Action Coach / Business Mentoring

[BenJacobs]

Has anybody used Action Coach as a business mentor? How did you find them if you did?

Are there any other companies you would recommend for ongoing weekly meets with an experienced business mentor? I do like what Action Coach are selling, but want to make sure I'm getting the best mentoring service possible.

Thank you
Ben

 

[Moneyman]

Sounds a bit too one size fits all marketing blurb. Another guru with the usual same old methodology repackaged to sound new. Personally I would look about and find an individual who can do mentoring for you. forget any company. what you need is a person with experience running a small company not someone who has all the qualifications but no experience.

 

[garyk]

The issue is that action and other business coaching outfits are franchises. So the quality of the advice varies. The only entry requirement these franchises have is how much it costs to join. Sure they put people through training but the quality will vary. I could have 3 years business experience, pay £30K to become a business coach and voila!

As a customer probably not what you want. Find out as much as you can about the individual not the company. Although Action has had a fair amount of bad press in its time.

 

[BenJacobs]

Agreed Moneyman. Although it's very difficult to find somebody who is experienced and open to mentoring. The only people I've managed to find are those from companies such as Action Coach.

Your signature says Angel investor and mentor... so where do you mentoring guys hang out?! Where's best to start looking?

 

[BenJacobs]

Gary - agreed... with it being a franchise the quality can differ massively. Two local business owners who I know well have been raving about Action Coach for a while, and having met their coach, he does seem very good. It is expensive (at £2,500 pcm) but they are getting good results and a reasonable ROI from the coaching. Not come across any of their bad press (but then not been looking.....)

What bad press have they had? Are there any coaches / mentors that you could recommend?

 

[garyk]

Actually Ben its more to do with franchisee's having issues exiting Action rather than the quality of the coaching. What line of business are you in? At least look for a mentor who has worked in your sector or has experience of working with companies in your sector.

Sure there are universal rules that apply but nothing beats experience and understanding the specifics of your market.

Wow the fees have gone up, the business coaches I know (that worked in organisations like Action) typically charged £1000 a month, still that was a few years back.

 

[warren cass]

Finding the right coach isn't easy but there are some really good ones out there. The best have raving fans & loads of testimonials.

Be clear on what you are looking to achieve as coaching & mentoring are totally different things IMHO. Coaching is about asking the right questions so you can come to your own conclusions, therefore it is a process. Mentoring is about providing wisdom & advice based on experience, often is free and is largely based on a relationship.

I meet so many people who have called themselves a coach but lack the qualifications. What I do know from experience is a good coach is worth the money!

 

[Alan R Price]

Finding the right coach isn't easy but there are some really good ones out there. The best have raving fans & loads of testimonials.

Be clear on what you are looking to achieve as coaching & mentoring are totally different things IMHO. Coaching is about asking the right questions so you can come to your own conclusions, therefore it is a process. Mentoring is about providing wisdom & advice based on experience, often is free and is largely based on a relationship.

I meet so many people who have called themselves a coach but lack the qualifications. What I do know from experience is a good coach is worth the money!

I totally agree, Warren. The quality of coaches is very variable, and let's face it, there must be the right "chemistry" between the coach and his client to make it really work.

I first hired a coach from ActionCoach about seven years ago and he inspired and helped my grow my business (an insolvency practice) such that I was able to sell it earlier this year for a healthy sum. Some of his fellow Action coaches were however people I really couldn't have worked with - in fact I felt very uncomfortable with one or two of them. He relinquished his Action franchise a few years ago, and we are now working together offering coaching and consultancy services. You are absolutely right that mentoring and coaching are not the same - and consultancy must be seen as a separate discipline again.

My recommendation to anybody seeking coaching is to ask the prospective coach for testimonials that he or she can actually follow-up with the coach's clients. Any good coach will offer this, and his clients will be glad to talk to his potential clients - as you say, they should be "raving fans".

 

[Ian J]

I've never liked the company since discovering that they had copied a huge chunk of text from my website and stuck it on their own claiming it to be their own work

 

[DexSmart]

A good coach will always be good no matter what. About Action Coach, try and get some reviews first from people who actually used his services. Don't go and pay without looking what this guy can do and what you will get if you will go to his programs.

Good Luck!

 

[Paula Cohen]

Hi Ben,

I'm not sure whether I'm being brave or stupid (or maybe both) by commenting on this because I'm an ActionCOACH! You specifically refer to a 'he' though so I know you're not talking about me. There are some useful points already made above and what I'd add is this:

• any good coach should have lots of testimonials on Linked In plus client case studies and clients who would be happy to talk to you, so do your research & ask as many questions as you need to to feel comfortable with somebody's ability
  
• for any coach or mentor you're considering working with find out if they have any events planned - workshops, seminars, coaching groups etc that you can go along to without charge so you can get a real flavour of what they do & how they work
• choosing a coach is incredibly personal, you have to have a great connection with them as over time you'll need to absolutely trust them, be willing to confide in them and respect them but also to believe 100% that they believe in you and your business. It doesn't matter what results they've had in the past, if you don't feel that, then it isn't going to work
• think about the return on your investment and not just the cost. There are loads of cheap coaches out there! Find out what results each coach has achieved for other businesses and whether they will offer you any kind of guarantee
• prioritize those things ahead of whether they are a franchisee, company employee or independent, because none of those things guarantee quality. That's something you'll need to root out for yourself

Hope that helps. Good luck with your search!

 

[Alan R Price]

Excellent advice, Paula!

 

[BusinessDeli]

Paula has managed to highlight my opinion of coaches - some good some bad and it appears similar in action coach franchises. All the Action Coaches I've worked alongside or come into contact with have been poor and provided damaging advice and using bragging rights as their excuses (they fell back on the marketing blurbs and actioncoach business, not their franchise, stats and claimed they could do no wrong!). That said, I am not saying all ActionCoaches are the same but their approach is, or certainly has been in the past, very American in ethos which has jarred with the UK market. In my opinion there is too much reliance on hype.
Take some time to find one you can build a relationship with, not someone who is good at saying the right things to build trust. (Watch out for NLP techniques!)
Last 3 points from Paula I wholly agree with.