For those who have had a great Sales Coach or Business Coach before it can be one of the most memorable experiences of your career. A coach can ask you tough questions that help bring out the best in you. A coach can be that sounding board you need as your confidence is fading. A coach is there to make the best version of yourself. Top athletes will hire performance coaches not because they are not already good at what they do, but rather because they want to be great.
For those who have never had the opportunity to have a coach or had a great experience with a leader providing coaching, it is tougher to define the concept. The details below help define coaching and help show its place compared to training, consulting and therapy. As you can see there is cross-over in some cases and they often build off each other.
Coaching vs Training
- Training is great for specific topics and to provide a base knowledge. It can cover topics such as Sales Fundamentals, Process and Procedures, and Technical Skills
- Coaching is about providing ongoing development and reinforcing past learnings
- Coaching allows for a variety of topics and methodologies to ensure well rounded knowledge and multiple strategies
- Training often presents one methodology but can provide a good base knowledge and starting point
- Training has low accountability and low retention
- Coaching has high accountability and greater retention
- Training is often done in a group or team setting. It can lead to team building and alignment
- Coaching is more specific to the individual
- Training can have a large cost as it involves multiple people and multiple days with meeting room, meal and travel expenses
- Coaching programs are more customizable and can work within a budget
- Training works well when a group is all at the same level or new to the material
- Coaching works well to bring an individual or small group up to the level that exists with the rest of the team
If you are interested in coaching please check out the solutions page on our site to see what some of our coaching options look like or provide your contact information on our contact page.