The Million Dollar Question

What is the right price for you to charge as a coach? Isn’t that the million-dollar question? I work with coaches from around the world and this is a universal nagging thought that plagues most coaches I know. However, it doesn’t have to. Sure, you enjoy coaching! Sure, you want to help people. And sure, that can cause some guilt about fees. So, how can you charge for what you enjoy doing?

Weigh the Cost of Coaching

Let’s look at the opposite side of the coin – Did you pay for coach training? Did you pay to hire a mentor coach? There was, on average, a $5,000 investment in your training. But that’s just the beginning. Think of money as nothing more, and nothing less, than an exchange of energy.

To put it another way – when you are coaching someone, what are you NOT doing? You’re not cleaning your house (which costs money to hire someone to complete). You are not spending time with your grandkids (which is time that can never be bought back). Additionally, you’re not investing in your physical health (by cooking healthy foods or going for a walk). There is a cost to you beyond direct dollars for taking time to work with a client. What is the value of that cost? For example, housecleaning typically runs about $30-$40 per hour. Hiring a chef typically runs from $25 – $40 per hour for food prep (or you might hire a subscription to a food delivery service).

When you consider the energy expended to coach and the loss of opportunity as a result of coaching, this can help you with proper valuation of your services.

Let’s Talk About Valuation

Perhaps one or two of these questions will also help with valuation of your business:

  • What is the minimum payment you need to receive to pull you away from family?
  • What is the daily cost of services to run your household when you are not able to do so yourself?
  • How much does it cost you to subsidize your health insurance policy as a result of being a solopreneur?
  • What would you be paid if you decided to work a more regular 40 hour/week job? (be sure to include benefits in that total wage).
  • How much time and energy did it cost you to generate those first few clients?

Treat Your Business as a Business

If you are ready to treat your coaching like a business, you will have to (yes have to) come up with a pricing strategy. Without that, you will look at each individual conversation as a very personal one. As a result, you will find yourself trying to decide for the potential client what you feel like they can afford. You’ll try to evaluate on the front end how much value you think you might bring to the relationship. The variables will make your head spin, shake your confidence and subsequently cause the potential client to feel very unsure about signing up with you.

Bottom Line

Here’s the bottom line: Figure out your pricing strategy before you meet with a prospect. You can always negotiate based on what you perceive as a mutually beneficial relationship. By creating a starting point for the conversation, you build flexibility into the negotiation without compromising your business growth strategy.

Thanks for reading!

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