We all know coaching and mentoring are keys to a successful direct sales business. But when you’re working with a coach, sometimes you may not realize how to maximize the impact of their expertise.

Here are 5 ways you can make coaching work for you -- and see the payoff in your business.

Prepare

Coaching meetings are most effective when you have a clear idea of what you want to gain. With the possible exception of your first conversation, when you’ll be getting to know each other and articulating your big picture goals, you’ll want to come to each conversation and coaching session with a summary of where you’ve been, what’s working and what questions you have, and your next goal post.

Coaches are there to help you work toward your big goals by making strategic and systemic progress.

So keep your big Why in mind, but break down your goals for each session so you have a clear idea of where you want to go. Then your coach will help you see how to get there!

Be Honest

It can be uncomfortable to share our fears and what’s holding us back. Sometimes saying something out loud makes you confront a failure or a limitation that you don’t want to see.

Coaching is only as powerful as you allow it to be -- so you’ve got to be honest with your coach.

Talk about what’s holding you back. Are you nervous about public speaking? Feel uncomfortable talking to friends about your business? Unsure how to manage your business from a financial perspective? These are all questions a coach can help you work through and untangle, so you have a clear path forward. But if you don’t share what’s on your mind, your coach won’t know. They are only as powerful as you allow them to be.

Ask The Right Questions

As a general rule, you don’t want to bring questions to your coach that you could ask your best friend, your teammates, your accountability partner, or Google. Coaches are trained professionals with resources and experience to help you make major strides in your personal or professional life -- and in many cases, you’re paying them good money for their expertise.

So when you prepare for your session -- because, remember, that’s step 1! -- make sure you’re prepping the deep and significant questions you know you need your coach’s perspective on. (Hint: this probably doesn’t include minor tweaks to a reachout text message, or what font you should use on your upcoming event flyer)

Once you start asking the right questions, you’ll be astounded at what the answers have to teach you.

Recap

Don’t leave any coaching session without running through a recap and telling your coach what you’ve heard and what’s on your action list, based on your conversation.

This tells your coach you’re listening, and it helps you make sure you’ve heard clearly what your coach has to say.

Plus, once you have a clear action list, it’s much simpler to break it down into your next steps and to-dos, whether they are spread out over a week or a month.

Without a recap, you’re not having a coaching session -- it’s just a conversation.

Do The Work

Now comes the hard part -- doing the actual work.

Don’t fool yourself -- talking about your goals and the steps needed to achieve them doesn’t count as doing the work.

You’ve got to sit down and actually make the calls, send the messages, create the events, and share your story.

If blocking time to work your business is one of your challenges, that’s something to bring to your coach. If you struggle with multitasking, or following up, or having the right tools to make working simpler, that’s a great question for your coach.

Do the work. Ultimately, it’s the only secret to success.

What changes have coaches made to your business? Share a success or a coaching fail with our #TRAKstar community over on Facebook or Instagram! We'd love to hear from you.