The mistake people make in hiring a coach (or enrolling in a course or hiring a personal trainer) is thinking that their job is to help them gain new skills and abilities.  

That’s not 100% true.  

The true purpose of a coach is to help you change what you believe.

You can have the best ideas and the best skills in the world, but if your brain is preventing you from using (or learning) these things it’s useless.

Here’s an example…

Before May 6th, 1954 nobody had ever run a mile in under 4 minutes.  On that day, Roger Bannister not only shattered the world record but also shattered the mental barrier held by humans about what was possible.

Why?

Well, in the years that followed many others would achieve this previously unattainable feat.

Was it that the human body had reached some pinnacle of development in 1954 that now made this possible?  No.  It was a belief. It was only the commonly held belief that prevented this, not skill alone.

Where in your agency is a belief preventing you from getting what you want?

In my experience, people rarely assume (or can detect) that it’s a belief that’s preventing their successes.  Lack of success is usually chalked up to a lack of skill or ability.

So, in order to overcome these obstacles, try to improve our skills by reading books, we practice and we try our best to acquire the skills needed but often end the pursuit in frustration.

This can lead to feelings of inadequacy.

Let’s look at selling…

Lots of people start their agencies because they love the websites, digital marketing, and what is possible with these services.  I find that few people get into this sort of business because they are in love with sales.

But, as we know, a sale is an important part of a business.  Without sales, nothing else gets done. (Well, unless you’re giving your services away for free, but we’ll tackle that another day.)

So, agencies trudge through selling just to get to the parts of their business that they like to do.

They end up building a business that they resent and unfortunately begin to believe that in order to do anything FUN in their business, they have to engage in sales activity that they hate.

This is why a lot of agencies don’t last long term.

They give up because of the belief that sales suck (or more accurately, THEY suck at sales.)

Regardless of how you might currently feel about sales… isn’t that sad?  That so many businesses fail simply because of a belief that is held about themselves?

That’s why getting better at strategy is only part of the story. The only way to improve is to start by changing what you believe.

The next time you hire a business coach, don’t aim to learn their skills, learn their beliefs about sales, marketing, finance, and team building.

The next time you hire a personal trainer, don’t aim to learn their skills, learn their beliefs about strength, nutrition, and fitness.

If you ever work with a marriage counselor, don’t aim to learn their skills, learn about their beliefs about communication, trust, commitment, and intimacy.

Whoever helps you, don’t hire them for their skills and abilities alone.  Hire them for who they are and what they BELIEVE.

Why?

Because belief is the precursor to any improvement in skill or ability.  Belief comes first, and skills come second.

Ready to take your business to the next level? If you’re curious about how we might be able to help you, apply for a call with our director of coaching. We’d love to help.