What To Include And Exclude In Your Coaching Agreement
When you’re mentoring others online or offline on how improve their businesses or personal lives, you will want to put into place a written coaching agreement that clearly states what you have agreed to do, when you will perform such coaching services, and your coaching fee(s).
Equally important, your coaching contract should specifically exclude key areas that your services do not cover.
Related Article: Breach Of Contract – 5 Steps To Preventing A Costly Lawsuit
For example, it is common in a business coaching agreement to specifically exclude legal and tax advice because those areas will be addressed by your clients’ attorneys and accountants. Similarly, personal lifestyle coaches typically disclaim providing professional medical and mental health advice, requiring their clients to seek separate advice from a physician or mental health professional.
Online Versus Offline Coaching
Because of the potential global scope of a coaching practice using technology, there are Internet-related legal issues that should be covered for online coaching that are unimportant to offline coaches who restrict themselves to helping local companies and individuals face-to-face.
Related Article: Does Your Business Lawyer Draft Contracts That Encourage Dispute Resolution Or Lawsuits?
5 Important Coaching Issues To Consider For Your Contracts
When having your an experienced business lawyer prepare the coaching agreement you will use with clients, here are some key factors to consider…
1. What is the term of your coaching agreement? Month-to-Month? Annual? Renewable?
2. What deliverables are you promising and, equally significant, what are you excluding from the scope of your professional coaching services?
Related Article: Business Contracts – Why You Should Avoid Email Deals
3. What media will be used to deliver your coaching services? Website? Video? Audio? Webinars/Teleseminars? Phone?
4. How and when will you get compensated for your professional coaching advice? Payment up front? Monthly installments? Or some other continuity model?
5. Will you mediate and/or arbitrate disputes with clients? If so, how and where?
There are other coaching legal issues but these questions are good ones to start your discussion with your business lawyer before he creates your coaching agreement and other business contracts.
