One of the most common ways for a lot of life coaches to make it easier for a potential client to get to know them – and to invest in life coaching with them – is by offering a complimentary coaching session.
What makes these complimentary calls really work? What makes the difference between that potential client anxiously signing on for coaching with you — or hearing a polite “I’ll have to think about it. . .”
What a Great Teleclass Has in Common With the Complimentary Session . . .
Have you ever been on a really informative teleseminar call and by the end, you’re ready to take out your credit card and purchase whatever they’re offering?
A few years ago in my blog, I wrote about my excitement following a call with master copywriter Michel Fortin. As the call was coming to a close, I was pumped up to the max…or so I thought.
And then, Michel started naming specific things he’d teach at his event, and specific results I could expect by following his advice. Now, I was really ready to buy!
The point is, most coaches are taught to ask questions like:
“When would you like to start our first session?”
“What did you think of today’s call?”
“How would you like to experience this every week?”
But these statements don’t excite me, not even a bit!
They bore me to say the least. If the coach didn’t manage to excite me with possibilities of what I might get as a result of coaching with him or her, asking me these questions now won’t matter. You’ll feel like you’re “hustling for business,” as one of my subscribers described it, and the client feels being sold to.
Instead, give examples, illustrations, ask questions, and let the prospect ask YOU if you can coach her.
You can’t give any guarantees, of course, but your prospect already knows that (which all goes back to putting the responsibility on the client). But if she sees that with your guidance others have – and she might – achieve incredible results, she’ll hire you.
Ask Yourself These Questions Before Your Next Call . . .
Why should YOUR prospects hurry to sign up with you? Or buy your product?
What will they lose if they don’t sign up in the next 30 days?
Think about it: if you can’t find an answer to that question , then maybe there is no reason to sign up with you at all . . .
Here’s an approach coaches can use to stimulate a better response:
“What if you don’t get a coach today?”
“Are you willing to continue your struggles?”
“Are you willing to continue suffering from (bad time management skills — tolerating the job you hate, etc . . .)”
How do you close your complimentary coaching calls? What have you found works best for you?
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After telling them how I can help them, I ask “Would you like my help?”
In response to “Charge or Not Charge?” question posed on Twitter:
The reason I don’t suggest giving away free coaching sessions is because it implies that you’ll be demonstrating coaching. But remember, nobody cares about the process of coaching, so don’t waste your time explaining what coaching is, how it works, or what it feels like.
By charging people for a consultation or a strategy session you’re attracting people who are truly interested in working with you, you’re weeding out tire-kickers, you’re demonstrating your value, and you’re getting paid for your time. Imagine how many hours you’d have to coach for free to get a single client.
Considering that you need to offer 5 free coaching sessions to get one client, you’re basically spending two and a half hours to get one client. And if you are using it as your primary closing technique, this could mean 10-15 hours a week of free coaching sessions. Not the best way to spend your time AND absolutely impossible to grow and scale your business!
Just my 2 cents
Milana, I completely agree! And I just learned that conversion rates are higher for prospects becoming clients when first sessions are paid, and that retention rates are higher, too — those clients stay longer / buy longer term packages. ~ Deah
I’ve started to go for a “half way” deal – I offer a half price first session. I thought this might be less of an incentive than a complementary first session, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. By doing it this way, I feel that I’m giving people a chance to try me out, whilst also getting paid something for my time!
I’ve seen offers where coaches charge $1 for the first session and then put people on a recurring credit card charge at the regular rate, so the person has to cancel if he/she doesn’t want to continue. What do you think of that?
I do offer free coaching sessions and my conversion rates are high.I also, lead a woman’s gathering http://www.meetup.com/thebrightsideoflife and Rafael 2 free coaching consultations each month, and that seem to be working well. But I do agree, now that my business is taking off, I could see myself charging for the first session.
Offering free sessions – especially when they really work for you in terms of conversion – is great, Sahar! What I see many coaches do, though, is use these sessions as their primary way of getting new clients. That’s the first (and only) thing they offer as a way to demonstrate their value. Impossible to grow beyond a certain level, so it’s a great idea to add other ways to convert clients, as well. Perhaps with an educational product or a teleseminar
Hm…Interesting strategy. It’s kind of like asking for a commitment. Definitely will change the caliber of prospects, Ellen!
I used to give away free career assessment sessions. My hope was that the clients would have a foretaste of what I can offer and sign up. They ended up asking all the questions and by the end of the 60 minutes or so, they did not need me. I changed and started charging a minimal fee ( committment of $30) and my enrollment went up. After about 1 year, I moved up to cover the opportunity cost ( what elase would I do with that one hour?) and my enrollment doubled, and this has become an income stream. I would not advocate for free coaching sessions. I am currently implementing Milana’s Coaching millions system where I write FREE articles with a confident call to action , upload them on my site and circulate the link to my mailing list and this works for longer. I just converted a client through an article done in March. I find this approach giving me the neded credibility and leverage too!
Love what I am doing – doing what I love
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My clients want to pay me because I am giving them a service. I work hard for them.