In my previous blog, What is a Marketing Coach and Why Do I Need One?, I discussed how a marketing coach can benefit you and what traits you need to look for. But before you hire a marketing coach to help you grow your practice, please make sure you’re ready to make the commitment of time and money. How do you know if you are a good candidate for marketing coaching? Consider the following before hiring someone:
- Personal Motivation – Determine how motivated you are to work with a marketing coach to attract new clients. Not only will you have to pay your marketing coach, you will have to DO what she recommends to you!
- Develop New Referral Sources – Are you motivated to get out of your office and actually take the time necessary to build new relationships with referral sources?
- Reputation in the Community – Are you prepared to up your game in the area of building your reputation as a good community citizen by considering a board position or other volunteer opportunity?
- Current Income – If you are happy with what you are earning, you are probably not going to have the motivation to put the time into working with a marketing coach. Conversely, if you want to earn more, your marketing coach can help you do so!
- Ready for a Drill Sargent? – Are you willing to be held accountable to reach the goals you have established with your marketing coach? It is your coach’s job to follow up with you (time and again, if necessary), to keep your marketing program moving forward. Your coach will not enjoy hounding and nagging you (although it IS in our job description). Make sure you are willing to do what your coach recommends. She will help you set a realistic deadline for your deliverables.
- Be Honest with Yourself – If you had to assign a grade to yourself on your marketing efforts and results, what grade would you give yourself? If it’s a B or lower, you could use a marketing coach!
- What Works – Do you have a good handle on what works for you? Your marketing coach will want to know this in order to leverage your current successes.
- What Doesn’t Work – It is equally important for your marketing coach to understand what you have tried – that hasn’t worked. Your coach will be able to tell you why your efforts haven’t paid off and offer suggestions on how to improve your future results.
- Succession Planning – If you are 50 or older, do you have a succession plan in place? You don’t want to ride off into the sunset if you can maximize the value of your practice and sell it. Your marketing coach will be able to help you with a proactive succession plan for your practice.
Not everyone is a good candidate for marketing coaching. To make it easy on you, you can simply take our web-based survey to determine if coaching is the right approach for you. Individual marketing coaching will require a $1,200 – $1,500 monthly commitment, however, the results will by far and away justify the cost. Think about it. How much is one great client or one strong case worth in terms of revenue? Generate one and you have paid for your work with a marketing coach for years into the future.
When not busy coaching her clients, Terrie Wheeler enjoys spending time with her husband, Jim, on their 40 acres of land in Rush City, MN, snow shoeing and communing with nature by the fire pit. Read Terrie’s Biography >