Do you think you can coach everyone? You may want to think again! At the end of this blog, I’ve included an evaluator to use with your potential ‘clients’ to see if they are actually coaching potentials.

Ia��ve been coached and have been a coach most of my life (first music, then real estate). But, I dona��t believe that all people can benefit from coaching. Most managers and coaches will tell you everyone needs a coach. After all, no great performers move past their a�?ceilings of achievementa�� without a coach. I certainly know that as a pianist.

But, not everyone can benefit from a coach. Why? Because some people arena��t very a�?coach ablea��. Another way to say it is that they arena��t ready to be coached. So, before you waste your money on coaching (yes, Ia��m willing to say it!), leta��s explore what it takes to benefit from coaching.

What It Takes to be Coach able

There are 15 questions on the coach ability evaluator. But, in this blog and the next are 3 attributes I believe you need if you are to get the very most from any coaching experience.

A�How Strong is your a�?Whya��?

Why do you want to be coached? How motivated are you to break through your a�?ceiling of achievementa��? Why is that important? Because your coach cana��t provide you with the all the a�?fire in the bellya�� youa��ll need to keep on keeping on (although many coaching clients expect their coach to find a motivation thata��s not therea��..).

A�How the Motivation Works

Leta��s look at how motivation works. First, you have an unrealized discontent. Maybe you have been schlepping along at 5, 10, or maybe even 30 transactions a year. But, at some level, you realize you are working way beneath your potential (step #1). So, you start looking at others who started in the business about the same time as you (#2). You see they are attaining more results faster. Then, you start looking around for a coach (#3). You take a big breath, take out your checkbook, and start working with a coach (#4). Ita��s not easy. It means doing things you have avoided doing, changing beliefs, expanding your horizonsa��and just plain working hard. A�But, ita��s worth it, because youa��re seeing results (#5).

I just took myself through the motivational cycle. For years, Ia��ve tried to lose weight. But, I just didna��t have that a�?fire in the bellya��. For some strange reason, this time, though, I found it! In February, I paid lots of money to a weight-loss program (yes, I believe that if you have appreciable a�?skin in the gamea�� youa��re more likely to stick with it). At the same time I hired a personal trainer. Talk about baptism by fire! But, the combination of my own motivation and the environment that IA�A�A�A�A� placed myself in has attributed to my continued motivationa��and Ia��ve lost 40 pounds (and have about 15 to go, but, ita��s kind of a piece of cake (woops) now.

My question to you:A� How motivated are you? Is the environment you are in motivating to you? Challenging? Encouraging?

Want to see if your potential ‘clients’ will be good coaching clients? Click here to grab my Coach Ability evaluator. A�In my next post, we’ll explore 2 more big determinants of coach ability.

What have you found determines coach ability? When have you been wrong about the coaching potential of one of your agents? How can we avoid that?