Many people have asked, “so what is coaching”? In it’s most simplest terms, and contrary to popular belief, professional coaching is not the act of helping someone with their goals by providing the road-maps to success; it is about re-positioning one’s perspective so they are able to achieve their objectives using the power of individual exploration, learning, and outcomes.
In real estate today, it is common to hear an agents state that they have a “coach” when in fact they are really paying hefty fees for various solutions to common sales obstacles by way of that company’s or individual’s products, technology, checklists, trackers, and templates. In the end, their “coach” is cashing in. Though the agent may see an increase in production, they are actually losing big in the “coaching” department. How? When answers and validations to agent needs are automatically provided, they are simply learning to task their way through the next sale. This adds up to many lost teachable moments.
Shouldn’t the aforementioned items be coming from the agent’s broker? Is a broker no longer a consultant, advisor, and/or mentor, providing suggestive methods with instruction on how to utilize and follow through? With that being said, the reality is some are not. OK, many are not. And, yes, there is a market for all the items mentioned above. Many of them are fine tuned, well built and oiled sales tools and scripts that will advance one’s business… along with hundreds or thousands of your closest competitors following the same systems. At the very least, shouldn’t we be calling it like we see it? Providing solutions is not professional coaching. Alas, agents are drinking the juice.
A certified and accredited coach is trained to ethically keep their clients front and center, between honesty and integrity. Is it not a conflict of interest when the same person coaching you in your development is including proprietary, cloud based software for you to become dependent upon? Where is the trust? Is this truly in your best interest or theirs?
While there is value in the current “coaching” perception of the real estate industry, a shift is needed. As an industry we need to re-organize and consider the terminology we are loosely throwing around. Instead of looking for quick fixes, agents need to consider partnering with someone who will hear specific objectives, personal strengths and weaknesses, potential roadblocks, and give you the space needed to individually develop your action plan. Unique. To you.
Invest in you. Hiring a professional coach will give you the power to dig deep and develop your own core abilities leaving you with the road maps to really think through something, ask the right questions of yourself, explore the options, and ultimately choose what is best for you and your business or personal life. The easy answer may lie in one of the processes or systems in the market today, but don’t be fooled into thinking you are being coached by them.