The problem with traditional coaching is that this level of expectation is usually pretty low! There is often a correlation between a lack of expectation and a lack of motivation! If your clients don’t expect to achieve measurable results from being coached, they will not be motivated to take action and they certainly won’t feel compelled to pay you high-end coaching fees!
And this conundrum accounts for the disparity in income between the 80% of coaches who are struggling financially and the 20% who prosper! Your coaching revenue is in direct proportion to the level of expectation your clients have about working with you as a coach!
While the “expectancy factor” is a huge challenge for many coaches, it is an incredible opportunity for results-driven coaches to raise the bar and deliver the unexpected! And raising the bar on expectations starts well before you begin to deliver your coaching message!
In fact, it starts with you creating the perception that you are a coach who can deliver results! You must create the assumption that your clients can expect the unexpected! Most clients that you’ll work with will be somewhat sceptical that you will be able to deliver the results they’re after! At the beginning of your relationship with a new client, the level of expectation will likely be rather low. And because of that, they are not willing to make a significant investment in you!
Let me ask you this. If your marketing strategy for coaching is centered around giving away “free sessions”, what do you think will be the level of expectation? My guess is that it will be pretty low! Even the “psychic” at the County Fair charges $25 for a 10 minute “reading”! And people will pay that amount, because there is a perception that the “psychic” will have the answers to questions that are important to the visitor. There is the expectancy of a RESULT! But more importantly, the “psychic” actually creates an “expectation of the unexpected”! And it’s the “expectation of the unexpected” that triggers the decision to pay $25!
By offering a “free session”, the level of expectation is at par with the investment by the client! There is NO cost for the session and therefore there is little or no expectation about the outcome! The level of expectation is near ZERO!
For that reason, you should never give away “free sessions”! But there are 5 steps to raising the level of expectation from a “one” to a “five”. And with each step, your clients become more “invested” in you as a coach! With each step, you will raise the level of expectancy to the point where your clients will begin to expect the unexpected!
Step 1 – Raise the Level of Expectancy to a “One” with a $97 fee!
Set a “Value” for your ICS (Initial Coaching Session). Nothing in life is free, and that includes your time as a coach! Time is not a free commodity! Your time is valuable and your clients need to recognize and appreciate that fact! This goes to the very core of your professional credibility! So set an arbitrary “value” for your ICS. I suggest $97 for this initial call. By investing this small amount, your clients will attach some level of expectation, even if it’s only a “One”! But before you connect with your new client by phone or Skype, it is time to raise the expectancy to a Level “Two”!
Step 2 – Raise the Level of Expectancy to a “Two” with a “Prep Sheet”
In Step 2, you will start to develop a “level of trust” with your clients. You must create the perception that you are a coaching professional by demonstrating that you take the ICS call seriously! Before you pick up the phone, you need to know some details about your client! What is the goal that the client wants to achieve? What are the challenges he/she is facing? How will this impact the client? What will be the cost to the client, if nothing changes?
So prior to the call, have the client submit an ICS “Prep Sheet”. Once you have that information, you can tailor your ICS call around the issues that the client seeks coaching for! I talk about this in great detail in “Results Coach Mastery”!
Step 3 - Raise the Level of Expectation to a “Three” with your Signature Program!
Your clients will equate the expectation of a RESULT with the implementation of a SYSTEM! If you cannot communicate “how” you’re going to deliver results, your client won’t invest in you! Forget all the coaching jargon and fluff! Once you show them that you have a unique Signature Coaching Program, they’ll show you the money! So make sure that you have a coaching system in place that is “niche specific” and can function as a template for all your future coaching sessions!
Step 4 – Raise the Level of Expectation to a “Four” with your Coaching Proposal!
At the end of your ICS call, your client will decide whether or not to move forward with you as their coach! If you properly and effectively implemented steps 1 through 3, the likely outcome will be a resounding YES! But there will be one caveat on the client’s mind! “How much will this cost me”! DON’T ASNSWER THAT QUESTION DIRECTLY! In stead, you must send your client a Coaching Proposal that spells out the details of your coaching program, your coaching philosophy, the projected Timeline for your program, the RESULTS your client can expect to achieve and the “investment” your client needs to make! Haggling about price on the phone is totally unprofessional! With a properly crafted Coaching Proposal, your clients will realize that “it’s always about value and never about fees!”
Step 5 – Raise the Level of Expectation to a “Five” by signing a Coaching Agreement!
Once your Coaching Proposal is accepted by the client, you must ratify the terms and conditions in a Coaching Agreement. The Coaching Agreement creates a measure of commitment and accountability on the part of coach and client. And since “the devil is in the details”, I dedicate two complete training modules to this subject in Results Coach Mastery.
Once you implement these five steps, you clients should expect the unexpected!
The RESULTS they will pay you high-end coaching fees for!
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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 (Available January 14th, 2016)
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