Pricing Is Critical – But Not For The Reasons You Might Think

Now it's time to talk about that part of landing your dream coaching client that a lot of people don't like talking about - charging what you're worth. There's no right or wrong way to do this. It's going to be different for everyone. But there are some things to take into consideration when deciding what to charge

It's not just about profit - yes, you need to charge what you're worth so you build a successful, profitable business. But pricing has to do with so much more than profit.

Take into consideration your target market - you have to think about your market and what they can afford too. For example, if your market is a new business owner within the first year of business, more than likely they're not going to be able to afford $200 an hour. On the other hand, if your market is making $50,000 to $75,000 a year and want to move their business to the next level - six figures a year - then you probably shouldn't be charging them $100 an hour because that's too low for that market. It's all about balance and figuring out what the sweet spot is for them.

Costs of running your business - another thing to take into consideration when charging what you're worth is the cost of running your business. Think about your monthly expenses and break it down so you get a ballpark figure out what you're hourly fee needs to be in order to meet those expenses and have enough left over to pay your team, yourself, and put some money back into your business and savings. Don't forget to include taxes in your calculations.

These are just a few things you need to think about when pricing your services. Charging what you're worth can really be summed up with this: it's based on the value you bring to your clients. Special skills, your unique selling proposition and more are all things that can be monetized when it comes to your coaching fee. Kendall Summerhawk says it best when it comes to this: Value is perceived by your clients. Pricing is perceived by you. Your dream coaching client wants to know that they can easily justify spending this amount of money with you because of the value they will be getting in return. Your job is to help show them this.

And lastly, in order to charge what you're worth you have to be able to share that price without batting an eyelash. In other words, you have to have confidence that you're worth what you're charging.

Show Off Your Expertise With Well-Placed Testimonials And Case Studies

What’s better than social proof? A solid testimonial from a raving fan. Here’s how to get those all important first testimonials, and some common mistakes to avoid.

If you're a brand new coach who hasn't had the opportunity to work with a client, you may need to offer your services to a handful of people for free. If not free, then for a low introductory special. This way you can coach these individuals and then gather their testimonials and case studies based on their results. If you've been a coach for a while, you should have a system in place so that you're always asking for testimonials from clients and building case studies to add to your marketing materials.

Why is it important to get testimonials and use case studies? This may be a bit obvious, but it's easy for all of us to say how great our service or product is. After all, we worked hard and it's our 'sweat and tears' we've put into it so of course we know how great it is. But that doesn't matter to your prospective client. They don't want to hear you tell them how great it is, they want the proof from other people. They want to know that others have worked with you and achieved results they're looking for.

One thing to keep in mind about testimonials, though: Don't just use a name. It's easy to write fake testimonials, so without a photo (or better yet, video) those kind words about your coaching work will be largely ignored. Instead, be sure to include a photo, location, website URL and other identifying information. Do whatever you can to show others this is a real testimonial from a real person.

While testimonials are a great thing, let's talk about why case studies can be even better and are important to your coaching business.

As mentioned already, testimonials are a must have, and they certainly add some credibility to you and your coaching services. But a testimonial doesn't really show what an individual client can expect to gain. That's where case studies come into play.

When you're looking for your dream coaching client, you want them to be able to come to your website and know without a shadow of a doubt that you're going to offer them the solution they need to one of their biggest challenges. And the best way for them to see this isn't by reading all the great testimonials clients have written, it's by being able to look at a few different case studies you've shared and actually learn how you helped someone solve a problem.
 
Does this mean you shouldn't use testimonials anymore? No. They still serve a purpose. But you should use them in conjunction with case studies to help build your credibility and give prospective clients proof that you do what you say you can do.