Inside of this post I’ll share how to create and price your coaching packages so they sell, with ease.
If you’re a coach, healer or service provider selling one off hourly packages and you’re tired of the hustle, this post is for you!
If you’re like my clients, you have a big gift to share with the world, but up until this point, you:
- Aren’t making as much money as you like
- Have another job that’s paying the bigger bills
- Tend to undercharge and overdeliver (and you’re sick of doing that)
- Feel stretched beyond your limits (if only you could double your income – then you wouldn’t have to worry about working so hard)
- Want to charge more but feel bad or guilty about “asking” for money. You wonder if people will ever pay for higher prices?!
Yup, been there, done that! It’s a lot to work through, I know.
If you’re anything like I was early days, you’re charging hourly. But in order to hit your financial goals, you’re going to have to leave hourly charging behind.
In this post, I’m going to share with you everything I’ve learned about how to make great money selling packaged offers instead.
We’ll cover all the things you need to consider when building your packages so you never have to worry about going back to 9-5 again.
Why I Switched From Coaching Hourly to Coaching Packages
When I first started coaching, I was only making a few hundred dollars per month. Like so many other coaches + healers do when they’re first starting out, I was billing hourly sessions for about $85/hr.
It seemed like a good place to start. I was pretty happy to be doing something – the money wasn’t the point.
Until it was.
The Money Shortage
If I was going to leave my corporate career behind, I was going to have to figure out how to replace a 6-figure income.
Most people told me I was crazy. Most people told me not to quit. Even my husband (who supports my dreams) looked at me like I was losing my mind.
But as a coach, I felt like I was making a difference. Like I was helping people. I wanted it to be my full-time gig and I wanted to make great money while I was at it. Maybe you can relate?
My initial goal was to make 10k/month which would replace my $120,000 revenue in my marine consulting gig. But when I did the math at $85/hr sessions, I’d have to do 117 sessions at $85/hr PER MONTH in order to make $10,000 every month.
That’s a lot of sessions, right?!
How on earth would I fill 117 sessions per month? Where would I find those people? It sounded like a recipe in exhaustion and overwhelm.
The Time Shortage
And on top of the money, I also considered how much time I have available to spend with 1-1 clients.
My kids get home from school every day at 3pm and after that, I need to turn on the mothering mode.
And if I look at the time I need to write content, work on the growth of my business, planning, admin, it means realistically I have about 10 hours/week to work with my clients.
When I realized this, I knew I needed to focus on working with less clients for a higher level investment. Premium price. Or high end. That would allow me to show up fully for them.
What About a “Project Fee” Model?
I knew there had to be a better way, so I put my consultant hat on.
As a consultant in oil and gas, I would often bill time hourly, but I’d also do what my company called “project work.” This was a flat fee to do an entire scope of a project, regardless of hours. Of course, there were parameters and deliverables which were all built into the contract, but it was a lump sum.
I had always loved working lump sum as a consultant because it allowed me to focus on the outcome versus trading time for money – so why not apply that to my new coaching business?
But how much would I charge for each flat fee project?
I could have just pulled a number out of the air and seen what happened, but guesswork isn’t really my thing.
So I started with what is now my Simple Pricing Formula.
My Simple Pricing Formula to Reach Your Money Goals
Start with the money. This may be backwards to how a lot of service providers price their services, but stay with me here.
You need to be super clear on the money you desire if you’re going to bring it in.
If you want to make 10k/month, then start by playing with the combinations of offers that you could provide to get to your goal.
You could sell:
- 100 sessions at $100 dollars/session
- 50 sessions at $200 dollars/session
OR you could sell:
- 4 packages at $2500/package
- 2 packages at $5,000/package
- 1 package at $10,000/package
- 1 x $5,000 package and 2 x $2,500 packages
Doesn’t selling 4 things sound a lot easier than 100 things?
Play with it and get creative. You’ll quickly see that selling packages is the way to go if you want to make real money as a coach. And if you’re reading this, I know you do!
Use Package Tiers to Meet Your Ideal Clients’ Different Needs
Once you’ve decided on your revenue goal, the time you have to work with people and you’ve considered different pricing models for your packages, the next step is to think about having three tiers of offers – small, medium and large.
Each tier should be a commitment and price point a step up from the tier below it, and they should all have one core focus area / one core promise.
Why?
As potential clients come into your orbit, they’ll be at different stages in the process your coaching helps with. Because of this, you’ll want to offer them a chance to work with you at different tiers depending on who they are and what they’re looking for.
Some people just want to get a taste of working with you, while others will want the full meal deal.
The idea is that you can appeal to different price points with this model and invite people to move to a higher level package over time (if it’s a fit).
Small Package Offer
This tier is for people who want to get to know you and decide whether they want to commit further.
Some examples of a small offer:
- 2 hour clarity session
- ½ day low price workshop
- ½ day 1-1 experience
- VIP day
Main Package Offer
This should be your signature offer, your bread and butter, the one that the majority of people buy. You want to LOVE selling this.
Some examples of a main offer:
- 3-6 month coaching package with bi-monthly calls
- Week long retreat
High-End Package Offer
This is for your VIPs or done-for-you kind of people. This is for the people who want the higher end experience, and will pay premium to get it.
It’s also there to balance out the price of your main offer. It makes the main offer look not so pricey – when stacked against the larger offer.
Examples of a high-end or high ticket offer:
- A coaching package with a VIP day or two
- A coaching package with more frequent coaching than the main offer
- A done-for-you type service
- A retreat with in-person add-ons (1-1 sessions)
How Much Should You Charge for Your Coaching Packages?
There are coaches out there who sell 6-month packages for $5,000, $10,00 and $50,000.
I can’t tell you what the right pricing choice is for you, but I do know that the majority of the women I work with start out by undercharging.
But even if you’re just starting out, undercharging doesn’t honour you or your client.
Offering discount or beta pricing (in my opinion) is like saying – “Hey, I don’t think you’ll get much out of this so I’m giving you a deal.”
But here’s the thing:
People who pay larger sums of money are more likely to show up fully to your coaching. This isn’t always the case, but in the right context, money can be a tool for transformation and it’s an invitation for your clients to show up fully.
If they’re invested mentally and financially, they’ll show up.
The ONE time I ever offered one of my coaching packages at half price, it was a long time client. The thing is, she missed her calls and she didn’t show up to do the work.
It was a lesson learned in what happens when you undervalue YOUR time as the coach. You often get a direct reflection of this right back in the people who buy.
Honouring yourself and your time is an invitation for your clients to do the same. And what you put out is what you’ll get back – so think about who you want to attract.
Price Your Packages Based On Value + Transformation
This is where it’s really important to be an active listener on your discovery calls.
If you’ve listened well and asked the right questions, by the time someone says yes to working with you, you’ll already have a good idea of the container that you need to hold for his or her transformation.
That’s what you base your pricing on.
Price your packages off of the container for transformation that you provide.
By focusing your packages on the depth and level of transformation that’s possible with your coaching, you tap into the key factor that motivates almost every purchase: who they want to be and/or what they want to accomplish.
Still Not Sure?
Go with your gut. And stop worrying what others are doing or what your mother in law or annoying friend will think.
Does this price FEEL right to YOU? Does it excite you and scare you all at the same time?
My prices have always challenged me and it’s important to push your edges.
When I first started off charging $500 for a 90-min money mastery session, it felt really high. But after a while, it felt easy, I was booking up and so when I doubled my price to $997 that felt like another stretch.
You need to stretch yourself in order to grow, just like the investment should allow your potential client to play on her edge.
Ask Yourself: WOULD YOU PAY FOR IT?
This year alone I have invested over $40,000 in high-level coaching. I’ve hired a team to support my business growth so I can focus on doing the work and not the admin. And I’m launching a funnel shortly that I also invested heavily in.
If you want to command top dollar for your work, you need to know what it feels like to put money on the line in belief of yourself. You need to know what that risk feels like.
And you have to be willing to support your clients through that as well. But be willing to stand by them and coach them through the process.
One of my favourite stories is from when a woman who had said no to my Hawaii retreat initially, messaged me 6 days before the retreat asking if she could come. I had one spot left and it had her name all over it. You know what happened next?
She went out and sold her first $2,500 coaching package.
This is the power of investing in you. It makes you step up.
So your clients can step up too.
It’s time to check in with yourself and your business.
- Are you undervaluing your coaching at your current pricing?
- How much value does the transformation you offer hold?
- And of course, can you hit your financial goals reasonably at your current rates?
Use my Simple Pricing Formula, do some math on the time you spend with clients and elsewhere in your business, and consider how much the transformation you offer is ultimately worth to your ideal clients.
My guess? You’ll probably find that the package price you land on is higher than you expected.
Ready to charge more than you ever thought you could?
Xo,
