Coaching Business Startup 104 – Introducing the Trial Coaching Session Roadmap!
How to become a coach. Coaching Business Advice with Coaching Marketing Superstar JJ Jalopy!
Well hello again!
Good evening. Come on in.
It’s been a crazy fun day.
It was Mrs. Jalopy’s birthday today. We woke up late, went for a walk in the sunshine, sat in a hot tub for hours and ate lots of chocolate cake when we got home.
There’s still a few slices left. Help yourself. It’s delicious!
Happy Birthday Mrs. Jalopy!
Now… I promised that I’d spend some time talking to you about tactics you can use when running trial coaching sessions.
Well today is the day!
I’m going to introduce you to the JJ Jalopy Trial Coaching Session Roadmap!
But before we do that, I want you to get clear on the outcome you want from your trial sessions.
Have a think about what you would like to achieve in the session for you and for your client. Write down these down now so you can refer to them before your sessions.
Here are some of mine:
- I have gained in experience and confidence.
- I have learned valuable lessons and made new distinctions about coaching.
- I have discovered whether the client is looking for a coach.
- I have discovered whether the client would like an ongoing coaching relationship with me.
- The client understands the role I could play in their life.
- The client understands that I could help them in a particular area of their life or a defined goal or issue.
- The client understands what I do.
- The client has agreed to recommend me to other people or write me a testimonial.
Okay. Now you’re clear on what you want to achieve, allow me to share my roadmap with you…
JJ's Trial Coaching Session Roadmap
Isn’t it a thing of beauty?
Now there’s a lot here. The goal of our discussion today is to give you a brief overview of this process so that you can be a little more deliberate in the way you run your trial sessions as a beginner coach. We’ll be revisiting this roadmap later on in this series when we discuss getting paid clients in more detail.
For now, let’s blast through it!
Introduce / Deal with Practicalities
You’ll want to take charge of the session right away.
Let the client know how long the session is going to be, how it’s going to work, and what your goals for the session are.
Tell the client that they’ll want to get a pen and paper because they’re going to come up with loads of great ideas!
Then ask them what they would like to achieve in the session.
Find a goal
The client may have a very well defined goal that they want to work on. If this is the case then we don’t need to spend any longer here – scoot on over to the next step!
If they don’t then you’ll want to define a goal to work on for this session.
Help client see goal as achievable
At this point, you want the client to get a clear and vivid picture of what it would look like to achieve their goal. You want to get them excited and clear about it.
Create roadmap
Use your skill as a coach to help the client to see some of the steps they can take to achieve their goal.
You don’t have to figure out everything for them in one short trial session. Just let them see that a clear and achievable path towards their goal.
(My work is really about the business of coaching, so I won’t cover the coaching process in great detail in this blog. There are many excellent resources for this. Contact me if you would like some suggestions.)
Allow client to see YOU as part of the roadmap
Now, in order to create an ongoing coaching relationship with the client, you’ll want them to see your coaching as a important and valuable part of the roadmap towards their goal.
I have found that the best way to do this is a four step process.
- Find out why the client has been unable to achieve this in the past, without you as a coach.
- Ask what they think will happen if they don’t change their approach.
- Ask what they think you would give them that they haven’t had before.
- Ask what they’d find most valuable about working with you.
Uncover objections
If you notice some hesitancy with the client, voice it. Talk any objections through with them. We’ll handle common objections in some detail in the future.
Always ask if there is anything else the client needs to know about you, about coaching, about the way you do business. Make sure they are comfortable.
Close!
Find out if they’re interested in an ongoing coaching relationship. Tell the client what the next steps are, tell them the logistics of your coaching arrangement and ask if it is something they want to go ahead with.
If they are uncertain then I think it’s okay to push a little bit. You might want to ask them if they’re willing to accept not achieving their goal in the immediate future. Or ask them what they think is most likely to happen if they don’t take you up on your coaching offer.
Finish by asking for feedback on how they felt about the session. If they’ve enjoyed the session but don’t want to progress for other reasons then be sure to ask for a testimonial.
And always tell your customers that you appreciate referrals!
And that’s that. A super brief overview into the JJ Jalopy Trial Coaching Session Roadmap. We’ll be digging into this in more detail as we start to discuss the commercial and logistical details of your coaching practice.
For now, I think the brief framework I’ve given you is more than enough to get you out there, spreading the coaching love and gaining in experience and confidence!
We’re going to have an exciting day tomorrow. I’ll see you then!
JJ Jalopy.
Comment by Duane Cunningham
21 April 2009
Hey JJ,
Yeah! I can get to leave a comment now…for a while there you were missing in action..lol
Like the post…simple and easy plan thats right on the money with all the key ingredients to starting up in your business
On thing to concentrate on might be in creating a compelling story of what the4 future looks like using your services…and also what the future looks like without you in it too!
Cause they are going to think about both options so its best to paint it for them the way you want it framed!!
Duane
Super-ADVANCED Sales & Persuasion Strategies?Proven to Quickly Create a Flood of Money?Constantly & Continuously Flowing into YOUR?Bank Account Like the Niagara Falls…?100% GUARANTEED!!
Discover Secret Persuasion Techniques that Work Like Magic by Tapping Into the Psychology of the Mind with The Worlds Leading Persuasion Expert Duane Cunningham!
Comment by Philip Graves
21 April 2009
I can see lots of parallels between this series of steps and any other sales presentation.
Your sequence of questions provides a very interesting way of preparing for my next sales presentation.
Hmmm, food for thought (and chocolate cake!)
Philip Graves
Consumer Behaviour Expert
author of “The Secret of Selling: How to Sell to Your Customer’s Unconscious Mind”
Comment by Bob Kaufer
21 April 2009
Helping people create the roadmap will really help them and using the visual was great.
You and Mrs. Jalopy don’t have kids do you? That is why you can have such wonderful days. LOL
Bob Kaufer
Z Health For Life
Comment by Rob Northrup
21 April 2009
That’s what I really love, virtual cake…
Great coaching advice too!
Seize the Day,
Rob
Sales Eagles Soar Above the Competition!
Personal Asset Protection For Small Business Owners
Comment by John Ho
21 April 2009
JJ,
Great outlines for the trail coaching session.
Have captured it for future reference.
Thks!
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (WordPress Blog)
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personalities for Better Influence & Persuasion (Money Page)
Comment by David Power
21 April 2009
Your coaching sounds kewl!!! great approach!!
Expert in Medical Hypnosis, Success Thinking and Practical Parenting
David Power’s Hour
Comment by Jennifer Battaglino
21 April 2009
It was Mrs. Jalopy’s birthday today. We woke up late, went for a walk in the sunshine, sat in a hot tub for hours and ate lots of chocolate cake when we got home….
I take it no children??? Otherwise “late” would not be in your vocabulary unless you had to be somewhere on-time, they would have been swimming in the hot tub with their “floaties” on, and insisted upon getting the pieces of cake with the flowers or writing on them.
Don’t get me wrong, it makes for a great day!
On a different note, you are a great coach for clients as well as inspiring coaches. I like how you incorporate why you are needed in the process to help insure a longer working relationship.
Jen B
The Harwood Center – Tinnitus, Chronic Illness, Fers, Phobias, and Anxiety
Comment by Anthony Lemme
21 April 2009
Tell Mrs. J happy bday. I like your breakdown of the process. It simple and direct. I agree with Jenn about incorporating why you are needed into the process. Very clever and also smart.
Anthony
http://www.anthonylemme.com
Comment by jc mackenzie
21 April 2009
Happy Birthday to Mrs. Jalopy. Many many more!
Awsome post….clear, straightforward. My mind reeled with memories of meetings past that got so far off course, there was no return.
Thanks
JC JC
Comment by Sonya Lenzo
21 April 2009
JJ, I had a friend who was starting a coaching business and this is exactly what she did. She called me and told me that I had “won” a half hour of free coaching and scheduled it at my convenience. While I was already using K. Hogan as my coach, I obliged her as I knew she was starting up and I wanted to encourage her. Sshe did just about exactly what you advise above, and I must admit I learned some very good things from her. If I had not already had a coach, I probably would have hired her.
SunnyMarie
http://www.sunnymarie.com
http://www.sunnymarie.wordpress.com
Comment by Lisa McLellan
21 April 2009
Happy birthday Mrs. Jalopy! Did Mr. Jalopy bake that cake himself?
I love the way you laid that out. Simple and easy to understand.
Lisa McLellan, Babysitting Classes – Babysitters, Nannies, and Au-pairs
Comment by Yann Vernier - ProfitsTactics.com
22 April 2009
Great sales process applied to coaching. This is a very useful article. I like the clarity of your approach.
All the best,
Yann
http://www.ProfitsTactics.com
Comment by Mitchell Rehaume
22 April 2009
Hi JJ,
Your site is looking amazing and the posts are way above and beyond what I’ve read in awhile.
Keep up the fantastic site.
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