I get a lot of emails from people trying to “make it” in Internet Marketing. They ask me all sorts of questions — but one topic that shows up again and again in the questions is internet marketing coaching. I am a big believer in the value of coaching, so I thought that I would answer the two most important important questions that I hear:
- Should I get some coaching, and if so, why?
- What should I look for in an internet marketing coach?
But before I do that, I wanted to deal with question #3 — what coach do you recommend? I do know some great coaches, but I do not plan to recommend any coaching in this post. You will notice that there are no affiliate links anywhere in this discussion.
There are two reasons for this omission. First, I do not want the cynical among you to think I am recommending coaching as a way to line my own pockets. The second reason is that “the right coach” depends on what it is that you are trying to accomplish and what you really need. So, no affiliate links in this post. I do plan to do a couple of reviews in the coming weeks — but not today. If you need a recommendation now, contact me and I will try to help you.
Should You Get Internet Marketing Coaching?
So, in general the answer to this question is yes. In my opinion the very best thing that you can do in life is decide what you want to do (important but often ignored) and then find someone to teach you how to do it. From my point of view, there are at least three important benefits to getting formal coaching from an expert:
- First, the immediate benefits of coaching are obvious. A person that is already successful doing what you want to do can show you how to be successful while avoiding their mistakes. Don’t worry — you are going to make your own unique mistakes anyway. So why spend months or years repeating mistakes that have already been made?
- Coaching can obliterate “analysis paralysis.” One of the killer problems with solo internet marketers is that they get stuck trying to “decide stuff.” If you have someone that you trust to help you decide stuff, you can get unstuck quickly. Not sure about something? Ask your coach, take (or leave) their advice and move forward. Simple as that.
- Paying for coaching creates a new stakeholder in your business. If you pay someone to help you be successful, that person should be invested in your success. If you fail, it is a reflection on their coaching. Now, I am not saying that they are going to build your business for you, but great coaches will “care” if you succeed, and that can make a big difference.
How To Select An Internet Marketing Coach
Clearly, I think coaching is a great idea. Maybe you have already decided to get one. But the next question is “how do I decide whom to hire”? This is a pretty tough question, but here are some guidelines that I know will help.
- Only hire someone that you trust. OK, that sounds obvious — but hang on. I am not saying “avoid hiring someone you distrust.” I am specifically saying that you should only hire someone that you know well enough to trust. This means that you need to spend time researching the person to get a feel for them. If you don’t trust your coach, you will spend time second-guessing all of their advice and hesitating. Know who you are dealing with, and only deal with people you trust.
- Only hire someone you can afford. Sometimes I see people plunk down $5000 that they cannot afford on coaching. This creates a really bad relationship dynamic between you and your coach. You feel pressure to “make your money back quickly” and may have unrealistic expectations of your coaching outcome. You may also start to associate the negative feelings that come with spending money that you cannot afford with your coach. Either way, don’t spend money that you don’t have (good life advice).
- Here is the key thing — write down what you expect to get out of the coaching and ask the coach if your expectations are reasonable before you join. This will help you clarify your expectations, and will help your coach understand what you are looking for. Can’t get your coach to reply to your email? Run away.
- Make sure you understand the refund policy. Many coaches do not offer refunds since they cannot get their time back. I think this is fine as long as both parties understand the refund policy clearly.
- Make sure you understand the teaching methods. Some coaching is 1:1, some coaching is forum-based, some coaching is via eCourses, etc. Make sure that you know what you are buying. If unsure, ask to “see” what you’ll be getting. If your candidate coach will not help you understand what you are buying, run away.
So, there are eight hundred words about that talk about coaching, but it all boils down to these two things:
- Coaching is valuable — you should get some.
- Make a careful decision when you hire.
I hope this has been helpful to you, and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks,
Mark
