100% Satisfaction GuaranteedOne of my clients recently asked me if she should offer a guarantee on her 1-1 coaching services.

Great question.

When I work with coaches who offer information products or group coaching programs I definitely recommend offering a guarantee. It’s smart business and standard practice to take away the risk for the potential customer of your product or program.

With 1-1 coaching it’s a little more tricky…

If you offer a guarantee during the enrollment process for your 1-1 coaching there are PROs and CONs…

PROs
=> Your guarantee can help people who might not otherwise sign up for your coaching say YES, because you are taking all the risk. If after the first month of coaching, they don’t think it’s exactly what they want and need, you’ll give a full refund.
=> It’s a bold way to show potential clients that you are serious.

CONs
=> The best coaching clients are the ones who are serious, focused and committed. If they feel like they have a back-door way out, they may not show up as fully as they would without the guarantee.
=> To be blunt, it sucks when you have to issue a refund for 1-1 coaching services. Not only has the time and energy that you’ve invested in that client gone down the tubes, it can also wreck havoc on your self confidence.

In general, I see very few coaches highlighting a guarantee on their website or as part of their standard policies and procedures. (Unlike selling an information product, where the 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back is very common.)

Instead, if a guarantee is offered, it tends to be extended verbally during the client enrollment process.

This week I attended the inaugural meeting of the Coaching Speaker Association, created by Ted McGrath. It was an amazing event and I was humbled to be in the room with people like John Assaraf, Loral Langmeier, Alex Mandossian, Ben Croft, folks from Brian Tracey International, Peak Potentials, Mind Movies and so many others.

Anyway, at the event I met a veteran leadership coach from Texas named Tim, who primarily works with C-Suite Executives and their teams. He’s been coaching nearly 20 years and despite his humble nature, it was crystal clear that he is an incredibly gifted and talented coach who has complete confidence in his coaching and other services (like 360 assessments). Tim not only offers a satisfaction guarantee, he guarantees the company will see a tangible ROI on their coaching investment as well.

I was so impressed with Tim, that I asked if he would be a guest expert on one of my upcoming Group Coaching Success Club Calls. He said YES, so we’ll be sure to ask him more about his guarantee policy then.

I’m curious what you think about this topic and if you offer a guarantee on your coaching.

Please post your comments and thoughts below. I’m so interested to hear what you have to say about this.

Thanks for being part of the C&GR Community. I appreciate you!