Written by: Christine Hansen, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
3 steps to avoid the main pitfalls coaches do when it comes to package creation and sales.
I see it and remember what it was like for me all the time.
There's the new (or sometimes even seasoned) coach who loves what they are doing, but things get tricky when it comes to selling their services.
There is all this knowledge, but how do you package it? How much time should you spend with clients? And most importantly: how much should you charge?
Enter the most common mistakes I see:
1) Comparison: This is one I see a lot: Stalking the "competition" and depending on how self-confident you are, then base your own work on that of others.
2) Taking on a blueprint advice: Unfortunately, many coaching schools, DIY programs, and even business coaches have a "formula" on pricing your packages. This article will let you know why that is not advisable to implement and what to do instead.
3) Calculating how many hours you think you will work and then multiply that hourly rate times what you just summed up. This very often leads to a ridiculously high number of working hours and ultimately burn out.
If you recognize yourself in one of those three mistakes, don't fret. We have all been there, I assure you.
So, what can you do instead to price yourself decently, have packages that rock and sell in complete integrity with your values?
Own your method.
The very first thing you should be doing is to create your own signature method.
Let me fill you in on an obvious secret: There is only one of you in this whole world.
Nobody thinks, talks, or coaches like you.
Nobody has your experiences.
Nobody has your personality.
Hence, it is impossible to compare yourself with anyone else. Even when two people offer exactly the same product or package (think MLM services), people will be drawn to the person they connect with the most. And that is totally up to them and not you. So don't worry about comparison at all.
Your method should hence be just as unique as you are.
Here is how you do it:
Analyze the steps/pillars/topics you cover over and over again with your clients that you know bring results.
As an example, my Impact with Integrity Framework has 5 pillars: branding, finances, emails & tech, content, and PR.
In my other company, Sleep Like A Boss, our method's pillars are: lifestyle, hormones, gut health, food sensitivities, thyroid, and minerals & metals.
Once you know your core content, you apply it to all of your clients, package it by giving it a memorable name.
Ultimately, you will then be able to use that framework for:
your private services over a few weeks,
you can simplify it as a DIY course,
break it up into masterclasses
or squish it all together for a VIP day.
Bonus tip: Each of your pillars will make a great anchor for content creation/blogging ideas.
Know your numbers.
This might sound obvious, but, surprisingly, many people have no idea of how much they are actually spending on a monthly and yearly basis (former me included, I hated looking at my bank account, it stressed me out to no end).
Knowing your numbers gives you so much power.
Knowing how much you need for your business expenses in a year (and then dividing it up to know what that means in a monthly business budget) and your private expenses will help tremendously when pricing your packages because it helps you understand that what you are doing is a job in the end.
We tend to avoid the word “job” because it often reminds us of our former work we fled, but in the end, we still need to pay bills and tend to ourselves and families/pets, etc.
Pricing your packages when knowing this is not a vanity number, but a practical, objective necessity makes the whole process a lot easier.
If you need to make $10K a month, for example, and you don't have the capacity to work with more than 6-9 clients at a time (remember they don't all start at the time), your packages could look like the following:
3-month package, 12 session: $3500, takes 3 clients, 9 clients max at once
1 VIP day: $5000, takes 2 clients, still capacity for more
1 course: $500, takes 20 people, once set up doesn't take any time at all
Sell with integrity with ease.
People smell discomfort when stating prices from miles away. And if packages are taken from comparing yourself (do you know how much the other coach, you took as a baseline, pays for rent or mortgage each month? New York is different from a cabin in the sticks in Canada, my friend) or given to you by someone else how on earth are they yours?
How can they feel comfortable?
Now, when they stem from your maths, and you owning that this is your livelihood and not just a hobby, you will be stating those prices differently because they make sense, and they have been created with respect versus greed or vanity.
As your experiences rise, you can, of course, raise your prices to whatever you see fit (as long as you deliver on your promise, of course).
Christine Hansen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Christine Hansen is an award-winning business coach & consultant for online entrepreneurs who want to embrace their inner lazy, profit like a pro, and add philanthropist to their list of credentials—without ever undercharging or feeling like they have to be anyone but themselves again.
With 10+ years as a sought-after TedX France and keynote speaker, Christine’s work is featured in Forbes, Business Insider, National Geographic, and more.
Having built two successful online businesses herself, Christine found out the hard way—like losing money on sketchy business investments and ruined “put your damn laptop away!” vacation moments—that most entrepreneurs are closer to burn out than they are to reaching 6-figures.
(And they’re still worrying, “Am I overcharging?!”)
