What Not To Do When Conducting An Intro Call With A Prospect
Article Theme: coach the coaches, mentor coaching
An article by Keith Rosen about coach the coaches, mentor coaching
What follows is an email from one of my clients describing his experience when interviewing some of the "top coaching firms" out there. He wanted to share his experience with others when going through the process of choosing a coach, so we decided to share his email, along with some red flags to look out for when interviewing a coach that would indicate they may not be the right coach for you.
To: Keith Rosen MCC PMC
From: Chris T.
Subject: What I Learned From My First Coaching
Session - Lessons for The Coach
Keith -
Just wanted to share an experience that I think you'd be interested in hearing about.
As I explained earlier today, before we spoke I had already employed the services of a Coach Locator Service. For $300.00 I get an hour of coaching from 3 different coaches. The idea is for me to select one of the three as my ideal coach from those intro sessions.
Because I had already paid for this intro service, I decided to go ahead and talk to the three coaches (one today, one tomorrow and the final on Thursday). I had my first call today. In an attempt to add some element of humor to this, I would like to make the following suggestions of what NOT to do on an introduction coaching call (I am fully aware of the fact that you already know all of this, but thought you'd get a laugh out of it):
1. Do not call me by another persons name twice, and after 45 minutes of conversation hesitate when using my name in a manner that let's me know that you can't find the post it-note that my first and (likely misspelled) last name is on.
2. Do not answer the phone by reciting the name of a business that I did not call, then explaining that you use this phone for coaching, too. Not only does it make me question your demand as a coach, but I just don't feel special anymore.
3. If I ask a question, please do not answer another (only somewhat-related) question that you already have a pre-written script for.
P.S. - When you are
reading from your scripts, use loose leafs of paper. When they are stapled together, we can hear you turning pages.
4. Although I understand that coaching contains both elements of "self-discovery" and direct advisement, answering EVERY SINGLE "How-To" question with, "Well Scott, sorry, Chris, what do YOU think the answer is?" might be a bit too much. Here's a clue into the mind of the coached - If I knew the answer, or felt good about my answer. I would not ask YOU while the meter is running.
5. When we begin a coaching session, don't waste time asking what I need help with if you have absolutely no intention of covering anything in that topic area. Just come right out and say, "Charles, sorry, I can't believe I did that twice in the same conversation. Chris, Right? Ok, Chris, I have a canned session that I use with everyone who calls me (whether they are Salespeople, Veterinarians or Freedom Fighters) and you are going to hear it. So asking me specific questions about your problems and expecting specific responses will do little more that waste time. I need to read my whole a script and hurt your feelings."
This is what I have learned from my first coaching session with the "Big 3." I'll add to this list if any other tid-bits of humorous wisdom present themselves in my other conversations.
Your Student,
Chris T.
Take your life and career to the next level.
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