Here’s why. Very rarely will someone hire you as a coach –
especially if your services are priced on the higher end – without first
getting on the phone with you. And that goes both ways. You should not agree to
work with a new client without first getting to know her better.
The reason this is so important is because your prospective
client wants a chance to get a feel for you and to ask you any questions they
may have. It also gives you a chance to do the same thing, and to get a feel
for her, her personality, what she’s looking for in a coach. You’ll also know
if she’s really serious about making changes, or if she’s just a wannabe with
no real ambition.
An average consult call is about 20 minutes. Set a timer if
you have to so you don't get stuck on the phone longer than necessary. Twenty
minutes is ample time to let you (and your prospective client) feel things out
and make a decision as to whether or not you're a good fit to work together.
Another reason a free consultation call is a good idea for
your coaching business is because if someone is on the fence about hiring you,
you can land the sale during these 20 minutes. You'll be able to answer her
questions and show your expertise in that little amount of time on the phone.
Here are a few questions you should be asking a prospective
client during a free consultation call:
- What is your biggest
challenge?
- What would it mean for you
if you were able to find a solution for this challenge?
- How do you think a coach
can help you better achieve your goals?
- Have you worked with a
coach before, and what was the outcome?
Of course there are also cons to offering free consultation
calls. There are those people out there that are what's known as freebie
seekers - they take and take and take all the free information they can get but
never turn around and invest any money. In fact, these people normally have
absolutely no intention of ever spending any money with you. Another con is the
fact that you're giving away 20 to 30 minutes of your time. It may not seem
like much but a 20-30 minute chunk of time here, and another chunk of time
there can add up pretty quickly.
Does this mean you shouldn't offer free consultation calls?
No, because they can be very useful. You just need to ensure that you're not
attracting all those freebie seekers with no intention of hiring you. One way
to help nip this in the bud is to have a questionnaire that gets filled out
before you even schedule a consult time. Find out some basic information first
- how long they've been in business, how much money they make, etc. This will
weed out the freebie seekers and those that can't afford you saving you from
wasting both your time and their time with a free consult call.
To sum it up, the main objective of a free consult call when
you set one up is for both your prospective client and you to feel each other
out and see if working together is a good fit or not.
