103 | Creating Structures

Posted on July 19, 2009 - by Jus

103 | Creating Structures

Today I did a class that is part of the Advanced Coaching Module and it was about Creating Structures for my coaching business. What that means is creating some upfront systems, standards and policies that are designed to manage a client’s expectations when they agree to hire me as their coach. It was a really interesting discussion, particularly hearing from the class leader – Michael – who shared with us a lot about how he structures his coaching relationships and the boundaries he puts into place.

I still have another class to take in this subject, but for now, here is my reflection piece:

What structures are you going to put in place that will direct the logistics of how you work with clients?

For me, I think it’s important to outline clearly the areas of fees, or specifically the different coaching packages I will offer including what is included in each and the costs (creating expectations about what you get for your money) and it will also be important to create guidelines around appointments; scheduling, rescheduling, cancelling, being late and any associated policies. It will also be crucial to be clear that a new client is signing on initially for a minimum of 12 weeks (3 months) and then we will evaluate their need to continue at that juncture.

That sort of thing will be made clear in my Welcome Pack to clients, but I think I will also need to develop guidelines for myself to ensure that I can identify when a client may need a different coach, or therapy instead, or when they are not moving forward so that we can take the time to discuss why that might be. Being clear on when to have a discussion with a client about whether this is the right time in their lives for a life coach will be a significant thing for me to create some guidelines for myself.

Additional guidelines I will need to create as part of my business plan will be how I will advertise for new clients, how I will incentivise referrals from existing clients, how often I will follow-up with ex-clients and how I will market myself to prospective clients.

What will be your client’s most common questions?

I guess I won’t know this until I commence coaching people, but I would think that I will need to be clear on the following in my Welcome Pack FAQs:

What is coaching? And what it is not.
How can coaching be effective over the phone rather than in person?
What credentials I have.
How soon can the client expect to see results?
An outline of what to expect from your first coaching session.
What some of the benefits of coaching are.
How to know if you can benefit from coaching right now.
Logistics such as how long sessions are, how they are conducted, how payments are made, appointment/cancellation policies etc
Short-term vs long-term coaching benefits.

Perhaps my readers can tell me, what would your most burning questions be for a new life coach you were considering hiring?

Five years from now, what difference could it make to your coaching practice to have standards you commit to and meet for your clients?

Very simply, this is what will establish credibility and respect as a professional coach. That can only have positive ramifications for any income stream I choose to develop for my coaching practice.

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