Are You Worrying About How to Price Your Services?

Are you falling into the trap of giving away all of your time but not getting paid a bean for it? It’s an easy trap that a lot of us fall into, myself included when I started out and I can fall back into the trap from time to time even now.

We think that by giving away everything we will attract more clients but in reality people wonder why we aren’t charging, grab the information from you with both hands and in some cases then go and work with someone else that is charging!  Now I’m not about making people pay for everything as those who know me will know, I give a lot of support to coaches in various ways for free, but there comes a time when you need to remind yourself that you’re running a business.

How much should you charge? The million dollar question. There is no set price that you should charge for coaching and this often throws everything into confusion. It takes time to figure out what you want / need in terms of an exchange from your clients.

I often challenge my clients to put their prices up in 3 months after the initial price point. Having this date in mind stretches them to make some changes, they slowly get used to the idea before the date arrives. So set a price, work at that level then set yourself a date to review it again. When you’re starting out there are a lot of those doubts around not being a good enough coach to charge that amount. Over time though often those doubts don’t go away as there is still that ‘who am I to charge that amount’ going on each time you increase them.

It’s easy to want to throw in everything just to get a paying client but that’s not helpful. Your potential clients will notice your desperation, you will come across as needy. Nobody wants to work with someone that is needy.  Stop throwing in your goldfish, granny and your kids. It’s not necessary and it devalues all that you do. What stories are you telling yourself about not charging a decent rate for your coaching services? I’m not good enough, nobody would pay that, who am I to charge that, so and so charges less etc.

Get really clear on who your ideal clients are. You’ll hear me banging on about this over and over again because it really is KEY in helping you get your message out there. You need to know who you want to work with and what you want to offer. When you know how you can really help your ideal client you will be clearer on how much to charge.

So check out what others are doing but don’t get hung up on it. Use their prices as a guide, but remember they might be offering completely different things. It’s all about figuring out what value you can add. What feels right to you? What would get you out of bed in the morning and make you feel that you’ve helped people while earning what you really desire?  Remember prices aren’t cast in stone, they’re changeable.  Don’t undercharge though, you’ve spent hours learning how to be a coach, to help people. They are buying that expertise, your experience and the transformation that you can bring.

Figure out your basic price point and then work out how you can add value. You can charge by the hour but ultimately there is only one of you and you want to think about leveraging your time.  Did you sign up to coaching to be working more hours than a 9-5 job? I doubt it, so think about ways in which you can bring in passive income, maybe with group coaching, membership clubs or other added value by way of coaching materials, accountability, group support etc.

Money is just an exchange. We use it every day but as coaches we can get hung up over our pricing.

Pricing is as much about confidence as it is about charging for your services. 

Time for some action: Here is a little exercise that I use in my Coaching Rocks Bootcamp to help coaches overcome some of those limiting beliefs around money. Hit pause, grab a notebook and pen and complete the exercise.

Answer the following questions and start turning some of your beliefs around.  If you need to do more work around beliefs then it might be worth buddying up with someone or working with a coach to help boost your confidence in charging at the right price point.  It could be the difference of make or break for your business

What’s important to you about your pricing?

What beliefs do you already have about pricing your services?

Do these beliefs support and empower you?

What impact is holding these beliefs having on you?

Do you want to hold onto them now that you know the impact they’re having?

What would be a better way to think about these beliefs?

(If you like affirmations then use one or two to support you in this change)

Start to gather evidence for your new belief.

Just to recap today’s podcast then:

1. Stop giving everything away – you’re running a business
2. Get really clear on your ideal clients and how you can help them, it will make your pricing and packaging much easier
3. Check out the competition – but just as a guide
4. Set a basic price point and then think about where you can add value
5. Work on your beliefs around pricing

Remember pricing isn’t about what you’re worth, it’s what your services are worth. They are two completely different things.