How to Kill No-Shows: Coaching Cancellation Policies That Work
Stop losing income to flakes and late cancels. A cancellation policy that protects your time without scaring clients away.
Every no-show is a double loss: the session revenue and the slot you could’ve sold. Coaches tolerate it because they’re nice. Nice doesn’t pay rent.
The 24-Hour Rule
One policy, stated before money changes hands:
Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours notice are charged in full.
That’s it. No tiers, no “first one’s free” (that trains the behavior you’re trying to end).
Make It Frictionless to Comply
Clients miss sessions because life explodes. Make rescheduling easy:
- A one-tap reschedule link in every reminder.
- A reminder 48h before, not 2h.
- A hard stop: the link closes at the 24h mark.
Where Coaches Break
- Waiving the fee “just this once” — now it’s precedent.
- Apologizing for the policy. You’re protecting your ability to serve everyone.
- Not putting it in writing. If it’s not in the agreement, it doesn’t exist.
The 3-Minute Action
Add the 24-hour clause to your intake agreement today. Send it to current clients as a friendly update. Expect compliance to rise within a week.
The fee is the policy. Boundaries are why it exists.