Our life coaches are life savers! Life coaches help us improve our life, identify the disconnect between where we are now and where we want to be, eliminate negative self-talk, get us out of our own darn way, and much much more!
As a life coach, you help improve the lives of others, so let us help improve your business life a little!
THE “C” WORD
Oh, you know that word: Contract. The word “Contract” can create a number of reactions in our life coaches, from fear to confusion to distrust. You do not want to pass these negative connotations on to your client when you are about trust and positivity and clarity! And legal is synonymous with expensive, stuffy, and “the old boys club.” Why would you want to spend hours trying to figure what legal protections your coaching business needs while you can be doing what you love-coaching!
Well, here is a myth buster: Your life coaching contract can set the tone, expectation and rules of the coaching relationship in a positive way that demonstrates you care about the coaching relationship.
What Role Does Your Life Coaching Contract Play?
Since your life coaching business has a wide range of objectives, tools and means of achieving goals, your agreement should also reflect those tools and means of achieving goals.
Your life coaching contract also plays an important role in educating the client about what life coaching is (and is not) and what they can expect from the life coaching process.
Essentially, a life coaching contract is positive and organized way to delineate your services.
Now you are ready to create your life coaching contract
So, here are 7 things you need in your life-coaching contract:
- The Parties. Who are the parties to this agreement? Is it your business and an individual? Your business and another business? You and an individual and another individual? This you will want up front.
- Services. Here, you can either refer your client to a Scope of Work that further defines your services, fees, and packages, or you can define your services here. We usually suggest a Scope of Work if you have different kinds of services.
- Scheduling. This is where you want to discuss how sessions are scheduled, by whom, what notice is needed for cancellation and rescheduling, and any other policies you may have surrounding scheduling
- Termination. This will where you will discuss your policies surrounding discontinuation of coaching, your refund policy, what happens if a client is late in payments, etc. It is important that this section is clear as to avoid any miscommunication.
- Compensation. You can reference a “fee schedule” in your Scope of Services or state your fees here. You can also discuss here if you have late fees, your procedures regarding chargebacks, and any other payment-related policies.
- Confidentiality. This is where you assure your client that what she tells you and does with you is between you and her. You would also define “confidential information” in this section.
- Disclaimers. Depending on what you do and do not claim the results of your coaching will yield, here is where you would put disclaimers concerning not guaranteeing financial success, medical cures, relationship bliss, etc.
Ready, Set, Coach!
