Uncompensated One-on-One Small Business Coaching Consultations Are Not Part of My Service Offering
In the world of small business coaching, the decision to offer free consulting calls is a contentious one. Some coaches choose to forego these calls for a variety of reasons, including time management, client qualification, and maintaining perceived value.
One such coach is the author, who offers a wealth of free resources to potential clients, including a blog, YouTube videos, and a weekly newsletter called "Solopreneur Diary Entries." The author values their time and believes that potential clients should have a good understanding of their work before investing in one-on-one coaching.
By avoiding free coaching calls, coaches can save valuable time and focus on their paying clients or other business activities. This approach also allows for better client qualification, as coaches can filter out prospects who are not a good fit or cannot afford the service, increasing conversion rates and reducing wasted effort.
Moreover, offering coaching only as a paid service can position it as more valuable. Free calls might inadvertently reduce perceived worth or encourage dependent behavior. For clients, this means that coaching sessions are more focused and higher-quality, as coaches may use other ways to ensure clients are serious and ready for paid engagements.
Clients also benefit from clear boundaries and expectations, as when no free calls are offered, they know that coaching is a professional service requiring commitment. This can foster mutual respect and better outcomes.
Alternatively, some coaches offer free short coaching calls or email coaching with limited scope to build trust and provide value upfront. However, they quickly transition to paid engagements to avoid excessive free work and better qualify clients.
The author does not offer free business coaching calls for their services. Instead, they provide a variety of free resources for solopreneurs, regardless of their experience level. They also plan to share behind-the-scenes details about their business, including their process behind each program, freelance work, productivity methods, and more.
The author encourages potential clients to familiarize themselves with their work before considering one-on-one coaching. They also welcome discussions on the topic of offering one-on-one consulting calls for small business coaching services. For those interested in hiring a coach, the author provides a related post titled "How to choose who to hire as your coach (ULTIMATE GUIDE)."
In summary, not offering free consulting calls helps coaches save time, filter prospects effectively, maintain service value, and encourage commitment, while clients benefit from more purposeful, professional engagements with clear expectations.
In this context, the author, who is a small business coach, intentionally does not offer free consulting calls as a part of their services. Instead, they provide a variety of free resources for solopreneurs to familiarize themselves with their work before considering one-on-one coaching. Career opportunities in coaching may involve offering paid services to ensure effective time management, filtering prospects, maintaining perceived value, and encouraging commitment from clients.
