How to attract (and keep) an incredible coach in your life

“When the student is ready – the teacher appears…” – who knows

Coaching is absolutely one of the most important, fundamental concepts that can help you reach new heights of success in your business and life, and can help you crack the ‘secret code’ to unbelievable, massive growth and duplication in your team. Funny enough, it’s probably the most ignored strategy in Network Marketing, both as a distributor trying to find that ‘secret sauce’, and a leader who’s wondering why he’s got a bunch of frustrated downline who don’t know how to build a business.

Absolutely, without question, this is the most important concept that you can ever learn in business: If you want to be at the TOP of your game, you MUST be willing to be coached, and find the best person possible, who can help you clean up your game and take it to the next level. I like to use Michael Jordan as an example, because even though he was arguably one of the top basketball players of all time, at the height of his success, when every move he made seemed magical, he was still a team player – and willing and ready to receive guidance and feedback.

Now, keep in mind that Jordan was BETTER at basketball, and had more success in his life than any of his basketball coaches, at any point in their life experienced – but still he was willing to take critical feedback, guidance, and correction at skills that he was arguably the best in the world at performing.

Now why is that? I’ve heard people say things like ‘only listen to people who are getting better results than you in the area you’re seeking’, but then why did a $100,000,000 per year earner take advice from people that earned dramatically smaller incomes, played basketball less well, and were never as influential as he was?

Because a great coach isn’t there to be better at everything, he is there to always help keep you on track. A great coach is good at identifying the strength of the players, and at helping people improve skill sets that they don’t even have themselves. The most important thing that a coach can do, however, is to help you focus and keep on the right track, and hold you accountable to the things that you agree that you’ll do together.

I had a major breakthrough a few weeks back when I had a guy come on one of my coaching calls who’s been one of the largest distributors in the Amway corporation for the last 20 years. He shared some concepts that have totally transformed the way that I thought about life and business, and it put into perspective something that was missing in my business, and was one of the most important changes I’ve made to the way I approach building a team – and here’s what it was:

Putting in place a structured accountability and coaching program for anyone in my team who is willing to be accountable and follow instructions. Now, keep in mind, I couldn’t possibly have the time in a week to coach every person in my organization, and that’s ok – because I don’t need to – because only people that are willing to be accountable will track their results, activity, and follow instructions – which is about 15% of my team, and I have my leaders coach their leaders, and so on.

One of the things that I realized after coaching back-to-back team members for 10 hours straight, the first day I implemented the program, was that the biggest roadblock that team members have is that they don’t know what to do next. This is something that shocked me – because I intuitively seem to understand what comes next, and see Network Marketing as a simple, relationship recruiting based business model, and it seems natural what should always come next in building a group.

However, what I found is that most of my team, even after having great training, tools to buy, a great fast-start system, online marketing funnels, a warm market prospecting system, even if everything is in place – most people haven’t had my experience base in network marketing, and they have absolutely no idea what to do next. AND, I found that by guiding them in one direction, not only were they more productive – but they are happier, work harder, understand better, and prospect more. Plus, my organizational recruiting is more than a third higher, and I’m only 2 weeks into the program.

Fascinating looking at it. What I want to talk about now, though, is how to attract a good coach and keep them in your life. I have a famous quote up at the top of this article that I’ve heard 1000 times and have no idea where it came from, and it still holds just as true. If you want the attention of a great coach, be willing and ready to learn, be a sponge, and be willing to take action and be accountable.

Sometimes, as a coach to others, I start giving feedback and advice, only to be interrupted by a student who has absolutely no idea how to do something, giving me their opinions on ‘the way it is’. If you want to attract and keep a great mentor – be willing to listen and correct your direction, even if you don’t completely agree – because chances are a great mentor can see things in you that you don’t yet see.

For example, I pay a few professional coaches, and one of them made a couple of suggestions to me over the course of the last couple of weeks that were right ‘in my face’ suggestions about my personal life. Funny enough, though, just one of those suggestions has now made me more money than I’ll pay for 2 months of coaching, just 2 weeks after hearing it.

Had I been an amateur, and had a huge ego, I’d be about $2,000 short in the last 2 weeks, from no additional effort or energy than I would have expended otherwise.

You and I are simple beings, and we can be compared to a rocket headed to the moon – off course 98% of the time. Just like NASA gives constant nudging, feedback, and guidance to a rocket, a coach will help you, off track 98% of the time still reach your destination on schedule. So here are some ideas to help you:

1. Track everything you actually do – for example, if you’re marketing, you could track how many articles you’re writing – how much you’re spending on PPC, how many leads you’re generating, your landing page conversions, etc. If you’re warm market prospecting, you could track how many one-on-one presentations you’re doing, how many 3-way calls you’re doing, etc. Always remember – WHATEVER you track you can improve, and whatever you don’t track, you can’t improve.

2. Have a clear intention with your coaching sessions, of a specific, tangible, measurable goal that you would like to achieve in your life. It’s easier to steer a moving ship – and if you know exactly where you’re headed, your coach will be more able to guide you.

3. Don’t whine to your mentor – they don’t need to hear your whining to guide you, they need to see what you’re doing, not doing, and the result that you either got or didn’t get, so they can help create specific course corrections in your business.

4. Be willing to follow through and complete ALL of the assignments that your mentor gives you, no matter what it takes.

If you’re open, ready, and willing, sometimes a great coach that will transform your life is just a phone call away – sometimes you need to pay, and you should be open and willing to doing so. Here’s my final thought for you, though:

When someone shows up in your life who is willing to take their time, knowledge, energy, and effort and POUR their heart and soul into you – thank your lucky stars, God, or whoever it is for you and be willing to go to the ends of the earth – because NOTHING will help you more in your business life than someone who is willing to take the time, no matter what it takes – to help you reach your goals. And if you want to transform your results in your business – be willing to coach your team, and take things to a whole new level…

Just thinking out loud Thoughts?

-David Wood

P.S. Leave me your thoughts, comments, and questions below.

Comments

• Amy Jo Neal, June 15 2010, 00:41 That was an extremely helpful article David. As always, I find your take on things so easy to grasp onto, yet unique in your point of view. I look forward to the next great piece of content. Rock on! ~Amy
• Joseph, June 15 2010, 01:40 Dave, This was such a great article. It’s really awesome that I’ve been able to connect with you and have you as my mentor. Thanks for helping me get out of this funk and on track to reach my goals. Joe
• Izabela Lundberg, June 15 2010, 01:58 David, Thank you for one more exceptional blog with so much valuable content.
  Cheers, Izzy
• Sandy Moore, June 15 2010, 04:42 Great article David and oh so true!! Your P.S. is what true mentoring is all about. It can be a hard road for some and having an expert, understanding mentor that has been there done that can certainly be an advantage when you come to one of those cross roads in your journey. Looking forward to your next post! Sandy
  
• David Miller, October 7 2010, 15:45I agree with you Sandy on the P.S. part. I also believe that it’s a good idea to communicate back and forth about what we are doing to make our business work with other network marketers. I used to work in a factory several years ago, and worked 2nd shift. Anyway, I would go in and talk to the 1st shift operator about things I had learned to improve production and he would do the same and as a result the two of us had the best results in the factory running one of the hardest products. There were times when the engineers would ask for my thoughts on a problem and I wasn’t even an engineer. If I had not shared what I knew and what I was doing I wouldn’t have had those results. I guess you could say we had our own Master Mind Group To Your Success David Miller
  
• Gene Hollick, June 15 2010, 05:17 David, you are absolutely correct. That is how I met you and why I have followed you and your work on a daily basis ever since! Keep up the great work. Have a blessed day!
• Sabrina Walker, June 15 2010, 07:22 Great article David. You are a true leader and I’ve personally been following you since your appearance on MLSP. You have come such a long way and its amazing how fast! Keep up the great work and I look forward to reading your future posts. Sabrina Jaime Mondestin, July 4 2010, 12:34I agree Sabrina David your are awesome in many things. I have taken pleasure in keeping myself updated on your latest material for me to absorb. I believe your training and guidance is what make me keep a straight line when taking the lead in following your example and techniques. Keep all that value coming in bro.
• David Miller, October 7 2010, 15:50I agree with you Jaime & Sabrina! David Wood is an excellent speaker, and leader. To your Success David Miller
  
• Dave Steffensmeier, June 15 2010, 07:39 Hi David, Awesome blog, I liked the Michael Jordan example. I was in a previous network marketing company where I was told not to take advice from my downline. Needless to say, I moved on from them. Everyone has certain strengths so it is important to have an open mind to learn. Have a great day! Dave Steffensmeier
  
• David Miller, October 7 2010, 15:59Don’t take advice from your downline? Well as we all know that’s probably true in most cases, but there are always exceptions to the rules. If you are lucky enough to have someone like David Wood or Ray Higdon in your Network Marketing downline then you definitely need to be talking to them! To your Success David Miller
  David Miller’s last blog.
• Dianna Smith, June 15 2010, 09:03 Your quote is so appropriate. It is amazing how some people come into your life. I just stumbled upon one of your videos. I have learned so much in the last few weeks since I joined several of your programs. You always seem to know what to say that makes sense to me. Great article. Dianna
  Dianna Smith’s last blog.
• Ray Higdon, June 15 2010, 12:24 Excellent stuff, I will be getting more coaches! RayRay Higdon’s last blog.
• David Miller, October 7 2010, 16:03Well there’s one thing that I have learned from all of you and that is that no matter how successful you are you still need coaches to push you to the next level. To Your Network Marketing Success David Miller
  David Miller’s last blog.
• Robbie Johnson, June 16 2010, 01:39 Thanks Dave, for inspiring the leader in all of us! You have “appeared” for a lot of us!
• Anne Duncan, July 4 2010, 11:55 Absolutely right David. You always tell it like it is :0)
  Anne Duncan’s last blog.
• Eric Barnes, July 23 2010, 01:35 David, there are a lot of great coaches out there, but I truly believe that you stand out among them. Your insights and guidance have been invaluable to me. Keep up the great work! Eric
  Eric Barnes’s last blog.
• Alejandro Gomez, July 20 2024, 14:12 This article resonated with me on so many levels. The analogy with Michael Jordan really hit home. It’s a reminder that no matter how good we are, there’s always room for improvement and someone who can help us see things differently. Thanks for sharing these insights, David.
• Nina Patel, July 20 2024, 14:50 I appreciate the structured approach you suggest for coaching. It’s not just about having a coach but also being accountable and tracking progress. This post has given me a lot to think about in terms of how I can better utilize my coaching sessions. Keep the great content coming!
• Lukas Hansen, July 20 2024, 15:34 David, your posts are always so inspiring. The part about tracking everything really struck a chord with me. I’ve often struggled with consistency, and I think this might be the key to turning things around. Looking forward to more great advice!
• Simone Rivera, July 20 2024, 16:05 I’ve always valued your perspective on coaching. The importance of being coachable and open to feedback cannot be overstated. This article reinforced why it’s crucial to stay humble and always be willing to learn. Thanks for the wisdom, David!
• Khalid Al-Mansour, July 20 2024, 16:42 The example of Michael Jordan accepting coaching despite being the best is a powerful lesson. It shows that even the greatest can benefit from guidance. Your articles always push me to think differently and strive for excellence. Thanks for another great read!