often arbitrary and self serving.  There are a few franchise business coaching companies that provide coaching models.  The intellectual property that these companies have developed is pretty good. (Full disclosure: I own a franchise coaching business and I use their process in addition to my own specialty coaching).  Any of those solutions could be terrific or they could be a bust.  The question is how: How do you know if you coach is qualified to work with you?

Here are some things to look at when choosing a business coach:

Look for a structured coaching format and a proven process. A good coach has a curriculum and good diagnostic tools to help identify “need areas” for their clients.  Although everyone has different needs and every business is a little different, taking a focused approach is important.  Ask your coach how you will decide what to focus on first in your work together.  Ask them about the “basics” of their coaching work.  They should talk about helping you with goal setting, sales and marketing strategy and work/life balance issues.  This stuff is important and it is the “bread and butter” of coaching.  The coaches that use the franchise systems will have these basics covered and they will follow a structured diagnostic process that will help you get started quickly.  Coaches who freelance (or just wing it) may have a difficult time honing in on the key issues that you need to focus on to move your business forward. 

Ask about the coach’s background.  If you’re an entrepreneur don’t work with a coach who has never built a successful business.  Your coach should know success in order to help you succeed.  Sure, it’s true that your coach’s main job is to get you to believe in yourself  - and you don’t need experience to do that – but for credibility purposes you want to work with someone who has walked a mile in your shoes.  If you are an executive, you should work with a coach who has experience in the executive ranks of the corporate world.

If you have a special problem, look for a specialist.  If your problem is in sales and marketing, look for a coach with expertise in sales and marketing.  If you have finance issues, look for an expert in finance.  If you have trouble hiring and keeping staff you should look for someone who has expertise in that area.  Specialists can address your issues quickly and effectively.

Ultimately, there are many, many qualified people out there who can coach you.  The key is finding someone who is a good match for your needs.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

They are working too many hours. They’re pretty sure that if they left for a vacation, or even just took a day off, things wouldn’t work anywhere near as well as they do now.   If you’re ready to work a whole lot less, we can show you how.  Our proven process has worked for literally thousands of clients.  It helps shed some light on the things you should be doing and the things you should be delegating to others or outsourcing completely. 

They are ready to make a whole lot more profit.  Sometimes a business requires so much effort that business owners begin to ask; “It is worth it?”  We have identified hundreds of ways for you to make more money - regardless of your industry.  We can help you with sales, marketing, team building, advertising, business growth, building business equity, developing business systems and jump starting revenue growth in just a few short sessions.

They are ready to build a team of people that can grow and run the business without the involvement of the owner. Good help is always hard to find.  We have a proven process for recruiting, training and keeping the best people.  Not only does this make your life easier, it helps your business run effectively and efficiently.  
 
They know that business growth follows personal growth, but they don’t even have time to keep up with the day-to-day changes in their market - let alone the changes in their industry. Business education has moved into a new realm, with business mentoring and coaching taking over from traditional books and seminars so you get the right information at the right time. We call it “Just in Time Learning”.  You get what you need specifically for your business - not a bunch of academic theories.
 
They need someone to hold them accountable, someone to demand a profit, to demand results, someone to push them to do what is necessary to take the business to the next level.  Being a business owner can be a lonely job. Having a sounding board, a mentor and coach, a friend to talk with about your business problems is just a small part of what a coach does, but often it can be the most valuable.

They need someone who can see the forest for the trees, an outsider who isn’t blinded by the industry and by too many years in their business. Outsiders can often provide the “secrets to success”.  The reason: Running your own business is like any part of life; often you need an outsider to see the simplest of things. Often you need to ask the tough questions. Your coach can provide the objectivity you need to make the best decisions for the long-term health of your business.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Attention Business Owners in Miami, Florida or Business Owners anywhere in South Florida:  

Free recorded message reveals the five key questions you should ask your Miami or South Florida business coach before you hire him/her.

There are five key questions that you must ask your Miami or South Florida business coach before you hire him/her.  Coaching is an unregulated business and there are some certification processes out there that are not worth the paper the certificates are printed on.

If you are thinking about hiring a business coach in Miami, Florida or anywhere in South Florida please call:

1–888–474–1120 ext. 809

This is a free 24–hour recorded message that reveals the five questions you must ask a Miami or South Florida business coach before you hire him/her.

Again, if you are thinking about hiring a business coach in Miami Florida or anywhere in South Florida, call 1–888–474–1120 ext 809 for a free recorded message on the five questions you should ask your business coach before you hire him or her.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

I was giving a speech in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – about 45 minutes north of Miami, Florida –  last week and someone asked me why they should work with a business coach.  Since I don’t think this question is specific to Business Coaching in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Miami, Florida or any specific location, I thought I would share the information with you.

Below are five key benefits of working with a business coach:

When you work with a business coach you will make and keep more money.

What has been holding you back from doubling or even tripling your income?

In most cases we find that the limiting beliefs in the minds of our clients are the major barrier standing between them and the success they truly deserve. Once those limiting beliefs are exposed our clients feel free to aggressively attack the challenges in their business.  Your business coach is free from all of the limiting beliefs that are holding you back.  He/she can help you to understand your true value in the market place.  Armed with this information you can go out and confidently command higher prices.  Let’s face it, you create value for your customers.  They place a dollar amount on that value.  Your business coach will help you understand the premium the market will pay for your services.

Once you are focused on the value you create for your customers you will naturally bring more money to the bottom line.  Your customers are always going to be focused on what they get out of the relationship they have with you.  If you deliver fantastic value for your customers they will not be overly concerned with how much you charge.  This allows you to bring more money to the bottom line.

When you work with a business coach you take action.

How do you currently decide what you do each day?  How would that process differ if someone were holding you accountable to achieving the goals you set for yourself and your business?

Your coach will help you set a strategic plan for the future of your business. You and your coach will then create an action plan that will help you achieve the goals you have set during the planning process.  You will track your progress and your coach will push you.  You will develop aggressive new habits that are action-oriented. 

Coaching forces you to strike a balanced between work and the reason you are working.

Why do you go to work every day?  Is it just to make money or does it fill a deeper need? 

Balance is the key to stimulating creativity.  Working excessive hours and weeks upon weeks at a time is a recipe for stress, illness and burnout.  Your coach will help you look at the big picture.  He/she will help you understand the role that work plays in your life.  You will learn to be intraspective and reflect upon the needs of your life beyond money. 

A business coach will help you make better decisions for yourself and your business. 

Do you have an objective sounding board for discussing big decisions?

Your coach’s only interest is in helping you succeed.  He/she is not a relative.  They are not an investor in your business.  They exist to help you build the business and the life of your dreams.  When you have a big decision to make you need to speak with someone who has a firm grasp of the big picture - as it relates to you.  Since your coach is interested in you first as a person and second as a business owner, he/she can offer objective advice and feedback on your situation.

Working with a coach will help you have a lot more sustainable energy.  

Do you confidently run to your office to aggressively dive into your work?

When you have someone behind you in a supporting capacity you will have more confidence.  As you enjoy more and more success your confidence will grow.  Confidence and momentum will leave you feeling more energized after work each day.  The days will fly by by and you will feel like you can take on the world.

These five benefits are just the tip of the iceberg.  Their are literally dozens and dozens of benefits of working with a business coach.  The only way to find out exactally how much you will benefit from a coaching relationship is to set an appointment to meet with a coach for a free business audit.

Working with a Business Coach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Miami, Florida or anywhere on the planet is a great move that will benefit you and your business.  Call a coach today.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

As we ramp up our coaching business in Miami, Florida I am speaking with may small business owners and entrepreneurs.

One of the burning questions I am asked is: “What Should We Work on First?”

Here are three things that I recommend you focus on when you begin your work with a business coach:

Develop a Plan for the Next Three Years, One Year and Ninety Days

Most business leaders do not take the time to plan for the future.  A business coach can help you get a grip on the things that are important.  A business coach will also help you remember why you got into business in the first place.  Once you have crystallized these ideas you need to put them down on paper.   

After you have written down your expectations for the next three years you need to determine what you want to accomplish this year.  You business coach will help make these expectations actionable and convert them into goals that you can focus on immediately.   Breaking you goal into one-year and ninety-day segments will help you measure progress, generate momentum and work on high-value tasks.

Identify and Focus On your Best Customers

Many business owners and leaders spend their time and effort working with customers who provide limited value to their business.  All customers are important, but a customer who spends $400,000 is more valuable than a customer who spends $400.  That’s a fact. 

You need to know who your best customers are and you need to focus your time and energy on them.  Why?  Two reasons:

1). The top 20% of your customer base probably makes up 80% (or more) of your business’s revenue.  They deserve your time and your attention 

2). If they trust you enough to give you a sizeable amount of business right now, they probably have potential to give you more business in the future.

If you think about it logically, you probably focusing on a group of customers who complain the most, the loudest and spend the least.  This is true in just about all the businesses with whom we work. As responsive business leaders we want to make everyone happy.  Your business coach will help you adjust your plan so that you spend most of your time with the customers who are most valuable to your business.

Identify and Create More Relationships Like Your Best Customer Relationships

As we have already discussed, all customers are not created equal. Identifying high-potential customers is critical.  When you prospect for new business you should not just be looking for any customer with a pulse and a wallet.  You should look for customers who have the potential to become high-value clients. 

How do you find these potential customers?

This process begins by studying the group of your best customers.  Frequent interaction with this group will help you understand what they look for in a business relationship and where you can find more businesses like them.

Your coach should be familiar with how to conduct this research.  He/She should be able to help you quickly identify the drivers of these relationships.

Focusing on these three things will immediately help you prioritize your work and aggressively drive revenue growth.

 

 

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Business coaching is hot – especially in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and all of South Florida.

There are many, many people who claim to be experts and advisors in ways to help you run your business. 

How can you sort through them all and separate the good from the bad and the down right ugly?  Here are 7 questions you should ask your business coach before you hire him or her:

Who have you coached and what have the results been?  You don’t want to be the first client your coach has worked with.  Let them practice on someone else.  Many coaches figure it out as they go along when they start their coaching practice.  You don’t want to be a lab rat for anyone.  You deserve expert advise from a professional with experience.

Where did you learn to do what you do?  Your coach should have a combination of business experience and formal education.  If they only cite a certification from a coaching association you should run away as fast as possible.  Some of the coaching certifications out there only require that a person call in to a series of conference calls in order to be “certified”.  If you are paying for coaching you want someone who has been around the block a few times. 

What is your coaching process? Your coach should be an expert first and foremost in drawing answers out of you.  You will need to do the hard work of developing you business.  Your coach should be able to describe his/her process for getting the most out of you.  If they can’t, chances are good that they are just “winging it”.

What business discipline do you specialize in?  Many business coaches claim to be experts in everything.  Remember the phrase:  “Jack of all trades and master of none”? For example: If you need sales and marketing advice you should go to someone who has worked on sales and marketing issues over the years.  They should also have some form of education in this discipline.  If they can’t tell you three or four business problems they solved in their area of expertise, then there’s a good chance they read a text book on some theories and never put them into practice.

How will we measure our progress?  Working with a coach makes you feel better.  There’s no doubt about it.  But when you are paying someone to help you get your business on track you want results.  Your coach should be able to help you benchmark your progress as you work together.  Specific, measurable results will not only help you understand how you are progressing, it will also keep you motivated.  Your coach should have a system for measuring your progress.

What resources do you have to help me?  Your coach should have a network of professionals with whom he interacts regularly.  For example: He should know several qualified accountants, attorneys, web designers, printers and other business-to-business professionals.  The coach should have thoroughly vetted these folks to make certain that they will provide you with fantastic service.  Most importantly, your coach should trust these people and the service they provide. 

Will you guarantee my satisfaction with your coaching?  This is critical.  You must trust your coach.  Trust starts with the elimination of risk.  While it is always tricky to guarantee results – different individuals progress at different rates –  it is completely possible to offer to refund your money if you are not happy with the service you receive from your coach.  Let’s face it, you are going to open your life and your business up to this person, the least they can do is to make sure you feel good about your emotional and financial investment.

These seven questions are a good start in helping you understand what makes your coach tick.  You should feel completely comfortable in having a direct conversation with your coach about these topics.  Good coaches are not inexpensive.  You should be able to realize a huge return on your coaching investment.  This return is dependent upon the quality of the individual you have selected as your coach.  Take your time and do your homework.  You’ll be glad that you did.

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