Sample coaching agreement

1. Services

My coaching is a professional, paid service, conducted by weekly phone sessions and emails that can help you learn new skills and make significant behavior changes.

I, the coach, will assist you by listening carefully, offering nonjudgmental feedback, thinking through decisions, and asking questions to help you gain clarity. Plus, I’ll be your responsive sounding board.

I will support you by offering accountability, affirmation, and an action plan to help you achieve your goals for life and work.

You, the client, will set the agenda for our coaching conversations.

You will evaluate your own progress and be proactive in the goals you have defined.

Coaching does not offer any guarantee of success.

2. Payment procedure

I am paid $1,300 CAD per month, before our monthly coaching calls, by cheque or credit card/PayPal.

This arrangement continues monthly if you decide to keep me as your coach.

The first coaching session will begin after we signed this agreement, and I received the first payment. 

When applicable, the client will pay telephone, courier expenses, travel, parking, and hotel.

I expect my invoices to be paid in a timely manner.

3. Cancellations

If you need to cancel or change the time of a coaching session, I will need a 24 hours’ notice. We will then try to reschedule it. 

If I need to cancel a session for illness, travel, or emergency, I will try to give you adequate advance notice and to reschedule with you.

4. Termination

Either of us may end the coaching relationship with one (1) month written notice by mail or email.

I would like to offer support to all the phases of your work with me as a coach, including when you decide to leave coaching.

I can best support your decision to leave if you give me several sessions’ notice prior to leaving.

The notice allows you to leave well, having an experience of completion.

5. Confidentiality

I protect the confidentiality of all communications with my coaching clients.

I will only release information about our work to others with your written permission.

I will not release any identifying information about you or our work together without your express permission.

This confidentiality includes our contractual arrangements and intended outcomes.

6. Ground rules

We will return each other’s telephone messages and voice mail messages within 24 hours, and email communications within 48 hours.

We promise open and honest communication with one another.

We expect to both be on time and prepared for each coaching session.

We expect to learn from each other and become better human beings because of our relationship.

7. Definition of coaching and psychotherapy

Although people often confuse coaching with other professions, such as counselling, my work with you will be coaching, not psychotherapy.

I intend my coaching services for well-functioning individuals who want to act and make behavior changes in the service of their goals for life and work.

Psychotherapy is a health care service that diagnoses and treats the symptoms of mental disorders.

If either of us recognizes you have a problem that would benefit from psychotherapy, I will refer or direct you to resources.

8. Constraints

We declare no topics to be “out of bound” for discussion.
If appropriate, we will declare some topics so, as we progress.

However, we will center our discussions about personal growth and professional business areas.

9. Nondisclosure and intellectual property

I will not voluntarily communicate your plans, business strategy, customer information, or financial information to any other third party.

To protect my intellectual property, you agree not to disperse or reuse the coaching materials I may give you, unless you have my written permission.

10. Hold harmless provision

You understand that, as your coach, I provide a variety of services as listed above to assist you in achieving your goals.

I do not guarantee and will not be responsible for any damage or loss related to our coaching sessions. 

I do not bear responsibility for any consequence, and in no event, shall be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction that you take based on the services offered, information provided, or other material got through our coaching.

My law firm insisted on clause #10.

11. Referrals

You acknowledge that, as a coach, I rely on referrals to build my practice.

So, during this engagement, when satisfied with the results you get from the coaching process, you agree, at your convenience, to have a 30-minute conversation with me about potential referrals.

12. Endorsements and testimonials

I totally agree with my own coaches, who strongly recommend keeping all aspects of the coaching relationship confidential.

To not mention, hint at, or allude to whom I’m working with or have worked with. 

They add that even if my client tells the world about who I am and my coaching role, I should just keep mum. 

Asking for an endorsement can put a grateful client in a bind, because if you are the client, it’s hard to say no to the coach who has helped you and whom you like.

But every client should have the right and comfort of saying NO to endorsing a coach as a way of protecting privacy regarding coaching.

So, I decided to not use or ask for personal testimonials.

I might limit endorsements to those of a corporate, business, or organizational nature, and maintain anonymity for personal coaching clients, to protect confidentiality.

My law firm, who likes testimonials, disagreed on clause #12. I don’t care.

13. Coaching session frequency and format

Monthly, we will hold three coaching sessions at a predetermined day and hour and will be by telephone. 

Coaching sessions will ordinarily be from 45 minutes to one hour in duration.
Should the need arise for longer sessions, including face-to-face sessions, I can arrange these.

That’s it.

We agree to the above terms and conditions and promises to fulfill each one.

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Client: 
Date:
Address:
Email:
Telephone: 

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Coach: Pierre Gagnon
Date:
A303–113 Rue de la Pointe-aux-Lièvres
Québec QC G1K 5Y7 Canada
Pierre@PierreGagnon.Coach
+1 418 210 2303 UTC–4