How to Select a Professional Coach

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Brian Kail, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

How do I know if I made the right choice for a Coach? There is no one question that a person can ask that will ensure that they are picking the right coach to partner with to assess, and grow their Career. But there are some basic questions that the person seeking a professional coach can ask, that will improve their chances there are getting a good one – maybe even a great one. It has become fairly common that I have conversations with potential clients, and the recommendations I make here are based on these conversations I have had, as well as my insights as a paid professional coach. So here are insights from someone inside the coaching industry. Below are some questions that as an insider, I suggest you ask before you commit to a relationship, and send off a retainer.

1) “Are you certified?” Before I commit to any work, or business relationship that involves a field I am not familiar with, I want to know if the professional that is taking my money is certified, credentialed, or licensed. This just eases my mind knowing that the person I am dealing with is a professional. That they have studied their field, and gone through the time, trouble, and expense of getting certified. You should ask the same of a coach. Am I saying there are no good coaches out there that are not certified? Not at all. But the purpose of this list is to minimize your risk as you decide on a professional coach. Certification will never add to your risk, and in most cases at a minimum it guarantees that the coach you will work with sees themselves as a professional, and has put effort into projecting that to their clients, and to the public. In addition, to prepare for certification the coach needs to study, and demonstrate a specific method. This criterion means that you will be working with a professional that has a solid method in place – they will not be making a process up as they go along.

2) “What is training have you had for coaching?” In some cases, there are escalated training programs that churn out coaches with as little as a weekend’s training. So ask your potential coach not only “if” they received training, but what their level of time, and commitment was. Certain certifications can take years to obtain, but in terms of training weeks, and months are more the norm. With a good program, and good instructors, a couple to a few months training can set the foundation for competent coaches, and a good coaching experience.

3) “Are you experienced?” Ideally you want to work with a coach that has experience. If client experience is light, don’t reject them straight away. Their mind, and heart maybe in the right place, and they might be a good choice for you. But you will need to ask some additional questions to make this decision. So how much coaching experience is good enough? My answer may surprise some, but as little as a few months coaching experience can build solid coaching skills. It helps a great deal to have studied a proven, repeatable methodology. To recap I will say a few months’ experience is passable. A couple years or more experience and you can feel like you are getting a seasoned coach.

4) “Can you describe your method?” This ties back again to the idea that even though great coaches are not tied to any particular method, they do have a formal methodology that they were trained in. That they have a solid framework to follow that will lead to successful results, and lead to the client reaching, or coming closer to their life goals. Best coaches understand and except that the client needs to remain the decision maker. The coach works with the client to clarify their vision. But it is the client’s vision – not the coaches. The coach adds value by keeping efforts on track, and keeping the client motivated, and true to their commitments. The coach also adds value by identifying and removing or minimizing blocks to client goals. But it is the client’s vision, and ultimately it is the client’s decision on how to proceed toward their goals.

5) “What did you do before you started coaching?” It is rare that people take on coaching as their first profession; their first job. In fact, I have not met anyone that had coaching as their first job. Coaches come from as many varied backgrounds as you could possibly imagine. I know one very good coach that was a structural engineer in a previous life. Another very good coach I know had training as a teacher. Still another had a background in project management. In some cases, a coach’s background might just be interesting conversation – but in some cases their background may lend itself to your specific goals, and vision. In my case, my undergraduate degree was in Communications. I spent over 20 years in Information Technology before I started my practice. I have had clients that are interested in high paying IT jobs, or in business roles that interact with IT end up as clients.

6) “How much are your fees?” Interesting that I would put this question near the bottom on the list – but I think all other bases should be covered before the topic of fees are discussed. Thanks to the internet, there are no more secrets. Professional Career, or Business Coaches billing rate start at roughly $100 per hour, and I have seen as high as $500 per session, or more. For those that think this billing rate is high – I have a friend that is a patent & intellectual property attorney that charges $450 per hour. So I would argue that billing in the $150 to $200 per hour range is not unreasonable.

7) “Do we have good chemistry?” You may ask this last question of the coach, but really it is a question you need to ask yourself. This is the intangible. Another way to think of this question is “do I trust the coach?” or “am I drawn to this coach”. You may need to meet with a couple coaches to be able to answer this question. In my success rate is good, but I don’t end up signing every prospect I meet with. If the reason that I am not chosen comes down to chemistry, I can accept this. I can’t be all things to all people. I like simple, so I decided to just be myself long ago. If you don’t feel the good vibes, my suggestion is don’t commit, but don’t reject either. After the first session, or the first consultation, think about the relationship, and sleep on it. Then make a decision to either proceed or pass in the next 48 hours. Even if you decide to pass, telling the coach this will help them. They know where they stand with you, and they can re-focus their energy on other people that do need their help.

This list of questions will help you in your decision. When you talk with a coach you should have questions. The questions I have suggested aim to reveal the coach’s training, experience, method, and background. We all need to live within a budget, and so a discussion of fees should be part of your interview process. If your budget is very tight, ask the coach if they would be willing to meet every other week instead of every week – which is the most common. The question of juju, or chemistry is an important one. If you sense that the coach truly cares about you, and your goals, and is a good listener, you can hedge your bets that you have found a good one. One that will put you first.

Author: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach on the web.