e152 How To Offboard A Client (Without Saying Goodbye)
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[00:00:00] Welcome. Welcome to the Heads Together podcast. I'm your host, Gill Moakes. Thank you so much as always for being here with me again on this. Well, today is a bit of a gloomy Thursday, but uh. Whatever the weather's like for you right now. I hope you are enjoying this move into spring. I am bloody loving it because it has actually been a really nice day here today.
It's just got a little bit gloomy now. That's okay. That is okay. So welcome to Spring everyone. We've got the spring energy. I have a lovely, lovely episode for you today. And this one wasn't gonna be scheduled for Now, I'd actually got a different episode scheduled for now, but I got a lovely email from a listener called Belinda who sent me this lovely note after listening to the episode I did a couple of weeks ago [00:01:00] about client onboarding.
She was very kind about the podcast. She enjoys listening to it, but she also said. She loved the episode on creating the onboarding experience and she was rather chuffed with herself because she realized actually I'm, I'm doing that pretty well. And then she said, however, I'm rubbish at offboarding clients.
And she said, please, could you do a podcast on offboarding a clients? So they still feel special. And I just thought, what a lovely idea for an episode. I'm always asking you, aren't I to like give me suggestions for podcast topics. I love it. I love it when you give me suggestions. And so I thought, you know what?
I'm gonna pull the episode that I had got planned for today. I'm gonna slot this one in because I think this is a really, really good topic. So Belinda listening, thank.
[00:02:00] Offboarding our clients without saying goodbye.
Welcome. Welcome to the Heads Together podcast. I'm Gill Moakes, and I am obsessed with cutting through the noise when it comes to growing your business. Each week via intimate coaching conversations and inspirational stories. I share what it really takes to get the results you want. In a way that feels right to you, I am all about attracting higher ticket opportunities, building authentic relationships, and creating the abundant, full fat version of your dream business.
I mean, how many of us have beavered away creating a light version of what we really want? The thing is, I honestly believe when you are outstanding at what you do, there is no limit to what you can achieve. So. Are you ready to put our heads together and make it happen? [00:03:00] Let's go.
So I feel like onboarding clients actually gets all the love, right? Like the episode I did the other day, I guess that wasn't really an unexpected episode. I feel like, you know, there's quite a lot of content out there about onboarding clients. I'm not sure the offboarding. Or what makes a really great off-boarding process is talks about as much.
But actually, you know what, that is where the magic happens. If you want to actually build really long-term client relationships, if you wanna build a business that thrives on referrals, if you want those glowing testimonials. Et cetera, then you do need to be making sure that you have a great offboarding process, because there's a lot of opportunity that can be missed if you [00:04:00] don't.
Okay? And it isn't just about wrapping things up nicely and and saying goodbye, you know, this is about making sure that a client feels fulfilled by your coaching. They need to feel that they've been fully supported. They need to feel celebrated. And really most importantly here, they need to feel ready for what's next.
Okay, so let's start off then with why this matters so much. I think what happens is that as coaches, we. On our client right up to that last session, and that's as far as we are thinking. We're almost thinking, right? The client has signed up for, I don't know, 12 weeks of coaching with me. So that's what I need to focus on.
I need to make sure I'm delivering them great value for that 12 weeks. [00:05:00] But here's the thing, your offboarding process is an opportunity to really celebrate. The transformation that your client has gone through since they've been working with you. It's a chance to reinforce the value of your coaching, and it's an opportunity to explore what might be next with that client and how you might feature in that.
Now, it could be that that client feels completely fulfilled and they are ready to take some time apart from coaching or away from you. Maybe there's something else that's next for them. So this isn't about insisting that there is something next that you are going to provide for them. This is about making sure that whatever comes next is absolutely the right.
And if that is finishing up with you, it's about making sure they are walking away [00:06:00] feeling really empowered, feeling supported, feeling like they've got a very clear path forward. Whether that is working with you again, whether it's recommending you to other people that they know, or whether it's continuing their growth journey with the tools that you've given them while they have been coaching with you.
So how do we do that? I think the first part to this is really giving thought to how do you want that client to feel as they near the end of the coaching engagement? So. What we don't wanna do, and this is a big mistake, is just fading out at the end of the coaching, uh, engagement. So the client has made great progress.
You've had fantastic sessions with them, and then it's just over. It's just done. I think the way that a client feels at the end of your time together is what they're gonna remember most. That final [00:07:00] experience is gonna determine whether they rave about you to other people and come back for more, or whether they just drift away and, and coaching with you just becomes a memory of something that they did for a while.
So how do we make sure that they finish coaching or finish this coaching engagement feeling? Empowered, first of all, and I'm really using that word quite intentionally. I'm, I'm sick of trying to avoid words that are overused when they're actually really good words. So empowered is one of them. It's a great word.
I'm not gonna not use it. And what I mean by that in this context is that they recognize the transformation that they've undergone and that makes them feel confident in moving forward. That is making them feel empowered. The other thing we want them to feel is celebrated. We want them to see how far they've [00:08:00] come and feel acknowledged for the hard work they've put in.
And the third thing is we want them to feel supported. We want them to know they're not being dropped, but instead they're stepping into a new phase of growth. And we wanna get them clear on what that new phase is and we'll come onto that. So there's a few things we can do to make this happen. First of all, I really want you to make sure that when you are coming to the end, so certainly in the end session, but maybe a couple of sessions towards the end of the engagement, start reflecting on their journey, start reminding them of some of the big wins they've had.
Start reminding them of where they were when they first started coaching with you and where they are now. Bring that back to their mind and help them get closure. So [00:09:00] ask them what have they learned through this experience? What are they proud of? What do they wanna carry forward with them? All of those things.
Getting them to dig down and really explore and examine those questions is gonna help them get closure around this coaching engagement. Another thing you can do is work with your client on a transition plan, so if they're not continuing to coach with you immediately, like I say, we're gonna come onto that shortly, but if they're not, then.
What can you do to help them transition out so that it's gonna feel good, so that that empowered feeling is there, so that that supported feeling is there? Well, you can help them create a transition plan, so that might be offering them some resources. It might be a follow-up plan. For the future, or it might be a way that you can stay [00:10:00] connected with them.
So if you've got a community, one of the best ways to do this is to have a, almost like an alumni community. Doesn't have to just be for group programs or. Group experiences. You can have an alumni community that is for one-to-one clients who have wrapped up their current engagement, but you can introduce them to each other and bring them together in some kind of community.
It's a lovely way to stay connected with them. Another nice thing is how can you surprise them? Can you send a voice note? Could you send them a personal note through the mail? Could you offer them some kind of bonus resource that they can have that they weren't expecting? That's gonna really make them feel valued?
Because I think there is this feeling sometimes that when a client decides that. They've really got what they wanted from the coaching with you, and actually it's time for [00:11:00] them to move on. We can almost get this feeling as coaches, like we're being abandoned, you know, like they're leaving us. But actually what you are doing is you are making space for the next phase of your relationship with them.
Long-term coaching clients. Long-term coaching relationships don't only exist when they are in a current coaching engagement. So that's a really important thing to remember. A relationship is a relationship. It can continue whether or not you are coaching together currently. I have many private clients who have coached with me and then taken some time out to move on to another phase, and then when they're ready for their next up level or their next re-engagement, you know, they come back to me and they say, okay, Gill, here's what I'd like us to focus on this time around.[00:12:00]
Right? That's what I want for you. And so let's not shut any doors. Let's not say goodbye to clients. That's not what it's about. It's about what does the next phase of the relationship look like? Okay? And very, very important part of your offboarding experience is asking for written and video testimonials.
This is so important. Honestly, we know how important social proof is for selling our coaching, and if you can make sure that every time a client completes an engagement with you, even if they're going on to a next phase of working with you straight away, make sure you are asking for a testimonial. The best time to ask for a testimonial is right when you are.
Reflecting with them on their wins, that's the perfect time to [00:13:00] ask them if they'd be willing to provide a testimonial for you. A simple way to do this is in the last session with your client, say to them, would you be open to sharing a few words about your experience? 'cause I'd really to highlight the progress you've made, right?
And give them options. You know, most clients are gonna want. To share a testimonial, if they've had a fantastic experience of coaching with you, they will want do that for you, but you still need to make. So you need to give them some prompts, for example. So you, what you might do is you might say, you know, if you could just get back to me with a short paragraph and maybe you could answer these questions, you know, what was your biggest breakthrough during our coaching together?
What surprised you about working together? If someone was thinking of coaching with me, what would you say to them? Right? So that's a really nice way to make [00:14:00] this easy for them. Another thing to ask them is, you know, where were they when they came to you for coaching? What prompted them to come to you for coaching and what's changed since then?
What we wanna do here is we wanna highlight that transformation. So giving them prompts just makes them a little bit easier. A couple of ways I love to get written testimonials are, one is obviously just email. Get them to hit reply to an email with a, with a paragraph or two. Another way is on LinkedIn.
If you go into your direct messaging, I think it is, you can request them to give you a testimonial. So that's a really nice way of getting social proof and it's straight there. The good thing about that as well is that there is no doubting a LinkedIn testimonial, a LinkedIn recommendation, because you can't put that on there yourself.
So on your personal profile, if you can start collecting really great recommendations and [00:15:00] testimonials on your personal profile, that is such good social proof. If you are thinking of working with a coach, if you listen to this podcast, you're like, you know what, Gill? Hmm? I wouldn't mind working with you at some point.
Whether that's in the Coaching Business Academy, whether it's as a private client, I would urge you go and read testimonials on my profile. Go and read the words that can't possibly have come from me. That's what you need to be reading is the things other people have definitely said about a potential coach, and that's what I want you to have on your profile so that people thinking of coaching with you.
Can do the same. And so that like me, you can very boldly say to them, listen, don't take my word for what coaching with me is like, go and read what other people have said about it. Right? That's so powerful. Video testimonials are gold. I would love you to ask clients if they'd be willing to do a video [00:16:00] testimonial, and the best way to do this is to invite them onto a quick zoom, record it for them, so you do it like an interview.
So what you are doing is you are asking them questions on Zoom, but then when you come to edit that Zoom recording, you can cut yourself out and just have your clients saying all the lovely things about what it's like to work with you. And a little, uh, pro tip around there is make sure you ask the client in advance to kind of repeat the question when they're giving.
Answer. So for example, if you are saying them, um, if you are saying to them, what was the biggest aha that you had? Well, when you were coaching with me, you could ask them to say, you know, to include that in their answer. So what they might then say is, the biggest aha moment I had when I was coaching with Gill was, and go on to give their answer, right?
Because then when you come to edit it, this [00:17:00] is really going to be a great video testimonial. These testimonials are always just valuable as a personal recommendation. I mean, gold standard. We want to be asking every single client who has had a great experience of coaching with us, do they know anyone else that they think would also benefit from that coaching?
Right? As coaches, we want as many referrals as we can possibly get from our ideal clients to other ideal clients. So that's a given, but these testimonials are almost like that next tier down in terms of value. These are really, really valuable. And the next thing I wanna talk about is what's next. So.
Just because the client has finished an A coaching engagement with you, whatever that first coaching engagement was, maybe it was a six week. Program program that you took them through 12 weeks, even [00:18:00] six months, whatever, it's, I want you to start thinking about your offer pyramid. I will put a link in the show notes because I've got some resources for you to look about building your offer pyramid.
But if you think about your offer pyramid and how your. Structuring the offers inside that. So in other words, we should be having our lower ticket offers at the bottom of the pyramid. So our freebies, our entry level ways of working with us, and then going up in value until we reach that pinnacle of one-to-one coaching at the top.
But even if someone has joined you in one-to-one coaching, there could be other. Offers that they may now be interested in. If you also offer retreats, that might be the next perfect step for a client who has finished working with you. If it is and you don't offer retreats, that's the way I want your mind to be going.
Okay. [00:19:00] What would the next perfect step for a client that finishes this 12 week program with me be? What would be the next way I could support them on the next phase of their journey? It might be that they're now ready to go into some kind of mastermind program. Maybe they've had this in really immersive coaching experience with you, and now they're ready to kind of go into a group of very like-minded people where they get to mastermind and, and work together, or a group program where they're getting peer support.
Again, if. Perhaps had group coaching with you. It could be that. The next thing is a VIP day for doing a really deep dive into a very, very specific topic. If they've done one-to-one coaching with you and they're ready to take a break from coaching, offering a VIP day can be a great way to reengage [00:20:00] clients who ha, who are not in an active phase of coaching with you.
That's that mindset shift. We don't say goodbye to our clients because we're in a relationship with them. We don't want the relationship to end. If they were a great client and you had a great coaching experience together, we don't want the relationship to end. They may not be in an active phase of coaching, but the relationship is still there, and sometimes it's gonna be time to invite them back to be in a different, or the next step of active coaching for.
Okay, so think about that offer pyramid. What might be a good next step for them, and an amazing question to always ask when you're coming to the close of a coaching engagement is now that you've achieved this, what feels like the next level of support for you? That is a really important question. We always tend to feel like [00:21:00] we have to have the answer.
We have to have the offer ready to pluck off the shelf and give to the client to sign up. But what if we allowed it to be a little bit more organic than that? What if we allowed it to be a question we ask of them? What could the next level of support look like? Is it something I can create for you if they're not sure?
Then you can help them by saying, you know, some of my clients at this stage, like to, and then, you know, offer them whatever offer it is that you think would be a great next step for them. A lot of my clients at this stage really love to join a mastermind experience 'cause that helps them build community with other people who are in that same whatever the niche is that you coach.
Right, just like you would if it was a discovery call, you could say, would you like me to tell you a bit more about that? Chances are, you know, they already know that you offer other ways of [00:22:00] working with you, but I think sometimes we don't ask. Sometimes we just allow it to be an ending. Even if they say no, even if they say no, you know what?
I'm really done. I feel fulfilled. I really feel like I, I wanna move on to a phase of, maybe I wanna move on to a phase of just really processing the transformation I've been through. I want to work on, you know, whatever that next phase is for myself or alone, intentionally. Then make sure you are really validating that decision that they're making.
The client knows. What the right next step for them is They are in the best position to know what feels right for them next, not you. So just keep that relationship open so that when they're ready, they know what you offer. They know what another step with you could look like, whether it's right for them now or not, and they know where to find you.
That's where [00:23:00] having them inside a community is a really good way to keep the relationship alive. All right, so just thinking, summarizing what I've got over, then we wanna make sure we are making our clients feel really valued and that we're setting the stage for the next time that they want to work with us.
Whether that's straight away or whether it's in the future. We are not terminating anything. We're continuing the relationship. So we are really thinking about, you know, what could be next? What would they love next? And we're asking them the question, and of course we're asking for those testimonials.
Really, really important. So lots of the offboarding process is client focused and then the testimonial is something that you absolutely earned the right to ask for. Clients who've had a great experience with co of coaching with you will want to give you a [00:24:00] glowing testimonial. It will really mean a lot to them to be able to do that for you.
Okay. So I hope that has given you some ideas for what your own offboarding experience can look like. One thing that's worth doing is just maybe jotting down a few bullet points around what you want that to look like. So is it that maybe on the second to last session you start. Reflecting on some of the wins, what kind of testimonials are you gonna ask them for?
How are you gonna capture them? What are the questions you're gonna ask them? Try and plan all of this stuff and have a very repeatable process that you can take a client through when you offboard them. Well, thank you so much for joining me again and again, Belinda. Thank you for that question. If you are listening to this and you are thinking, ah.
I love that someone got their actual question turned into a podcast episode. Please email me and tell me [00:25:00] what your question is, [email protected] I love, love, love getting suggestions, so please do that. In the meantime, I will of course add links to the Coaching Business Academy where we cover all of this kind of thing in terms of client experience.
In addition to everything I teach you around your brand and around your business model and your marketing and your sales client experience, very important too. So I'll pop a link to the academy in the show notes as well. I'll also put a link to, I think there's at least one, if not two previous episodes of the podcast where I talk about, you know, client experience and onboarding and offboarding and that kind of thing.
So I would definitely link to that as well. Okay. Alright. Have a fantastic week everyone, and I will see you back here. Same time, same place next week. Bye for now.
I hope you enjoyed this [00:26:00] episode and that getting our heads together this week has filled your mind with what's possible. If you love the show, would you do me a massive favor? Please? Would you leave a five star rating on Apple Podcasts? It would really help you put more heads together. Reach more ears and expand more minds.
Until next week, bye for now.
