Be careful not to let Worry and Guilt become the boss of your business. If you do, your business will suffer.
And so will you.
Do you get the “Self Doubt Jitters” whenever you start thinking about what to charge for your coaching services?
Do you worry that people won’t think your services are worth paying for?
Do you feel guilty about asking to be paid for your services?
This is one of the biggest roadblocks many coaches face when starting their coaching businesses.
“What should I charge for my services?”
GULP.
It gets you right in the throat. It’s like, I can’t speak my prices because people will [laugh? get mad? go somewhere else?] if I tell them what I’m worth.
What. I’m. Worth.
What are you worth?
What is anyone’s worth?
I think that’s where we get tripped up. We start thinking, “Who am I to charge for this?”
But that’s the mistake… we start putting a dollar amount on our worth, instead of focusing on what we’re offering as a service or product and what that’s worth.
What is the service worth?
Before you answer that question you must have a clear handle on the answers to these very important business questions:
- How does your prospective client describe her problem?
- What has she already tried to do to solve her problem?
- How do you solve your dream client’s problem?
- What is the “opportunity cost” to someone who doesn’t work with you?
If you’re having a hard time answering these questions you have a target market issue, Coach, a.k.a., you haven’t clearly identified your niche and you don’t know your ideal client better than she knows herself.
Also…
If you worry about charging for your services, you have unwittingly defined your “ideal dream client” as someone who worries about paying for your services. In that case, you’ll need to keep your prices low because the underlying (unspoken) message you’re sending is, “I understand how worried you are and I will take care of your worry by keeping my prices low.”
To the extent that you are worrying about what to charge, the harder it will be to put a price on your services.
Worry is not conducive to pricing… or anything for that matter. Ultimately you want to approach this without any emotion… like this:
- Calculate the actual costs for materials and any other expenses you’ll need to pay for up front. Is there travel involved? Are there supplies to be purchased? Do you need a new computer? Those are real “hard” costs… you want to make that money back, or at least most of it.
- Will you have to hire someone to get the tech aspects of your offer set up?
- What support services do you need to have in place to run your business? (Online scheduler; email marketing service; shopping cart, as examples.)
- What is your marketing plan? How will you tell the world about your product or service? Where can you go online to talk about what you do?
- How will you deliver your product?
So, you see, it’s not simply about picking a number out of the sky; there are many things to consider.
I have a bone to pick with marketers who tell you to “raise your prices” on the basis that the more you charge the more clients and customers you will get. Not so fast, Skippy. That is not going to work, and it may even backfire!
If you’re a new coach and have a small list, you can’t afford to price yourself out of the market. You haven’t had time to build on the “Know-Like-Trust Factor” that earns you more clients at higher prices.
When your list is small, and your calendar isn’t yet full, the focus needs to be on growing your list and filling in your calendar, not making money. You need to get your name out there, build word-of-mouth, and practice coaching. The goal is to build your list to the point where it provides you with a steady stream of clients.
HOW TO TALK ABOUT YOUR PRICES
First and foremost, strip away all the emotion. The emotion (worry, guilt) is what gets you into trouble by triggering the Self Doubt Jitters. This is where you need to Woman UP and acknowledge that you are not only a coach, you’re a business woman. Being a business woman requires that you cultivate the mindset of a business woman, believing with every fiber of your being that making money is not something successful business women ever feel bad about.
Focus on the value you provide.
If you’re just starting your coaching business and have yet to charge for your services, start on the “reasonable low” side. Raise your prices for every 100 people you add to your list. For example, you may start at $50/hr (or whatever feels best to you) and then raise it by $10 as you hit each list-building milestone.
Let people know your prices are low now but they will go up as your business gains momentum. Entice them to “get in early” and then promise that you’ll always give them a better deal than your going rate.
Those early adopters are your biggest fans… treat them well.
BOTTOM LINE:
This isn’t really about pricing; this is about dealing with those expected Self Doubt Jitters and the lack of confidence we all naturally feel when we try something new. Do not, I repeat, do not let that keep you from launching into action mode. Because the worst thing you can do is sit on that fence and make up excuses for why you’re “not ready” to DO BUSINESS.
You are as ready as you’re going to get. Focus on your clients, give them what they so desperately need, and trust that your services are worth paying for.
Have you read my book, Gutsy Glorious Life Coach?
It outlines the 46 STEPS it takes to build an online coaching business and it’s an Amazon bestseller… check it out HERE. You can also get a free copy of the 46 STEPS HERE.
