Ready to Hire a Business Coach? Ask These 7 Key Questions to Rock Your Discovery Session

If you’re an entrepreneur or executive ready to engage a coach to get you to the next level, you deserve a discovery session interview to ensure you’re trusting the right partner who can rock your goals.

It’s a buyer’s market, and rightfully so. As someone who invests in my own career development, it’s important that I align myself with the very best resources and the sharpest coaches I can find. The goal is to shortcut my learning curve and drive results faster than possible on my own. I balance the cost of not engaging the right mentors to accelerate my growth.

You both deserve to make the best choice.

In the world of private or group coaching, both parties deserve to enter into the relationship with confidence. Folks might buy a “do-it-yourself” class or e-book through an ad; they may join a low-cost (eg, low-touch) group coaching program after participating in a free webinar. That makes perfect sense for those who will follow directions and prefer truly independent learning.

However, when folks demand more attention and accountability, an investment of thousands of dollars requires mutual commitment to your success. After all, people conduct business with those they know, like and trust. Coaching relationships require the intimate sharing of knowledge much like your priest, rabbi, doctor or attorney. Clients depend on coaches like me to transform their business, their lives or both.

How do you find the right coach?

A great coach gives from the heart (what I call a go-giver). S/he will have spent time sharing wisdom generously in the marketplace and attracting the ideal clients’ attention. They’re interested. When it comes to private coaching, however, potential clients deserve to understand exactly what’s in it for them so they can engage you with confidence.

Ask these 7 killer questions to see if you’re a good coaching fit:

How does your coaching program or service address my pain, or potential (the reason you seek coaching in the first place)?
How will you support my mission and keep me accountable?
What accolades do others say in testimonials and reviews?
What does success look like and how will we measure?
Do your skills and background prove that you can rock my challenges?
Are you a good fit strategically and personally (eg, are our values and philosophies on success aligned)?
What assurances do you offer that your coaching program will deliver on its promises?

These important questions can be addressed on what I call a breakthrough discovery session. Note, these are NOT pitchy sales calls or free consultations with no outcomes. You will definitely walk away with 1 or 2 awesome nuggets of advice regardless of whether we decide to work together moving forward.

Rather, discovery sessions are interactive dialogues that help both parties peel back the onion and reveal if you’ve got synergy. They’re an important prerequisite to see if you’re both feeling the right chemistry and can succeed by working together.