Here’s a cautionary tale for coaches about onboarding new clients.
I once hired a social media coach whose onboarding process was… asking for my payment. That’s it!
X They asked nothing about me
X They did not provide next steps, set up our first session or provide a way to do that.
I felt left out in the cold and confused!
Days later nothing more than my receipt arrived. I thought I’d been scammed.
Their social presence was impressive and the program was expensive. I expected professionalism.
When I checked back in with this “coach”, they acted like I was bothering them, which put the last nail in the coffin.
I asked for my money back.
Professional onboarding should:
- honor your new client
- help them feel safe and seen
- and, make next steps crystal clear
Let’s talk about how YOU can do that with class and integrity.
Hey Coaches!
Can Your Coaching Clients Depend on Your Character?
You’ve heard the saying “how you do anything is how you do everything.” It’s been attributed to several different people.
I think that saying is about showing your true character in everything you do.
As a coach and as a business owner, you can show good character in your consistency of action, behavior and message.
I’m not implying you need to be perfect. You can make mistakes, which are essential for growth. I am implying that if you’re going to coach, learn to live up to the role.
Set intention to show your values way before you even meet a prospect and way beyond their ‘yes’. Make all your interactions professional from day one and onward.
Marketing your services does NOT end with a sale.
Your intake or onboarding process with new clients is just as important as your social posts and other content. It’s just as important as the coaching you deliver with paid clients and the respectful closure of a coaching relationship.
All of that is part of marketing, which is really about building trust.
Episode 186 called 4 Ways to Help Your Coaching Clients Feel Safe is worth listening to after this episode. Find that where you’ve subscribed to Prosperous Coach Podcast or at ProsperousCoach.com/186.
People feel safe when you take time to understand them. Four other ways to show you care with your intake process are:
- Convey policies & procedures and make clear your role and their role so they know what to expect
- Gather important details and learn what makes them tick so they feel seen
Structure and Preparation Eases Intake
I constantly hear from my clients that the structure I provide all the way through my interaction with them is soothing. They can lean into processes without anxiety. It speaks of professionalism. They feel they can trust me.
You want to continuously earn trust from your clients too.
Once your prospect says YES! make each next step they need to take verbally clear and write it up clearly as well. Just because you go over something in real time doesn’t mean they took it all in.
Think it through before you ever have a Discovery Call. Be ready to send out a slightly customized email before and after the appointment. I call this a Pre-Discovery Call email template and teach my clients how to write that.
If they say, ‘yes’, during the Discovery Call, set up your first session right then and tell them what they can expect of your follow up email and next steps to get fully onboarded.
If their decision to hire you or not hinges on something they need to do first—such as check their budget & calendar or talk to their partner—then agree to a date in the near future where they share their answer by email. Be sure your follow up email makes that clear.
5 Next Steps Your Coaching Clients Take to Onboard
When I send my Post Discovery Call email to new clients it includes a section that spells out the steps they need to take now to secure their VIP spot with me:
1. Whitelist my email address so they get all correspondence.
2. Pay the PayPal invoice I send separately.
3. Fill out the 3 ATTACHED documents of my Intake packet and email them back to me as attachments.
Client Profile
Terms & Agreement
10 Big Questions
4. In their calendar, book out the specific dates and the time of sessions.
I prefer to give my clients a specific time slot that is theirs for the whole 5-month VIP Mentoring program. This makes everything so easy. No chasing clients to schedule sessions!
5. Read ATTACHED documents that we’ll discuss in our first session, including an Orientation document.
Ask Them Questions That Allow Them to Feel Heard
One of my 3 intake documents is called 10 Big Questions. These are a set of open-ended pithy questions that give my new client a chance to share their beliefs and philosophy, their life lessons learned and other things before we begin.
My clients often tell me how much they enjoyed this first bit of homework. It sets the tone for our relationship.
One of the questions I ask is:
How might you sabotage your own success and what would you like me to do if I notice that behavior?
Their answer to this question is a great guide for me in working with them. And my clients really appreciate being asked. It gives them a chance to self reflect and show how well they know themselves too.
Firm Up Agreements with Your Coaching Client
Some coaches have a formal contract and there is debate about whether this is necessary.
I decided long ago not to have a legal contract with my clients because it felt heavy, but I do ask clients to read and sign my agreement, which includes:
- A description of the co-creative relationship
- The client’s role and responsibilities and my role and responsibilities
- Session procedures, my phone number for both US and international clients
- What to do if they get my voice mail when they call in for a session
- Policies about session cancellation or session loss if they don’t show
- A statement that I am not a licensed therapist and that my clients are responsible for all their decisions, actions, results and feelings.
That doesn’t mean I’m not responsible for my impact, it just puts their responsibilities in the right place.
I’ve used this agreement for 20+ years. Decide what’s right for you along these lines.
No Coaching Before the Payment is Cleared
When I started as a coach, I sometimes started serving them before their fees cleared. Later I realized how that sends the wrong message and misses a critical energetic step of investment in their own transformation.
I also used to offer a payment plan because that’s what I saw most coaches do. I no longer offer payment plans for multiple strategic reasons.
Overtime, I saw that clients who paid in full up front:
- Were more engaged and took the process seriously
- Were more personally responsible for their success, and
- Had better boundaries
There’s something about making the full investment up front that helps them rise to the occasion. Whereas with clients paying payment plans, I often had to chase the installments.
Also, the monthly payment can be an irritant. Whereas clients who pay in full never think about the fees they paid again and are freed up in their mind to squeeze all the value from the program
How will your change your intake process so your clients feel safe, seen and heard while onboarding?