So this month we have put together some questions and tips to help you. These may also be useful if you are looking for a business coach.

What support do you want? Before looking for a business mentor it is a good idea to understand what support you need and in what areas, whether this be general business mentoring for all areas of your business, specific support (e.g. sales and marketing, growing your business etc.), personal support (e.g. stress management, work/life balance etc.) or maybe a mixture of these. If you are not sure what support you want, it will be helpful if you can describe how you feel (e.g. overwhelmed, not strategic enough etc.).

Do you want face to face, telephone or internet support? You can have business mentoring face to face, over the phone, via Skype, via email and even online, so think about your preferred option so that you can find a mentor who can meet your requirements.

Ask your contacts for recommendations. A good starting point will be to ask your contacts (business and/or personal) if they can recommend one. They may have used someone or know of a person they are happy to recommend to you.

Search on the internet. Try searching on Google and have a look on internet based business directories. Make sure your search is specific and includes your requirements.

Look at their websites. Find out more about those recommended to you and about those you found on the internet by looking at their websites. This will enable you to narrow down your search as you will be able to get a feel as to whether they are right for you from their websites.

Contact a selection. Telephone or email the ones who look right for you and arrange to speak to them to find out more about them and whether they can meet your requirements. The questions below will help you narrow down your search.

Can you relate to and see yourself working with them? The key to getting the most from the business mentoring is the relationship between you and your business mentor. Spend time talking to them to see whether you get on with them, want to work with them and whether they are right for you.

What business mentoring qualifications, knowledge and experience do they have? Ask them about the training they have completed and about their knowledge and experience of business mentoring.

What business knowledge and experience do they have? Ask about their business knowledge and experience, their career to date, who they have worked for, at what level and in what positions. If you want general business support you will want someone with general management experience or who has run their own business rather than a specialist.

How long have they been working as a business mentor? Understand from them how long they have been working as a business mentor and make sure you feel comfortable with this.

What type of clients do they work with and what do they help them with? Ask about the type of clients they have worked with (e.g. the size of the businesses, the business sectors they operate in, the number of staff they employ etc.) and the type of things they have helped them with.

Do they have client testimonials and can you speak to their existing/previous clients? It may help you to decide if you can see some of their client testimonials or talk to their clients.

How do they work with their clients? Ask about how they work with clients and how they will work with you (e.g. how long are the sessions, how often do they take place, what is your commitment in terms of number of sessions, what is the cost, do they offer a free session so that you can try out their services, do they have a contract that covers their services etc.).

Do you feel that they are right for you and your business? From the above you should be able to decide which one is right for you and your business. However, you may want to ask to try them out first with a mentoring session so you can make sure.

Hopefully the above will help you with your search and selection if you decide that you want to work with a business mentor.

Liz Makin, Makin It Happen – Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management

Liz Makin provides personalised business coaching, business mentoring and stress management services to business owners, directors, managers and professionals. If you would like further information or to use any of our services please refer to the Makin It Happen – Coaching, Mentoring & Stress Management website at http://makinithappen.co.uk.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_Makin

Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specializes in writing, marketing and product development.  Newsletters and  additional articles:  http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Franz

By Catherine Franz

• Your value statement should be about RESULTS not activity. So, a statement like “business up 200%” is much more powerful than “more sales, better marketing, more appointments.”

• Your value statement should always be MEASURABLE. “revenue up 200%” is better than “more revenue.” And, “Revenue up $1M” most of the time is even better than “revenue up 200%.” If you are stating “revenue up 200%” then always help the prospect convert that to dollars and cents. He WILL respond more often and faster.

• Bracket your value.

• • Average– Start with an “average” result either across all of your clients, or “average” the result in different segments (even better).
  • Minimum–Then be prepared to talk about the minimum result you’ve ever delivered. Find the words that work the best here. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve had clients that fell flat on their face, but there were few of them, and it wasn’t due to anything I did. In most cases, they just couldn’t bring themselves to change, so they kept making the same mistakes. My usual statement is: “for those that get it, and DO follow through with what they learn, most will more than double their business.” So, find your minimum, and how you feel comfortable stating it.
  • Maximum-Now find the best results you’ve ever delivered. For my sales training, I usually say something like “my typical client doubles his business in 3-4 weeks, and I’ve even seen a couple jump up 10 times within a week. And most of my clients just keep multiplying their results over and over.

Click here to view the embedded video.

By bracketing your value, you have given a very clear value statement to your prospect. He can understand that working with you what the dollars and cents, or multiplier is for a typical prospect, and what the minimum and maximum is.

This approach will cause people to LEAP into your shopping card. Almost no one dares give a clear value statement, so you are WAY above your competition, and you have just removed any reason for that typical objection: “Gee this seems awfully expensive” or “I don’t have the money.”