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How to Choose the Most Effective Way to Work with Your Clients

Not every type of coaching program will work for everyone. Each individual learns differently, so tailoring your coaching method to each client’s needs will help make their learning more effective and the results of your coaching far greater.

Follow these three steps to determine the best coaching method for your clients.

Step 1. Determine the client’s learning style

There are three key learning styles – visual, auditory and physical. Visual learners need to see something in action, such as a demonstration, slides, text or diagrams. Auditory learners like to hear what you’re talking about, such as on recordings or webinars. Physical learners do best when they actually write something down or act it out.

Ask your clients what they like best. What type of training have they done in the past that they enjoyed most? Why? If possible, have them give you an example of a program they learned a lot from. What were the key elements of that training?

Step 2. Design a program that will work best for different styles
Learning results are most effective when you use more than one approach. Each one builds on the other and reinforces what was learned. For example, a video series should always be accompanied by the audio files and transcripts for people who would rather read the content or listen at their leisure.
 
In addition, since you’re probably not creating a new coaching program for each person, you’ll need to cater to several learning styles at once. Make sure you have something for everyone.

Everyone’s results will be the most effective if they actually apply what they’ve learning in the real world. Find opportunities for your clients to put what they learn into practice themselves, even if it is a case study or hypothetical scenario.

Step 3. Check in regularly and adjust as needed

The first coaching program you design will probably not be ideal, but getting regular feedback and making adjustments will help you continuously improve. Check in with clients regularly and ask them what is and isn’t working. What would they like to see more of? What aspects have not been helpful?
 
If revisions to your coaching program are outside the scope of what you originally promised, you might need to adjust the price. You could give an additional price quote for extra services, or refer people to additional resources if necessary. You might even offer different levels of coaching for those with varying needs. This is easy to do if you have set clear expectations.

Don’t be afraid to get feedback from your clients just because it might be negative. Forcing your own method of coaching onto a client won’t work if they have a different way of learning. You’ll have to uncover their learning styles, find out what is and isn’t working, and adjust your own method to get the best results.

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What Expectations Should You Set with Your Coaching Clients

Picture this scenario. You’ve just signed up a coaching client for a flat fee of $200 per month. Then you start getting emails and calls from the client every day, often more than once a day. You end up having to tell the client that you can’t spend so much time coaching. Before you know it there are nasty posts about you popping up in forums from your disgruntled client.

Is the client being unreasonable? Sure. But it was your responsibility to find out their expectations and set your own before you signed anything or received payment.

Why setting expectations is so critical to your relationship

Setting clear expectations with your coaching clients from the start involves finding out what they expect and letting them know exactly what you will be providing. It ensures that you can actually provide what they expect, and they understand what they’ll be getting. You can clear up any misunderstandings before you start and avoid having an unhappy customer.

On the flip side of that, you get the opportunity to over-deliver if you want. There’s nothing quite like giving a customer more than they expected. Those are the ones that give testimonials and refer you to everyone they know.

What kind of expectations do you need to set?

Depending on the type of coaching you’re providing, you’ll need to set expectations on everything from price to number of email exchanges you provide and how long it will take you to respond. Here are a few suggested areas:

• Focus of the coaching. Make it clear what you can and can’t help with. For example, maybe you can give advice on email marketing, but not on how to analyze your financials.

• How much one-on-one time vs. other interaction. You might want to set specific limits on your time, especially if the price is low. For example, you might say the coaching involves a 30 minute one-on-one session once a week and unlimited email access. Base it both on the price and the needs of your clients.

• Type of interaction and materials. How will you be doing the actual coaching? Through a membership site with instructional materials and email interchanges? Weekly webinars and Skype calls? A mix of media usually works best. Just make it clear what your clients will be getting.

• What happens if they’re not happy? Particularly with high ticket coaching programs, prospects will want to know what happens if they’re not satisfied with results. Is this a no refunds program? Is there a money-back guarantee? Establish the details and communicate any time limits and refund policies.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

Whatever you do, avoid guarantees of specific results. Everything that a client achieves in a coaching program will be dependent on the actions they actually take and the business model they are following. You can give all the advice in the world, but if your client doesn’t act on it, they’ll never get anywhere. That’s why some coaches have a screening process before accepting a client.

Don’t put yourself in the precarious position of having a client that expects more than you’d planned to offer. By providing complete details of what your coaching clients will get from your services, you will be far more likely to have happy, successful customers who recommend you to their friends.