One of the most frequent questions we get here at Bullet Proof Consulting is about choosing a good business advisor or coach.

Some days, it seems like an entire university has sprung up and is happily pumping out coaches and consultants. Online and offline. Churning out experts and gurus on, well, everything. (NOTHING is more like it! And at exorbitant fees too! )

Here then is a relatively stock response.

First, YOU need to be clear about what you want to be advised or coached about. As in, where do you want to go, or what do you want your organization to look like?

The short answer is choose someone who has ALREADY been where you want to go or done the work you need to have done.

Why on earth would I say that? For a few key reasons:

1. Because you are investing in your future. So, make the most of that investment. Save yourself time and energy. Piggyback on all the mistakes, failures and lessons learned from someone else who has already done everything that you want to do. That way, you can leapfrog past your competition, save yourself needless time, energy and money and get to the front of the line faster.

2. You must ask them a very very important question. Let me speak to your client(s) who are/were exactly like me. Yes. Speak to their clients, because short of your own experience with them, that is the best way to gather the insight you need to make an informed decision.

3. When you speak to those customers, ask a few questions. Like what did they do for you? Can you quantify the results you achieved in any way.? What kind of numbers or metrics (customers, sales, bottom line, goals) did he/she help you reach? Are you still with them?

Now for some of the things, you must never do.

Do not choose someone who is in an entirely different industry than you.

Do not choose someone who has only been trained but has NEVER run their own business.

Do not choose someone you have not interviewed.

Do not choose someone who is not over fifty years old.

Do not choose anyone who calls themselves an expert or a guru.

Do not choose someone who does not teach you a system or a process.

I believe a business advisor or coach is a trusted ally or mentor. Essentially the secret weapon in your back pocket to guide you, tell you stuff you don’t want to hear, save you from yourself and everyone else.

They have been where you want to be and can guide you on the fastest path to get there because they will avoid all the failures and potholes that plagued him/her and everyone else.

Lastly, and perhaps most critical, they can help you see you own blind spots that are preventing you from achieving the growth you want.

No matter who you decide is the right candidate, you want to ask yourself are they getting results? Have they got multiple successes in your space? Have they achieved what you want to achieve? Do they teach a framework or a system? Do they train on business and mindset? Do your values align with theirs? Are they LIVING those values? Do you like them?

My partner and I will never claim to be experts and gurus. While we freely admit to having several decades of experience between the two of us, we acknowledge we are not everybody’s cup of tea.

We are not skilled in every single industry and accordingly do not bluster about being able to help everyone. But for those who do fit with our knowledge base, our space and our values, we can be dynamite.

For them, it is our pleasure to serve.  

Contact us and let’s see how we can serve you!