One of our subscribers, Caroline Williamson (total sweetheart) used the script from my last post…. Closed a high-end coaching client in less than one week! Boom! It’s right there in the post as well as the process. Anyhoo…. I get this question in a variety of different forms, constantly. “Karl, how do I help my coaching client make a ton of money so they can afford to pay me… and not drop me like a hot ostrich in three to six months?” The answer to this question is more art than science… but the first 90 days is critical! With a company doing less than one million per year and when I wanted to cement my place on their expense account for multiple years, this is where I start. And before anyone starts pounding their chest 96% of all businesses do less than 1 million per annum… if you want to do anything that resembles “scale” you best deal with the fact you’ll need to work with small companies. My record is getting paid monthly for ten straight years from a company under 1 million. In case you’re wondering, record profits. No breaks or payment holidays. Over a couple hundred thousand dollars from that one client. That relationship was locked IN at the 90-day mark. They loved me and in fact, one of the partners passed away and I spoke with him on his deathbed. Not a bad coach-client relationship and it was about so much more than the weekly calls. Some of my 90-day secrets to “locking in” your coaching clients 1. Have your client schedule at least one hour per week for “TTT” which is an acronym for ‘Time To Think’. It must be done in total silence and with no distractions whatsoever. One very descriptive question written at the top of the page…. Pen and paper in hand and write thoughts and answers in total solitude. Game changer for anyone that does it (most won’t). Will provide material and roadmap for your coaching relationship X 10. 2.“House Cleaner Time.” If they do not have a house cleaner, hire one immediately. Use that two-hour window when the cleaner’s working, rather than cleaning toilets for some insane reason, go through their expenses and either cut out unnecessary and or negotiate (rent, late fees, etc…) what can be negotiated. Both business and personal. An example is going on vacation where trips are on sale VS where they want to go (Crazy last minute deals available). Another example is that taxes are their number one expense by one hundred miles. They (you??) do not realize this and assume its housing with 90% predictability very very wrong …. Therefore go through taxes, learn about taxes and save money on taxes (they start MLM’s selling lingerie in the kitchen to make an extra 10k per year when they could just save that and much more being intelligent with taxes). If a business expense doesn’t A) help them get a client or B) help them keep a client it should be eliminated. Your annual coaching fees will be covered on this step alone 90% of the time 1. Start a simple work out routine if they’re not already on one. If they own their body they will own their mind and business always improves when physical fitness improves. Keep it simple to start, however. 2. Before creating a solution to “solve the problem”…. Drill down and accurately identify the real obstacle halting their progress. Will 100% be drilled down to fear of ‘not being enough’ or ‘fear of losing love’ in some way shape or form. a. Identify the best paying / recurring 20% of their client base and start providing special attention here. b. Identify the number one form of lead generation activity they used to get started in business… that they’re no longer doing (with 86% predictability) and have them restart it. Will blow you away how predictable this one is. 3. Measure key metrics of the business weekly with a monthly tally. Leads per month. Sales per month (conversions). Average Sale Value per month. Revenue per month. Profits per month. Expenses per month. As examples of key metrics. These numbers will go up organically just by measuring them. Train, tolerate or terminate staff. They need to work on creating a top performing team and this is done through culture, not perks. Identify ideal clients. Not pretend, not sort of, don’t fill out a client avatar sheet… I mean really drill down and help them key in on the ideal prospect that can afford them and will buy from them. 4. Step 4 will help big time here but doesn’t always tell 100% of the story. a. Create a list of 3 possible JV/Partnerships that could change the game for them. Start slow and strategic (help them) process of b. Get total clarity and consistently have them execute on the few critical activities that drive success. Take candy Crush, Solitaire and all other stupid games OFF their darn phone. Eliminate, delegate or outsource the little unimportant time-sucking tasks that sabotage focus and progress. Say thank you and acknowledge high performing staff (feels good which does wonder). Say thank you and acknowledge the top 20% of clients (feels good which does wonder). Create a monthly revenue goal for them and change the password on their phone to this number. If their goal is to hit 1 million in gross revenues this year…. Their password would become 83333. $83,333.33 is $1 million per year. If they have sales people have them change their password to their personal monthly target as well. That should be enough to get the hamsters running. Super important you realize in the first 90 days… you need to do whatever it takes to lock in the relationship… not “what you get paid to do” or the commitments outlined in the agreement like a weekly call. For example when I accept a new business coach into our community of over 700 (we’re now in 24 countries) business coaches… Within 45 days they Have their very own and world class 52-week membership site (your bank account tied to it – recurring and passive money to you) Have their own book and become an author Closing Flyers for multiple $12,000 to $50,000 coaching clients Speaking Flyers to get live events (I’ve done over 400 local live events) 3 Tiers of Coaching Programs 52 written blogs 52 video blogs Profit Acceleration Software Ability to find $100,000 in 45 minutes (a superpower!!) Have their own one to one coach for accountability And a ton more critical material to build a multiple 6 figure coaching practice Bottom line is that I do what is required to get my new coach high end coaching clients… not what would be considered fair and reasonable for the money exchanged. There are other bits of magic I pull out… but this might help you make sure your clients stay for years rather than just months. Remember… you don’t have a client problem. You don’t have a money problem. You have a refusal to help people before they pay you problem. That’s the problem. Obsessed with your business coaching success, Karl Bryan