Excerpted from my regular column as published in, and reproduced with permission from, choice, the magazine of professional coaching. The column is called “Sticky Situations” and in each issue three master coaches respond to a scenario presented by another colleague seeking guidance.
Sticky Situation: “I’m afraid of charging what I’m worth!”
I want to start charging a high-ticket price for an eight month
coaching package but I’m scared no one is going
to want to buy it! I’ve worked on my money blocks
and I keep my attention on my prosperity attitude and
positive self-talk, but the fear of asking for twice as
much as I have been charging is freaking me out! I see
other coaches doing it; what’s wrong with me that I
can’t seem to break through to a place where I’m really
able to crush it in this business?
Answer: Your attention in this situation appears to be on your
own fears, thoughts and assessments instead of on
the value your clients receive from working with you.
When internal drama diverts attention and focus away from
our clients and onto our own limited self-perceptions, we
do ourselves, our clients and our industry a disservice.
Focus is a great tool. It’s a spotlight of awareness that
you can shine in any direction of your choosing. If you
choose to shine that light towards your own perceived
limitations (fears, worth, etc.), you will see more of what
your spotlight points to.
Likewise, if you flip that spotlight away from yourself and
your fears and shine it directly onto your clients, the results
they want to achieve and the outcomes that are possible for
them, you will see more clearly the value they are receiving.
There is no price ceiling. Your pricing should be based
on the value of the results the clients achieve, not about
your personal work, your money issues, or any of your other
fears. It’s also not about doubling your rates, the length of
your coaching package or about what any other coaches
are charging.
Value is in the eye of the beholder; your clients get to say
what the value is to them, in their own words and in their
most meaningful context.
What results do they achieve working with you? How big
is the impact of those results? What is the value to your
clients, their company, their team, their boss, their life?
High-ticket value merits a high-ticket price. Shift your
focus to value from the clients’ perspective and your pricing
will likely do more than double.