How to Ask Your Company to Pay for Life Coach Training

So, you want to become a coach, and you’d like your employer to pay for life coach training. Let’s talk about how to make that happen!

Becoming a life coach will be fantastic for you -- it’ll give you a strong education, and a community of fellow people who Get It. And yes, you can probably think of a hundred ways getting a life coach certificate online will improve your own skill set, make you a more desirable employee, and enhance your career. 

Now it’s time to showcase to your boss what coaching can do to improve your organization, impact the bottom line, and create a culture of excellence across the board. 

Before you can do all that, you’re gonna need to dig deep and make a case for yourself. Ready for the 8 basic steps?

Here’s How

STEP 1: Find Your Why

Why do you want to get trained as a coach? Why now? Ask yourself why you need or want this, and write down a specific list of every reason. 

Ask yourself the hard questions like:

• How will this make me a better manager or leader in my company? 
• In what specific areas will I perform my work better? 
• How does this training program support my professional development?
• How can I bring more value to my organization with a coaching certification?

STEP 2: Take a Look at Your Work Performance

Before you ask your company to invest further in you, it’s time for some self analysis. If you believe you’ve been performing well in your role and are a valuable asset to your employer, it’s a lot more likely that your boss will take your request to pursue coaching certification under consideration.

Make a mental note of times that you’ve incorporated something you learned into your work at the company, and how it benefited your team and the organization.

STEP 3: Focus on The Organization

Now that you know your own personal reasons, it’s time to look outwards. While coach certification can help you improve in your role, in order to help your employer see the benefit, you need to present your request with THEM in mind.

Major companies spend a great deal on life coach training institutes. There are countless opportunities for professionals to use coaching techniques, and many people who utilize these skills play a variety of roles within a company without calling themselves “coaches”.

Some of the transferable skills you can expect to gain from a legitimate training program include:

• Communication
• Leadership
• Goal Setting & Attainment
• Motivating
• Performance Coaching
• Emotional Intelligence
• Self-Management
• Ethics

Make sure that you emphasize the impact and value that coach certification can bring to the business. The benefits to you as a person are already understood. If they are going to invest in you as a leader, be ready to explain how getting certified as a life coach will serve your organization, teammates, clients and customers.

STEP 4: Use Facts to Persuade

Yes, you’re probably very excited about this new venture! However, it’s important to be well prepared for this conversation. Do your research and get the facts straight so you can have a well-informed discussion with your boss. Make your request clear and easy to understand, from the specifics to the particulars.

Be ready to answer questions such as:

• How much does the training cost? 
• What’s the time commitment? 
• Will productivity be impacted? 
• How will this benefit the organization?
• Is there a competitive advantage?

STEP 5: Come Up with a Proposal

When developing a proposal, keep it simple. Think of this as you would any other business expense. It needs to be high level, but also detailed enough to help your employer make a decision.

‍Be sure to include: 

• What you are asking for
• Why you’re asking for it 
• The total cost in terms of both resources and time 
• How it benefits your employer’s business
• Any other benefits or impact

Use the information you gathered in your research phase, and be sure to address how your employer will benefit. Pay attention to THEIR bottom line: clearly explain how getting credentialed from a reputable life coach certification program adds value to the organization.

It’s helpful to mention that professional training programs and certifications allow employees to quickly gain knowledge or skills that can otherwise take a long time to grow. It can help improve your productivity and that of your team, and boost client confidence. 

Make sure you keep the proposal to a single page, and check out any guidelines from your organization’s policies or procedures for training and certification.

STEP 6: Make Your Proposal

Give the decision maker a chance to look it all over before discussing face to face. Write up a simple email with a summary of your request, attach your proposal, and send it to your manager along with a request for a one-on-one conversation to discuss.

STEP 7: Be Prepared to Negotiate

It may be that your employer designates a set amount for your professional development each year, or is facing budget cuts that don’t allow them to grant your request as presented. Be willing to trim it back, or negotiate on splitting the fees, or offer to add some benefits, such as teaching what you learn to your team in a structured way.

AND FINALLY… Bring Back Knowledge to Empower Your Organization

The wonderful thing about knowledge is that it can be shared. Once you’ve been trained as a life coach, be sure to bring back what you’ve learned for the benefit of others in your organization. 

Be sure to keep track of how it affects your performance over time, and let your employer know. It’s a great way to let your manager see how beneficial it was to support you through coach training, and opens the door for others to receive the same support in the future. 

Ready to Get Started?

Many of our coaches choose to apply what they’ve learned at Lumia to their existing full time positions, and find it satisfying on a number of levels. Our training enhances your current skill set and gives you new tools to utilize in your current role. Business leaders, advisors, HR professionals, therapists, personal trainers, techies, nurses, teachers, social workers -- all of these people have found our training useful in elevating their existing skills, and for assuming leadership positions within their organizations.

Whatever your future career plans may hold, we invite you to explore the Lumia Life Coach Training program. Grounded in science, our International Coaching Federation (ICF) accredited program features authentic instructors, a robust curriculum, business instruction, and fellow students dedicated to becoming a collective force for good.

Lumia Coaching: Vibrant community. Evidence-based life coach training. Lifetime support.