Practicalities
1. How often do I have a coaching session - and how much does it cost?
All things are negotiable. The frequency and length of coaching sessions can be agreed between us at the point you decide that you would like to go ahead and may change as we go along. I recommend a minimum of three scheduled sessions/month for at least the first month or two with the session length being between 40 and 60 minutes. However, you are not just paying for the scheduled sessions. With coaching you have an ongoing relationship with your coach, so the fee is more like a retainer. As your coach (and unlike in a counselling or therapeutic relationship), I am available to you all the time (within reason - I'm not too good at 3am!) in that the fee you pay entitles you not only to the scheduled sessions but also to 'unlimited' email contact - to ask a question, request some 'emergency' support, update me on a success, use me as a sounding-board to clarify your thinking or just to unload. It also covers occasional additional short telephone calls.
In addition, if I come across relevant resources (articles, books, web sites, checklists, questionnaires or anything else that supports you in deepening your understanding of yourself and making the changes that you want to make) I will send them to you. I also have a large library of handouts from the training courses I use to run which I can make available to you at no extra cost (see the Consultancy, Training, Teams link).
We schedule sessions a month in advance and you pay a month in advance (you can, of course, stop at any time).
Fees. People's circumstances can be very different. You may be someone earning £100,000 a year and wanting to downsize and drop out. Or you may be a self-employed single parent on a low income. As a rough guide, most clients have paid me between £120 and £200 a month. And some have paid less. Many people feel very uncomfortable talking about money but please don't let that put you off taking the next step and contacting me. Something can usually be worked out. Coaching is such a powerful and life-changing process - if you really feel it's right for you and are willing to be committed and work hard, then I want to find a way to support you.
2. Ad Hoc Coaching
There may be times in your life when you feel you just need one or two sessions to focus on a specific issue or situation such as preparing for an important interview or dealing with a challenging situation at work. Or to really think through making an important and life-changing decision. Please Contact Me and we can work out what is needed.
Coaching can take place face-to-face if geography allows (At the moment I am in the North of Scotland, 27 miles east of Inverness but may soon be relocating to Devon), and if the client wishes, but most coaching happens over the telephone.
Some clients like to start with a double face-to-face session and are happy to travel for that. They then continue with telephone sessions.
Telephone coaching has a number of practical advantages.
1. No travelling time, no travelling expenses, no traffic or parking problems
2. You aren't limited to a coach who lives nearby - you can choose from all over the world.
3. No need to get dressed up to go out (or even dressed)
4. No need to arrange childcare, negotiate who has the car etc
5. If necessary, appointments can be rescheduled with minimum inconvenience
6. With so many cheap telephone plans available, and systems such as Skype, coach and client can be on opposite sides of the planet and can continue even if one or both of them are away from home for extended periods
But it doesn't just have practical advantages.
A number of clients have had reservations about telephone coaching when they first contacted me (“I hate the telephone” is a phrase I have often heard) but, because they wished to work with me, were willing to try it. Without exception they have become converts. They find it easier to focus and concentrate with no visual distractions and easier to ‘open up’. One client described it to me as “anonymous intimacy”. One way to check out telephone coaching is to have a free 'try it out' session.
