Today's Coach

Coaching After the Free Intro Session

You have successfully booked a complimentary coaching session, and then delivered a great "comp" session. You have identified this opportunity as an ideal client for you. The client is coachable and ready to move forward and get big results in life. The synergy is there. Now you need to ask for the financial commitment…..

Your fears come up and there's a knot in your stomach (where did that come from?). Then the gremlins start -- that internal dialogue that tells you that you can't deliver what this client needs, or that it won't be valued enough to pay for. You might start to stutter and stammer, as you can't find the right words. You're not sure how to bring up the finances. Then you start to rationalize and create reasons why they wouldn't pay you or make that financial commitment. Your own objections, which you may not consciously realize you are doing, get in the way. For example, you may believe that people need time to think about these things before making a commitment. And guess what? Suddenly your client needs time to think about it and starts to come up with reasons why not commit to you. Have you been here? Can you relate to this?

Consider this...

At TLC Teresia LaRocque Coaching & Associates, we've discovered that there are 3 things that make the biggest difference in getting over the fear of asking for the financial commitment.

1. Be absolutely clear of the value you have to offer
One exercise we have our coaches go through is identifying and clarifying their "unique processes". What we mean by that is simply this, many coaches have a lot of experience from their professional world and in life that support their coaching skills. For example if you were previously a career counsellor with an organization, what were the steps and processes you used with your clients there and how can you transfer those processes to where you are now. What specific tools and strategies did you use?

We all have an area of expertise in different topics and skills we may not have taken the time to identify. Even in our own personal development and learning, we have many skills as coaches that have value to a client. Identify your unique processes. Get clear about who your unique client is, the results you help generate and the steps you use to guide clients.

Look at the skills you have by sitting down and outlining them in writing. By doing this you became clear that you can help the client get the result they want. All coaches know they have something to offer but haven't sat down, packaged it and thereby communicated it with conviction and confidence.

For example, at TLC we coach coaches. We attract coaches who want to build their practice. A colleague and I took the time to identify what I brought to the table from my business experience prior to starting my coaching practice. We also looked at what specific tools and practices I was successfully using to build a coaching practice. I realized I had many specific tools and strategies in my toolbox, only I was using them intuitively. After creating my unique processes, when coaches came to hire me as their coach to build their practice I knew without a doubt that I had value to offer them and could state my fee confidently. From this process The Abundant Practice: A Program for Coaches(TM) was created and is a considerable contribution to our profit centers.

2. Beliefs and how these show up in client objections
Beliefs are feelings of certainty. What are your beliefs when asking for the financial commitment? A good way to get some clarity or insight is to notice some of your client's objections. Listen to the objections your potential clients are giving you for these may be a reflection of your core beliefs. For example, if your clients say 'Your services are too expensive!' Do you secretly believe your services are too expensive? If your clients say "I need to think about it." Do you believe you need to think about it before making a financial commitment or any commitment?

Be aware of your core beliefs. Are your core beliefs supporting you in getting the result that you want or limiting you in getting the result that you want? Do you find yourself holding back from asking for the financial commitment or not asking out of fear of challenging clients to make the financial commitment?

It's only a win-win if the client commits when they are ready to be coached and you have synergy with the client. If you allow the money to get in the way and you don't support them to make financial commitment, then you're in the way. If you let them do this with money, you've let them do what they do everywhere else in life. If you're not asking for the commitment you're not giving the client a chance to win. It's our job to support client to make the commitment to take the first step to have the life they truly want. Now wouldn't you agree those are powerful beliefs to have :.

Notice in your life what internal dialogue you have going on around money and making financial commitments, whether they're big or small. What beliefs do you need to adopt that will support you in creating a win-win opportunity for both you and your potential client?

3. Be clear on how to present and state your fees & services
When you're clear on the language and you've taken time to get clear on how to present it, you gain an opportunity to get clear on your outcome and the purpose of what you're communicating. Layout the strategy which will allow you to show up and be 100% present and communicate your services and fees with 100% confidence and conviction.

Strategy:

Get the commitment before you talk about fees to make sure that their commitment level is high. Test their commitment first. To do that you could say, "Coaching is all about commitment. Do you feel you're at a place to get the results you stated you wanted today? "If they say yes, you could say, "Great, do you want me to be your coach?" If they say no to the initial question, then you know that they're not ready to hear about your services and the investment.
Walk through your services and prices. Be very clear how you communicate what you offer and how it works. Walk through your programs. We suggest that potential clients have up to (but no more than) three options to choose from.
Recommend or ask what program is best for them. After you go over the different services you offer, you could say, "Based on where you are in your life, what program do you think would be best for you?" Or you could recommend a program by saying, "Based on what we talked about today and where you are in your life, I recommend you do x program."

Note: Once you have the financial commitment it's crucial that you walk the client through the next steps. Congratulate your new client. Say "Congratulations! I look forward to working with you. Let's book our next session. My assistant will send you a welcome package. The payment is due at the beginning of each month. How will you be paying for that? We take MasterCard and Visa."

Being clear on the language and how to present your services and fees allows you to guide the client with certainty, which increase the potential client's confidence in your ability to deliver on what you say.

Conclusion: Getting over the fear for asking for the financial commitment requires: 1) for us, as professional coaches, to own the value we have to offer; (2) to have beliefs that empower our potential clients to take the first step in creating the life they truly want; and (3) communicating clearly what we have to offer and how that works.

By following these guidelines you will gain an increased ability to serve more clients sooner as you grow your coaching practice. Soon you will realize your fear has turned into excitement!

Written by Teresia LaRocque - Master Certified Coach and co-creator of The Abundant Practice: A Program for Coaches (TM). You can reach Teresia at 604-473-9884, teresia@tlcsuccess.com or on the web at www.tlcsuccess.com.