Forms of Non-Monetary Compensation as a Coach & Consultant

Payment is the transaction of energy from one party to another in exchange for goods or services.

In a true win-win relationship, both the client and the provider leave the negotiation table feeling like they’re getting a great deal.

Payment does not always come in the form of money. If money becomes an immovable obstacle in negotiation, it is on YOU to have creative alternatives at the ready to create a win-win situation.

Here are my 8 favorite forms of non-monetary compensation when (1) you want to work with a client and (2) both you and the client are willing to work together to create a win-win.

Forms of Non-Monetary Compensation

1. Flexible Timeline of Payment: Clients often have the money to pay you, but they don’t have it all right now. Instead of collecting the full payment upfront, you can spread the payment over a longer duration of time or ‘backload’ the payment - pushing a portion of the payment to the latter part of the engagement. Spreading payment terms over a longer period of time softens the impact on a client’s cash flow. This also demonstrates a confidence in your own business (you have ample cash flow that allows you to defer payment) and you’re committed to them getting the promised result of your service.
   • Pro tip: This should never be at the expense of your own financial well-being.
2. Testimonials: Social proof is gold. Businesses with lots of social proof ride the wave of the momentum that thousands of positive customer reviews provide. The earlier you are in your career, or the younger the product/service, the more valuable testimonials are.
   • Pro tip: Before you start the engagement, ask the client, “If we do X and you have a positive experience, would you be willing to write and record a testimonial?”. You can even write this into your agreement.
3. Permission to Film: This is vital if you’re going to grow a speaking business. If the event or conference can’t pay you, counter by asking them to allow you to film and use the content publicly. Use their lower fee to hire a videographer (or two) in the area who can take 2 to 3 angles of your keynote or workshop. As long as you’re not including private client information, there is usually no issue.
4. Referrals or Introductions: Ask the client to refer you to their colleagues. Referrals work wonders because they compress the timeline of trust that it takes to nurture a relationship.
   • Pro tip: You can choose the number of referrals and the timeline of introductions before you start working together. Support your client with the introduction by giving them language that accurately represents your business.
5. Feedback: Feedback is particularly valuable if you have an offer that's early in development OR if your client has a relevant skillset to your offer. As you craft your agreement, ask the client to spend X hours with you after you've completed your work together to share their experience and expertise. What you’ll learn will be worth 10x the time investment as you’ll have actionable feedback to improve your 1.0 version.
6. Access: Have a key person of influence (the founder or C-Suite member) at your event or on your podcast and ask them to promote it on their network. Generate a conversation about the service you provided them and what it was like to work with you.
7. Barter: The International Coaching Federation recommends against exchanging services as a way of payment, but I’ve heard of case studies of it working. Just be very clear about the terms - what the exchange is for, for how long, and what constitutes fulfillment. I’ve seen these get messy or lazy when both parties aren’t equally seeing the payoff.
   • Pro Tip: Create a signed agreement even for causal barters - this ensures both parties are committed to delivering their work at a professional standard.
8. Exposure: This could be valuable if the client gets a lot of traffic via email, social media, or podcast. However, this can be dicey depending on the quality of the data on hand. There is a HUGE gap between 1000 promised impressions on a social media post about your services and 1000 hungry customers who want to come to work with you.
   • Pro tip: Word of caution, if a client can’t pay your fee and is offering this, they might not have much social capital to draw on.