Turning New Coaching Clients Down

When you’re building a coaching practice, it’s tempting to take on every new client who approaches you. As you get busier, it’s easier to be choosy about who you work with.

When we train, we’ve told about the importance of referring people on to specialists if we don’t feel qualified to deal with their particular situation. We’re often told that our coaching skills can be used with anyone in any situation. This can leave many new coaches with a dilemma – they really want to coach and to make a difference, but don’t always have the experience to make an informed judgement on whether they are the right coach for the client – or even if coaching is the right approach for them.

A lot of this is trial and error, but based on my own experiences here are some pointers:

1. Trust your instincts
If you feel completely out of your depth, you probably are. If people are talking in jargon you don’t understand, about goals you just can’t relate to or the client presents with serious personal or professional problems, put your hands up and recommend someone else who is better qualified. This is not a confidence issue – it is being realistic about your abilities and concentrating on coaching people who you are able to work with. All that positive thinking and saying “I can do this” when you’re clearly not qualified to work with them is a mistake.

2. How do you feel talking to them?
Do you feel physically and mentally drained just talking to them on the initial conversation? If you find your training on managing your own state isn’t working, this may be an indication that the client needs more specialist help. Trust me, if you take on a client that drains you right from the start, you’ll be flat when you coach the person after them. You need to be able to stay on tip-top form to do a good job for ALL your clients. Your body and mind will tell you if you’re the right coach for them and if they’re right for you.

3. Coach people who are a rung down from you
I’ve got nothing against coaching high-flyers and people who are set to achieve the things that are beyond your wildest dreams, but when you’re starting out, you are going to be at your most confident when coaching people who are younger and/or less experienced than you are. It’s also easier to be taken seriously by clients when they feel that they’re going to someone who knows what they’re talking about.

4. Ask the right questions
Find out what they’ve done to develop themselves already, if they’ve worked with a coach before, and what they already know about coaching. There’s a download in the members area of my coaching website (www.marketinghelpforcoaches.com) which gives you a checklist of questions to ask. These will help you to uncover whether they’re the right client for you.

5. Talk about terms right up front
You’ll probably have your terms of business sorted out already – you know, clients call you rather than you calling them, payment up front, and so on. If people flinch at your terms and ask you to change them or bend the rules for them, ask yourself why. If they only want to pay after the session, they may want to hold back money. If they aren’t prepared to show up on time or give you enough notice to move a session, are they going to be prepared to do what it takes to get the results they want?

6. Don’t Hard Sell, but do Persuade
If you’ve got to flog coaching to them and they really don’t want it, they’ll become a problem client. Yes, a miracle may happen and they have a ‘road to Damascus’ moment as the coaching progresses, but the chances are they won’t get that far because they’ll show up late, cancel appointments and not do their ‘homework’. If however, they are interested in coaching but something else is stopping them – having to speak to someone else, looking at their budgets, committing the time, then by all means do what you can to persuade them to take action on it without pressuring them.

7. Network with other coaches
Get to know what other people are good at. Swap sessions with other coaches to understand their style and their speciality. Network with consultants, counsellors, therapists and other allied professions so that you can talk with authority about the differences and recognise when to refer clients to people in your network. It also helps you because when they have a client that they aren’t qualified to deal with…but you are, they’ll return the favour.