If your company is stalled, a coach could be the catalyst you need.

Darrin Lugash, Houston
I have a business in theory, but haven’t seen any action in it. I’m working full-time in my former trade while I wait for my business to take off. I'm not sure where to get help – when is it time to hire a business coach? What should I look for in a coach, and what should my expectations be of him or her?

By Lenora Chu, CNNMoney.com contributor
A business coach can be helpful when your company is in transition, you’re in financial trouble, or you’re facing a critical decision such as whether to add employees.

“When things are going steady you don’t typically need a coach,” says Vancouver, Wash.-based small business consultant Doug Williams.

Finding the right coach is important, especially since the marketplace is saturated with people advertising business coaching services. Start the hunt by creating a list of 10 or so prospects, suggests Rick Lugash, Southern California regional owner of the small business growth services company OneCoach. Some things to consider include how many current clients a coach has, any association membership or certifications, and verifiable success stories.

Make sure your prospects have proven track records in the specific area you need help with. For example, if you need help starting up a business, find a coach with a history of guiding successful startups.

Start by interviewing the top candidates on your list. Be sure to get the names of past clients, and contact them as references.

“You want to go through the same process to hire your business coach as you would use to hire the pediatrician to treat your children,” says Lugash.

And find someone who’s good at training and teaching. “You don’t want someone who will do the work for you,” Williams says.

Most coaches will charge from $150 to $500 an hour, says Williams, and a good one will grant you a complimentary initial consultation.

Don’t choose a coach based on price alone. Sometimes the inexpensive coaches are people who are “in between jobs,” says Williams. “They’re not going to help you.”

“Treat your coach as part of the startup investment,” Lugash recommends.

And although chemistry is important, don’t automatically eliminate a prospect because their style doesn’t match yours. Think had about why you're clashing.

“A good coach will take you out of your comfort zone into uncomfortable waters,” says Lugash. “That resistance might be the place you need to go.”

When you’re finally ready to sign on the dotted line, establish clear milestones by which to measure progress, such as “how many, and by when?” Lugash says. “Put them into the agreement.” Like a business owner, a coach has to deliver a clear payoff if they want their clients to keep coming back.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

Remember, success is in the details when it comes to bids and RFPs.

Paul Shelton, Tavares, Fla.
I need help writing contract proposals and contracts. Any advice or recommendations for software?

By Kathleen Ryan O’Connor, Fortune Small Business contributor
Dear Paul: Everyone’s guilty of tossing aside the directions at least once. (So what if the DVD remote also works the refrigerator icemaker? Bonus!) But if there’s one rule that cannot be ignored in writing contract proposals, it is: read the directions. And when you think you have them down, read them again.

Any deviation from the specifics requested could put that proposal you labored over for weeks right into the circular file.

“It all has to be in their order, not yours,” says Roger Cohen, a government contracts consultant in Nyack, N.Y. who has been producing and writing government contract proposals since 1984. “Deviation is a sure path to failure.”

Cohen suggests printing out the directions, grabbing a three-hole punch, a binder, highlighter and pen, and going through the RFP line by line – as many times as necessary.

Paying close attention to the dry, technical stuff doesn't mean you can’t sell yourself in a proposal. You absolutely can – and should.

It helps to see the request for a proposal (or in whatever form the request comes) as a problem that needs solving – and each specification as a question that needs answering. How are you the best person to solve each issue?

“Your proposal is your only salesperson,” Cohen says. “It has to speak for you.”

And don’t worry about fancy – and expensive – software. The experts we spoke to say it isn’t necessary.

Deborah L. Kluge, a Columbia, Md.-based consultant who also specializes in helping businesses write winning proposals, says the word-processing program on your computer is all the software you really need.

She does, however, recommend getting a book on the topic. She says there are many titles to choose from, and most are quite good.

The biggest hurdle for small-business owners, she says, is getting started.

So the best thing – after reading the directions – is to organize your response in outline form, using the headings requested in the proposal and sub-headings as needed, though she says more than three subsections can get overly complicated.

Unsure of the best way to write an outline? She recommends the Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab to her clients.

If your goal is to secure government contracts, Kluge also recommends finding a federal Procurement Technical Assistance Center, or PTAC, which will offer free counseling.

A list of Florida centers can be found here.

There is also plenty of software out there to help you write contracts, but there is just as much free advice on the Web.

The popular site FindLaw has a comprehensive section on contract writing for small businesses.

Give us your advice: Check out recent “Ask & Answer” questions.

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