By Dana Phillips.

Because coaching is not regulated in the US, just about anyone can put the word “coach” in their bio.  I see “coaching” added to all sorts of LinkedIn and website profiles.  When I ask, “where did you get your coach training?” I often hear a long pause.  One poor uninformed speaker/trainer told me she got her training from the “school of life.”  She might be a good mentor, but I don’t think I would coach with her.

Coaching with an untrained coach:

  • It’s like going getting marriage counseling from someone who has been married but never trained to be a counselor.
  • It’s like getting rehab for a back injury from someone whose mom fell and went to rehab.
  • It’s like getting trained in direct sales by someone who has never been involved

It’s RISKY at best, reckless at worst.

A great coach has been trained in the skills of coaching.  A great direct selling coach will possess both the knowledge of direct selling and the skills of a coach to best serve the client. While an upline leader might be a terrific mentor, I would look for these things as I pick a coach for my direct selling business.

Coach credentials:

Look for a person who has been credentialed by the International Coach Federation.  That credential means they have external validation as a coach and not just some piece of paper that says they paid $995 and spent two days getting certified.

Knowledge of direct selling:

Even though I know some terrific coaches who have no direct selling background, and they could coach you, most of them would refer you to a coach with direct selling knowledge because our industry is a complex one, definitely not like other businesses or other stay at home opportunities.  A coach with knowledge about the direct selling profession doesn’t need to get “up to speed” on the way you do business.

At the end of the day, if you have the basic skills in the business and you want to take your business to the next level, a coach makes sense.  Just get one that knows how to coach, not just tell you what to do.

We Can Be Your Real Coach!

One of the unique offerings from Team Connections Pro is monthly coaching.  All of our members have two calls a month to help them laser focus on key topics. Coaching, along with all of the training resource in audio, video, and print are yours.  And new things are being added all the time.

At Team Connections Pro, we’re here to support you.  Try it for a month, and if it’s not what you want, you can end your membership with no waiting period.