What to Talk About in a Business Coaching Session

You’ve hired a coach to help you with your business. Amazing! 

Now what?

Many “coaching” programs have a curriculum they follow, so they guide you through in more of a consulting or teaching way step-by-step. But true coaching tends to be client-led, meaning the topic of conversation is whatever is important to the client, not the coach. 

Over the years I’ve done my best to get clients to think about what they’d like to get out of a session before they arrive, but inevitably there are always people who just don’t know what they want to talk about. There are a few possible reasons for this:

1. Everything is going great and they maybe don’t need a coach at all (here’s some info on when to hire a coach)

2.They haven’t spent any time thinking about what they want to talk about. Maybe they’re very busy or overwhelmed, so we need to talk about that instead.

3.Sometimes a client is showing up with scapegoat energy, feeling helpless and wanting the coach to figure it out for them

4.They might simply not know what a coach can help them with (here’s an article I wrote about that)

5.They need to use the time on the coaching call to help them figure out what to do next

In this article I’d just like to make a list of prompts to get you thinking about how to make the most of your time with a business coach, elaborating on situation number 4 above. This list has my own bias towards the kinds of things I like to do with clients, and the kinds of things my clients typically need, so if you need something else don’t just assume it’s off limits in coaching. Talk to your current or prospective coach and see if your need is something they can help you with. And of course, this list is not complete or exhaustive, though I did draw from actual clients and things they like to work on in sessions. It’s just to get us started!

Business Model and Profitability

• How can I set my business up to meet my lifestyle needs?
• I seem to be spending as much as I’m making…what’s going on?
• What are my values and how can I honour them in my business?
• What do I really want for my life?
• Where could I cut back my expenses?
• Which services are most profitable, and which ones do I love doing the most?
• Additional streams of income
• Getting my books in line
• Raising prices, updating packages/offerings

Marketing, Messaging, and Finding Clients

• Making sure your language resonates with your ideal clients, maybe doing some market research
• Launching something new
• Rethinking offerings and services
• Framework for working with clients, signature system, model

Impact and Legacy

• How to use your business to give back in a meaningful way
• How your business can have a greater impact
• How to be more connected to the vision of the business and not just the transactional sales
• Should I build a business I could eventually sell?

Mindset

• Procrastination
• Making difficult decisions
• Letting go of control
• Managing lots of changes happening all at once
• Resistance behind not wanting to promote or market myself
• How to overcome my doubts and fears
• Regaining motivation and focus
• Getting out of overwhelm
• Listening to my gut and intuition
• Getting out of a slump
• Increasing confidence

Hiring and Team Support

• When is the right time to hire help?
• How do I get started hiring an assistant? Or someone else?
• Delegating so when I go away my business keeps running smoothly
• My team member isn’t meeting deadlines
• Managing team members effectively
• Stepping into a leadership role

Time Management

• Using my calendar better – scheduling and time blocking
• When do I do my best work?
• Saying no to things that don’t align
• Getting things done – working on my business and in my business
• Handling unexpected things that come up
• Taking time off
• How to stop working evenings and weekends

Client Onboarding, Management, Offboarding

• What are the steps I should go through when I take on a new client?
• How can I help my clients get better results?
• Keeping my brand and delivery tight (packaging, timing, instructions, etc.)
• Client agreements
• Letting go of projects/clients that aren’t working anymore
• Talk out challenging client situations

Systems, Automation, Processes, Efficiency

• What are some things I should automate?
• Streamlining my services so it’s great for clients but easier for me
• Talk through step-by-step what needs to happen to achieve a goal
• Adding systems and checklists to my business
• Where am I wasting time?

Other Things

• Talking through a new idea
• Planning for the next year
• What is my zone of genius?
• Celebrating wins and how far I’ve come

What would you add to the list? Is there something on the list that surprised you? Let me know!

And if this inspires you to look at working with a business coach you’re welcome to a session with me, my gift to you. No pitch, no strings attached, just a way for you to experience what it’s like to have someone to talk to about your business. You can read more about gift sessions here and book one by clicking this link.