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When I was starting out as a coach I looked around for the leading coach in Australia (and chose Christine McDougall). For my next coach I called the President of the ICF in the US (Marcia Reynolds). I believe this track is appropriate for high flyers - those going for big achievements.

If you truly believe coaching is valuable, it's just common sense to have your own coach. Choose the right coach for you, and it will definitely fast track your practice.

In this article I'll share a few tips to help you choose the right coach for you. After all, it can be a sizeable investment....let's make it pay off!

You're after a coach who has something you want. Are they a well paid professional speaker? Do they have forty clients? Are they in the corporate market? Do they LOVE their life? Are they working in your dream niche? Do they own a seaside home? Ar they hugely visible in the media? Are they a wiz at the internet and technology (cough, cough)?

Dream the kind of practice you want, and find someone who has it.

Ideally, you're also looking for someone with experience in getting new coaches started. They may have what you want, but there's no guarantee they can impart/teach what they know.

Anything from US$300 to $500 p.m. is reasonable providing they can demonstrate results and have testimonials.

Searching

You can do a search for "mentor coach" at any internet search engine e.g. www.google.com You might try the coach referral service at www.coachfederation.org - which allows you to limit your search to the coaches who offer mentor coaching (note - this does not mean they have experience in this). You can search for a CoachU certified mentor coach at www.findacoach.com.

Questions to Ask

Most coaches are willing to answer some of your questions, and even do a fr'ee trial session before you sign on. Some good questions to ask are:

1. How long have you been coaching?
2. What training have you had?
3. How many coaches have you/are you currently mentoring?
4. What kind of results have your mentorees had?
5. Can you provide email addresses of a couple of coaches you've worked with?
6. Could you please provide details of your practice? (Fees, # clients, different revenue streams)
7. What do you love about your practice?
8. What's great about your life?

Check Them Out

Lastly, you want to feel comfortable with this person. Interviewing or trialing one to three coaches should be sufficient. They no longer have to be in your country - just make sure if they're overseas that they are willing to cover the cost of phone calls, or factor this into your monthly fee. Be aware they may not be willing to do a fr'ee session with you if you are doing this with a number of coaches. (I know I don't like to - I prefer people do their research on the net first, even talk to other coaches first, and ask me for a chat only once they're pretty sure they want to work with me).

Investment

If you're concerned about the investment, consider what your return on that monthly investment might be. In most cases, you only need 2-4 paying clients to cover the cost of your mentor coach. And if your coach can't increase help you increase your client list by MORE than 2-4, something's missing! It can be very empowering to hire a mentor coach, and set a goal of bringing in enough coaching income to cover the cost of your own coach by a particular date.

Remember, you don't need a mentor coach. No-one NEEDS a coach. It's just a faster, more fun, and often cost-effective road with one.

By David Wood and Geoff Grist

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David Wood is a Certified Life Coach. He helps coaches, consultants, speakers and trainers to build their businesses via his popular eBook http://10SuperCoaches.com and his audio eBook at http://www.FirstFiftyClients.com. Get his new Free Download '50 Power Questions' and popular monthly eZine for clients at coaches (now over 15,000 subscribers) at: http://www.solutionbox.com/freedownload.htm

Web site: www.life-coaching-resource.com

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