Paid for Coaching...How Do I Handle This?

9 replies
Before I continue, I just want to say that the coach I hired has integrity. I'm in no way criticizing him.

I paid for "one month 1-on-1 coaching" two months ago. The deal was "unlimited email support" and two to three sessions per week.

The email support was advertised that I could ask any questions, "even simple questions, such as how to create a hyperlink."

This person was successful, and has become even more successful in the last couple of months. His focus is product creation.

Prior to signing up, I asked him if I could delay the coaching "for a week or two while I prepared."

I did ask three "preliminary" questions. One reply took two or three days (and was very brief) and I didn't receive a reply to another. I wasn't worried so much that the emails were largely not answered, as I hadn't started the coaching yet, but the length of time was quite long (and the other was ignored).

To be fair, the question that was ignored didn't directly pertain to my personal coaching. It was a question about how I could train a friend in the Philippines (without specific skills) so that I could use her for outsourcing.

Well, I proceeded to drift from WSO to WSO like many newbies. To be honest, I think part of this was due to the delayed email responses. But I do take responsiblity for my own actions.

I finally landed at a different coaching program from Jason Fladlien and I felt that the coaching I had purchased originally would compliment the structure of this new course.

I emailed my (original) coach, and he rather quickly replied in an encouraging manner. I immediately sent him my first email question. It wasn't short, but not terribly long, either, and it really didn't require much of a response.

That was late last Wednesday night. Today is Monday and I still haven't received a response. I didn't wait for the answers. I proceeded with my plans, finding the answers with some effort (and slight expense).

If this was the only email I'd had troubles with, it wouldn't be a problem. But I have sent very few emails to him, and consistently receive late/no replies.

My problem is that the "unlimited email support" is basically useless, because it seems that I won't get an answer within a reasonable amount of time. Obviously, if it takes me five days to get an answer on how to create a hyperlink, I'm not going to progressing very quickly.

That's not the kind of help I need, of course, but I do have many "need it soon" problems. Yes, I can find many answers by myself with a varying amount of effort, but then again, finding out how to create a hyperlink is just about the simplest question of all.

I paid a good amount of money for this coaching, and would like to get something out of it.

How can I handle this situation?

Again, it's not my intention to place blame. If anything, the blame is at least half mine for waiting so long. I just felt that he didn't have time for me two months ago, and if that's the case, he definitely won't have time for me now after becoming even more successful.

#coachinghow #handle #paid
  • Profile picture of the author JanG

    I'm in a similar scenario (maybe same program?), and I still hope that all turns out well. If you have decided that you don't get anything out of the coaching, and if the coach has a guarantee, take him up on it. Explain the situation, and he should understand.

    Even if he doesn't have a guarantee he will probably refund your money because he doesn't want to put his reputation on the line.
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    Here is a little story:

    Once upon a time there was a village and they had a problem with too many cats. It was a real plague.

    The eldest of the village came together and decided what to do. After it became obvious that most of the cats were fathered by one tom cat they decided to capture that cat and cut off his balls.

    ... and exactly that is what they did.

    For a few month the village was not seeing any increase in the cat population. Then suddenly there were 10 times as many cats as before.

    The eldest meet again and they were clueless. They decided to go to the nearby forest where the original tom cat lived. They all went there and they found the former tom cat sitting there surrounded by about fifty male cats giving a lecture on how to successfully date cats etc.

    Moral of the story:

    A castrated cat can always serve as a consultant.

    Maybe this is a little mean.

    What I want to say: be careful if you buy coaching. Yes, there are a few excellent coaches out there but the really good ones are VERY expensive. Well worth the money but very expensive.

    Then there are cheap coaches that offer bulk coaching or 1-on-one-skype-group-coaching or whatever for only (you add the price $50, $100, $200, $800 per month). Sometimes these "coaches" started to make money online only after they learned to offer coaching. Now they make a whopping $2,000 per month by delivering "coaching" to complete newbies.

    So, do your homework first.


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  • Profile picture of the author Troy Broussard
    Just be honest with your coach...

    Tell him your expectation and find out what his is and see if you can work it out. Expecting immediate assistance is not going to happen and if it does you should run because that means he/she likely doesn't have anything else to do but attend to you (which is not confidence inspiring).

    In our similar program we tell people straight up to expect a reply within 2 business days (typically, but not always). That way the expectation is there up front.

    I would advise having that candid discussion and if you're not satisfied with the answer, let him/her know. Successful coaching is a "two-way street"...
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  • Profile picture of the author Aubaine
    Personally, paying an individual marketer to coach you is moronic. The only coaching program I ever heard of that made sense (I actually tried this) was practically a online college that dealt entirely with IM business creation. Anything from List Building to eBay to Amazon to Web Design was covered by this institute.

    My life took a turn for some trouble waters while I was in the program, and they started calling ME eager to help me build a business. Boy do I wish I took better advantage of that situation...

    Anthony R. Smith
    Marketing | Socialaire Group

    An antonym for ambitious is 'easy'.

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    • Profile picture of the author John Mogusar
      Thanks guys,

      I purchased this coaching when I was first starting out. I already knew "a little bit," and was overwhelmed with the amount of material out there.

      Though I'm still a relative newbie, I do believe that the right coach can make a difference in the amount of time required to really get rolling.

      My two areas of expert knowledge in life have shown me that people who get coaching in these areas can excel much faster, and is very necessary to achieve "elite" status.

      Perhaps this doesn't apply directly to Internet marketing. Maybe the effectiveness of a coach is substantially reduced. But even if coaching effectiveness was reduced by 75%, there is still enormous benefit.

      I guess we could debate these points all day.

      Thank you for all the advice. He's a nice guy; I think he's just stretched very thin at the moment, and I'm sure it won't get any better. He may be a tad bit disorganized (just a idea) in lieu of his success.

      I will try to contact him again and talk about it.

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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    He might not be so quick in answering you because you are not yet in his coaching program and he is spending his time answering those who have already purchased the course. This doesn't excuse his actions though, as it is ignorant to favor one side over the other. He may very well be overwhelmed and can't handle drawing in new customers while satisfying the current ones.

    He obviously doesn't have this coaching thing down yet, and I'm sure you could do better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez

    These kinds of posts are usually difficult for me to give a complete answer. Why? Because I've been on both sides (in more than one niche). We're also not getting the coach's side of the story, just yours.

    I'm just wondering what the expectations were, on both sides, and if there was any written contract. What did the sales copy say? (If there was copy). Coaching is a two way street. I agree with the poster that said you just be honest with your coach and that you feel you're not getting what you understood to be expected. If he's got integrity like you say, then he should understand where you're coming from.

    Sometimes coaches don't know what you're thinking or feeling unless you communicate what they are to them. There've been a few times during my coaching where I thought I was doing a good job, because I was getting good feedback from the client, and didn't find out that they were unhappy with one or two aspects of the coaching until I had them fill out a survey about my services. Of course, I immediately went into action (within reason) to make sure they got what was promised.


    I find blanket statements without a shread of proof pretty moronic, especially in the light of proof to the contrary. What is your premise based on? There are countless of successful business people, marketers, and entrepreneurs in documented case studies from business Universities around the world that would disagree with you. While there are many things I could have figured out on my own, hiring coaches has allowed my to shortened the learning curve and in some instances, allowed me to take my business to levels I could not have done on my own.

    You're entitled to your opinion, but I'd rather take the opinions of the likes of Dale Carnegie, Tony Robbins, the late Jim Rohn, or Brian Tracy's that have demonstrated that strategic coaching works.

    - Jim Rohn
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