Coaching Tip: Referral sources as clients?

Originally Submitted on 12/2/99.

Introduction

An early impulse of many coaches is to try to make a
potential referral source into a client. This may not
always be a wise move.

The Coaching Tip

Certainly, if a referral source is also a successful client,
then this can be a wonderful combination. However, in
trying to get the source to become a client one is taking a
major gamble.

The phenomenon known in social psychology as
cognitive dissonance usually arises when we have two
competing beliefs, or when our behavior and our beliefs
do not match. Suppose you have a supporter who is
well-connected and willing to be a referral source for you
because s/he is enthusiastic about the concept of
coaching, and about you as a coach. Then the person
will be comfortable in making referrals.

However, suppose you then try to get the individual to
commit to becoming a client. Suppose that for some
reason the individual is not willing to hire you as a coach.
It really does not matter what the reason is. As a result
of this decision, the individual who is enthusiastic
about your coaching is going to experience cognitive
dissonance because his/her behavior, refusing coaching,
is not congruent with his/her beliefs about coaching.
What will happen? Based on social psychology
research, the person will unconsciously start to change
his/her opinion about coaching, so as to make it more
congruent with the behavior. Suddenly your enthusiastic
referral source can become less enthusiastic. Perhaps
you would have been better off to keep the enthusiasm.

One solution may be to offer a complimentary coaching
call but at the same time be clear that this is only a
demonstration so that the referral source can experience
what your coaching is like. It is not an attempt to 'sell'
your services. If the person never has to make a
decision, there is less likelihood that cognitive
dissonance will occur.

This is not to say that referral sources should never be
encouraged to become clients. It is to alert coaches to
the fact that doing this can be a gamble that needs careful consideration.

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