COST OF COACHING

Isn’t business coaching expensive? I don’t think I need the added expense.

We’ve all heard two popular lines when it comes to asking about the cost of a service – especially when we feel that the seller may have something to hide:

·       If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

·       It depends…

When it comes to business coaching, the second one (It depends) is usually followed with a “let’s schedule a meeting to discuss the details with you.”

Let’s spend some time and remove the mystery of cost and give you some solid questions that you should be asking in any conversation with a potential business coach.

Investment versus Cost

We position coaching in the same category that we position marketing / advertising. On your P&L, marketing and advertising fall in the expense category. Many business owners view marketing as a “necessary evil” – a black hole where they dump money each month, but don’t have good line of sight to the value that is being created.

We are major proponents of tracking and reporting on the dollars spent on advertising and having the ability to draw a line back to the impact (positive) of that spend as an investment. We should be able to show that for every dollar spent, we receive a dollar+ back in sales. 

·       If we don’t, we should not continue that campaign. 

·       When we do, we should pour money into that campaign – we be fools not to, right? If we spend $1 and receive more than $1 back, it makes sense to continue or increase the spend.

The same should be true for you and any coaching agreement. It should be an investment that has positive results. When it doesn’t – discontinue. When it does – it makes sense to continue!

Before you enter any agreement or arrangement, you should ask a prospective coach a set of questions. Stick with it until you feel satisfied with the response. If you get resistance or push-back, that may be a sign that you should pause or seek out another business coach. While there are many questions you can ask, a basic set that you should start with include:

·       Do you have a guarantee?

·       What happens when we don’t receive value?

·       Do you have references or testimonials?

·       Do you have experience in my industry?

Do you have a guarantee?

For our 1-on-1 business coaching clients, we have a 7-point, 17-week guarantee:

1)     We Guarantee to get results, and that you’ll be able to “Find our Fee” in your business within 17-weeks of ActionCOACH coaching your company … or your coaching is FREE until you do.

Our coaching programs have been tested and proven all over the world, so when you hire an ActionCOACH, you WILL get results. Whether it is in terms of more time, a better team or more money … if you are making a good-faith effort and doing the required work assigned to you; you attend all coaching sessions and agreed-upon events and workshops and you complete all of your committed decisions and homework assignments on agreed-upon dates … and you are STILL not satisfied or seeing results by the 17th week, we will coach you FREE until you do … no questions asked!

2)     We Guarantee to tell the truth about you and your business … no matter how uncomfortable it may be, or how hard it is to share with you the realities of your business and the changes you need to make.

When you hire an ActionCOACH, you will have the “unreasonable friend” and personal business mentor you and your business need to succeed. You will be held accountable for everything you say you will do, and your business will get the push it needs so you can get the results you really want in your business.

3)     We Guarantee you a “business re-education” about how your business really works and how to successfully grow your company … as well as how to apply your new education and knowledge to any business situation.

Your ActionCOACH will guide you with proven systems and strategies designed to give you a “business re-education” that will allow you to profit in terms of more time, better team, and more money. Not only will you be able to unlock the true growth potential of your company, you’ll be in the “driver’s seat” of your own business, equipped with a “map” and a “license” to take it and drive it wherever you want to go, with ActionCOACH by your side.

4)     We Guarantee complete confidentiality …

Our working relationship will involve a level of trust and understanding about the proprietary nature of our coaching strategies and the proprietary aspects of the numbers and nature of your business. Because of this, we guarantee a confidential business relationship with you during the course of our work together.

5)     We Guarantee a personalized approach to your business …

You and your business are unique. Because you are relying on our experience in working with

businesses of all kinds, you can be assured you will have a clear understanding of the nature of any program we recommend, and that your expectations will be properly managed as to anticipated outcomes and results.

6)     We Guarantee a proven system and methodology that is designed to multiply profits in your business, with complete access to our proprietary system of coaching strategies, systems, programs, and services …

Not only will you be shown a number of systemized ways to successfully build your business, but you will also have complete and exclusive access to more than 3,500 strategies and tactics that make up our entire proprietary business coaching system.

7)     We Guarantee to show you how ActionCOACH defines business success, and how to build a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you.

Even if you are an owner who loves business and who loves working “in” your business every day, ActionCOACH will show you how to build a company you can work “on” whether you show up every day or not. Regardless of your ultimate goals, you will learn the strategies, systems, and advantages of the ActionCOACH definition of a successful business.

So, what should I expect to pay?

We pride ourselves in meeting clients where they are – we have programs and offerings that:

·       start with free education webinars and seminars.

·       move up to group workshops and weekly video-based learning that start at $75 up $350 / month.

·       quarterly 90-day planning workshops at $495 / quarter.

·       weekly education webinars that go through an in-depth curriculum - $400 / month

·       monthly membership options ranging from $650 to $1650 / month based on ½ or full-day options and coaching sessions between meetings.       

·       our 1-on-1 coaching starts at $2400 / month and increases based on number of employees and the speed at which you desire to accelerate your growth to passive income / exit.

·       We will create a program / set of options that are unique to you, if needed. 

What happens if I don’t receive value?

After you get started with a coach, there is a risk that you don’t receive the value that you expected. Are you locked into a long-term relationship? 

You shouldn’t be.

Our request would be that you are always open and honest with your coach – we want your feedback! 

We will work to fulfill / exceed your expectations. This could be remedied by any of the following:

·       Simply re-aligning on goals / expectations connected to your 90-day plan.

·       Completing a re-alignment process to ensure that we, you, and your business are aligned on expectations.

·       Re-assessment of needs and current coach’s skillset – may require new coach assignment (we have multiple certified coaches on staff to make this transition easy).

Ultimately, you may need to end your coaching agreement. We have a 30-day clause that works for both sides – if we, at any time, don’t feel like we can deliver the value – we will terminate the agreement. Our top objective is to always deliver value.

Do you have experience in my industry?

Many coaches / coaching organizations are very skilled in only one industry – manufacturing, restaurants, retail. If you have a coaching firm that is both in your industry and in your market – we encourage you to engage with them. Ask them questions. Get a feel for how you would work with them. Learn how they manage and measure success. What is their guarantee? 

We have a breadth of industry experience and expertise across our team – from grocery retail to commercial banking, from IT development to quick-serve restaurants, and from personal finance to facility & uniform services. 

Our ActionCOACH framework has been successfully used with business owners in every industry across the globe. It has been tried and proven true in every possible business challenge. A significant benefit to working with ActionCOACH is that we have access to those coaches and coaching resources through our network. 

Do you have references and testimonials?

All coaches should and probably do. Many will be available on their website and social pages. Another very powerful proof would be to attend an educational webinar or workshop and interact with active clients, ask them questions, hear their stories and experiences. Join us at an upcoming monthly membership session to gauge firsthand the value that you will receive.