Four Effective Management Skills Professionals Can Master via Coaching

Imagine that you are a master carpenter. You were trained to do your job but were you trained with effective management skills to run your business? Most likely not. So, you get a job that is going to take six weeks, and you pour all your effort, concentration and skill into it. You are proud that the end-product is phenomenal, and your customer is happy. However, until you find your next job, you are out of work.

Now what? Your focus has been to complete the project. While admirable, this single-mindedness has left you high and dry—and unemployed! Did you forget one of the most important aspects of running your own business? How do you line up your next job, so it coincides with finishing your current project? These are important questions that may not have been covered when you were learning your trade. In other words, effective management skills will need to be acquired. It is likely you will need additional guidance and training to support the core job skills and knowledge obtained thus far.

Business Skills

In many respects, your time was well spent on previous projects. Your attention to detail produced a masterful piece of work. However, while focusing your energy on the work at hand, no time was spent building the business.  The unintended results were severe – unemployment!

Even though you are running your own business, is it possible that you are not yet a skilled executive? Business coaching can teach you effective management skills that are essential for you to be successful in the business world. For instance, when you opened your business, it was most likely because you loved what you do. You received some type of training and/or education in pursuit of your passion and used it to get where you are now. Because of this specialized skill and your ability to apply your knowledge, you can earn a living. However, you need to develop the same skills for the commercial side of the business as you have for the technical side.  Without those skills, you may not achieve the level of success desired.

Business coaching can be extremely beneficial.  Coaching can address several crucial skills, including:

Skill #1: Having a Sales Conversation

Who would have thought that getting a specialized education would mean that “I am in sales”? Just hearing the word “sales” may create panic for you. Instead, I suggest approaching this necessary side of business as an “enrollment conversation” or a “conversation for possibility and opportunity.” Two of the most crucial things that you as a businessperson need to do are:  confidently articulate the value of your services and separate your business from your competitors. These are effective management skills you must master so that you can develop your business. Above all, the key is to confidently share your passion with potential clients and eliminate any hesitation they may have about hiring you.

Skill #2: Hiring Employees

Bringing new people into your organization can be cause for anxiety. After all, these employees will be dealing with your clients and personal relationships are at stake. For example, I worked with a very special, highly skilled acupuncturist, who built a strong practice through great relationships. However entrusting other people to handle the client base was an overwhelming concern, even to the point of avoiding decisions. With our help, vision and mission statements were developed for the practice. When practitioners met with employment candidates, they shared the vision and mission statements. They followed up with, “How will you contribute to this company?” This process refined the ability to select interested people that were aligned with the values and vision of the practice. Subsequently, the practice has grown rapidly and into a solid business. These types of effective management skills may not have been imparted when learning the ropes.

Skill #3: Managing Employees.

Managing employees is key to growing your business.  Do you have a strategy for a professionally tuned meeting with a new hire?  Or do you fear confrontation and lack managerial experience? A business coach can help you discover how to have meaningful and ongoing discussions with staff members.  In addition, you can discuss expectations, goals, setbacks and personal responsibility.  This helps to ensure that employees uphold the company’s vision and mission to become successful contributors to the business. Above all, coaching at a deep level can develop a business owner’s ability to solicit and process feedback.  Business coaching can help you actively step into your role as a leader.

Skill #4: Nurturing Clients

Staying in touch with your clients can easily fall by the wayside in the bustle of daily business life; however, it is an essential part of running a profitable business. Nurturing your client relationships is important.  It’s far less expensive to keep existing clients than to find new ones. Most business owners would benefit from “a client intimacy program” to keep them in touch with their customer base. Technology has made it easier than ever to keep in touch with customers, however, it is important to determine the right medium and develop appropriate methods of contact. By this we mean, is an email enough or is a phone conversation more important?  Conducting the right types of conversations are critical in keeping your client’s attention. In other words, the responsibilities involved with creating a professional business are not much different than those of a chief executive officer or business manager.

Effectively dealing with sales, personnel and financial issues are critical to success. That’s why learning effective management skills to control and manage these areas is critical to ensuring that your organization thrives. Too often, professional training and special education lack these essential skills.  However, if you master them, your business can bloom.

In conclusion, a business coach who is experienced in business practices, can bring great value and individualized learning into the privacy of your office. You will not only acquire effective management skills, but you will also discover that running your business successfully can reduce stress and lead to happier, more profitable outcomes in your business and personal life.