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Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith Become an Author

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With business coaches, executive coaches, corporate coaches growing faster than dandelions during a late spring shower, trying to increase sales may be difficult. One strategy that many coaches use is to give away 30 to 60 to 90 minutes of their time in a free or complimentary coaching session.

Some expert coaches whose practice is to work with struggling coaches suggest that this strategy is not viable. From my experience as a business coach, I believe that those so called expert coaches failed to learn that the giveaway time must be integrated into the sales process.

Would car dealers have sales if they didn’t give some mileage away during the test drives? Even retail stores give away some of the products when customers are allowed to try on clothing from suits to shoes to perfume.

However, if you are a business coach and give away an hour without integrating it into your sales process, then you probably should not give away any time. The strategy of giving away time is to continue to work toward the end of the buying/selling process that being a closed deal. If you don’t know where you are within the process, then giving away your time is counterproductive.

Another reason why great business coaches use this strategy is for the purpose of disqualifying potential clients. No one wants to work with someone who isn’t committed or where there may exist specific challenges such as communication.

As a business coach, I have discovered that when you have the opportunity to coach someone for an hour you will truly learn more about that person and come to some sort of internal understanding regarding his or her desire for success. Within my statement of work (A.K.A. proposal), one of my key assumptions is:

Client is more committed to his or her success than I am.

Simply speaking, if you want to give away some time do so, but make sure that your client understands the value. The giveaway should just be a formality for him or her to sign on the bottom line.

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