Choosing And Using A Real Estate Coach

Results Coach or Life Coach
In the last decade coaches have become as popular as PDA’s or iPods. How do you choose the right coach for you? Once chosen how do you get the most out of the relationship.
Agents have asked me these questions hundreds of times. After eleven years of coaching Agents to higher production than they ever thought possible I thought I’d share my top ten tips with you.

Interview
You should have the opportunity to interview the coach with whom you are going to work. In many businesses there is a breakdown between sales and service. The salesperson makes promises or guarantees that the service department does not uphold.
You can prevent this from happening to you if you interview the coach with whom you are going to work before you make a commitment.
You should be extremely cautious even skeptical when interviewing and hiring a coach. Ask yourself: Am I confident that this person can and will educate and motivate me to achieve what I want?

Support
Do you have confidence that the coach is going to provide you with unconditional support and unconditional belief in you and your success?
For example; if you are teaching a child to walk and the child doesn’t get it the first or the fifty first time do you lose confidence in the child’s ability? Do you criticize the child? Of course, the answer is… never. You never lose the unconditional belief in that child’s ability to learn to walk, and eventually achieve that goal. Except for extenuating circumstances, the child will walk.
The same is true of the relationship between you and your coach. The coach never loses confidence in your ability to achieve what you want in your life and in your business.
Know what you want… or not
Do you know what you want out of your business and your life? Knowing what you want will enable you to assess if a particular coach can work with you to achieve those goals.
If you are not sure of what you want, do you have confidence that the coach is able to comfortably guide you to realize what you want before you hire that coach.
As you interview a coach you should gain a great deal of confidence that he or she can help lead you to where you want to go with your business and your life. If one of the things you are looking for is a coach to help you clarify what you want (After all clarity is power.) then you want to be extremely confident that the coach you choose can lead you to that clarity as well as to the object of that clarity.

Systems and Methods
Does the coach have the expertise with the systems and methods in the areas that will enable your business to do what you want it to do for you? If so, are you comfortable and/or confident that this particular coach’s systems and methods in those areas will work for you?
After coaching thousands of Agents to exceptional heights I have distinguished the following areas, systems and methods that are common to all of the highest producers.
*As you view this list consider which are your strengths? Which do you want to strengthen? Which are bringing you the most money with the greatest efficiency, and least stress? Which are costing you the most money, time, and/or stress?
The clearer you are on your priorities the better you can determine if the coach you interview has the capabilities and expertise in your priority areas.

1. Goal Setting, Planning, keeping your focus and a Measuring methodology to create control over your business
2. Managing your leads, generating, contacting, converting, and retaining your leads
3. Marketing, creating your personal Brand, and Networking, with a proven track record
4. Quality Service Systems that lead to repeat and referral business
5. Perfecting your Listing and Buyer Presentations, work with buyers, and Successful Negotiating
6. Hiring Assistants, hiring Buyer Specialists and expanding your team as you grow
7. Support and direction in Technology decisions and applications with your Tech Tools, your Web Presence and Web Marketing.
8. Attention to your Quality of Life, time off with peace of mind, and personal matters.
9. Personal Finances if that is an area in which you have a chronic struggle
10. Your Self Esteem if that is a barrier to your success and your happiness.

Consider the questions in the asterisked *paragraph preceding these ten areas of systems and methods. What do you choose as your priorities? What do you want to accomplish in your priority areas? What is the coach going to do to help you get there? What is the coach going to require of you to get you there?
At the same time be prepared for the coach to bring other priorities to the conversation, to perceive other issues of importance, or to disagree with you on your priorities. Sometimes this will be because the coach is limited in their expertise. This will limit you.
On the other hand some very talented coaches will distinguish other issues or priorities different from yours because they understand and analyze your situation very effectively. Excellent coaches will precisely identify the areas that will move you most quickly with greater ease to your goals and dreams. If the coach’s analysis and recommendations make sense to you, then this may be the ideal you seek in a coach.
If you aren’t satisfied and confident that your coach can lead you to where you want to go in each of your priority areas you should not hire that particular coach.

Range and Depth
Is the coach able to relate to all the aspects of your business or do they have a fixed, finite system focusing on one aspect or limited aspects of your business? Will the coach expand and shift as your business expands and shifts?
As you may or may not know, there are many aspects of your business that contribute to your success. If you want to work on one area in particular, look for a coach that is extraordinary at that one. If, like most Agents you want a coach who can relate to the full range of the systems and methods of your business and how they relate to each other, find and choose a coach who has that kind of range and depth.
Needless to say, they are rare.

Measurement
Does the coach have a method for measuring your progress toward your goals? Does the measurement method show you each day and each week whether or not you are on track. Does the measurement system show you each month where you are in relationship to your goals for the year and compared to previous years.
Over the last decade we have developed and continuously improve a methodology that measures your progress, leads you to know each day and each week that you are on track, and shows you where you are in relationship to your goals and previous year’s accomplishments. Of greatest value and importance it leads you to identify which of those areas of methods and systems are helping or hurting you most.
Coaches measure results. Be sure the coach you choose has a method for measuring results in the areas you wish to grow and that you are confident the measurement method will enhance and support your growth.

Quality of Life
Can the coach describe how he or she is going to help you manage your business in a way that helps reduce your stress and improve your quality of life?
I pride myself on being a results coach. My philosophy is that, “If you feel good and get bad results eventually you will start feeling badly. On the other hand if you feel bad and you consistently get good results you will naturally and sincerely feel better.”
At the same time I teach that your business should serve your life not your life serve your business. So I believe you should choose a coach that makes your life a priority. Your business can be just one aspect of your personal satisfaction and happiness or it can define who you are. This is a very important distinction on which you and your coach should agree.
Integrity
Do you get everything you pay for? Do you get a guaranteed number of hours directly with the coach or is it up to you to initiate the coaching? If you are unavailable or if the coach is unavailable do you lose that time or is the coaching agreement set up that you get everything you paid for?
I’ve heard horror stories that make me angry. An Agent paid thousands of dollars for coaching. There was no flexibility in the coaching structure and it was up to the Agent to initiate the coaching. That Agent got a fraction of what he paid for.
Ask how the coaching is set up so that you are assured to get the full value of your coaching investment and that you are comfortable with the arrangement.

References
Did you call and check the coach’s references to be sure his or her current and past clients have achieved the type of results they desire? Ask the references both whether the coach is successful for them and what are the best ways they found to work with the coach.
Please catch the subtlety of the last statement, “…what are the best ways they found to work with the coach.”
Be sure to ask this question of the references. “What are the best ways to work with this coach?” Sometimes the coach himself or herself doesn’t realize what the client perceives as the most valuable ways the client worked with the coach.
When you call for references ask if the reference achieved the results they desired. What were those results? And specifically how did the client and coach work together to achieve them.

Your Guarantee
Will the coach guarantee that you will be refunded at least the balance of your investment in the coaching if you are unable to complete the agreement or if you choose to end the relationship?
Anger rises in me again as I think of the many times Agents have told me that they decided to end the coaching relationship after the first call or not get started at all and the coaching organization kept all of their money, thousands of dollars without a single result.
When I buy groceries I know I can return bad product without an argument. This is true for everything from shoelaces to luggage. If this guarantee cannot be made I would think long and hard about the decision to choose that organization.

There it is.
So, there it is. Your guidelines to choosing a coaching organization and a coach that can make the difference between a business and a life of success and satisfaction, perhaps a life of extraordinary results and ecstasy or a business and a life of adequacy and mild frustration.
My sincerest wish for the success in your future.