I’ve never hired a coach.  I’ve considered it a few times.

  If I were to ever hire a coach, I'd consider Sid Walker first.  His materials seem to make the most sense with the way that my mind works.  www.sidwalker.com   IMO, the synergy of your relationship with your coach needs to happen quickly before you'll see results.  Otherwise, you're just paying someone to tell you to do what you already know you should be doing.  The difference is that you've paid thousands of dollars for the priviledge of hearing the same stuff from a different source than your manager.   Your boss tells you to do it - it's their job. You hire a coach to tell you to do the same thing - it's "coaching".   If you're not going to enjoy the process, you will resent it, regret it and eventually avoid it.   Just my $.02 worth.

Thanks Skip

Do you know Sids background? If i hired a coach, I think I would prefer someone who has been in the business, and preferably, built a book. I went on his website, and registered, might try som eof his CD's etc. I agree you need to enjoy the process otherwise its a waste.

I don’t think the skills needed in a coach are the same skills needed to build a business.

  There's a big difference between EMPATHY and SYMPATHY.   I would need a coach to UNDERSTAND what I am looking to do, but I don't need them to feel sorry for me.  I need someone to help coach me THROUGH my mental barriers to new heights, not co-miserate with me about how tough the business has been.   If the coach has BUILT a book of business, why did they leave to begin coaching???  Does that mean the coach FAILED as an advisor?   Sid's background is in life insurance - as most of his testimonials are from the insurance side of the industry.   I've heard good things about Ron Carson - he's an LPL guy out of Nebraska.   Kerry Johnson seems to have done it all - insurance, stock broker, real estate, etc.  He's out of Tustin, CA.  www.kerryjohnson.com   When I heard one of the audio tapes from Sid Walker, it immediately "spoke" and connected with my way of thinking (overly analytical).  BUT he had some concrete things in his audio tape to help me get to the next level.    When someone can have an audio tape that can immediately connect to what my mind says and does to itself, I've found someone who I can connect with, who I know understands the way my mind is wired and can help coach me through it.

I'm wirehouse and suspect you ask because coaching at your branch or management level is wanting. Ask first at that level and see if there is anything available for you.  See if you can tap a senior FA as a mentor. Don't get sucked into being their "extra" CSA and don't abuse the relationship by bogging them down with little bits of baloney. If you don't get what you want or need - then help yourself by getting the help you need elsewhere. 

I've used three coaches external to the company in 15 months production. While I didn't see it then, I see now that using them in the order I did was a good progression because it aligns with what we need to be skilled at as we got off the ground. I see the three key skills as: Marketing, Selling and Protecting our time!   The first coach is a marketing coach specific to the industry. While he tends to work with people more established, his insight was useful in terms of helping me set  & then maintain prospecting momentum.   Because of him, I've developed a prospecting "system" that constantly has me in front of new people and that isn't reliant on one technique.  It's replicable and portable - and most importantly, scalable.     One of the best things he said to me was that "people fail the hard way in this business". His point there was that people give up doing the very things that will make them successful - ie - prospecting constantly. That one insight was worth it's weight in gold.   The second coach is a sales coach who specifically works Selling techniques. This is a key relationship because it taught me concrete methods for managing my pipeline and recognizing when I was spinning my wheels with someone. Most importantly - he taught me sales concepts WITHOUT all of the industry jargon. He is not related to our industry and doesn't care what the product is. It's strictly selling. Clean and simple. Again - it gave me a system where there was none and that has proven ideal.   The third is a personal development coach. She is someone I plug into when I hit some odd hurdle in this industry that is a tar baby for me; threatening to take up precious time or energy on something unrelated to my practice, finance or the markets.  She will walk me through issues around the human behavior side of a problem and it helps me see my way clear of the bull that some times accompanies the people on the industry side of the business.     This helps me get quickly solve or skirt the people problems that can emerge internal to the business (CSA problems, Operational issues, Management egos and Peer Competition Tactics and efforts at mind games). This allows me to address problems fast, get them behind me and keeps me focused on what I need for my clients and prospects quickly and with little or no time spent on the   It is NOT cheap. Yet, it IS worth it. In the end, it's an investment in yourself.