I am sure at some stage in your business life you have asked yourself, is it the right time to bring in an external person to give me some guidance and if so, do I need a business coach or a business consultant. In this post I outline the main differences of each person. For the record I believe it is important to find someone with both these skills, especially if you are new to business or you have hit a plateau and want to go to the next level.

Business Coach

The main role of a business coach is to bring out all the best traits you already have inside you. They focus on bigger picture issues and work on keeping you motivated to create your dream business, lifestyle and goals.

The business coach will develop and ensure you are achieving your highest potential as well as developing your business. You will discover insights and honesty about yourself and the habits you have that are holding you back.  

What are some topics a business coach will work on with you?

• Accountability
• Action Planning
• Brainstorming
• Clarity
• Distraction
• Fear
• Focus
• Follow-up
• Implementation
• Limiting beliefs
• Motivation
• Overwhelm
• Purpose
• Self-confidence
• Self-sabotage
• Structure
• Time management
• Vision

The end result is a plan that you can draw on to keep you motivated and continuing to develop your business without the distractions.

Business Consultant

A business consultant is often seen as the expert in a certain area. For me it’s marketing, strategy and business growth. Utilising these skills a consultant is able to help you set up better systems for your business, marketing techniques, skills you can transfer to other areas of the business or just make sure you get projects done.

After careful discussion and analysis of what results you are wanting to achieve, you will walk away with an action plan and strategy to move forward. The main focus of a consultant is to get projects and tasks done that will enhance your business.

What are some of the topics a business consultant will help you with?

• Business planning & strategy
• Closing the sale
• Delegation/dealing with staff and sub-contractors
• Direction of business
• Digital marketing strategy & plan
• Lead generation
• Project planning & management
• Traditional marketing strategy & planning
• SEO
• Service/product offerings and pricing
• Setting up eCommerce
• Social Media marketing
• Systems for running your business
• Website planning

Here is an analogy to help you really understand the difference between a coach and a consultant.

A business coach will help you understand how and why you play golf, help you determine what’s holding you back from being a pro and walk along next to you as you play golf.

A business consultant will explain why one golf club is superior to the other, teach you how to use the club and if necessary go out there and play the round for you.

*Sorry for the golf analogy – I just happened to see a special on golf clubs as I was writing this, I don’t even play golf! 

As you can see, it is so important to have both these people on your team or even better, one person who can do both as that person can help you through the good and bad times and pick you up and carry you when needed. This is why I am often called the hybrid model coach-consultant.   

I find that although all businesses have the same challenges, the way we experience them and what we focus on is different which is why all my sessions start with an obligation free initial consultation to work out what you really need.

Call me today to have a chat about the challenges you are facing in business.