Business Coaching Agreements You Need for Your Coaching Business

 I know many Coaches who are absolutely amazing at what they do.  Their clients (like me!) love them, rely on them and credit them to much of their success.  Truly, Coaches can be a real gift to a business owner.  But not all Coaches are walking the walk when it comes to their own business.  How so?  They shy away from a lot of the “back-office stuff” because they love the client work and want to get to it– but they do so at the expense of getting themselves set up correctly.

What am I talking about?  

Contracts.  

Agreements.  

Dreaded legal documents.  

Contracts get a bad rap, but they shouldn’t.  They best way to set clarity on expectations and boundaries in a professional relationship.

So, let’s talk about some of the kinds of agreements a great coach needs in her coaching business.

The Client Service Agreement

This is the most basic, and most essential, agreement that a Coach should have in her business.  The CSA sets the parameters of the coaching-client relationship and services.  Basic terms include fees & payment, the length of the agreement/services, a description of the coaching services, any expectations, and refund policies.  

A more complete CSA will also state what laws apply, include a dispute resolution clause, and may include a confidentiality clause – if a free-standing nondisclosure agreement is not required.  

Tip: For IFC certified Coaches, the CSA should include compliance language obtaining permission from clients to disclose the relationship and coaching hours satisfy IFC credit requirements.

Executive & Group Coaching 

Offering group coaching?  Maybe as an executive coach for a company, or running your own mastermind group coaching sessions?  A group coaching agreement addresses the unique circumstances of a group coaching setting – participants need to agree to maintain confidentiality of any information they become privy to from the other participants.  

And for a fun twist - the participants might not be the paying client, it may be the company.  SO that has to be addressed as well.

Workshops or Retreats

Workshops and retreats are a great way for coaches to offer a lot of bang for the buck to their clients, and to bring in revenue.  These events bring unique issues that should be addressed in a complete agreement.  Because workshops and retreats can involve some “what-ifs” that don’t come up in 1:1 or group coaching.  

• On location? What if the venue has to cancel?  

• What if a vendor fails to deliver an item or service?  

• What if a participant is injured while attending?  

Whether you offer business coaching, health & wellness coaching, or something else – addressing the “what-if’s” ensures you and your clients know exactly what to expect.  I am not trying to create a “the sky is falling” paranoia here – but a well-drafted (which does NOT mean complex) contract can prevent and minimize so many headaches.  And that’s a GOOD thing!

Contracts to Protect Information and Intellectual Property

Sometimes included within the other agreements, and sometimes free-standing, Coaches should also have something in place to protect the intellectual property (IP) they work so hard to create – like worksheets, workbooks, handouts, journals, and such.  Coaches who coach other coaches (say that three times fast!!!) certainly don’t want their clients taking off with their IP and competing with them.  

And on the flip side – clients who are sharing sensitive and private information want to be sure that they won’t’ be taken advantage of, unfairly competed against, or have their IP stolen either.   Including language in the CSA, or other agreements, or having a mutual NDA in place creates confidence and trust so that a client can share more freely – which means are more transparent relationship and an easier path towards a successful client-coach relationship.