If you’re a new coach, this is a cautionary tale. If you’re not charging for coaching or charging low fees, I’m especially talking to you.
A coach contacted me who was 5 years into their business and they weren’t earning yet.
They were considering quitting but really didn’t want to and invested in a Strategy Session with me to see what I thought they should do.
This coach gave me permission to share details of our conversation. I’ll call her Sherrie.
Back when Sherrie finished coach training the pandemic hit, so having a big heart and feeling like people needed help, started coaching for free.
But years later, this coach was still giving free weekly sessions to her only clients just hoping that at some point, they would value her services and start paying her.
She was stuck in what I call Perpetual Student mode and was convinced that it was her client’s role to value her in order for her to earn well.
Let’s dig into this and see what needs to shift.
The Myth Coaches Believe About Valuing Their Services
What was really going on for Sherrie? Well … she was afraid to charge for her services. That’s not unusual for new coaches.
Gently during the session, I helped Sherrie uncover several ideas that had concretized in her mind and kept her doing what was meant to be only a temporary practice.
First, Sherrie believed that a client needs to validate her worth as a coach.
Look, I get this. I remember having a similar belief when I started coaching. I thought that I should charge low prices until my clients clearly valued me more.
What I didn’t realize was that as long as I restricted my own perception of my value that way, I would never have clients that valued me more, which meant I would never be financially successful as a coach and wouldn’t be able to sustain my business.
I checked in with Sherrie about what she had charged for coaching before the pandemic hit. She said: “$60/hour and I know that that amount is too low.” And that was when she owned the fact that she had been habitually undervaluing herself.
That’s the coaching gold of our call right there …
No one can assign you value. You assign value to yourself.
Value yourself and your time highly from the get go!
As we continued our session, Sherrie had an insight that I thought was brilliant. She realized that doctors, nurses and therapists — all helping professions similar to coaches — got paid for their services during the pandemic. Just because it was a pandemic, charges for services did not cease.
All those people still needed to get paid. All those people in businesses still needed to stay in business!
If you’re a person who naturally gives when circumstances in life are difficult for others, I get that, but it’s always important to realize that giving away a small percentage of your time for free to help someone is a different equation than giving away time to everyone for an unlimited time.
This was a big AHA for Sherrie because with a background in nonprofits, she had a strong value about gifting.
When you launch a business, it’s a bit like having a baby. You need to keep yourself alive and well so that you can help your child thrive. If you starve the business with no fees or low fees it won’t be able to thrive. It won’t be able to survive.
Are You Missing Enrollment Opportunities for Your Coaching Business?
Sherrie also shared that during the past years, enrollment opportunities weren’t coming to her.
This mindset goes along with the idea that someone else sets your value. It’s putting the locus of control outside yourself.
Enrollment opportunities don’t necessarily come to coaches. Coaches create enrollment opportunities by staying visible — stay in front of your target audience and have a clear customer journey that inspires your future clients to follow you, when you then drive them to a clear enrollment process.
It comes down to strategy and hard work.
That was eye opening to Sherrie who had the impression that by simply by coaching others she’d automatically attract new clients. I thought that when I started as a coach too. I thought that everyone is searching for a good coach and that by having a free client or two, word would get out.
Yes, referrals eventually come, but a business owner can’t wait for that to happen.
This is important and a bit of tough love for y’all … if you are not continuously creating opportunities for enrollment and then asking for fees that pay you well, you are essentially shutting the door on a good income from coaching.
What Sherrie needed to do next is to step fully into the CEO of her business and take responsibility for her results every day.
So, what about you? Have you been undervaluing yourself and waiting for someone else to value your coaching before you do? Have you shrunk away from creating enrollment opportunities and asking for fees that pay you well?
Step into the CEO role of your business and be fully responsible for your success. Stand in your value and charge fees that will keep in your business and cover your lifestyle easily. Create enrollment opportunities by strategizing a smart customer journey. You can do it!