How to Measure Your Progress When Working with a Business Coach

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Janet Johnson MBA, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

When you hire a business coach, you commit to growing your business. But how can you be sure that you are making progress? What if your coach says that measuring success isn’t always easy? This blog post will identify goals you can track quite effortlessly. We’ll also provide tips for measuring your success over time. So if you’re looking for ways to stay on track with your coaching investment, read on!

FIRST, KEEP TRACK OF YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS.

Return on Investment (ROI) measures how much money you make or lose from an investment. In this case, let’s consider your investment in a business coach. For example, if you make $1000/month in sales and your prospective coach says they can help you “10x your sales within six months,” $10,000 ($1000 × 10) is the result of your work with this coach.
Let’s keep this example straightforward. The coach charges you $5000 for six months of coaching.

We know sales can be a moving target, and results aren’t exact. That’s why it’s essential to read your financial statements each month. Doing so allows you to track your progress and make sure you are on track with your financial goals. Additionally, by reviewing your accounts regularly, you can identify any potential issues or areas of improvement.

In our example above, if it’s been five months with this coach and you’re now making $2000/month. You’ve made back your initial investment. Then, it’s progress, and it’s not what was expected. Therefore, this is a great time to adjust milestones or change your tactics.

SECOND, KEEP A CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT LOG.

Keeping track of your improvements is crucial because it allows you to acknowledge your progress. Keeping a logbook can help maintain your motivation by showing that you are making positive strides.

Also, one of the most important things you can do is motivate your team. Progress is a journey. It’s not a snap-of-the-fingers win. By tracking small, achievable wins, you can see how far you have come.

The financial results are on their way. For now, celebrate the wins you’ve achieved so far.

Working with a business coach isn’t about instant gratification. That’s why It’s essential to keep the faith. Doing so gives you and your employees hope during difficult times. It also allows your team to stay positive and focused on their goals. Lastly, having faith helps everybody stay strong during challenging situations.

USE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS

If you’re working with a business coach, it’s beneficial to survey your customers. Surveys will help you determine if your coaching projects benefit your customer too. If your customers don’t value your improvements, it’s time to reconsider your focus.

You can take these three steps:

1. Take a step back and figure out why they don’t seem to care about your updates.

2. Get feedback from your customers to see what changes they’d suggest instead.

3. Use open-ended questions in your survey to gather unbiased feedback.

If you’re still struggling to increase sales and your customers are unenthusiastic regarding your changes, it might be time to consider a different strategy. Talk to your business coach for help figuring out what to do next.

RECONSIDER YOUR GOALS

If you’re had several coaching sessions or VIP days with your business coach, you’re likely wondering if your investment in them will pay off.

Here’s my suggestion.

If sales are slow to pick up, it’s helpful to redefine your financial goal to improve profit instead of sales. When we think of sales, we tend to think of cash in. Cash is the amount of money available to a company to pay its current bills. On the other hand, profit is the amount of money that remains after all expenses have been paid.

Company A has $100,000 in sales, and Company B has $50,000 in sales.
Company A has $110,000 in expenses, and Company B has $30,000 in expenses.

Company A has a net loss of $10,000.
Company B has a net profit of $20,000.

In any case, don’t let a shiny sales figure fool you!

When you expand beyond sales goals, you create new opportunities to focus on areas you can control, such as expenses and processes. New ideas boost your creativity, helps you stay flexible, and can solidify your relationships. Profitability wins over sales every time.

IN CONCLUSION

When working with a business coach, measuring your progress is essential. There are many ways to do this, but the three most popular methods include:

Keep track of your financial goals.
Use continual improvement logs.
Get external unbiased feedback from clients.

If sales are stagnant, plan to reconsider your goal and aim to improve profitability, not just cash. If you’re curious to hone your business skillset and confidence as a business leader, please reach out. I’m happy to see how I can help. I can tailor any plan to meet your budget. Let’s chat!