How Do I Prepare For A Business Coaching Session?
So you’ve signed up for business coaching. Now you want to make sure that you make the most of it.
If you’ve found this page, you’ve either already signed up for some business coaching sessions, or you’re seriously considering doing so.
As a multi-award-winning entrepreneur and business coach, I’ve been on both sides of the coaching relationship many times: I’ve been both coach and coachee. Here are some top tips on how to ensure you are as prepared as you can be for each coaching session you attend, so that you get the most out of the time you spend with your coach.
Here are some of the things I’ll cover:
Any business coach who is worth their salt will understand that you’re a busy person. You wouldn’t be hiring a coach if you weren’t. They will understand that you don’t have a lot of time to prepare for coaching sessions outside of your contact time with them, but the truth is that you can accelerate your progress with your coach if you spend some time preparing, especially for the first one or two sessions you have with them.
1 How do I prepare for a business coaching session?
Before I answer this question, we need to take a step back.
In order to prepare for a business coaching session, you first have to:
a) Identify that you are in need of business coaching
b) Make sure you hire the right coach in the first place.
I’ve written plenty of resources on how to make sure you’re working with the right coach at the right time. Here’s my guide on how to do that, plus a handy checklist of questions to answer before you take on a coach.
So, assuming you have all that in place, what are the very practical steps you should take before meeting with your coach?
Well, if you’re meeting with your coach for the very first time, the requirements may be a little different, and preparation may be a little more in-depth because you’ll need to get to know each other. You’ll cover a lot of ground in the first few sessions with your new coach as you bring them up to speed on where you’re at with your business.
Complete any intake questionnaires your coach sends to you and return them ahead of time so that your coach has time to read and fully digest your answers.
Make sure you have blocked out the time for your coaching session in your diary so that you won’t be disturbed during your call.
Check that you have a good internet connection, and a reliable way of accessing Zoom, if your session is to be online (all my coaching is done virtually these days).
Ensure that your environment is quiet and free of distractions whilst you are speaking with your coach.
Make notes of any topics you would like to discuss with them, and let your coach know about these ahead of time so that they can tailor the session accordingly. (I have a handy session preparation tool that I use with my clients to help them identify the most important topics they want to focus on in each session which helps them to get results faster.)
Bring a notebook and pen, or laptop in order to jot down notes during your call, or make a note of any homework tasks your coach sets for you (yes, homework tasks can happen).
Once you’ve completed the first one or two sessions with your coach, you’ll start to get into a rhythm, and the amount of preparation for each session will decrease. But even once you’re into that good working pattern with them, keeping on track with tasks your coach sets, and bringing prompts to your sessions, will stand you in good stead and will ensure you optimize the effectiveness of your coach. When clients work with me, I provide them with a great tool to prepare them for their sessions and ensure they get the most out of them.
2 What should I bring to a business coaching session?
If your coach has asked you to prepare materials in advance, make sure you have completed these, as they will form the basis of your first few sessions together and are an important part of the foundations you’ll be building. They may ask you to submit a copy of this in advance.
Other than that, come prepared with any notes you’ve made about goals for your business, or goals for the specific session, and always bring something to take notes with, as there will be lots of actionable advice for you to record during your sessions.
3 What should you not bring to a business coaching session?
You shouldn’t bring any other people to a business coaching session, unless you and your coach have decided that one of your team members would be present for a specific reason. Your business coach is an impartial advisor hired to advise you on your business, conduct, performance, and relationships, and as such, business coaching sessions will inevitably include coverage of highly sensitive information about your business, relationships with others in your business. It usually isn’t appropriate to include other people on these calls, even if they are your business partner.
As a general rule, you should also try to avoid bringing personal matters to a business coaching session if they aren’t related to your business.
But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t refer to situations outside of work. As is often the case with entrepreneurs, it is hard to separate personal life from business. We coaches understand that the lines are blurry and part of our job is to help you understand when situations outside of work are having an impact on your effectiveness at within your business. So sometimes we cover those too.
4 What should you wear to a business coaching session?
Personally, I don’t mind what people wear to my business coaching sessions, as long as you’re prepared to work hard, do the deep, difficult work, and make changes within your business as a result, you can wear what you like!
However, not all coaches will give this answer, and the answer will depend on your coach, and your industry, as much as your personality.
I would also encourage you to think of how the clothes you wear make you feel, and whether they are helping you to step into your power as a business owner, or whether they are holding you back in some way (I told you we’d get to the difficult stuff).
5 Checklist to prepare for a business coaching session.
Here’s a checklist for each of your coaching sessions.
Block out coaching sessions in your calendar.
Complete homework/questionnaires in advance.
Have a steady internet connection.
Show up on camera.
Be punctual
Ensure you’re in a quiet, comfortable place for deep conversations.
Make sure you won’t be disturbed for the duration of your call.
Bring notebook and pen.
Be prepared to do the deep work.
6 How you can hire me as your business coach
Thanks for stopping by my website. If you got this far and liked what you read, here’s how you can get more support from me to become the best entrepreneur you can be:
Accelerate your growth with this free handy download
Read my bestselling book, The Up Level Project
Join my group accountability program: Business Growth Achievers
Work with me: Book a 1:1 consultation with me here
