If you are perfectly happy with your business as it is and you can’t wait to get to the office each day and you have plenty of time and energy to do what the job takes, you don’t need a coach. If, on the other hand, you want to take your business beyond it’s present scope and don’t quite know how, or if your are feeling burned out and don’t enjoy each day and find yourself stressed out trying to do it all, a coach may be your answer.

Determining what result you want from the coaching is the very first thinking you should be doing. There are many programs and coaches out there and the more clarity you have about what you are looking for, the greater your chance is of satisfaction. The coach that works with the top producer in your town (and I’ll bet they do have a coach!), is not necessarily the BEST coach for you. And, it may be training you are looking for, instead of coaching. Anyone can call himself or herself a coach and some people have just changed the name of their training to coaching because it is trendy. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with getting more training, but knowing what you want or need and distinguishing whether it is coaching or training is useful because finding the right solution is sometimes tricky.

Below is a list of some of the reasons you might want a coach. If you are thinking about hiring one, take a look at this list and determine which, if any, are areas you want to explore and then you can ask the coaches you interview what they can do for you in these areas.

10 Ways To Use A Coach

1. To create a business and life plan

   Do you know not only what you want your production goals are but why? And do they have a relationship to your overall plan for financial independence?

2. To bring weekly focus and accountability

   Are your weekly actions and priorities aligned with your plans? Do you monitor where you are on a regular basis so you can make course corrections to get back on track? Do you follow through on the ideas and plans you make?

3. To be encouraged and to brainstorm new strategies

   Are you doing things in the same way that you were 5 years ago? Do you know what the “new” consumer wants from you. Do you have the right tools and knowledge to deliver it?

4. To focus on using your strengths more effectively

   Do you try to figure out what you don’t do well and struggle getting better at it? Or, do you know yourself and what you are positively brilliant at and leverage that skill? Have you developed a business to attract the people who need the skill you are best at? For instance, if negotiating and bottom line results are something you pride yourself in, creating a business to work with investors, or others who are making practical, rather than emotional buys, would be a good fit.

5. To help you assess which activities are/aren't the highest/best use of your time

   Do you hold onto to all activities because no one else can do them as well as you? Do you know what an hour of your time is worth? Have you identified companies and people to outsource to who’d charge less than what an hour of your time is worth?

6. To support you in finding the right way to work so you also have a personal life

   Do you work to live or live to work? Do you regularly take time for yourself, your family and to rejuvenate? Do you take vacation time? Do you set boundaries about what times you can be reached and are available?

7. To brainstorm the perfect niches

   Are you trying to be available for any business that shows up or have you narrowed your focus to areas where you can be the expert? Are you a generalist or a specialist? What area or type property or client do you know better (or enjoy more) than anyone else?

8. To help strengthen your brand by clarifying your unique gifts

   Is your marketing designed to promote a memorable impression that positions you as the “guru” of real estate in one or more ways. Have you coordinated your materials and strategies to strengthen your brand or is it hard to distinguish you from everyone else?

9. To listen and let you know when you are off course

   Are you ready to try some new, even, off-the-wall way of doing things? Can you give up what has worked in the past for new ways of doing things? Do you have objective people who give you honest feedback? Do you have ideas that you need some outside perspective on?

10. To provide resources to help you attain your goals faster and more easily

    Are you well connected to knowing where to find the people and tools that will allow you to implement the strategies you are committed to?

This list is a place to begin in your thinking about where the gaps are in your business and your life that might be helped by a coach. As the late Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, once said, “"A coach is someone who gets you to do what you don’t want to do, so you can be who you want to be.”

Published: April 23, 2002

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Joeann Fossland ePRO, GRI, MCC, PMN, SRS is a dynamic, international speaker and business coach. She personally coaches a small number of extraordinary agents who want to leverage their production results and have a life they love! She was recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Real Estate in 2008 by Stephan Swanapoel. Subscribe to her free Tuesday Tips, attend Fossland's Forums, free monthly tele-seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting Joeann.com or email her at . You can also connect at Facebook and Twitter.