Navigating Challenges: the Benefits of a Coach, Consultant, or Mentor and How to Know Which Expert is Best for You

The results you are getting aren’t what you desire and are tired of trying to figure out what needs to change on your own.  You are considering expert help.

The question is what type of expert you should look for to have an honest conversation about your challenges.  Is it a coach, consultant, or mentor?  The second part of this dilemma is where do you find the best person to turn to for help?

Coaches help people develop new skills to improve personal effectiveness.  Consultants are retained to provide specific solutions to business challenges whereas mentors offer advice and share stories based on their experiences when it’s convenient to them.  The key distinctions are as follows:

• Coaches help people accomplish more
• Consultants solve problems
• Mentors offer advice and encouragement

Below is a table to help you explore which option is best for you based on the urgency of your needs, values, goals, time constraints, deadlines, and level of investment funds.

Coach	Consultant	Mentor
A coach will teach you a specific way to fish but won’t fish for you. They will help you explore why you want to fish, help you to determine what’s holding you back from catching more fish, and observe as YOU master the skills and behaviors of great fishers.	A consultant gives you the fish they caught.  They will explain why the fish they caught is superior to any other fish.  If necessary, they will prepare the fish for you to eat.	A mentor enjoys sharing their fishing stories.  They will tell you about their favorite fish to catch, type of fishing, places to fish, and share pictures of the fish they have caught, but they aren’t likely to take you fishing or be interested in your fishing stories.
A coach is someone who empowers their client to develop themselves and find their answers.	A consultant is someone you hire to solve a specific problem in your business.  They typically start with a diagnostic to find your areas of weakness, make their recommendations then leave you to implement part or all of the solution.	A mentor is someone who has done the thing that you want to do. They’ve gone before you on the journey, and you want to follow in their footsteps. They’ll give you a perspective that can help you avoid common pitfalls in a specific area of business.
Coaches are focused on personal effectiveness and may not have direct experience doing exactly what the client wants or needs to do.	Consultants are hired when you need answers from an expert that you can’t or don’t want to find yourself.	Most mentors are free, and as a result, every interaction is on their terms since they are sharing their wisdom and perspective as a favor.
Coaches focus their work on value and results.	Consultants base their work on hourly rates and deliverables.	Mentors don’t consider it work, but an opportunity to share their wisdom and perspective when convenient.
You retain a coach because you want to get unstuck, take action, and better manage your time so you can live to your potential.	You hire a consultant because you are looking for an expert to solve a specific business problem you don’t have the capability or capacity to solve yourself.	You engage a mentor to give you “sage” advice because you see them as having been there and done what you are hoping to do.  You realize that they aren’t going to do any actual work for you, yet you see value in the conversation that is then up to you to apply and do something with the insights you gain from talking with them.

Recognize that some coaches hire themselves out as business coaches yet function as mentors while some clients hire a coach expecting them to serve their needs as a consultant would.  Because of this reality developing clarity on the exact type of outside help you are looking for is important.

Another important distinction to appreciate is whether you need a subject matter expert (SME) with a lot of depth and breadth of experience to help you or do you need a generalist with a wider array of experience and knowledge?

Sometimes as a business owner, you know exactly what type of help you need be it marketing or sales skills, business strategy and planning skills, people management practices, or usable time management techniques.  At other times, you’re not sure what help you need.  All you know is that what you are doing isn’t working and you aren’t clear on what you need to do differently.

If you know what specific business skill you need help with and that you want to be coached, so you develop that skill set in yourself then you want a coach.  Your goal now is to find a coach who is an expert in that area, so that they can not only coach you but can advise and teach you as well.  Similar to how professional athletes work with personal coaches to refine specific aspects of their game.

If you know what specific business skill you need help with, but you don’t want to do it yourself nor do you care to master it personally than you want a consultant or professional service provider to step in and do this for you.  Don’t look to hire a coach for these types of needs because all you will do is frustrate yourself and your coach because you aren’t getting what you need and the coach isn’t looking to advise, not do the work needing to get done.

When you don’t know what or where you need help then your goal is to find a “trusted advisor.”  This is particularly true when you know your needs will vary over the course of a year.  Your goal is to find someone who can help you see what you aren’t seeing.  If this is the case, then hiring a coach with great breadth and depth of experience is your best way forward to helping you realize your goals.

The good news is the best coaches can do a bit of each.  The challenge is they aren’t always the best choice to work with if all you want to do is learn a specific skill, or be told what to do, you are better off getting the help of a mentor if you can find one or a consultant if you can afford them.

Most small business owners benefit most from experts who can work with them in a “hybrid” mode, as a coach and as a consultant depending on their needs and circumstance.  Use this approach because your needs vary over time as you and your business evolve and changes.

At times you need advice and expertise to capitalize on when an unexpected opportunity comes along, or you need help completing a challenging body of work.  For example, you may need something as specific as designing and delivering sales presentations or as broad as developing the long-term growth plan for your business.  Not every coach has this set of corporate and small business skills.

At other times you may need motivation and brainstorming when you’re stuck, insight to build you and your business to your highest potential.  This is where your work with a coach can help you identify those areas in which you need the most help, then make the commitment together to get done what needs to get done.  This is where a coach with depth and breadth is of greatest value.

Another thing to consider is some business owners want hands-on attention, with the coach available for in-person, text, and email feedback; others only want once-weekly or even monthly phone counseling.  The level of support you require from your coach or consultant is as critical as selecting the right accountant, attorney, or financial advisor, so caution and patience are key.

The difficulty is too many relationships initiated this way fail because the parties involved aren’t on the same page relative to the required role you need them to fill.  See Tips for choosing the best coach for you or peakprofitstrategies.com/coach to make your introductory coaching request.