Clients Don't Pay for Coaching. They Pay for RESULTS!

If you are a life or business coach, you will have likely asked yourself at some point “What kind of coach do I want to be?” The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential."

So, based on this definition, let me ask you this:

• Are you the kind of coach who is “thought-provoking”?
• Do you coach in a “creative” way?
• Do you “inspire” your clients?
• Do you maximize your client’s “personal and professional potential”?

OK, let’s assume for one moment that you answered “YES” to each of these four questions and that you are fully aligned with the ICF definition of a coach! Now let’s build these four elements into an “elevator speech” that you can rattle off whenever someone asks you what you do. Would this be your “elevator speech”?

“I am a thought-provoking and creative coach who inspires clients to maximize their personal and professional potential!”

If this is your “elevator speech”, your coaching practice is probably not a thriving business! You’re not likely to attract a lot of clients with such an introduction! Even if you have all the credentials and certifications that qualify you as a coach, your potential clients are not likely to be impressed by your job description!

The problem with this “elevator speech” is that it’s vague and subjective! Your clients won’t understand what that means! And they still won’t know what you do!

Or more to the point . . . what you can do for them!

Yet almost every day I see coaches describing their services in colorful and metaphorical phrases that may delight the senses, but are devoid of any pragmatism. If you cannot describe your role as a coach in clear and concise terms, or if you cannot articulate the specific benefits you provide for your clients, you will not be able to build a successful and profitable coaching practice!

This article is not about re-defining the role of a coach. This article is about re-purposing the role of a coach! You need to transition from the role of a traditional coach to that of a coach who is results-driven and goal oriented!

But before you can make that transition, here are a few “reality checks” you need to consider!

Reality Check #1

Clients Don’t Pay for Coaching! They Pay for RESULTS!™

Such a simple statement, yet so profound!

It is a fundamental principle of any successful coaching practice and an essential element for charging high-end coaching fees! Yet this statement highlights the most misunderstood and controversial aspect of life and business coaching.

The actual formula for creating a successful and profitable coaching business is a simple one. It is essentially no different from any other type of professional service!

• A clients hires a coach to facilitate a specific outcome.
• The coach facilitates the outcome.
• The client is happy!

Every day, people engage service professionals (plumbers, doctors, personal trainers, etc.) with the expectation of achieving a specific desired result. If the desired result is to fix a leaky faucet, a plumber gets paid for installing a new washer. If the desired result is to relieve a headache, a doctor gets paid for prescribing a solution in the form of some pills. If the desired outcome is physical fitness, a personal trainer gets paid for taking the clients through a set of specific exercises.

There is a direct correlation between the clients’ desired outcome and the results they expect from enlisting the services of a qualified professional! Service professionals are paid for the results they deliver!

But what if you hired a plumber to fix your faucet and it starts to leak again? Would you hire him in the future or recommend him to others? What if your headaches keep coming back, even after several doctor visits? Would you start looking for a different doctor or an alternative solution? What if the personal trainer you invested in keeps giving you reasons why there is no visible change in your appearance? Would you consider a different approach to achieving your fitness goals?

Of course you would!

Yet I know of no other profession that puts so much emphasis on client attraction and yet attaches so little importance to delivering measurable results, as in our coaching industry.
There seems to be a complete disconnect between the defined role of a coach and the desired outcome of the client!

There is a huge misconception in the traditional coaching industry that perpetuates the notion that coaches cannot deliver the results that clients want to achieve. True, coaches can only facilitate the achievement of a result! It is up to the client to actually achieve the result. And in the traditional sense, this has always been the focus of coaching. The role of a coach is to support, assist and encourage the client to make the changes necessary to achieve a desired outcome. Whether the client wants to find a new relationship, build a new business, seek out a new career or create the changes necessary to accomplish a new goal, the role of the coach is that of facilitator and not instigator of the outcome!

Unfortunately, the role of the coach is often obscured by the murky value propositions for which coaches charge a fee! While traditional coaching may bring a certain amount of value for the client, the challenge most coaches have is quantifying and justifying these fees relative to their value! Which brings me to . . . .

Reality Check #2

Your clients don’t care about your credentials or degrees!

I personally advocate that coaches should be trained, educated and experienced in their chosen field of coaching. I recognize that anyone who knows a little more about any given subject, could be a coach to someone who knows a little less about that subject! Based on that logic, anyone can be a coach! But I truly doubt that you can effectively monetize your coaching practice by staying two steps ahead of your clients.

To be a successful coach, you need a demonstrable level of expertise! But credentials or degrees by themselves do not demonstrate competence as a coach. You need to be able to deliver results!

It is results that your clients are after! It is results that your clients hired you for as their coach! And it is results that your clients are prepared to pay you high-end coaching fees for!

But what exactly are the types of results that clients are looking for? And how can coaches deliver those results in a purposeful and pragmatic way that does not compromise the traditional role of a coach?

In other words, can a coach deliver the results that a client is prepared to pay significant coaching fees for, without actually creating those results?

The answer to that question is “YES” . . . . and “YES”!

In fact, this can be done in an ethical and authentic way that meets all of the criteria of coaching as defined by the ICF, while at the same time delivering the tangible and measurable results your clients are looking for!

If you want to create a purposeful and pragmatic coaching practice, you need to have a structured approach to coaching. The structure that every successful coaching program evolves around is as follows:

1. Identify the client’s goal or objective for hiring you as a coach.
2. Create a road map for achieving this goal or objective.
3. Facilitate the client’s desired result at the end of the coaching program!

When a student writes an exam, it is up to the student to pass the exam. But it is the teacher who prepares the student for the exam. And by doing so, the teacher must deliver the value proposition he or she was contracted for. That value proposition is not to pass the exam. Only the student can do that! No, the value proposition that the teacher must deliver is empowering the student with the ability to pass the exam!

Or to put it in another way, the student’s expectation is that the teacher can deliver the value proposition that will enable the student to pass the exam.

Therefore, when the student passes the exam, the teacher has made good on the delivery of that value proposition. The teacher has delivered a tangible and measurable result!

Now let’s examine how the concept of a value proposition applies to coaching! Here’s are two examples:

Example #1 – Career Coaching
You are hired to be the Career Coach for John S. John’s desired outcome for hiring you as a coach is to land a job as a firefighter. John has all the credentials and qualifications necessary for the job and you are hired to help John through the process. Your value proposition allows you to coach John on how to create a great resume, be fully prepared for the job interview, and optimize John’s deportment and communication skills. With your Unique Coaching Proposition (UCP), you are able to manoeuvre John through the maze of hiring requirements, give a stellar performance during the job interview and satisfy the HR department that John is the right candidate for the position.

When John is hired as a firefighter, you will be credited with having delivered on your Unique Coaching Proposition (UCP)! John can attest to your ability to deliver a tangible and measurable result. The successful achievement of John’s desired outcome.

Example #2 – Relationship Coaching
You are a Relationships Coach working with Jane D. to help Jane deal with some serious issues that are affecting her marriage. It is Jane’s desired outcome to rekindle the romance between her and her husband. Your Unique Coaching Proposition (UCP) is your ability to re-align the perception Jane has about the idyllic notion of a fairy-tale romance with the reality of the daily challenges that have an impact on the relationship.

By helping Jane create a new perception about the quality of her marriage, you can fully implement your Unique Coaching Proposition (UCP) and allow Jane to strengthen her relationship with her husband, rather than allowing it to disintegrate. You will have accomplished Jane’s objective of salvaging the marriage and you can be credited with facilitating Jane’s desired outcome!

Reality Check #3

A perceived result is often more valuable than an actual result!

In the above examples, the clients have achieved their desired result. John became a firefighter and Jane rescued her marriage. But with your Unique Coaching Proposition (UCP), you were able to deliver the perceived result for which you were hired, which can now be measured, quantified and ultimately expressed in terms of a coaching fee! By creating the perception of an achievement, a coach can legitimately determine an actual coaching value (in the form of coaching fees) based on the perceived value of the client’s desired outcome.

The perception of the results that you deliver as a coach will be perceived as reality in the client’s mind. And without compromising the integrity of the ICF definition of coaching, you can now re-purpose your role as a coach and become a goal-oriented and results-driven life or business coach by being able to deliver the perception of a result!

If, at the end of your coaching program, you can create the perception of success for your client, so that the client perceives this as the achievement of their desired outcome . . . . you will have succeeded in delivering the results your client hired you for as a coach.
Once the perception of an achievement turns into the reality of your client’s Desired Outcome, you are deserving of your high-end coaching fees!

And receiving the fees you deserve is your ultimate reality check!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

© Allan N. Mulholland

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, WEB SITE or CONTENT PROMOTION? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

About Allan
Allan N. Mulholland is the founder and president of PersonaCoach (Int'l) LLC, which provides training and certification for life & business coaches. He is the author of “Change Your Perception, Change Yourself!” and writes on all aspects of coaching training and development.

To get Allan’s free book “Clients Don’t Pay for Coaching. They Pay for RESULTS!” go to www.resultscoachmastery.com

CLICK HERE to join our LinkedIn Group.