What is the Difference between a Consultant and a Business Coach?

A question I’m often asked is what does a Business Coach do that the consultant that I’ve already hired doesn’t? What is different between them? Truly, there is some gray area between the two roles, but we often work with businesses that have both a consultant and a coach – working in partnership to assure massive business growth.

WHAT IS A CONSULTANT FOR MY BUSINESS?

If you are looking for someone to tell you what you need to do, then a consultant is what you want. Consultants diagnose a specific business problem and provide solutions or recommendations based on their analysis of the situation and their specific experience in your field. The main focus is the business problem. Depending on how much you want to pay, a consultant may even do the work for you. Contracts may be involved and are usually short-term (one day or on a month-to-month basis). Unlike coaching, consultants typically are qualified/certified experts in just one field. That means that they will more than likely treat your business challenges just like another business in their field and fix that problem.

WHAT IS A BUSINESS COACH?

When you were younger, you likely had a coach – whether that was sports, a music teacher, or another adult leader. Think about what your coach did. If they were a good coach, they focused on helping each player tap into unseen abilities and unleash their full potential. Coaching is a partnership where the client is seen as the expert in their own field or business. Together, you and the coach determine the biggest opportunities you want to explore, they provide you with the right tools and strategies, and allow you to arrive at your destination on your own terms. They may diagnose problems in your business based on seeing things from different perspectives, and based on their experience may give you suggestions on how to fix them, but they will rarely fix them for you. Just like a coach in sports, the coach is on the sidelines allowing the owner to own the victory.

A coach (unlike a consultant) may not be an expert in your specific industry. The coaching relationship is by nature long term, and the best coaches grow with you as your business grows. They’re not just going to fix one problem and walk away as your business goes through multiple challenges. After all, the challenges that are faced by a company with $500,000 in revenue and 5 employees are vastly different than the leadership challenges faced by a business with $10 million in revenue and 100 employees. Your coach’s role grows and changes as you do.

IS IT WORTH IT TO HAVE BOTH A CONSULTANT AND A COACH?

The answer for that is specific to your needs, and we’ll be happy to assess that honestly with you. But Business Coaches and Consultants can work hand in hand to overcome the largest problems in your business. For example, let’s say you are a general contractor who is having trouble with converting leads to customers because of the skills of your sales team. I will sometimes suggest that we get some sales training for your sales team that intimately knows the construction industry. After that sales training, we pick up with continuing to work on the team culture so your sales team stays engaged. The consultant walks away and the coach stays for the next opportunity for growth in your business.

ARE YOU READY TO ENJOY YOUR BUSINESS AGAIN?

Are you ready to reach the summit of your business? Is your business reaching its full potential for profit? Are you working more than 40 hours a week to make it happen? If you can answer yes to any of these, then it’s time to talk. Contact us today to set up your first complimentary hour of business coaching where we’ll diagnose your business problem and make a plan for some solutions.