Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are tempted to hire a coach or a mentor to get help to resolve a problem, but then withdraw from the investment and commitment because you think the timing is wrong or because you feel uncertain about getting the results you are looking for at the end?

As a coach myself, I always hire other coaches and mentors to help me get results.

I have assessed a high number of coaching and mentoring programs over the last few years and signed up for quite a few of them myself.

Self-studies, online coaching, group coaching and VIP-programs, I have tested most variants and  now I am starting to see some patterns to which programs generate results and not.

Coaching and mentoring is a partnership, which can only be effective if both parties are really clear on the expectations on each other. In terms of results, for my own clients as well as for me as a client myself, it seems vital to define and refine the goals during the journey. Not only the tangible ones, to me personally, the intangible goals are the most important ones to pursue.

After partnering with my coach or mentor, what do I want to feel capable of or enabled to do more of than before? And how does it relate to the big reason WHY I am doing what I am doing? What can I bring more of to my business and personal life after completion?

I recently made a big decision to sign up for a high end coaching program to improve skills and become bolder on a new arena. The program is starting tomorrow, and I already know that I will get the results I am looking for at the end of the 4 month program.

How do I know this? I will get the results because the coach sent me a 6 page preparation form which took me 2 hours to fill in upon our kick off session. We can hit the ground running when we meet tomorrow, expectations are set from both parties, and I told her exactly what I wanted to get out of our first meeting and the program in total. It is a combination of tangible and intangible results. I feel totally committed and very focused, unlike some other programs where I have told myself “I can do this later”. It will happen over the next 4 months and I will keep you posted.

Does this resonate with you, or do you have another recipe to get your results out of your coaching investment?

The post How to get results out of your coaching investment appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Today’s social media tools enable us to listen to the market and communicate with colleagues, potential employers, customers and business partners in a new way, and this gives you a chance to tell your story, demonstrate your ambition and build your network effectively for long term relationships. You will also find yourself in a position where you can start attracting professional opportunities which may not even exist yet!

Surprisingly, many seems to believe that it will be sufficient to create those opportunities simply by creating an account and proving that they are part of the community without a defined strategy nor adding the behavior required.

Let me be very clear: It is not enough to “show up” at the social media scene, you need to successfully ENGAGE with others to build a trustworthy presence to build and nurture long term relationships. These relationships can then result in real life business opportunities and significant business results.

I have personally experienced the power of social media for creating new business via tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and now I’m in a position where I can help others do the same. Looking back on the early days of my business, I wish someone had told me that you need a strategy for this as well, like in any other major area of your business.

When people ask: “What would you have done differently now if you knew then what you know now”, my answer remains crystal clear: “I would have spent time initially to go on discovery. I would have loved to listen more carefully to where my target groups hang out, what they are preoccupied by and what they are struggling with. Then I should have investigated more carefully which social media preference I have, and where I should ask for help. And finally, I should have pulled together a simple 1 pager to spell out my social media strategy and STICK TO IT with patience.

I often hear people complain about the time spent on social media with unclear return on investment. It doesn’t have to be that way when you know by whom you want to be found and where you need to hang out to engage with your target market. You need to know what to ignore and what not to ignore, though.

The post Could you learn from other people’s mistakes in using social media to get results? appeared first on Katy Caroan.