It’s a good time to train as a coach. Organisations are increasingly recognising the benefits coaching. But if you want your boss to fund the cost of your coach training you’ll still need to make a strong case – and make it succinctly.

If you’re looking for your employer to fund you, focus on the cost savings that this will bring. Business coaching typically costs around £400 a session and any coachee will need several sessions.

Your coaching skills will also increase business capability and not just in keys areas such as HR and L&D. For example, through coaching managerial programme candidates, or coaching potential leaders of the future.

Your business may be going from strength to strength but you may not have the money to recruit best in breed external candidates for key posts, so make the case for “growing your own”.

Look at the business and ask yourself where your new coaching skills could add the most value right now? It could be in sales or new business,  talent retention,  better people motivation, or improving communication (particular if your business is growing through acquisition).

Find industry-wide or business-specific facts and stats to back these points up. But beware of creating wordy documents. Stick to top line arguments and easily grasped bullet points. Just be prepared to back them up with more detail if needed.

Qualifying as a coach can be a great way of starting your own business

You may also be thinking about self-funding. In our experience people can make the cost of their course back within a year working as a coach.

And training will bring you into contact with a new and powerful network. Your tutors, study cohort and your coach training programme’s alumni are an invaluable source of introductions and potential business.

Training as coach is also a great way of future-proofing your career and enhancing your CV. It’s something to consider if redundancy is a possibility in your current role and your employer may need to give you paid time off to attend job interview, or train.

What you can charge (or your boss can save)

Fees charged by coaches continue to rise, although with some softening in the market due to economic uncertainty and Brexit dithering. Hourly fees for business coaches can start from £100/£150 an hour and £450/£600 an hour when coaching at executive level.

Life and personal coaches may charge less, fees between £25/£50 an hour for a new coach to £300/£400 for the most experienced are not untypical. These figures are based on research and surveys from multiple reliable sources but ultimately it’s down to the choices and demands of the coach, balanced with local market tolerances.

Keep in mind that businesses will sometimes hire in life coaches as part of wider workplace wellbeing programmes. Could your employer be open to this?

The 2016 ICF Global Coaching Study shows Western Europe (including UK annual incomes) as the third highest after Oceania, those thousands of islands throughout the South Pacific Ocean, and North America.