Crossing the Line ... How Much Free Service Should We Give?

[Leslie Flowers, Change Agent]

Before entering into a coach/client relationship, I am happy to spend some quality time in person or on phone with a potential client to gauge how I might best coach someone through their own self discovery. And so they get a sense of who I am and what I offer.

More than once I have been faced with a potential client who appears initially to desire a business relationship, but continues to call for coaching and genuinely seems happy getting as much information and time that I will provide with no commitment to move forward.

How do you manage this for yourself?

How do you manage this kind of potential client?

[Betsy Smith]

When they call the second time for complimentary coaching, say "I'm glad to hear from you. I have a contract ready for our engagement and am eager to get started, as I can see you are. When can we meet to finalize the agrement and get you started on your journey to success?"

[Leslie Flowers, Change Agent]

Oh, this is good Betsy. Thanks for taking the time to share. Leslie

[Justin Lukasavige]

This is a great question Leslie. In the beginning years of my coaching practice I gave away thousands of dollars of coaching because I didn't know how to handle this very situation.

It sounds like you haven't yet identified your sales process and the points at where your customers will feed into the services you offer. You'll also want to identify your target market and from that your ideal client.

Do you offer a 30-minute consultation or the like?

I don't use contracts at all in my business by I figured out how to stop giving away my services to people that want them free and won't do anything with the action plan. Let me know your thoughts here.

[Leslie Flowers, Change Agent]

I do offer a free consultation, Justin. Will you share how yo stopped giving away your services?
I tend to be generous as I am clear about the Law of Reciprocity, which begins with giving first. What is it you have figured out? Will you share : ) Leslie

[Justin Lukasavige]

Absolutely, although I won't be able to disseminate it all here. I do lead a 6-week business group coaching circle that address this and much more.

When you're doing your free consultations do you explain the programs that you believe will be the best fit for your prospects? They must understand that at the conclusion of the 30-minutes they have 2 options.

1) They can do nothing and continue life on the same path they are on; the one that does not have them reaching their goals; or
2) They can engage with you. They should have a clear outlay of how your coaching works and what to expect.

If they're calling back with more questions about the program that means they want you to sell them on it. If they're not interested in the program they would not call to talk to you. This is a great sign.

You can ask them when they'd like to get started.

When I lead events I make sure that everyone understands they have me as long as they like at the event to get their questions answered. Outside of that I also offer 30-minutes of free coaching. Anything beyond that is involved in a program with clear expectations.

[Leslie Flowers, Change Agent]

Brilliant, Justin. I have and am certain other coaches will get something for themselves from this discussion and your generous sharing. I offer coaching across the board. I use a culmination of a number of well known systems that work well for everyone. I frame the whole process and each session. That is an outline of points to cover, then we relate, then we go back to be sure we accomplished what we set out to do.

[Zachery Robert Davis]

I think you are more than fulfilling your part of the bargain when it comes to the Law of Reciprocity. The opportunity you enabled us to have by brining Paul Martinelli here was above and beyond. The day would have been well worth $100.00 if not more. You provided a life changing experience to many people who might have missed it if the coast was equal to its value. Listen to your heart.

[Leslie Flowers, Change Agent]

You are such a sweet spirit, Zach. Thank you. I am pleased that you found the experience so valuable and indeed, I will follow your advice and listen to my heart. I hope everyone on inside919 has the pleasure of meeting Zach Davis sooner rather than later.

[Ina Stanley]

This is something that we have experienced quite a bit as well, particularly with our website design & marketing services. Because our consultation is normally $65 per hour, I offer 1 free hour with the purchase of services. Beyond that, if they're looking for more relevant info from my store of knowledge, I invite them to visit our blog or join us at any of our local networking groups. They are bound to get to know me more and get a little more free info at the same time. However, the nice thing is that I'm in control of what they get and how they get it!

Perhaps you can invite them to some of your less-expensive or free Mastermind workshops, your blog and other networking groups. This way, you can control what and how much they get, and hopefully they'll get to know you well enough to want to move forward with an official contract.

[Justin Lukasavige]

This is also good advice. I don't ever control how much people get of me as a coach however. No matter the program they sign up for they get everything I know.

I put it all out there on my blogs and we have over 200 pages of resources at LukasCoaching.com. We also have BeyondPastDue.com where folks can connect with others for free to get the resources they need.

Someone may be paying $2,000 to coach with me in person, $400 in a group or free for 30-minutes 1-on-1, but regardless, they get everything I have. That's the law of reciprocity that Leslie mentioned.

Some of my programs do include resources that others do not, but as for me, they get it all no matter the program.

[Leslie Flowers, Change Agent]

@Ina: Oh, this is good Ina! I am SO glad I reached out to our coaching collaborative. Thanks for your vital contribution to our growth and development as masterful coaches! Leslie
@Justin: I also give them all I have : )

[Jessica Sabatini]

This is a tough balance. Since becoming a coach, I get tons of calls from friends, family, and colleagues looking for a bit of coaching. When it is someone I'm more personally acquainted with, I will ask "Do you want me to talk to you as a friend or a coach?" So they know that they are asking me for coaching. I will often joke about sending a bill in the mail.

But, for business relationships that seem to be moving towards the coaching, I feel being open and honest about what you are feeling is best. First telling them that you entered the relationship with other intentions, but it seems that a coaching relationship might be possible. I would add something about how your schedule is tight, and you only take on people who you think are really ready to take on big goals and make huge strides in a short amount of time. Go on to tell what qualities in them you think might be a great match for coaching. Then, suggest setting a time to talk about what that would look like. Always checking in to see what they think about that.

It might go something like this, "You know, when we first starting talking, I truly just had the intention of talking about business development. But, I am feeling that there may be a possibility for us to work together in a coaching aspect. I work with people who are taking on new ventures and want to get there much faster than they would on their own. I have been so impressed with your drive to make your goals happen. I truly believe that you can do this and it will be great. I see you are struggling with keeping everything in balance and would love to be able to support you as a coach so you can get everything to the point where it is working best for you. I have a slot opening up next month. You seem ready to take on this kind of work. Maybe it would be a good idea to find a time to talk more about this and see what it would look like. What do you think?"

If the person doesn't sign on, but continues to call or email looking for coaching support, gently telling them that you have a client calling in a moment and don't have time to talk. Or That you would need to have a longer conversation in order to help them find the right answer for them, but you have some things to get out to your client by the end of the day. That way you are showing them that your clients get the benefit of more of your attention because they are your clients. Being one of your clients and getting that attention will seem more appealing and you've set a boundary so you aren't dishing out free coaching.

Good luck. I know we all love being able to help others and that is what draws us to this work. It feels good even when it's just in passing, but we can get into situations where we are not standing in the value of what we have to offer. Anything that is beginning to breed resentment, needs to be addressed immediately.