What do you do when it goes quiet?

Guest Contributor: Chris Barrow
Chris' Posts - Chris' Blog


One of greatest fears as a newly-trained business coach (that's the mid-90's by the way) was created around the concern I felt when clients either didn't contact me or make any demands on my time and ability.

"After all" I would tell myself "they are paying fees and I'm doing nothing to earn those fees."

Over time, my fear would settle into a deep paranoia - convincing me that it would only be a matter of time before the clients rose up as a body, accused me of being a charlatan and asked for a complete refund of fees.

So I found myself reaching out to them, asking "why haven't you called or emailed me. Why didn't you send a weekly email report, why didn't you join our bridge call?"

I find myself repeating this pattern in the context of our 2007 Dental Mastermind group - 18 principals paying £6,000 each for quarterly meetings, weekly email reports, a monthly call-in day (30 minutes on the phone with me), unlimited email access to me, an on-line forum and a monthly bridge call.

Surprise, surprise.

1. All 18 attend the quarterly meetings;
2. Maybe 20% bother to send any email;
3. Maybe 20% bother to complete a weekly progress report;
4. Maybe 20% attend the call-in days and bridge call;
5. Maybe 10% (!) have bothered to access the forum and post questions or answers.

So my paranoia began to settle in again a few weeks ago - OMG, they are all going to cancel!

But they don't and they won't.

Because they are getting what they want - rather than what I want to give them.

1. 80% of them are perfectly happy to invest £6,000 in quarterly meetings and a very occasional email or call;
2. 20% of them like to dip their toe into one or more of the extra services;
3. And my work schedule is delightfully clear - helping me to help those who need me NOW.

So if I were starting this year's group again - I would still offer all of those knobs and whistles - but I would manage my expectations as far as the take-up is concerned and make it very clear at the start that, like a gym, the facilities are there but if you don't use them, there are no refunds - not that anybody has ever asked for one.

When it's quiet they are happy - they will soon tell you if they are not.

And every now and then there will be evidence that they do actually see you as their coach - such a Saturday morning, when one of my Masterminders called me in dire straits because 2 important team members had resigned on the same day and he was feeling abandoned.

I had a 5-hour drive and a hands-free phone - he had a crisis - we chatted for an hour - and I probably made my year's fee in that call.