You love nothing more than helping your clients transform their lives for the better.
Whether you’re a life coach, an online fitness coach, a business coach or a career coach, the results you help your clients achieve really matter.
But how do you ensure you get your ‘life-changing’ coaching fees paid on time?
Here are 4 areas to consider:
Make expectations clear from the start
The price you can command for your coaching will depend on several factors. These include, but are not limited to, your experience, the outcome you promise, the results you deliver, and the value of the transformation to your client.
All these aspects should be clear from the start to avoid any confusion and ensure you attract the right fit clients with the right budget. This will be conveyed in your marketing message and positioning.
For example, are you offering high-ticket one-on-one transformations or more budget-friendly group coaching or membership options?
Getting client expectations clear from the start will go a long way to ensuring clients know exactly what to expect (and, just as crucially, when and how to pay).
Put it in writing
Having a written agreement in place to manage expectations on both sides is key.
It not only details the deliverables but acts as a handy reference document to refer to if there are any queries during the coaching program and can also mitigate ‘project creep’.
The written agreement will also outline your payment terms and dates. For example, do you require a full or partial deposit upfront, will you be paid weekly or monthly, or some combination of all of these, depending on the results?
In this document, you should also clearly state your policy for late payment and refunds. You should also consider adding HOW you want to be paid – i.e. by what method. You don’t want to discover down the line that the methods you offer for payment aren’t achievable or accessible for your client.
Getting each party to agree to the terms of the contract at the very beginning should iron out any potential issues later on down the line.
Make the whole process easy and frictionless
From the first client touch point to onboarding to payment – the whole process should be as easy and frictionless for your new client as possible.
This will involve having robust systems and processes in place so your client can enjoy an effortless and smooth experience.
Hiccups in your processes at the beginning may signal to the client that the rest of their experience with you might be troublesome or at least inconsistent, so make sure these ‘first impression’ client touch points are as smooth and streamlined as possible.
Making it easy for them to pay you is a vital defense against late (or non) payment.
Invoice Ninja, a leading free invoice software specifically developed for freelancers and small businesses like you, offers a user-friendly interface for creating and sending professional-looking and custom-branded invoices.
It also supports multiple payment options, making it easier for clients to make payments. It integrates with a range of payment gateways, enabling you to invoice clients and receive payments with a single click.
What’s more, Invoice Ninja has a partial payment feature that can convert a deposit invoice into a regular one once the client has paid the deposit. After your client pays the partial payment (deposit), the invoice will automatically update itself with the balance due and set a new final invoice due date.
These are all features that make you easier to deal with and enable you to get paid fast.
Try it for free here.
Consider different payment options
While some clients will have no problem paying you and will pay upfront via whatever method you stipulate, offering your clients a range of payment options and methods can help with swifter payment. It will also help capture clients who might not have been able to otherwise work with you.
For example, if you offer a transformational coaching package over a set period, you could accept instalments. Putting in place an automated email reminder system to email clients before the invoice is due will also assist with this arrangement.
Alternatively, you could sell your services in blocks of time or per session. This could help with client budgeting.
You may also consider charging a late payment fee. Adding a note to the invoice (and having it in your written agreement) can help avoid late payments.
Finally, you can also consider a positive incentive, for example, adding a reward for early payment (such as an extra bonus from you or an early-bird discount).
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