What is a Life Coaching Agreement?
A life coaching agreement is a contract between a coach and a client. These agreements form the basis for the relationship between a coach and client by setting forth details such as specific expectations for both parties and terms that detail what happens if either the coach or client does not deliver an expected performance. A life coaching agreement typically sets out the scope of services to be delivered (for example, issues to be addressed in the coaching relationship, the length of the relationship, and payment terms) . If a dispute arises between the coach and client, a life coaching agreement may be the only thing that can provide a resolution if there is a dispute between a life coach and client. Although life coaches do not necessarily need to be licensed as licensed professionals (such as attorneys or psychiatrist), it is always recommended that they have a life coaching agreement with a complying with all relevant applicable state statutes or regulations. Consideration should also be given to if they will be providing other services where a specific consultation and engagement agreement is preferable.
What a Life Coaching Agreement Should Include
To construct a comprehensive life coaching agreement template, it must contain the essential terms and provisions necessary for a clear and mutually beneficial relationship between the coach and the coachee. As a result, any terms that are included in a coaching agreement template must be predictable to help both parties easily identify and understand them, including but not limited to:
Payment Terms
The payment terms of your life coaching agreement template will identify how much you charge for each session or package you sell to the coachee, how payments are handled, and the consequences of unpaid or late payments.
Session Structure
This section of the life coaching agreement will identify the location of the coaching sessions. If you offer coaching by phone, over the internet, or webinars, you should include this as well. Each session structure will have its own pros and cons, including how much time and traveling a coach needs to commit to each session.
Terms of Service
A life coaching agreement template must include the terms of each party’s obligations to each other, including the obligations and expectations of the coach and coachee. For example, a life coach must complete the agreed upon hours and sessions with the coachee, while the coachee must pay for these sessions and be available for them.
How to Personalize Your Life Coaching Agreement Template
When it comes to creating the perfect life coaching agreement, customization is everything. A generic coaching agreement can leave both you and your client unprotected in case any actions are needed to be enforced after the agreement is in place. So, how can you tailor a life coaching agreement template to meet the needs of your personal coaching relationship? Crafting an agreement that fits your relationship takes a strategic view that includes answering questions specific to your services. Here are some tips for customizing a life coaching agreement to meet the needs of your relationship:
The first thing you’ll want to consider is the definitions that you’re using. If your business is certified in a specialized area such as wellness, you need to define what wellness means for your business, or otherwise be sure that your contract contains a general definition of wellness. You’ll want to be aware of the scope limitations as well. For example, if your coaching parameters do not include bankruptcy, then be sure to specify that the scope of the coaching does not include bankruptcy help or guidance.
You’ll also want to address the type of coaching services you are providing. Will they be limited to phone calls, or will some of them occur over Skype or video conference? Will they be face-to-face coaching sessions or in-person only? How long will each session be, and will they take place on a regular basis or as needed? Your coaching agreement should have all of these details.
Consider whether there will be any additional services besides coaching. Some coaches include products or services such as business strategies or nutritional advice in their coaching packages. If this sounds like you, then go ahead and address these items in your agreement. You’ll want to be sure you have full disclosure of who is involved in the coaching process as well. If a life coaching agreement is designed for a group of people (as opposed to one-on-one coaching), it should include the names of everyone involved along with their contact information. That way, in the event that something legal comes up after the coaching ends, the life coach will be able to contact any of their clients to discuss the situation.
Another important item to consider is the timeframes that you’re going to set for goals and deliverables. If you can reasonably deliver on the services that are listed in the coaching agreement, then address your lead times clearly so that your client knows what to expect. Of course, the coaching client can request changes or adjustments to the timeline, but the timeframe that the coach provides for their deliverables should be reasonable and achievable.
Additional important considerations include any release of liability that you’ll need and whether privacy or confidentiality restrictions should be attached. If you or your business are represented in the news (as is common with medical professionals), you’ll need to tailor an agreement that addresses the issue. Take a look at your life coaching relationship to determine what the agreement should address, and address them clearly in the final document.
Legal Issues with a Coaching Agreement
The legal considerations for a life coaching agreement are vast, and cater to the individual relationship between the life coach and their client. Naturally, life coaches will want to put their own personal stamp on their agreement, but there are a few key provisions that should be taken into consideration when creating a life coaching agreement.
For example, confidentiality clauses are essential in a life coaching agreement. While a client and their life coach will undoubtedly have a personal relationship, or varying levels of personal relationship, it is essential that certain things said to the life coach stay within the confines of the agreement. For example, your life coach may express something to you about their family. It is important for these things to stay within the confines of the consultant-consultant relationship, otherwise, you may be facing a serious breach of trust.
Liability issues are also something that should be considered when creating a life coaching agreement, as well as remedies for breach of contract.
Another important legal consideration in a life coaching agreement is dispute resolution mechanisms. What happens if the life coach and the client break the agreement? How can arbitration, mediation or another form of dispute resolution be used to help solve the problem? Having remedies for this is essential in any life coaching agreement.
Advantages of a Template
Creating a life coaching agreement template can provide significant benefits for both coaches and organizations. The most elementary of these advantages is efficiency: creating an agreement ex nihilo (from scratch) every time a new client is brought on would be a monumental waste of time . In terms of consistency, a template ensures that all relevant provisions are included in every agreement without fail, thereby minimizing the potential for inadvertent omissions that could later prove problematic. Finally, having an agreement template lets life coaching organizations and coaches present a more polished and professional image at the outset of a coaching relationship.
Finding the Right Template and How to Select It
Finding and Choosing the Right Template
One might think that a life coaching agreement template can be found anywhere on the internet. Unfortunately, this is not the case. An internet search of "life coach contracts" or "life coach agreements" will yield a plethora of results, but many of these documents contain fundamental flaws that could cause problems down the road.
A key to finding and choosing the right life coach contract is to ensure that the template contains a disclaimer clause. A disclaimer clause will absolve the coach from any claims of guaranteeing results, which is prohibited under the law. The template must also clearly define the legal relationship of the parties, whether it is that of a client/contractor or employee/employer. Many life coaches work as independent contractors, which has both advantages and disadvantages for both parties. For example, independent contractors are held liable for their own taxes, while employees may not be. Therefore, it is important to clearly define the relationship of the parties.
It is also important to ensure that the template accurately reflects the services provided by the life coach. For example, if the life coach does not provide guaranteed results to the client, this must be explicitly stated in the template. If the life coaching services provided do not necessarily need to be in person, this can be discussed in the template.
The template must also be transportable from one client to another or one session to the next. A good contract template must adapt to the business being conducted and accommodate changes in the business. An example of this may be that the life coach only engages in video or audio conferences for a specific period of time.
A well thought out template will help you as the life coach limit your liability and provide the client with adequate information to make an informed decision about whether or not to engage in services with you.
Writing a Good Life Coach Agreement
When writing a life coaching agreement template, you should pay attention to the following:
Clarity
During the life coaching process, it is important to maintain as much clarity as possible. The life coaching agreement template clarifies the overall message of the life coach to their clients. The document allows a coach to clearly articulate their expectations of their client. The concept of clarity is illustrated in the following example:
Person 1 has been going through a hard time and decides to hire a life coaching consultant. It is their first meeting and they have been given a life coaching agreement template by the firm, which will guide the process, so there are no misunderstandings.
The life coach asks the client what the main problem is, and they explain that it is work-related. The life coach looks at the agreement and sees that there is an hour-long session for ‘professional development’ which will focus on any problems that the client is having with his job.
‘This is something that I am very concerned about, when I look for employment, I worry about these problems’. His statement as an example would be: ‘I suffer from low self-esteem because of my bad performance reviews.’
From the above example, the life coach and the client have averred that they will be focusing on the work-related issues that she may have. There are no misunderstandings, and both parties understand what the relationship is about. It is clearly outlined in the consultation agreement between them. An agreement helps to ensure that there are no misconceptions about whether the consultant can help her. On the basis of this agreement, the client is assured that the consultant can help solve her problem.
Thoroughness
When drafting the life coaching agreement template , it must be as comprehensive as possible. Important points such as how the client will service the client’s issues in the future, while still establishing boundaries, should be carefully mapped out. Modifying your contract or adding appendices to deal with new issues is not a good alternative.
For example, if a problem arises during a consultation, then the respondent should take a moment to consider whether it needs to be added to the consult agreement. In addition, if the problem is directly related to the issues that the client wants the consultant to solve, then it should be added to the agreement.
For instance, a client may want to dedicate more time to a certain area of their professional life during their sessions. A good approach would be to add a clause to the contract stating that the client would like to increase the session time by an extra hour or half-hour once a month, to discuss professional development problems in more depth.
Professional Tone
It also helps to maintain a professional tone to the agreement. You have to bear in mind that the agreement is a legally binding contract, signed by both parties, which are both individuals, as opposed to two corporations. Therefore, it should be written in clear, simple English, with none of the usual legal jargon that people often don’t understand. This is important, as a client may simply sign the contract without actually bothering to find out what it says.
Additionally, since most people do not have lawyers read their contracts, it has been assumed that they have read it. In addition, if the client is ever in doubt or claims ignorance about something in the agreement, it can be used against them.