How much is leadership coaching?
Most founders and CEOs who purchase business coaching are doing so for the first time, so it can understandably be difficult to work out how much to spend. They may recognise there is a gap and a need but aren’t sure either how to spend on closing that gap. As a guideline coaching will be an investment of between 1-3K per month for a typical SME depending on the a number of factors outlined below.
Factors that influence the size of investment
The 3 main factors that will impact the investment required
Delivery Format: Face to face or Virtual
As is the case with multiple industries, virtual delivery become the only option during the Covid Pandemic and it has remained the default option across the business coaching industry. Whilst this is understandable if you are just considering the logistics and the cost, the other factor here to consider is impact. Whilst we can establish and maintain relationships virtually it is harder to create an emotional connection, and a strong emotional connection underpins a good coaching relationship. Virtual coaching is cheaper to deliver and can be delivered 1-to-1 or 1-to-many but in person coaching can go far deeper and establish the root causes that needed to be addressed far more effectively.
Delivery Approach: 1-to-1 or 1-to-Many
If you want to have multiple team members coached then you will need to consider whether you want to invest only in 1to1 coaching or whether it will be more effective and better value to combine the 1-to-1 sessions with some small group coaching. Obviously if all the coaching is delivered 1-to-1 you will require more sessions and the investment needed will reflect this, whereas a better value approach might be to use a combined approach, mixing individual and group sessions. Group sessions are also very effective for increasing alignment and co-creating solutions across multiple leaders simultaneously. A good coaching company will be able to offer you a range of delivery approaches
Originality of Content: Cookie Cutter or Tailored
No one actually needs a coach as they can purchase multiple books, DIY courses or attend events that will deliver the content, ideas and processes needed to run and scale a company. But the challenge here is like embarking on a self- build house in being able to translate and adapt the ideas to meet your circumstances. No 2 businesses are the same, even franchises, as the people operating them have different experiences, ideas and levels of competence.
Some coaching companies work off a standard operating manual delivered by franchised or licensed coaches whose role is to interrupt the manual to fit the companies they are working with. However the entry barriers to become a franchise or licensee coach are relatively low and no direct experience of running your own business is required, so the quality of coaching delivered can be variable. And also the presumption that all businesses have relatively similar challenges and therefore need relatively similar solutions applies more to some industries and situations than others. This is the cookie cutter approach.
In contrast there are lots of individual and small coaching companies that use a more bespoke or tailored approach. These companies will charge more generally but will offer a solution that is co-created with you to ensure it fits your specific circumstances. A good one of these will have its own formula and proven methods but these will be adaptable to the specific companies they support. A tailored approach.
Like a lot of purchases the size of the investment depends on the level of personalisation you require.
Summary
So the amount you will need to invest in coaching depends on these 3 primary factors. The more tailored, the more individual, and the more experiential the higher the investment but the better the ROI. Coaching is not a quick fix, but more a considered purchase, so we would always advise to take your time and make sure you are entering the right partnership.
This is not a transactional purchase. With coaching you are entering into a partnership, so like all sustainable partnerships it is worth making sure you and them are well aligned, and have agreed success criteria before making that commitment.
Choosing well and doing the work requested will ensure you get a decent return on your investment.. Choose poorly and expect an instant impact the likelihood that you will be disappointed and this money invested will have become just another operational cost.
