The 5 Parts of a Good Professional Coaching Agreement

Written by admin on Thursday, April 29th, 2010

When you are a client looking for a professional coach, or you are a professional coach who is starting work with a new client, it is imperative that both sides understand the nature of the working arrangement. This understanding will mean that both parties will know how to grade the performance or improvement as well as client commitment. In the article below, the author discusses how to create agreement the removes a majority of the ambiguity from the system and will allow both sides to move forward in a powerful way.

One of the most important tasks when enrolling a client into a coaching program is to get them to commit to an agreement. Even more difficult for new coach’s and consultants is trying to figure what to put in the agreement and what the legalities are.

So are coaching agreements legal?

The short answer is that the agreement would probably not hold up in court against a savvy attorney.

So why even have one then?

The purpose to having an agreement is to list some very important specifics, such as times, responsibilities, expectations etc. With the outcome designed to bring as much clarity to your business transaction so that you are less likely to have disagreements with your client.

A typical agreement has some or all of these elements in them;

o Fees

Here you would state what your method of payment is rather it’s by credit card or Pay-pal. You should also state when the payments are to be made and in what frequency.

You may wish to make specific notes to your client at this point as well such as; please mark your calendar to deduct your payment on the (6th) of each month, in place of a formal invoice.

o Meetings

Here you would state how you are going to conduct your meetings. Will it be online, or over the phone? State who will initiate the contact each week and for how long the meeting will be. Here’s an example; I will call you on Mondays, at 3: pm Eastern Time at 219-555-1212 for forty-five minutes, once a week. We will have a prearranged agenda that I will send via email to you 24 hours before the meeting.

o Changes/Cancellations

Here you will make notes regarding the procedure that your client should follow if there comes a time when they need to cancel or make changes to their accounts or meetings. Request that they make their scheduled coaching calls a priority.

Make a statement that says; on the rare occasion when they need to reschedule, to please let you know at least forty-eight hours in advance. Except in the case of an emergency, they will be charged for last-minute cancellations or missed calls.

o Extra Time

Have your client may want to call or e-mail you between calls if they cannot wait to share a success, need advice, have a challenge, or just want to check in. Let them know if you have time between their regular calls. Let them know if you are going to bill for this type of additional time, if you don’t charge for this request that they keep extra calls to a maximum of five to ten minutes each.

o Period Covered

Inform them of the length of the commitment that you expect them to make. Most coaching programs last for 3 months (12 weeks). Most coach’s do not often make formal agreements with their clients, but you should recommend that for them to be successful for the long term they should commit to coaching for a minimum of three to six months.

Inform them that the benefits of coaching build over time. Let them know that in order to make their experience as valuable as possible, you encourage them to make this commitment to themselves first.

o Confidentiality

Inform your client that it is important for the integrity and value of your coaching relationship that both of you are open and honest with each other. In this light, what is discussed must remain completely confidential.

o Referrals

Inform them that the success of your business rests on your clients giving you referrals. If their coaching has enabled them to generate the results they wanted in their business, ask them to share their coaching experience with others, and refer you to anyone they know who might be interested in what you’re coaching has to offer.

Inform them that you would be happy to conduct complimentary coaching consultations with anyone they refer.

If you’re ready to go to learn more about how to Write Your Own Book and start a Highly Profitable Coaching Practice than go to; http://www.adaptonadime.com for your FREE “Fast Start Guide”

Paul Godines helps coach’s, consultants, groups and businesses to write a book, to market and promote themselves and or their businesses. Paul will also help you price and package your products and services so that you can create a highly profitable coaching practice using your book.

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