The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

When asked to speak at a corporation, there’s no harm in trying for a fee.

Rule of thumb: whoever mentions money first loses. When asked how much one charges, ask what the budget is. This gives you an opportunity to see what they are charging and if you are willing to speak for that. When calling a service group or organization one can always ask what the budget is for speakers. Many have honorariums that they provide to speakers.

If they are not forthcoming, and you have to mention an amount, something like $150 or $200 is reasonable to start with, moving up to $500 when you’re well known and have a killer speech. And it’s up to $10,000 when you really get up there, and are doing keynotes at national conferences.

But initially, if you just want the gigs for clients, experience, a testimonial, and a chance at some paid work, then still ask for a fee — but negotiate down as far as zero if you have to. “Well, because I’m going to get A, B, C out of it — I’d be willing to do a freebie.”

Sometimes you can ramp the fee up a little by offering a coaching session or package to senior staff.

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

The actual speech is important. However, they will rarely hire you for your services on the spot!

Therefore, it’s important to give them something they can take away, that has your contact information on it. Give them something of value that they might want to keep. It can be a simple ‘Top Ten’ list, or even a Fridge Magnet.

Also — I highly recommend you find a way to get THEIR information. I like to use a feedback sheet that allows them to make suggestions to my speech. On the same form, I ask what they might be interested in (free coaching session, free newsletter, more information, products, speaking at their company), I ask for a testimonial (optional), and their contact information (optional). At the end of the talk, you’ll have a few handy leads to follow up.

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

We asked the question: “What do you do?” and “If you did specialize in a target group, what might that be?” Here we look at the issue in much more depth.

It’s important to get clear on what it is you’re out to make happen for people. You’ll start with the intellectual stuff: “er… I help people set and achieve goals, which inspire…”. Balderdash! You want to get right down to it, in clear English that everyone can understand.

Here are some examples:

“I help people do whatever it is they need to do so they have zero regrets at the age of 80.”

“I ask people ‘What do you want?’ and ‘What are you doing about it?’”

“I help people get off the fence, and start living their life.”

“I help people get clear on what’s really important to them, and then keep them in action!”

“I insist people live the life they were born for.”

“I have my clients stop waiting.”

“I work with women who are not ecstatic in their relationship, to help them get exactly what they want and deserve from the relationship.”

Does that help? You want to get clear on WHY you are a coach and what you want for people.

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

You do not need to be accredited to begin coaching. At the time of this writing I know of no country which requires certification. However, long term, I believe it’s important for your career and for the profession of coaching.

A good reason to get certified is because you believe in the philosophy of the training school you choose. And, because you want to continually improve your coaching skills.

A bad reason to get certified is because you think that will get you more clients or in some way make you ‘worthy’ as a coach. My experience has been that it does neither. It might look good on the wall and it feels good to be able to say it – but in coaching two hundred clients, I think ONE asked me if I was certified. Don’t try and use it as a crutch – you don’t need it.

Ironically, the International Coach Federation requires at least 250 paid coaching hours under your belt before you get to their first certification level (ACC). So you’ll need to become confident coaching without the crutch of certification – which I think is a good thing. Use it to support your coaching; don’t rely on it.

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

Here are ten great reasons to become a coach:

1. Continual personal growth

2. Your personal development is tax deductible!

3. Contribute to people/the world and see concrete results

4. Work from home (no travel!)

5. Flexible hours (you choose them)

6. Earn a good income – good coaches get paid well

7. VERY low overhead

8. Options to expand into many fields including speaking, seminars, and book writing

9. Excitement of running your own business: choosing your own niches and marketing channels (e.g. radio interviews), creating your own web site etc.

10. Can work while overseas, on the ski slopes, or at the beach (seriously, I’ve done it).

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Cheers, David