What are the benefits of coaching?
In this 4 minute blog, you learn about the impact and benefits of coaching small business owners and how that differs sharply from why entrepreneurs think they need a coach. What are the learnings they took home from the entrepreneurial coaching?
Table of contents
- Entrepreneur coach
- Business coaching questions to ask
- Benefits of coaching sessions
- Four major learnings
- Small business coaching services
Entrepreneur coach
There are a lot of business owners. But, many of them struggle with running a business and achieving business success. That’s where the small business coach comes in. Small business coaches help new and existing business owners with any number of tasks to foster their entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is not about having a business, but about having an entrepreneurial mindset. At least being enterprising enough for the type of business in which a small business owner is active.
Maybe your coachee has the mindset to be a successful entrepreneur, or perhaps he doesn’t. Nevertheless, in entrepreneurial coaching, which is very different from life coaching, you need to have an accurate profile of their personal entrepreneurial competencies.
Business coaching questions to ask
Furthermore, you need to find out what he misses out on and what his real coaching needs are. Because most of the coachees don’t know what their real problem is, as it turns out.
Research among almost 4,000 business owners found that the coaching needs that entrepreneurs have before the coaching sessions started differ significantly from the learnings they took home.
In an open-ended question, business owners wrote down what they expect before the coaching session began. And, at the end of the executive coaching sessions, they jotted down what learnings they took home. Their answers were categorized into labels to compare them. It led to the following exciting findings.
Benefits of coaching sessions
Most entrepreneurs are not looking for a business coach or mentor, although times are slowly changing for the better. Any business owner can benefit significantly from a professional coach, who is an experienced entrepreneur and has led a successful business.
Managing business has gotten more complex and is changing more rapidly. There simply is no longer the time to “learn while doing” or the margin of error to “learn by making mistakes.” A business coach can help to speed up the learning curve to guide a founder from his comfort zone towards business growth effectively. They have seen so many companies from the inside in their life, that they can help any coaching client to overcome their business and personal challenges.
Four major learnings
First of all, as an entrepreneur coach, you need to get in contact with troubled business owners. To get in touch easily and ask great questions, this blog about the E-Scan offers good help to get potential clients. At the first encounter, the coaching client will tell his primary needs, but is that what he truly needs?
The chances are big that ‘Support’ (80% of the entrepreneurs say they look for an entrepreneurial coach, not a life coach, to solve their problems) and ‘access to your Network’ (mentioned by 73%) are at the top of their list. That’s okay, of course.
But, as it turns out after the coaching sessions ended, ‘Support’ is the least mentioned (71%). The more crucial lesson they learned from their coaching experience is that they have determined how to solve their problems on their own (mentioned by 96%).
The table below states the benefits of business coaching. On the left, the needs mentioned before the leadership development started and on the right, and the learnings after business coaching.
| Needs mentioned before coaching | Learnings after business coaching |
|---|---|
| #1 Need: Support, mentioned by 80% | #1 Learning: Sparring partner and much more than that; learned to solve problems on their own, mentioned by 96% |
| #2 Need: Network by 73% | #2 Learning: Network (learned how networking works by 75% |
| #3 Need: Sparring partner by 70% | #3 Learning: Mirror; insight in own profile & business and specific skills by 73% |
| #4 Need: Mirror by 64% | #4 Learning: Support by 71% |
Learning #1
The first and most crucial learning of coachees is that they learned how to solve their problems on their own. They found out that the small business coach was much more than a sparring partner or mentor. An executive coach who motivated them to believe in themselves and in their ability and accountability to solve any problem they face.
This learning was reported by 96% of the coachees. This development of entrepreneurial learning was an unexpected outcome. Coachees were expecting a good or even a great coach who would solve their problems; mentorship and support (mentioned by 80% of the coachees). However, the coaching relationship turns out to be very crucial to get this kind of business success.
Learning #2
The second learning that the coachees took home is learning how networking works for them. Where they expected to have access to the network of the business coach, what they got, the bigger surprise was that they learned to start networking effectively.
So, how they can build a network of their own that fits their entrepreneur profile.
Learning #3
The third learning that entrepreneurs reported after coaching sessions is that they have a better and deeper insight into their entrepreneurial personality profile and what business skills and knowledge they miss out on.
Many more entrepreneurs (73%) reported that they appreciated the coach holding up a mirror, where only 64% anticipated this before business coaching started.
Learning #4
The fourth lesson learned by entrepreneurs is that they have received assistance in improving their company performance and business skills. Of course, the need for support is the primary driver for any business owner to start seeking help; mentioned by 80% of the coachees.
Some aspects of their business or performance aren’t going the way they foresaw. Although the coachees seek help and call it ‘Support,’ they have no clear idea what a business coach will bring to the table.
To speed up the connection and ‘chemistry’ between a business coach and business owner, E-Scan was introduced. It helped the coach to talk about the person behind the business and its problems and build a sound coaching relationship right from the start.
Small business coaching services
Every entrepreneur is unique, so is their path to business growth and emotional intelligence. Thus, small business owners need to discover what works for them and their businesses. However, many never get to make it successful businesses. So, as a small business coach, you can help to speed up this problematic, unpredictable process with action plans, coaching programs, and coaching sessions.
Something to keep in mind when you talk to a prospect who is considering business coaching about the extra unexpected added value that you provide as a business coach. Entrepreneurs don’t know upfront what they are going to learn. So, this is what you should tell your prospects.
More tips and strategies on marketing for business coaches
Do you want to get the best business coaching reviews and grow your coaching business? Learn how E-Scan can work for you in both attracting new clients and turn clients into fanatical ambassadors? Get Your Free E-Scan Now.