Ready Set Coach Podcast

The #1 Trust-Building Mistake New Coaches Make

• Emily Merrell and Lexie Smith

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Coaches who pretend to know everything? Total red flag. Lexie Smith breaks that myth wide open. In this solo minisode, Lexie gets real about what actually builds lasting client trust—and spoiler alert—it has nothing to do with having all the answers.

With Emily off on new-mom duty (congrats, baby Frankie!), Lexie holds it down with four essential coaching strategies you can’t afford to skip. From owning your boundaries to actually remembering what your clients said last week, this episode is a sharp wake-up call and a warm accountability hug all in one. Consider it your coaching refresh—because thriving in business starts with trust, not perfection.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • What should a coach do when they don’t know the answer?
  • How do you establish trust with new clients online?
  • What boundaries should coaches enforce with clients?
  • What are the best practices for following through with clients?
  • How do I audit my own coaching effectiveness?

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Lexie Smith:

One thing I want to highlight here is that even though they're hiring you as their coach, you don't have to know everything. Newsflash, you don't know everything. So when things come up, whether it be in the sales process or while actively coaching, it's okay to admit you don't have all the answers. One thing that I use in coaching, when I don't know answer or if I don't immediately think of what I want to say, I, I always go, you know what, I don't know that answer right now. Let me think about it, do a little bit research and I'll get back to you. Right. That is honest. That is being transparent. That is building a foundation for trust.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Ready Set Coach podcast. The podcast for coaches by coaches. Just like our community, we're here for.

Lexie Smith:

Real talk on what it takes to thrive in the coaching world. Plus an exclusive behind the scenes look at coaches making it happen.

Speaker 2:

Are you ready, Lex?

Lexie Smith:

I'm set. M. Let's coach. Hello. Today you are getting Lexi and actually you're going to get Lexi for a while because Emily, my lovely co host and co founder, just had a baby. She welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby boy named Frankie about a a week ago. Now, a little over a week, we're recording this top of April and she's doing well. Baby's doing well. We're wishing her well, but I am not allowing her touch work with a 10 foot pole. This time is precious. Quick reminder to all of you to always do a little self check on maintaining that work life balance. With that said, this is going to be a short and sweet one today and I'm going to dive into different ways to build trust with clients in coaching. If you are an active coach, you know that trust is truly foundational to any relationship you have with the client. It's core and it's necessary to having a positive and successful outcome. So how does one do that? How do you build trust? Especially if it's a stranger on the Internet that you've never met before? Okay, so number one is to be transparent and honest. And I know that might sound obvious, but in an industry that truly is overrun with marketing speak and hyperbole, establishing transparency and being authentic from day one is so, so one thing I want to highlight here is that even though they're hiring you as their coach, you don't have to know everything. Newsflash, you don't know everything. So when things come up, whether it be in the sales process or while actively coaching it's okay to admit you don't have all the answers. One thing that I use in coaching, when I don't know answer or if I don't immediately think of what I want to say, I always go, you know what? I don't know that answer right now. Let me think about it, do a little bit research and I'll get back to you. Right? That is honest. That is being transparent. That is building a foundation for trust. So don't lie, be open, be honest with your clients. It's what you're asking for them. So lead by example number two, actively listen and do so empathetically. This means don't interrupt them. This means take notes. This means hear what they're saying, ask relevant questions. And I think this is a big one. Remember things from session to session, okay? It is incredibly frustrating. I don't care what industry you're in, this is transferable to therapy, to being a doctor, to relationships, to friendships. If you've had a conversation and a little time goes by and then the person you're interacting with completely forgets, right? So do what you got to do on the back end. It can be during session taking notes. It could be post session brain dumping. But make sure you take notes about what you covered, what brought up, so that you can connect the dots in between sessions. Be present, turn off notifications, hear what they're saying. Right? Engage and be empathetic when you do so. So that is number two. Number three, deliver as promised on what is promisable. Okay? So show up on time. If one of your package offerings is to respond in 24 hours. If you tell them you're going to deliver them homework by end of day. Right. Just like you expect them to follow through on their end, you need to do the same. One of the easiest ways to break trust is by breaking promises. And remember again what is promissible. You can't promise results. So get really clear on what you can promise or what you can control rather and make sure you're showing up consistently for those. The last one I want to talk about today is respecting boundaries, theirs and yours. All of this is a two way street. Okay? So this means, for example, if you say you're only available weekdays from 8 to 5, stay in bounds, only be available weekdays from 8 to 5. Don't. I know it can be really tempting to feel like you're over delivering or being nice or doing a favor by, you know, responding after hours. But really, it's making precedence and boundaries confusing. Flip side, if they articulate a boundary to you, for example, maybe it's, you know, I really don't want people knowing about this coaching. This is a really big deal for me. Then then don't go posting screenshots, even covering their name on Instagram. Right? Respect their boundaries just as you respect yours. So again, I'm going to quickly recap four things that are so, so key to building trust with your clients and coaching. Number one, being transparent and honest from day dot. This means from your first sales interaction to the close of your relationship. Okay? And every session and interaction in between. Actively listen and be empathetic and remember things session to session. Take notes, keep notes. Or if you have a photographic memory, like good on you. But otherwise the most of us, we need to take a moment and really recap what was covered. Two or three, excuse me, deliver as promised on what is promisable. Okay. You are not promising results, but you can promise total sessions when you're going to show up, how you're going to show up, right? So, so be consistent in delivering that. And finally respect boundaries, theirs and yours. Your homework today is really simple. I just want you to do a little self audit. You gotta be self aware to do this. Run through this list. Are you being transparent? Are you being honest with your clients? Are you actively listening? Are you making sure you're taking session notes in between so you keep track of what's happening? This is going to be really important too as you get more clients. Are you delivering as promised on what is promissible? And are you not promising things you shouldn't promise? And are you respecting boundaries? Do you have boundaries? There's in yours. Okay, so do a little audit, see if there's area for improvement. If not, if you're check, check. Great. Now you just gotta keep doing what you're doing. Okay? So next time on the Ready Set Coach podcast, you'll be with me yet again and another interview week. So until next time, I'm out of breath on the Ready Set Coach podcast.

Speaker 2:

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