Starting out as a business leadership coach, one of your main worries will be attracting enough clients. As an established coach, you’ll still have to worry about marketing and promotion, but you won’t have to worry about losing clients, will you? There’s no way a client would want to quit, is there? Damn straight there is.
No matter how good a coach you are, clients sometimes want to quit, walk away, say adios, arrivederci, sayonara. Believe me, it will happen. But, is there something you can say when they decide to quit? Something that will change their minds? Something that will make them see the error of their ways?
The Number One Reason Clients Quit
Coaches often think that clients leave because they found a lower price or that they were disappointed in the results, but the number one reason clients walk away from coaching is that they don‘t feel their mentor is truly interested in them and their success. No matter what business you are in, it’s all about the customer service! If they feel as if they are just a name and a number in your appointment book, they’ll go find another business leadership coach.
What To Say When Clients Quit
What do you say to clients who feel this way? Well, it won’t be easy to get them to stay, but the best way is to show them how much you care. One way to do this is to let them know how much you have learned about them. Hopefully, you have been taking notes and are familiar with the details of their life story. People are impressed when you can recall the fine minutiae of their lives. As a leadership professional, you should care; as a businessperson, you can show a reluctant client how much you care by showing them how much you know…about them! They may think twice before they walk out your door.
Some clients will drop you as a business leadership coach because they believe they can find ADVICE anywhere: online, from friends and peers, or from books. What should you tell them?
Tell them, “I don’t give advice, I motivate, educate, and inspire. You can’t get that from a TV show or an online blog.” Coaching is so much more than ADVICE.
Some clients will walk away from your business leadership coaching practice because they are frustrated with the lack of instant results. What should you tell them?
Tell them: “Coaching takes time. My coaching involves a systematic, detailed, yet flexible blueprint for success. Quitting after one or two sessions doesn’t allow enough time to see results. Long-tern results require a long-term commitment.”
Why You Should Be the Best Business Leadership Coach You Can Be!
No matter how great you are as a business leadership coach, clients will leave. No matter what you say when they quit, a few will never return. However, if you are the best business leadership coach you can be – and that takes education, time, effort, and a desire to truly help your clients – you will retain the vast majority of your clients and have a thriving coaching business.
The Last Words to Say When a Client Quits
If a client still wants to leave after you have appealed to their better judgment, you can tell them, “I’ll miss working with you. I wish you all the success and happiness in the world, and you are always welcome to return.” Don’t burn any bridges! You never know, they may walk back through that open door when they realize what a great coach you were!
Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community
Good suggestions on what to say when clients want to quit. Although I not a Business Leadership Coach, I have had clients wanting to quit because they did not receive instant results; however, all but one stayed when I have explained with some version of ‘you did not instantly create your current challenge’.
I work on keeping my pipeline full by staying visible instead of hunkering down in my office, and nurturing my network even when I don’t need it. In order to keep a constant flow of referrals coming, I need to give my referral-building activities the same high-quality, consistent attention that I give
my client work.