Signing new clients is exciting but relying only on fresh intake can become a lot of work and expensive. It takes considerable marketing effort, with the need to build multi-step sales funnels, spend on ads, or become a content creator.

On the other hand, keeping the clients you already have will save you time and money, increase your revenue, and let you build deeper connections with your coachees.

Let’s look into some practical customer retention strategies you can apply as a coach and how you can measure success.

Why You Should Focus on Retaining More Coaching Clients

If clients continue to find value in your coaching, it’s a win-win for their growth and your business. Here’s why retaining customers is worth it.

Lower Costs, Higher Margins

Customer acquisition costs time and money. There’s the marketing to attract them, the effort to nurture leads, and the sales calls to close deals.

Customer retention, on the other hand, skips these steps. Every additional month a client stays on means more revenue without the need for more marketing spend.

Deeper Impact and Transformation

Coaching takes time to create meaningful change. The longer clients stay with you, the more opportunity you have to get to the root cause of their challenges and refine your methodology to what they best respond to.

This lets you accelerate their progress and deliver better results than what they may have expected initially. Plus, let’s be honest, coaching is more fun when you have a solid foundation with the client, allowing space to dive deeper.

Referrals Come Naturally

Loyal and satisfied customers are walking advertisements for your business. They’re more likely to recommend you to their friends, family, or coworkers without you even asking, spreading your reputation as a coach who delivers transformation.

Providing continuous value to existing customers is the best organic growth strategy for your practice. Instead of wondering where the next client will come from, you can focus on delivering quality coaching. This makes your income more predictable and lets you plan for the future with confidence.

The 3 R’s of Coaching Client Retention

Paulo Claussen, a marketing expert, defines the three R’s of customer loyalty as Reward, Relevance, and Recognition.

These principles help companies make customers feel valued they don’t have a personal connection with, using loyalty programs, measuring customer service quality, and implementing customer feedback.

As a coach, your work is inherently personal with your clients. However, you still need to make sure that you provide the best experience for them so they come back for more.

Here’s how to apply the three R’s to retaining coaching clients.

Reward: Provide Incentives to Stay

You can reward your coaching clients with the following:

• Exclusive resources: Share personalized tools, worksheets, or recorded meditations that aren’t part of your regular coaching package.
• Priority booking: Long-term clients could receive priority access to your calendar or early sign-up for new programs with limited spots.
• Package discounts: Offer repeat clients a coupon code for future packages—you can set this up with Paperbell in a few clicks.

These gestures make clients feel valued and deepen their commitment to working with you.

Relevance: Make Their Experience Unique

Coaching is most impactful when tailored to the client’s needs. For example, make sure your services evolve with them using:

• Customized coaching plans: Adapt your coaching approach as your client progresses and changes.
• Regular check-ins: Use assessments or surveys to gauge where they are and what they need next.
• Curated recommendations: Suggest books, podcasts, or exercises specific to their journey.

When clients see that your coaching isn’t just a cookie-cutter process but one that adapts to their needs, they’re more likely to stay.

Recognition: Show Appreciation for Their Trust

Clients want to feel seen and appreciated for the effort they’re putting into their growth. You can recognize them with:

• Personalized feedback: Acknowledge their progress with thoughtful, specific comments highlighting their growth.
• Shout-outs: Celebrate their wins (with permission) in your community or group coaching calls, giving them public recognition.
• Anniversaries: Remember significant dates, like the anniversary of when they started working with you, and send a quick message to mark the occasion.

Incorporating these principles into your practice creates a coaching experience that feels personal, valuable, and worth continuing.

How to Measure Client Retention

Tracking the right metrics helps you understand how well your customer retention strategies are working and where you can improve. Here are five key customer retention metrics you can apply to your coaching business to measure success.

1. Customer Retention Rate (CRR)

This tells you what percentage of your clients stayed with you over a specific period.

Formula:

Example: If you started with 50 clients, gained 10 new customers, and ended with 55, your CRR is:

A higher CRR indicates strong customer retention.

2. Customer Churn Rate (CCR)

This metric shows the percentage of clients who stopped working with you during a specific period.

Formula:

Example: If your number of customers was 50 and you lost 5, your CCR is:

If you want to work with repeat customers, the churn rate of your coaching business should be low. But naturally, this depends on your coaching approach and business model.

3. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

This metric estimates the total revenue you earn from a client throughout your relationship.

The great thing is that you don’t even need a formula or customer data for this; you just need to check your lifetime earnings from a specific client in your 

. You can also check this for a particular package to see which services are better at retaining customers.

A high CLV means the client brings significant value, so it’s worth putting extra effort into retaining them.

4. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS measures customer satisfaction and loyalty by asking one simple question: “How likely are you to recommend my coaching to others?” Clients rate their likelihood on a scale of 0 to 10.

Scores of 9-10: Promoters (loyal, likely to recommend)

Scores of 7-8: Passives (neutral)

Scores of 0-6: Detractors (unhappy clients)

To calculate the overall NPS score of your coaching business, deduct the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

It’s also worth adding open-ended questions to your NPS survey to gain insights on how you can improve your customer experience.

5. Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI helps you understand the profitability of your client acquisition strategies compared to the revenue those clients generate.

Formula:

Example: If you spent $1,000 on marketing and you acquired one client who spent $3,000 on your services, your ROI is:

A high ROI suggests your acquisition and retention strategies are working effectively. And since you technically spend zero dollars (or a small budget for incentives) to acquire repeat customers, they typically have the highest ROI.

12 Ways to Improve Customer Retention as a Coach

Here are 12 practical strategies you can implement for your coaching business to get more repeat clients.

1. Promote Referrals

Referrals have zero acquisition cost just like repeat engagements. Make it easy for your clients to refer others by offering a reward. For every person they refer who books a session or program, give them a discount or a free bonus session.

A simple referral system, like sending them a link to your Paperbell website to share, makes it easy for clients to spread the word.

2. Build a Client Community

Create a space where your clients can connect, like a private Facebook group or a Slack channel. Encourage them to share successes and challenges with each other. Or better yet, bring them together offline for a retreat.

Not only does this build stronger relationships, but it also creates a sense of belonging, making clients feel more committed to working with you in the long run.

3. Incentivize Repeat Package Purchases

Reward clients for coming back. Offer them a special discount or a bonus session if they purchase another package with you within a particular time frame.

This encourages repeat business by providing added value to those who stay with you.

4. Ask for Regular Feedback

Check in with your clients at key milestones to see how things are going. Send a quick survey or simply ask them, “What’s working?” and “What could be better?”

Use customer feedback to improve your services, and let them know you’ve taken their input seriously. This shows that you care and keeps your clients engaged.

5. Offer Subscriptions

Instead of just selling one-off sessions, offer clients a subscription service where they pay monthly for ongoing support. This could be access to regular coaching calls, resources, or email check-ins.

Subscriptions generate consistent income for you and ensure continuous progress for clients, keeping them accountable. Plus, like everything you may dream up for your coaching business, subscriptions can be set up in a few clicks in Paperbell. It lets you automate your email check-ins too.

6. Create a Structured Customer Journey

Design a clear path for your clients. Start them with an introductory program, then guide them to more advanced coaching within your niche as they make progress.

This makes their growth more visible and helps them understand the value of continued work with you at each step of their journey.

7. Gamify the Client Experience

Turn the coaching process into something fun! Offer rewards or recognition for milestones, like completing assignments or hitting goals, using a life coaching app. It’s a great way to boost your customer experience as a coach.

8. Address Complaints

If a client is unhappy or raises an issue, don’t let it sit. Address it quickly with understanding and empathy.

Whether it’s a scheduling issue or something with the coaching process, acknowledge the problem and provide a solution. Clients will appreciate your attentiveness and be more likely to stick with you if they feel heard.

9. Host Closed Events

Give loyal customers something special by hosting invite-only events, like a private Q&A session or workshop. This shows your clients that sticking with you comes with additional benefits they can’t get anywhere else.

10. Treat Them as VIP

Offer loyal clients early access to new programs or bonuses. You could also provide them with direct access to you through a closed coaching channel.

11. Make Them Shine

Celebrate your clients’ achievements and feature them on your channels (with their permission). Highlight their progress on social media or give them a shout-out in your community.

Appreciation boosts confidence and helps them keep up the momentum to continue the work with you.

12. Diversify Your Offers

Expand beyond standard coaching programs by offering courses, Voxer coaching, or retreats that cater to different needs. Some clients may prefer a more self-paced learning experience, while others might thrive in immersive, in-person settings.

By offering a variety of options, you can appeal to a broader range of clients, meet different learning styles, and provide ongoing value that serves clients in different ways.

FAQ

What’s a Good Customer Retention Rate for Coaching Clients?

Generally, a 60-80% yearly customer retention rate for life coaches is fantastic, but it depends on the type of services you offer. Coaching clients on short-term goals that don’t tend to arise again (e.g., getting good at job interviews) naturally has shorter retention than ongoing transformation like leadership development.

How Do I Know If a Client Is at Risk of Leaving?

Look for warning signs like missed sessions, disengagement, or vague answers during goal reviews. Open communication and regular check-ins can help you address issues before it’s too late.

Why Do Clients Stop Coaching?

The most common reasons include financial constraints, lack of progress, or shifting priorities. It’s not always about you but it’s worth asking for regular feedback so you know where you stand with clients.

Give Your Clients the Best Experience

If you want repeat clients, you need to create an experience for them that keeps them coming back for more. The above customer retention strategies will help you make sure clients are happy and open to ongoing work.

And, as we mentioned before, it has a lot to do with how easy it is working with you.

Paperbell lets you manage clients easily, set up feedback forms and surveys for them, store your bonus coaching materials, and provide them with an easy client portal to access it all. They can also pay you on your Paperbell website with their credit card, book you, and sign your contract on the same page.

If working with you is this easy, they might just never leave. Try Paperbell today for free and see how it can transform your business.