The 4 Most Important Questions to ask BEFORE Hiring a Life Coach

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Lisa Lyttle, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Life Coach Lisa here! Life coaching is all the rage. According to Forbes, coaching is a $2 billion a year global industry and it’s why so many executives, business owners, professionals and individuals are using life and business coaching to accelerate results, expand their businesses and create better, more fulfilling and meaningful lives.

The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as:

“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Because of the rapid growth in the industry, Life and Business Coaches are popping up everywhere. But how do you know which ones are qualified and experienced? Before choosing a coach, I recommend asking these 4 very important questions to make sure you find a coach that’s best suited for you.

1.) Where did you get your education and experience?
It’s important to know whether or not your coach has received any formal education in coaching. There is only one governing entity for coaches: The International Coach Federation (ICF). The ICF accredits institutions that teach coaching skills and certifies practitioners based on training and experience. Credentialing shows that an individual has been certified as a professional coach.

It’s equally important that the coach has experience in their area of focus. For example, if a coach specializes in Entrepreneurship, they should have years of experience working in that area either themselves or working with other entrepreneurs.

2.) What experience do you have working with clients that have similar goals as me?
Most life coaches specialize in specific areas called niches. It’s important to know which niche your life coach focuses on. For example, if you needed brain surgery, you wouldn’t want surgery performed by your family doctor, you would go to a specialist, a Neurosurgeon. Same goes for coaching. If you need help with your relationship, it’s best to seek out a relationship coach. This doesn’t mean that your coach wont be able to help you if they specialize in a different area. However when you’re starting out, try to find one that has loads of experience working with clients that had a similar goal to yours.

3.) Do you have any testimonials?
Let’s face it, we want to know how they helped others right? We work with people that we know, like and trust. It’s important that your coach has some credibility and can prove to you that they have the knowledge and experience to be a coach. Testimonials help to ease our mind, and builds trust and confidence in their abilities. After all, life coaching is a big investment, talk to others to see how there experience was.

4.) Why did you decide to become a life coach?
You wouldn’t think this was an important question, but it is and here’s why: Knowing why a coach got into the business shows authenticity. You will quickly learn whether that coach is a good match for you based on their answers.

So before you invest in yourself and hire a coach, prepare yourself and ask them these questions! It’s important that feel confident in their abilities and trust the process right from the start.

Lisa Lyttle
Life & Business Coach
415-484-5014
info@lisalyttle.com
www.lisalyttle.com