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Business Coaching is a fairly new profession that has started to entrench itself in the business sector. Its origins of course come from the sporting arena where coaches have for centuries helped athletes achieve their goals.

Coaching is a slightly different concept to consulting. But in a nutshell, consulting implies that you identify a problem that a client has and you propose a solution. Coaching is more about the facilitation of a process so that the client can self help.

The analogy to sport is a good one and also helps us to understand the difference between consulting and coaching.

Imagine a tennis coach for instance. The coach talks to the athlete, shows the athlete where their skill levels are inadequate and then sets over a period of time a plan for the athlete to improve. The plan would enable the athlete to think for him or herself in pressure situations and determine the correct shot to play. This is called coaching.

If the coach on the other hand instructed the athlete to play a particular shot (rather than having the athlete decide on the best shot) or took the tennis racket and played a few sets for the athlete then this would be an extreme version of consulting.

Business Coaching therefore is about collaboratively seeking a solution and formulating an action plan. It looks probably at a more broader perspective and helps in the development of a process for that business to proceed. Whereas consulting is more defined around problem solving and the suggestion of specific solutions.

So what does this mean?

We should not concern ourselves with trying to define a label as to whether we are performing mentoring, consulting, coaching or facilitation. Our prime goal should be to make the client money.

In reality, the more business and consulting experience you have then the more that you will interplay multiple disciplines in the one assignment. You will both coach and at the same time steer your client toward a solution that from your experience you know is the best option. You may mentor and train.

Our philosophy at MAUS Business Systems is to ignore the constraints of definitions and concentrate on the one thing that you were employed for....to make your client money. And I don't think that either you or your client will care whether this is done through coaching, consulting, mentoring or training. At the end of the day it is what makes you and your client comfortable.

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How does coaching make your business more profitable?

Some people see themselves as a consultant, others as a coach. There are definitions that separate the two.

Consultants generally deal with identifying problems and then proposing solutions that they actually implement. A coach helps the client find the solutions to the problem themselves by adopting a methodology of questions and in depth exploration that leads to the solution.

In our videos we are concerned more with you making a profit and you helping your clients to make a profit. Clients do not hire a coach, a consultant or a mentor. They hire someone to help them improve their business. They hire someone that btthey feel comfortable with. And in fact many coaches and consultants will often consult and coach in the same assignment.

If we forget about definitions for the moment and look at the processes and profitability, we believe that by adopting a coaching framework you could most likely build a more profitable practice.

Let me explain. As a consultancy, you need to first find a client that understands that they have a problem. They then need to perceive you as an expert and they need to beleive that you can solve their problem. This limits your market size and then when you win the assignment your revenue is limited to solving the problem.

Coaching on the other hand broadens your entire market and offers you a different framework to market your services. In coaching your marketing communication is all about..."Have you achieved what you wanted to achieve in the last year" ... and when the answer inevitably comes back as NO, then your response is " I can help by keeping you focussed on your goals and actions. I can help by offering you simple proceeses to ensure that you achieve these goals and I can be there as a confidant, advisor and sometimes as a mentor to help you to succeed."

Your methodology then revolves around diagnostics, goal setting and action planning. And from a billing perspective you bill on a monthly regular basis. You provide regular management guidance that covers broader issues and problem solves along the way.

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