Should you have a coaching application form on your website? And if you do, what should you put on it?

An application form stops the wrong people getting through to you. But every question you add is another reason for someone to give up and leave. So in this episode I go through when a form is worth it, when it gets in the way, and what to ask.

What I cover:

• When to use one. If your coaching costs thousands, or you're running a group or a mastermind
• The mastermind where one lady took over every week, and how the right questions would have caught it
• When not to use one. If you're new, need clients or your coaching is cheap, put your prices on your website instead
• Why six to eight questions is enough, and why "what's your biggest challenge?" is a waste of a question
• The questions to ask instead, including the two that save you a lot of wasted calls
• The difference between an application form and an intake form
• Why your intake form should ask if they're seeing a therapist or a doctor

The full guide, with an example form written out, is here: Coaching application form: when to use one, and what to ask

Communication coaches help people get their message across when it really counts. Presenting at work, being heard in a meeting, giving someone feedback without it turning into a row, getting through a job interview without your mind going blank.

In this episode (recorded in a French bistro again, so you'll hear the waiters) I go through what a communication coach really does, who pays, whether you need a qualification, and how to become one that people will pay. It's based on what I've found going through nearly 11,000 coaching websites.

What I cover:

• What happens in a session, and the difference between coaching and teaching
• The two groups who pay: individuals and employers, and why the boss paying the bill might want something different to the person in front of you
• Qualifications. You don't need one in the UK or US, but there's a line you must not cross with speech and language therapy
• Five steps to becoming a communication coach
• Why "I help people communicate with confidence" tells a stranger bloody nothing (86% of coaching sites couldn't be understood by a stranger in five seconds)
• Picking your slice. Engineers presenting to directors, nurses doing handovers, the father of the bride with a speech in six weeks
• What selling double glazing taught me about why people buy
• Tom's example, and why being exactly right for a few people beats being a bit relevant to everybody

The full guide, with all of this written out, is here: How to become a communication coach

If you've ever typed "life coach salary" into Google, you'll have seen some big numbers flying about. Six figures in your first year and all that. I reckon a lot of it is rubbish, and it's making good coaches feel like failures.

In this episode (recorded in a bistro in Cognac, so excuse the coffee cups) I go through what the research really shows. That research comes from analysing over 11,000 coaching websites, 170+ coaching niches and nearly 2,000 coaching books.

What I cover:

• Why there's no such thing as a life coach salary
• Where the ICF figures come from ($67,800 in North America, $52,400 in Western Europe) and why they lean high
• The simple sum: paid hours x your price, minus your costs
• Dan's example. $18K in year one, then $43,200 once he switched to a 12-week package
• Why it only takes three new clients a month to hit the ICF average
• Why hiding your prices on your website loses you clients
• How your niche changes what people will pay

The full breakdown, with the figures and Dan's example laid out, is here: How much do life coaches make?

Not financial advice. Just how the sums really work in the coaching world.