# SOP templates for a coaching business

Owner: Coach or practice manager
Runs: Set up once, reviewed quarterly

A coaching practice sells expertise, but clients experience it through a series of admin steps: booking, onboarding, sessions and follow-up. These SOPs cover that path in order, plus onboarding an assistant. Replace the [bracketed] values with your own tools and program details.

## Lead acquisition: publish content and ask for referrals

**Purpose:** Keep a steady flow of the right people into your calendar.

1. **Publish** one useful piece of content each [week] on [main channel], answering a question your clients ask.
2. **End each piece** with one clear next step, such as booking a call or joining your list.
3. **Ask for referrals** from clients at natural high points, such as a milestone or renewal.
4. **Thank referrers** personally, whether or not the referral becomes a client.
5. **Track sources** of every new inquiry in [CRM].

## Lead nurture: run a discovery call

**Purpose:** Find out whether you can help this person, and let them experience how you work.

1. **Send a short intake form** with the booking confirmation.
2. **Read the form** before the call.
3. **On the call**, ask about their goal, what is in the way, what they have tried and what would change if it worked.
4. **Decide honestly** whether you are a fit. If not, say so and suggest another route.
5. **If you are a fit**, explain the program that matches and its investment.

## Sales execution: enroll a client

**Purpose:** Make joining simple and clear, with terms agreed in writing.

1. **Send the agreement** within 1 business day of a yes, covering program, length, sessions, price, payment schedule, cancellation and confidentiality.
2. **Send the payment link** with the agreement.
3. **Follow up** at [2 days] if either is not complete.
4. **On signature and payment**, add the client to [CRM] as active and trigger onboarding.

## Fulfillment: onboard a new client

**Purpose:** Get the client set up and clear on how the program works before the first session.

1. **Send the welcome email** within 1 business day: how sessions work, how to book, how to reach you between sessions, and what to prepare.
2. **Send the onboarding questionnaire** about goals, background and preferences.
3. **Set up** the client's shared folder or portal and session notes document.
4. **Book the first session** within [7 days] of enrollment.
5. **Read the questionnaire** and prepare before the first session.

## Fulfillment: deliver a coaching session

**Purpose:** Run every session with the same preparation and follow-through.

1. **Review** the client's last session notes and actions [15 minutes] before.
2. **Open** by checking progress on last session's actions.
3. **Work** on the focus for the session, following your methodology.
4. **Agree actions** with the client before the end, with dates.
5. **Write session notes** within [24 hours] and send the client their action summary.

## Retention: renew or complete a program

**Purpose:** End each engagement on purpose, with either a renewal or a clean finish.

1. **Book a review session** [3 to 4 weeks] before the program ends.
2. **Review progress** against the goals from onboarding, using the client's own words.
3. **Recommend** the next step: renewal, a different program, or completion.
4. **Send** the renewal agreement, or a completion note with resources.
5. **Ask for a testimonial** only with permission to use it, and record exactly what they agreed to.

## Company: onboard an assistant

**Purpose:** Get a new assistant working independently on admin without learning by trial and error.

1. **List** every task the assistant will own, and link the SOP for each one.
2. **Grant access** to [email, calendar, CRM, payment tool] with the least access needed, using [password manager] for shared logins.
3. **Assign the SOPs** with staggered due dates: a few per day in week one, starting with scheduling and client communication.
4. **Shadow, then reverse shadow**: the assistant watches you do each task, then does it while you watch.
5. **Check in** daily in week one and weekly for the first [month], and update SOPs wherever the assistant got stuck.

---
Template from SOPCompass (https://sopcompass.com/templates/coaching-business-sops). Free to use and adapt.