The Financial Awareness Coaching bridge

The Financial Awareness Coaching bridge

The Financial Awareness Coaching service is a bi-monthly coaching programme that helps clients fully understand and interpret their numbers and build a strong foundation to grow their business. Clients will develop a 12-month Financial Awareness Plan during the first session, which will be updated with new 60-day goals and actions at each session. 

Important info
You can also deliver Financial Awareness Coaching monthly if clients want to accelerate their learning. Update the plan to record 30-day goals and actions and deliver the programme over six months.

To access the Financial Awareness Coaching bridge, go to Navigation panel >  Bridges > Financial Awareness Coaching bridge.

Understanding the Financial Awareness Coaching process

Financial Awareness Coaching is one of the many ways to provide ongoing reporting and accountability for your clients as part of the Business Advisory Trifecta.

It's essential that business owners understand their numbers and can interpret their financial information to make informed decisions. This 12-month coaching programme will teach clients how to fully understand and interpret their numbers and set goals to improve their financial results.
  1. The Process Guide outlines best practice use of the content in the Financial Awareness Coaching bridge; click the Download Process Guide button in the top right-hand corner to view this guide

Note
Ensure you review the Process Guide prior to using the content in the bridge.

Marketing the Financial Awareness Coaching service

There are many ways to actively market the Financial Awareness Coaching service, including: 
  1. Discussing your Financial Awareness Coaching service as part of a Complimentary Client Review, Proactive Accounting Meeting or an Annual Accounts Review Meeting.
  2. Sending out relevant educational marketing content to your database to subtly position the value of Financial Awareness Coaching.
    1. Go to Navigation panel >  Marketing > The Gap + BOMA > The Gap + BOMA Content Library Catalogue to check out our education marketing content ready for you to send via BOMA
  3. Hosting one of our Gap Webinars or Seminars to generate interest in your Financial Awareness Coaching service.
    1. Check out our Know Your Numbers webinar: go to Navigation panel >  Bridges > Gap Webinars and Seminars > Know Your Numbers

The Financial Awareness Coaching Proposal

Generally, Financial Awareness Coaching is sold as a standalone service, therefore, there's only one proposal in the Selling folder of the Financial Awareness Coaching bridge.  Ensure you've gained conceptual agreement prior to sending the proposal. If you sell Financial Awareness Coaching as part of a package with other services, use the Services Proposal or Proposal for Additional Services  in the Complimentary Client Review bridge instead.
  1. Consider the client's unique situation and use the checkboxes to select the objectives, measures of success and value to the client; add bespoke objectives, measures of success and points of value to reflect the client's individual needs
  2. If your client does not accept within seven days, call them to follow up
For more information, see our Using proposals article.

Tip
Carefully read through the objectives, measures of success and values to better understand the types of problems this service will help solve for your clients.

Delivering the Financial Awareness Coaching Service

Client Outcomes

By attending the Financial Awareness Coaching programme, clients will:
  1. Iron out any existing errors to ensure accuracy in their financial reports
  2. Better manage and monitor their cashflow
  3. Customise their reports to ensure they capture the right information 
  4. Gain a better understanding of the financial implications of decisions 
  5. Access regular independent financial advice
  6. Be held accountable to achieving progress between meetings  
  7. Access the collective wisdom of your accountants, systems, products and services
  8. Have phone support to address any burning issues between meetings

Service duration

Each coaching session takes one hour. Financial Awareness Coaching is a 12 month coaching programme in which clients will have meetings with you every two months to discuss their financial results. Alternatively, it can be delivered as a monthly programme over six months.

The service

You will facilitate six coaching sessions over the period of a year. During this process, you will:
  1. Review the client's pre-work, objectives and numbers
  2. Discuss any burning issues
  3. Review the client's 60-day goals and actions
  4. Update the Financial Awareness Plan with goals and actions for the next two months
Prior to each session, you'll provide all attendees with pre-work to complete; ensuring that any issues that need to be discussed are identified and you can prepare accordingly.

Important info
We recommend enforcing a 'no pre-work, no meeting' policy. Politely discuss the benefit of pre-work and reschedule the meeting so it does not become one of discovery.

Click here for more information about common content found in the Gap bridges and how they relate to each step in the Financial Awareness Coaching process. See the Financial Awareness Coaching Process Guide for detailed information about the Financial Awareness Coaching content.

Key content in the Delivery folder includes:
  1. Financial Awareness Coaching Financial KPIs: a list of common financial KPIs, with formulas and an explanation of what each KPI shows about the business. 
  2. Financial Awareness Coaching Glossary of Terms: a resource explaining key financial terms they'll come across during the coaching programme to help them gain a better understanding.

Important info
The Delivery Notes contain suggested topics to cover during subsequent coaching sessions as well as clear guidelines on how to deliver each session.
Tip
Attach the above resources to the Meeting Minutes from the first coaching session. For more information about attaching portal documents to portal emails, see our Using email attachments article.

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