1. WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS WOULD BENEFIT FROM YOUR SERVICES?
All businesses can benefit from our services, especially:
- Startups looking to build on a solid foundation, avoiding common pitfalls.
- Businesses that have reached a plateau and are ready to move to the next stage of development and expansion.
- Businesses that are well-established, successful, and contemplating a major change.
- Businesses who want a knowledgeable sounding board to facilitate, clarify, and challenge their thinking around important issues.
- Businesses who are facing succession planning and want to make a smooth transition to new leadership.
2. HOW CAN COACHING HELP ME IN MY BUSINESS?
Coaching is designed to help you develop a plan of action to resolve a specific issue, question, or problem. Coaching can reduce the risk of costly mistakes and can assist you in the following areas:
Financial
- Creating a budget
- Reducing and controlling costs
- Measuring financial performance
- Making a large capital purchase
- Managing accounts payable and receivable
- Raising capital
- Presenting to a venture capital firm
Operations
- Improving internal communication
- Improving efficiency
- Providing better customer service
- Selecting an information system
- Implementing a computer conversion
- Creating a competency-based computer training program
- Creating an internet presence and strategy
- Planning meetings and conferences
Sales and Marketing
- Introducing a new product
- Making an effective sales call or presentation
- Negotiating a contract
- Writing a business plan
- Communicating with customers
- Using the internet to communicate effectively
- Opening a new store location
Human Resource and Career Issues
- Selecting a new partner
- Hiring a new associate
- Firing or disciplining an associate
- Resolving conflicts with associates and partners
- Conducting performance reviews
- Creating a performance management system
- Note: Coaching in these areas is not intended to replace specialized expertise and advice from qualified professionals. Rather it is intended to help the decision-maker craft a plan that draws on all appropriate resources.
3. WHAT IF I LACK THE AVAILABLE RESERVES OR DISCRETIONARY INCOME TO AFFORD THE SERVICES OF RSC BUSINESS GROUP OR ANY OTHER HIGH-QUALITY COACHING FIRM?
RSC Business Group, Inc. has a developed a fee structure that can fit into virtually any business budget. We look at each new client on a case-by-case basis. When the circumstances dictate, in the early months of some new client relationships, RSC Business Group will charge considerably less than its standard rate for services so that they are accessible to virtually every business.
How can you do that and still remain in business?
We have a high level of confidence in our abilities as well as our 20 year track record of success with large and small businesses. We literally invest our knowledge capital into your business until the results of our coaching and advice begin to produce results. At that time, we adjust our fees to levels that are more in line with the level of service and expertise we provide. In effect, we become an active, silent partner committed to the growth and success of your business.
4. ONCE I BECOME A CLIENT, AM I OBLIGATED TO SIGN A CONTRACT OR USE YOUR SERVICES FOR A SPECIFIED LENGTH OF TIME?
No. Our fees are billed monthly and at no time are you obligated to continue using our firm if you do not feel we are providing you with sufficient value for the level of services or support you are interested in.
5. WHO ARE YOUR CLIENTS?
Our clients are professionals, CEOs, business owners, entrepreneurs, sales executives, creative geniuses, and artists. Essentially our client is anyone committed to seeing his or her business grow and be profitable. Regardless of their professional endeavor or place in life, all of our clients have one thing in common: They are all successful, resourceful, and intelligent individuals who want to get even more out of their business and their lives.
6. AT WHAT POINT IN MY BUSINESS WOULD IT BE OF VALUE TO HAVE A COACH?
No matter where you are, we can help. We meet you where you are in order to help you succeed by developing a clear picture of where you want to go, how to get there, and the steps needed to facilitate that growth.
7. WHAT HAPPENS IN A COACHING SESSION?
During your coaching session, your coach will explore your goals, vision, and dreams. Together you will develop a powerful strategy for achieving them and choose what action is required to meet those objectives. Your coach will ask you questions and listen to your answers, offering powerful observations and practical advice when appropriate. They will make requests that will challenge you to step outside of your self-imposed boundaries.
8. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS MY COACH WILL ASK ME TO DO?
Your coach will challenge you to think differently and see your situation in a more positive light. You will take an honest look at your skills and resources, identifying the gaps between where you are and where you need to go, developing a plan of action, and finding the resources needed to reach your goals. At the same time, you will receive constructive feedback, be held accountable, and enjoy the success of your efforts.
9. WHAT RESULTS CAN I EXPECT FOR MY BUSINESS FROM HIRING A COACH?
You will see ways to shift your business from earning revenue to making a profit, learn how to attract clients rather than go after them, design your business so that you enjoy going to work every day, and gain peace of mind from knowing your business will continue to flourish while you go on vacation.
10. WHAT RESULTS CAN I EXPECT FOR MYSELF?
You will feel energized, directed, and have a clear sense of purpose. People excel when they are clear about what they want and why they want it. Clarity allows you to focus your energy and skills on bridging gaps between where you are and where you want to be. Our job is to help you be successful by helping you see what you want to achieve and taking the necessary actions to achieve it.
11. HOW IS COACHING DIFFERENT FROM CONSULTING AND THERAPY/PERSONAL COUNSELING?
Business coaching can involve consulting when it is appropriate for the coach to offer the client advice based on skills, expertise, and training. It is also similar in that the best answers almost always come from the client. The most important distinction is that the coach stays with the client to help implement the new skills, changes, and goals, and to make sure that results really happen.
Business coaching is not therapy. Coaches don’t work on personal issues or dig into your past. Self-knowledge often comes as clients move forward toward personal and professional goals that will give them the life they really want, but it is not the focus of a business coaching relationship.
Business coaching is about the future and achieving desired results. Coaches will refer clients to a therapist when the client needs to resolve personal issues to move ahead.
12. WHY IS COACHING BECOMING SO POPULAR?
Coaching is becoming popular for several reasons:
- Many people are tired of doing what they think they “should” do and are ready to do something special and meaningful for the rest of their lives. One challenge is that many can’t see what this is or, if they can, they can’t find a way to reorient their life around it. A coach can help them do both.
- People are realizing how simple it can be to accomplish something that several years ago might have felt out of reach or like a pipe dream. A coach has a large toolkit to help the Big Idea become a reality. Fortunately, people now have time and resources to invest in themselves in this kind of growth.
- Spirituality. While care should be taken to distinguish spirituality from religion, many coaches are spiritually based – even the ones who coach IBM and AT&T. The world is becoming more spiritual. The coach helps clients better tune in to themselves and others.
13. HOW HAS COACHING EVOLVED?
In the early days of modern coaching (early 1980s), the focus was on “take actions to get results.” By the early 90s, the approach expanded to include the strategy of “increase your range of competencies and you’ll get better results.” By the early 2000s, the coaching approach further expanded to include the notion of “crafting environments in order to accelerate the outcomes.”
All three approaches can be effective, and well-trained coaches are familiar with all three approaches.
Some coaches may not deliver the coaching “live.” Given the advancement of software and computers, situational solutions crafted by the coach (and perhaps a network of coaches) can be accessible to clients who can self-serve many of their coaching needs and who will turn to the coach “live” only when they need specialized attention. However, RSC Business Group currently provides all of its coaching live, e.g. face to face, videoconference, teleconference, web meeting, or by phone.