First, let’s see what the clients see:
- Arriving late? The clients see a trainer who doesn’t respect their time.
- Dressed unprofessionally? The clients see a trainer who doesn’t take training seriously.
- Conversations stray grossly off-topic? The clients suspect the trainer doesn’t value their investment and that they don’t have a responsibility to stay focused either.
- Gossiping? The clients wonder if their own life details won’t be kept private.
In these examples, the trainer is unintentionally teaching clients that a professional relationship is not always given or expected. The unfortunate side effect (in addition to poor retention and missed opportunity) is that clients question their obligations.
Some problems are tougher: late payments, price-point criticism and inappropriate client behavior or boundary crossing. The solution principle is the same: It is your responsibility to “teach people how to treat you.” In these scenarios, it can be a bit more complicated. In some way (again, unintentionally), the trainer has taught clients that such behavior is acceptable. Late payments? The trainer did not craft, clearly explain and consistently enforce billing policies with every client. Price-point objections? The trainer may question his or her own rates of service.
The solution?
Time spent quantifying the trainer’s value and expertise can build a trainer’s confidence. Market research in their field can empower trainers to respectfully respond to pricing criticism with concrete explanation. Inappropriate client behavior? A trainer might worry about losing the income and avoid addressing the problem directly. Or worse, trainers may have initially opened the door with inappropriate behavior themselves. The solution here is to have a separate conversation and restart. Begin the training process again with a new understanding of what is acceptable and enforce it.