There’s a lot you can do to make coaching affordable. The ROI on coaching is seven times the cost, so regardless, you’ll probably get a lot more than you pay.

Once you want a coach, you still need to make coaching affordable for you. In general, the ROI on coaching is seven times the cost of coaching, so your returns are likely to be far higher than your cost.

Know How to Calculate Your ROI for Coaching

First, calculate the basis for your own ROI. In order to do that, consider what you will gain if you are promoted due to noticeably improved leadership skills and results. To make it easy, ask yourself a few quick questions:

  • How much more are you likely to earn if you are promoted within the next year?
  • What would that bring in for you over the next 3-5 years?
  • How much happier would you be with a new position that offers you more opportunities for growth and responsibility?
  • Why is it important for you to grow quickly and move up in your career?

If you know the answer to these questions, you have a good idea of what your returns might be. Now you are ready to explore some ways to make coaching affordable for you.

Below are a few ideas to make coaching affordable. In addition to some action steps, I offer a case study of a client who convinced her employer pay for coaching. As a result, that investment paid off big time for her and the company. Certainly, getting your boss to pay for coaching is one of the best ways to make coaching affordable, and I show you how below.

Find a Coach in Your Price Range

Celebrity coaches and famous coaches are great, but they can be really pricey. If your company isn’t paying, they are generally out of range for most people.

The good news is that business coaches are plentiful. It can take a little as a day to get a coaching certification, so be sure you get a coach with a proven track record. Due to supply and demand, most coaches are pretty affordable. The average cost of a business coach is $350 an hour. If you figure that you will meet with the coach twice a month for six months, that’s an average investment of $4200.

If, as a result of coaching, you get a $10,000 salary bump due to a promotion in the next year, you will get a return of over 40% in the first year. Considering that your increased salary will continue to pay off for years, that’s a good investment.

Even still, it’s a lot of money up front, so make sure you are getting the right coach who will help you achieve goals that will make a difference in your career. Try these strategies to make the investment more affordable.

Ask for a Discount to Make Coaching Affordable

If you are paying out of pocket for coaching, many coaches respect your willingness to invest in yourself. Often, they will offer a discount to make coaching affordable for you if you don’t have a company willing to pay for you.

Many times, these discounts are not publicized. So, be sure to explain your situation and ask if there is any accommodation.

Limit Coaching Sessions to Make Coaching Affordable

If you are still having trouble affording coaching, consider limiting your coaching sessions to one or two a month. If you can afford just one coaching session a month, you can still make progress toward your goals.

Ask Your Boss to Pay for Your Business Coaching

Your company is going to benefit if you improve your leadership skills. So, it makes sense that they should invest in your leadership development.

Many companies do have funds available for leadership development. Naturally, that’s a great place to start. If they do, find out what the rules or processes are for accessing those funds.

If it’s not so clear that your company sponsors leadership development, you’ll have to make the case for it. Here is a guide to making that case.

Compelling Reasons Your Company Should Sponsor Coaching

First, it’s important to think about the company needs rather than your needs. Find a compelling reason for them to sponsor coaching for you. For example, here are some reasons that might make a company more willing to pay for leadership development.

  • The company is growing quickly and needs quick results.
  • The organization is facing a challenging threat from outside (difficult business climate, new competitive threat, political pressures, etc.).
  • The company is positioning itself to be sold or acquired or is in a merger or acquisition situation already.
  • The organization needs quick results due to internal problems or pressures.
  • Your team overall is crucial to company success and is facing a new threat or recent expansion.
  • You have been given a stretch assignment that is crucial for success and that is outside of the skills you have developed so far.

All of these situations put increased pressure on leaders to perform in ways that they may not have been hired for or prepared for. Your company may face more than one of these pressures. This is a compelling case for coaching. If they want you to grow quickly and succeed in new situations, you need support. It’s up to them to make coaching affordable for you.

Case Study: Sophia

Sophia responded to a message I sent her on LinkedIn. She worked as a sales manager a pharmaceutical device company. Her boss was putting enormous pressure on her to perform. She needed to handle the stress her boss was putting on her and increase results on her team. The stress was beginning to affect her well-being.

Sophia went to her boss to discuss her need for coaching.

  • Her territory had recently been expanded from US sales to US and Europe.
  • Increased sales targets were a significant recent change in her job.
  • She knew what she needed to do. However, she needed the resources to accomplish her goals.
  • Her team was down five people from a year before, and she needed to hire at least two.
  • She needed coaching to be able to handle the pressure and acquire new skills.

Sophia had a preliminary discussion with her boss where she raised his awareness of her needs. She got him to agree, in principle, that she needed more support.

Then Sophia put together a proposal including the cost of the two hires and the cost of coaching for six months. The sales people would bring in ten times their cost. Her success would bring in far more than the cost of coaching, which was $4200. When she showed the ROI, her boss approved it.

Sophia’s Results

By the end of the year, Sophia hit all her sales targets and was handling her boss’s stress better. With the help of coaching, she was able to recognize when her boss was stressed, how to calm him down, and how to remain calm herself even when he was stepping over the line. She started exercising again and prioritizing her health. She used coaching to develop strategies to turn around a couple of low performers and make excellent hires who met their goals. Even she was surprised when she made all of the aggressive sales targets at the end of fourth quarter.

At that point, the boss revealed that the company had been acquired. The increased pressure on Sophia was due to the the stress of those negotiations over the last six months. He praised her for hitting every target they set out for her, which ultimately helped the sale. Sophia was one of the few who retained her position under the umbrella of the new company.

A Framework for How to Ask Your Boss for a Coach

Sophia’s success offers a framework for how to ask your boss for a leadership coach if you are facing increased leadership demands.

  1. Make a compelling case for leadership development. State the increased demands on you in terms of what the company needs, not what you want. If the company wants you to increase performance, make the case that your performance requires new leadership skills quickly. With your current skillset, you are unsure that you can meet new goals or demands and serve the company well. 
  2. Raise awareness and get alignment with your boss about the problems you face and your need for support. Get your boss to agree in principle for some leadership development for you.
  3. Write a detailed proposal demonstrating a compelling case for support, alignment with new company goals, and detailing ROI for success.
  4. Ask your boss to advocate for you with people higher up to show the need, the aligned solution, and ROI for success.

Often, companies are willing to pay for coaching when employees have high potential for leadership. This includes employees such as first-time managers, recently promoted managers, or managers who are quickly rising.

Offer to Pay Half to Make Coaching Affordable

If, after all this work, the company balks at paying for a coach, consider offering to pay half of the cost of coaching. This shows you have skin in the game and that you really are really committed to self-improvement. If they agree, you have gotten yourself a coach for half off! And you end up with skills for a lifetime of success.

Further Reading

Now you have some strategies to make coaching affordable. Next, you might want to look at the following blogs:

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