Recently, I was talking with one of our rock star participants in our life coach training and certification. He had a question that he just had to ask. It was…
“Do people really pay $150 to $200 an hour for life coaching?”
I think my answer surprised him. Basically, I said…
“No.”
(I think this made his heart stop a little bit.)
Then I said, “Nope, they don’t pay $150 to $200 an hour for life coaching. They pay $1500… $2000 or more… for the life transformation they experience over the course of the time they are working with you. This isn’t about your hourly rate. This is about the value that you bring as you work together.”
In fact, I went a bit further.
I said, “I don’t sell based on my hourly rate. I’ve found that if you do… you’ll get stuck there. Nope. In fact, I want my clients to be so clear on what we’re going to do as we work together that they are excited about writing that check.”
I explained that one of the biggest epiphanies for me as a coach was when I realized that my clients aren’t paying me for an hour of my time. Instead, I realized that they are investing in themselves. As they write that check, they are also drawing a line in the sand that says…
- I’m committed to making a change that I want to make in my life!
- I don’t want to live the way I’ve been living and I want to experience life at a new level!
- The things I’ve been doing haven’t been working but I’m going to invest in myself so that I can turn a corner and take new ground!
This may seem like semantics or a play on words but it’s not. So many times, we can get wrapped around the axle on how much we are getting paid… or what our hourly rate is. But it’s not about that. It’s about the overall experience and what it’s going to do in and for your life coaching client.
So… to review… do people actually pay life coaches $150, $200 and up for an hour of their time? Yes. It happens with our graduates all the time. But as you become a coach, I encourage you to not think about it in this way. I mean… yes… you need to get paid for your time. And yes… coaches typically spend 1 hour each week with their client. But the value that you bring as an elite life coach far exceeds that one hour that you spend with that coaching client every week. The value also includes the tools that you bring to the table. The value you provide also includes the things that your coaching clients experience as they are working through their assignments and homework during their week. The value also includes the things that they learn about themselves and the ownership they experience with the solutions that you help them to discover.
So… don’t charge by the hour.
In fact, drop that mindset.
Have your coaching clients think of their payment as an investment in themselves AND help them to know that they are drawing a line in the sand. They are committing to living life at a new level and that the experience of working together is going to go way beyond the time you spend talking each week!
Make sense? I hope so. Join in the conversation. How do you have this conversation with your coaching clients? Or… if you’re just thinking about getting started… what’s makes you nervous about this discussion? Click comments and join in.
Keep dreaming BIG and helping others to do the same,
Mitch Matthews
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Mitch; this makes so much sense to me! I have a very difficult time setting an “hourly” wage for my services, but, surprisingly, I don’t have a problem with explaining to a client that I charge a certain amount for a whole “block” of service. I initially set my clients up with 30 days of service; that usually being a 1 to 1 1/2 hr session per week, to work on one specific problem. That way, they see some movement and improvement in their situation, and they are more likely to continue with services for another couple of months or so, until they feel that they have gotten unstuck or over a certain hump in their life.
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I get nervous about convincing people my services will be worth their time and money. Iwas nervous about asking for $100 or more an hour and now you say don’t, sell it as an investment in a block of time and services to help themselves. My problem is with selling myself I think. But I have rewatched your videos and taken notes and will re-do the assignments in them and get refocused on building my confidence back up. I lost focus for a bit there. I may be able to sell the services better as a package deal, an investment in themselves. Going to give it a try again after reviewing and doing the assignments again and getting clear again. Thank you for the encouragement.
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Thie is an excellent way to see – it is an investment. A lot of clients is afraid that hour passes quickly and they might not have their money worth as they do not know you and our role is to educate thenm how you can help and hoe you justify this investment… and yes, some pay $200 an hour and more, but not if they do not trust you that your coaching is worth this amount and time.
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Which is why I am re-watching the videos and re-doing the homework assignments. I know I can help others, I do it for free all the time. Now learning to sell the package deal will come easier after being comfortable and confident I can convince them to try me out and hop on board before signing the contract.
I plan to use the list to usher in a new client very soon. Thanks for listening.
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