Sometimes, it takes a moment of reflection to see how much things have changed.
Any coach knows the following is true…
Great coaching has a transformative effect on businesses and their founders, leaders, and team members.
- Great coaching can add $1M or more to an organization’s bottom line.
- Great coaching can create 10x growth.
- Great coaching can literally give a founder her life back.
- Great coaching can free an executive team from debilitating gridlock.
- Great coaching can save an owner from financial ruin.
It wasn’t until I was reflecting on some of the research we’ve been conducting that it really hit me…there are so many amazing coaches out there who have the same knowledge who could be dramatically transforming businesses with great coaching, but instead, they’re out there accepting barely more than minimum wages in return.
Here’s the situation almost 70% of coaches find themselves in…
- They spend 30% or more of their time offering free coaching sessions or trying to find new coaching clients,
- They regularly do extra (a.k.a. unpaid) coaching work between paid engagements, and
- When they are doing paid work, they charge less than $400 an hour for their time.
Now, I’m not here to judge; I’ve been there myself.
There was a time when I thought charging clients $200 per hour was the most they’d ever pay. I never charged extra but certainly did extra work between engagements and spent almost a third of my time offering free coaching sessions to convert new clients.
But here’s the problem with this scenario.
Not only are you costing yourself a lot of money by not aligning your rates with the value you provide, but you’re also significantly reducing the impact your coaching can have on businesses.
Because here is the truth of our business. Clients achieve greater results when they pay more for those results. In other words, the more you charge, the more they commit and the greater the impact they receive.
I hit six figures as a coach charging $200 an hour, which is better than the average, but it certainly wasn’t the lifestyle of the high-demand coach I wanted to be when I started.
By the time I’d factored in my expenses for marketing, memberships, online subscriptions, and taxes, there really wasn’t a lot left, and I was really wondering if it was worth all the risk.
Let me ask you this: did you enter the coaching world to sacrifice your time and energy without reaping the rewards you truly deserve?
The issue lies in the questions you ask yourself. We, as coaches, know the power of asking great questions and how one small shift in perspective can change everything
So I chose to ask myself a new question, and it led me to answers which changed everything for my coaching practice.
Today, I have a full client roster, I charge each of them $12,000 per day, and I do almost no work between engagements.
My clients stay with me longer, refer more business to me, and I’ve always got a waiting list of companies wanting me to coach them. But here’s the best part… they’re getting a ridiculously higher ROI than when I was charging them $200 an hour.
Asking myself a different question led me to make three specific changes to how I ran my business. These changes simplified my business, allowed me more time and flexibility to do things I enjoy, and dramatically increased my earning potential.
Now, I want you to envision a world where your clients pay you more than $1000 for an hour of your time—a world where you stand tall as a high-demand coach, commanding fees that genuinely reflect your expertise.
It’s not a far-fetched dream; it’s actually a lot easier and closer than you think.
It all starts with asking a different question.
It’s not, “How do I find more clients?”
It’s not, “How do I create an online course?”
It’s not even, “How do I keep my clients longer?”
The question I asked myself was… “How do I increase the ROI I can deliver for my clients AND increase my rates?”
As I mentioned earlier, asking this question allowed me to make three specific changes to how I ran my coaching business. It allowed me to become the high-demand coach I am today.
And I’m sure it will do the same for you.
Are Your Leaders Ready to Be Executives?