One of the most common questions I hear from clients is whether or not they should charge for consultations. If you have wondered the same thing, the answer depends on your practice.

If you have a busy practice and don’t have a lot of time to devote to new clients, you are in the enviable position of being able to fill your practice with referrals and word of mouth.  This allows you to call your consultations a “first session” and charge accordingly with your rates.However, if you have some available time slots in your schedule, and you’d like to fill your practice with new clients, doing free consultations is one of the most effective ways of attracting and registering new clients. Summer is usually a slow time of year, so now is probably a good time to make an irresistible offer to potential new clients.

There are three steps to setting yourself for success for filling your schedule with consultations.

1. Send an announcement out to your mailing list, and social networks that you are offering complimentary coaching sessions for a limited time and to contact your office to set one up.  Consider writing a press release and posting it to your blog as well. Be sure to create a time limit, from a few days up to a week or two at the most.

2. Create a name for your complimentary coaching session.  “Complimentary coaching session” just isn’t going to get people excited enough to run for their phones.  Consider who your target market is and what their needs and desires are.  If your target market is women who want to lose weight, a session referred to as “Super Svelte Strategy Session” is going to be a lot more tempting.

3. Be sure to let your prospects know what their take aways will be after their session. List the benefits and type of feedback they will have after completing their session.  Keep their issues and problems in mind and offer them concrete solutions which will be helpful for them such as action steps and possibly a tangible worksheet, checklist or recipe.

After your brief session that concentrates on their issues, they challenges, and their commitment to creating positive changes, you can outline how your role as a coach would be of benefit to them in  hiring you.

Follow these steps to fill your upcoming weeks with prospective clients who are looking forward to talking to you about their frustrations and goals, setting you up for many opportunities to convert your prospects into profits.