This week we’re covering the final piece of my framework which is all about serving your clients. A lot of coaches think that getting the clients is the hard part, when in actuality, creating and maintaining that client experience is the part that many people get tripped up on. But for our final episode in this series I want to talk about upholding integrity as one of your core values in your coaching business.
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//don’t forget
Applications for The Purpose To Service Academy open up on October 12th! Click here to get on the waitlist and be notified!
//catch up on the other episodes in this series
EP 158: How To Get Clear On What You REALLY Want In Your Life and Business – listen here
EP 159: Understanding Your Ideal Client and Getting Clear On What You’re Promising – listen here
EP 160: 3 Ways To Make The Most Out Of Your Pre-Launch Phase – listen here
EP 161: How To Stop Overcomplicating Your Coaching Program Curriculum – listen here
EP 162: Pricing For Impact, Sustainability and Ease – listen here
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Welcome back to another episode of The Purpose To Service Podcast! We are officially one week away from applications for The Purpose To Service Academy opening up to the public! The Purpose To Service Academy is my 12 month group coaching program that teaches overwhelmed coaches and online experts how to create more ease in their coaching business through building a solid foundation and launching their signature service offer!This is the first time that applications have been opened in months because I wanted to take awhile to update the curriculum and get feedback from our current clients on what would make their experience even better. AND I’ve also added in a new option to the academy for those who are more advanced in their business but still want access to our coaching calls, quarterly events and of course our amazing community!If your goal is to build a truly sustainable coaching business that fuels the life you desire, Again, applications open up on October 12th! So We are officially in our last week of our 6 week series on how to build a sustainable coaching business with intention! For the past 5 weeks I have walked you through our 6 step framework, The Purpose To Service Method and we have covered:
- Week 1: How to get clear on what you really want
- Week 2: Understanding who you’re serving and what you’re promising
- Week 3: How to make the most out of your pre-launch phase
- Week 4:How to Stop Overcomplicating Your Program Curriculum
- Week 5: How to Price for impact, sustainability and ease
This week we’re covering the final piece of my framework which is all about serving your clients. A lot of coaches think that getting the clients is the hard part, when in actuality, creating and maintaining that client experience is the part that many people get tripped up on.I’ve talked about this a lot before but the coaching industry has gained a bit of a negative reputation. This is a highly profitable industry and because of that a lot of people who either don’t know what they’re doing or are only in it for the money have come in and operated in a way that has caused a lot of mistrust. I’ve heard a lot of stories about coaches ghosting their clients or not providing what they promised. And I dont know if these things were done intentionally but a lot of the bad experiences most people have had in coaching programs really boils down to lack of integrity and it not being held up as a core value.
Inside of the purpose to service academy, our module that is centered around Serving your clients is all about creating your client process, getting clear on your personal non-negotiables and setting client boundaries. But for our final episode in this series I want to talk about upholding integrity as one of your core values in your coaching business. The first way is to Be clear and up front about what is required from both you and your client. Making what you expect and what can be expected from you as clear as possible leaves no room for miscommunication or assumptions. If the expectation is for your clients to turn in homework assignments every Tuesday, then let that be known ahead of time. On the flip side, if the expectation is for you to be really hands on throughout their time in your program, make sure that that expectation is clear.There should be several touch points inside of your program and throughout your sales process where you’re clearly laying out those expectations.
The first place is your sales page. Clearly letting potential clients know what they are going to get during your time together and what your roll as their coach will look like. The 2nd touch point should be during that sales conversation. Either on your sales calls or through your application.On our application for The Purpose To Service Academy, there is a simple question that states the time commitment required to get the most out of the program and they have to say whether or not they can make that commitment. And I take that into consideration when reviewing applications because I don’t want you to pay for the program then realize that its a lot more than what you were ready to commit too and now you feel like you’ve been cheated because you cant really make the most of all the program has to offer!You can do the same during those sales calls. While you’re talking about your offer and seeing if it would be a good fit for them talk about those expectations on both endsThe second way to truly uphold integrity in your coaching business to to simply deliver on what you promised. I know this may sound like common sense but you’d be surprised how many things people will try to change once they realize how much work it will take to deliver on those promises!
If you promised that you will have coaching calls every Sunday, then make sure you are prepped and ready for those calls. If you’ve promised specific resources make sure they are receiving them by the time you promised. Inside of the purpose to service academy I review all of my clients assignments as their going through the program and I let them know that all feedback requests are answered on Wednesdays. Ya’ll there have been times where I have had a ton of other work to get done or times where I have just been super tired but I still made sure that I reviewed their work and provided feedback because that’s what I promised them!
This is one of the huge reasons why I dont like that a lot of the marketing around coaching programs are centered around helping clients scale fast or make a lot of money in some super short amount of time. You’re making this big promise to your clients so you’ve set their expectation to be able to bring in gobs of money but you dont even know if you can deliver on that promise. Not to mention how everyone’s financial situation and business goals are different. Now you’ve made this big promise and as soon as that promise isnt met, you have upset clients.Live by the phrase, “Under promise and over deliver!” The third way to uphold integrity in your coaching business is to always keep the line of communication open. So we just talked about delivering on what you promised. But as we all know, life happens. Things come up, scheduled get rearranged. That’s ok! But if you cant show up in the way that you promised, you have to be diligent about communicating that to your clients.
I havnt had to do it often but anytime that Ive had to reschedule a coaching call or havnt been able to follow up on assignment reviews, I’ve let my clients know that as far in advance as possible and Im also proactive with when they can expect a reschedule or follow ups.Also make sure that the line of communication is easily accessible. Your clients should not have to jump through hoops to get in touch with you or to ask you questions. That comes off as if you really dont value what they have to say and its a bit shady. My clients inside of the academy know they they can shoot me a private message inside of our private community if they need me. And we also have a dedicated email address thats just for clients and its made known from the time they join us.
You of course need boundaries around how and when your clients can communicate with you but again, those boundaries need to be known up front so that there is no confusion.So those are the three ways to uphold integrity in your coaching business. I’ve said this before but I love this industry so so much and I hate that it has gained sort of this bad reputation that a lot of coaches are just in it for the money and not because they or because of the transformation that they can help their clients to achieve. Its really my goal whether it be through this podcast, through social media or through The Purpose To Service Academy, to teach other coaches how to build a sustainable business that makes them money but also upholds integrity as a core value as well.
Alright you guys, don’t forget that applications for the purpose To service academy open up on October 12th! Make sure you get on the waitlist to be notified when applications open up! And I hope that you have enjoyed this 6 week series all about how to build a sustainable coaching business with intention! I’ll see you next week!
