How to Get Life Coaching For Free

Does it sound too good to be true?  Well it’s not as far fetched as you think.  To be completely honest, you can’t get coaching without paying anything; at least not from someone who is any good.  A good coach charges good money just like a good mechanic will charge a premium dollar to keep your car in tip-top shape.

Imagine this: you pull up to a stop light and suddenly a wheel from your car goes flying down the street? That’s exactly what happened to my dad when he bought his first car in the late 1970’s.  It’s funny to think of it now, but at the time he didn’t think so.  Apparently, the shop mechanic messed up.  He didn’t use the proper torque setting when tightening the bolts on the wheels of the car.

Could you imagine working with a coach who didn’t understand the inner workings – the nuts and bolts of your mind? That could get messy.  It takes someone with real skill and intuitive ability to be the right coach for you – and you’re going to have to pay good money for that coaching.

So if it’s going to cost you money, then how do you get life coaching for free?

It’s really not that complicated, but our brains like to mess things up sometimes.  In this article I’ll share exactly how I received $1,800 in training and coaching without using any of my own money.

Life Coaching for Free, You Must Be Joking?

Nope.  Anyone can do it – even you.  There are a few things you’ve got to understand before your get free coaching.  There is a strategy.

The first thing to understand is that you must be in a position to receive some sort of training.  That way someone else can fetch the bill.  This approach works very well for employees.

The reason this is true is because business owners will pay for training that develops their people – because their employees are their greatest asset. Your boss wants to develop you so that you’ll produce – and hopefully in some way increase the overall profits of the company.

And if it’s not money s/he’s looking for, the boss is always willing to spend a few bucks on someone who is really good – a real performer – because they wouldn’t want you to get up, leave and go work for the competition.

How does this get me free life coaching?

At some point you’ve got to realize that employees are in the best position to receive free training.  You just have to understand a few things: 1. how does the business work and 2. what does your boss want from you.

Once you understand the business, you’ll be in a better position to help your boss.  Once you start helping your boss build the business – s/he will help you.  You want to start thinking laterally – like a business owner – so that you can see new opportunities.

You see, part of your business is to understand your role in the business.  Ask yourself: what’s my role in the company in the company and how can I do it better?

As an employee you can only be in one of three roles: you’re either in marketing, production or operations.

If you put more effort into marketing, then there is a potential to generate more leads and convert those leads into sales.  The company earns more money and your boss is happy.

If you’re in production, it’s your job to produce more of your service or create more products.  If you’re able to find a way to do that faster or with less money, then the company revenue goes up. The company earns more money and your boss is happy.

If you’re in operations then your job is to create processes that increase efficiency.  If you can find ways to be more efficient and save the company money, you impact the bottom line.  The company earns more money and your boss is happy.

Do you see what I’m getting at here? It’s a little give and take.  If you want to get something from your boss (like a raise, extended vacation, and free life coaching or any other training) you’ve got to provide something of value to them.  Once you know what they want, it’s easy to get what you want – you just ask.

Making a Request 101

Training and experience comes at a cost to the business owner.  They know this but are willing to pay good money if they see results.  It’s really important that you understand this.

The biggest mistake that employees make when asking for a raise (vacation, training, coaching or whatever) is that they’re too selfish.  They think about themselves and completely miss the companies needs.

If you come into any relationship always asking and wanting, but never giving how long do you think that relationship will last? Not long, I’m going to guess.  It’s about giving and receiving – they work together because they compliment each other.  And if you’re doing more receiving than giving, that receiving will eventually dry up.

Before you even bother approaching your boss to ask them to fetch the bill for your coaching, you’ve got to prepare yourself – you want to know what’s in it for them. Create a list of the benefits they’ll see from your participation in the coaching.  You may want to be more specific, but here are a few to consider:

  • coaching will help me develop integrity and increase my productivity
  • coaching will help me create leadership and engage my team with company projects
  • coaching will help me build my communication skills, understand our clients needs and effectively negotiate new company contracts

And here’s something to keep in mind.  If your boss doesn’t see these benefits after you do the training, not to worry.  As long as they see some measurable improvement in you, they will know they got good value for their money.

Once you’ve listed at least 3-5 solid benefits, then you’re ready to ask for the coaching.  At this point you should even feel better about asking because you’ve armed yourself with some powerful reasons why they should pay for this training.

Personal growth is an important part of your professional growth.  Smart business owners know this.  They know that your growth indirectly affects the growth of their business.  And if they have enough reasons to support you, then all you have to is ask :)

Steve

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9 Comments

  • sanmay

    Reply Reply October 7, 2009

    very nice article… keep it up. i will be back for more information. pls visit my blog http://www.mindpowerclassified.com

  • Sherry Shoemaker

    Reply Reply October 8, 2009

    Steve, I breezed through your article and if I am correct, anybody that works for a company that wants to better themselves can request life coaching. However, many times, employees are asked to pass on what they learned on to others. That is the payback for getting free coaching on the company’s dime.
    I am a graduate of CTI and going through my certification. It was on my own dime. I now coach women who don’t have 2 dimes to rub together. Where would they be without coaches like me?
    Right now, my clients are paying for coaching and receiving quality and not paying quantity. But as I progress in experience, fees will still be flexible.

    In conclusion, I guess one could say that the quality of the coaching is in the eye of the client, whether it is expensive or not…Remember, clients know what they need because they have all the answers inside.

    Sherry Shoemaker
    Life Coach
    http://www.voiceofassurance.com

  • Steve

    Reply Reply October 8, 2009

    Hi Sherry –

    Coaches are so valuable; and I’m sure what you do is valuable and beneficial to you clients – otherwise, why would they hire you?

    Steve

  • Liliane Rausch

    Reply Reply October 9, 2009

    Hi! I loved the article, thanks for sharing. One addition, I am the CEO/Founder of The Ultimate Self U! Center http://www.the-u-center.com . Within this Online Coaching Center all coaching is free AND professional. So, yes, it is possible to receive excellent coaching for free. And it does work! Everyone is welcome, so maybe I will CU in U!

    Sincerely,

    Liliane

  • Leszek Cyfer

    Reply Reply November 6, 2009

    If you’re required to do coaching in your organisation after the coach course, the better for you – it is well known that you learn faster when you teach somebody. Teaching others will ground the knowledge within you and you’ll basically have an ongoing coaching course – not to mention a possibility to get another free courses “to better your coaching performance” :D

  • viral monopoly

    Reply Reply August 29, 2011

    nice share.. i have bookmarked your site.. love to come here again

  • commission commando

    Reply Reply October 4, 2011

    very nice share… interesting reading
    thanks for sharing

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