Letter To A New Personal Performance Coach - Part II
Continued from last post, a young Coach’s questions
and my answers here, in serial form. Check back Monday, November 6th for the conclusion of this article…
"Asking for
payment, early in training - I keep thinking I have to finish the core
classes before I ask for money."
In the beginning, if you don’t feel like charging yet, a good way to proceed is to coach someone for what they feel the sessions are worth. Set this out in the beginning. Outline exactly what you are going to be doing for them, then ask them what they feel this would be worth per session. Perhaps your client is willing to commit to $10 a session.
Let’s say you coach this client three times a month. Three times a month is my recommendation - they need that fourth and sometimes fifth week of the month to process the coaching. YOU need that week to rest, learn things yourself and do admin and other things on your business - like product and program creation when the time comes for that. Three times $10 is $30, so this particular client will be paying you $30 per month.
In the very, very beginning, even this small payment (more an honorarium than a real retainer) is better than doing it for free. Tell your clients you will be raising that amount in a set number of months and then stick to what you’ve said. And take a tip from me, get your payment up front at the beginning of the month - don’t coach without being paid first! It makes coaching much easier if the financials are out of the way first.
Now, if you’re okay about charging for your services but are still new to the job, charge fairly for your time but on the very low end of the scale while still learning. Rule of thumb is to charge a little less than a good massage costs in your area when you’re first starting out, even if you have a service for which you probably charge much more - you can even advertise a lower introductory coaching rate as "much less than you can hire me for as a ___fill in the blank___" which is very alluring.
Psychotherapists, social workers, NLP practitioners, hypnotherapists, acupuncturists and similar service providers do well introducing coaching as an add-on service by reducing their ordinary fees on the introductory month or two of coaching sessions. You can also do barter or trade in payment while you’re still learning, or part barter, part cash. There are many ways of smoothing the facilitation of existing clients into new services that would complement those you already offer, or when they are ready to transit into a different level of services.
Coaches, athletes, executives and others for whom personal performance is paramount see coaching as a necessity. But for the rest of the world, coaching is still a luxury expenditure. Given this, people who will consume what are considered luxury services generally know the price of a massage, and will see your slighly lower price as a "good deal" for a comparable hour of service.
You can start out by saying "this is my Really Great-Deal price while I’m completing my training" - with the expectation that you will be raising your prices once you’ve graduated. In doing that, you’ve already given them a heck of a great deal and educated them on the fact that you’re valuable now and becoming even more so, and will be undergoing a commensurate rate increase at a reasonable interval. Great way to turn fee-raise resentment into relaxed relating!
Stay tuned for Part III: "Exactly When Can I Call Myself A Coach?" - published Monday, November 5th
************************* COACHING OPENINGS ************************* Maryam Webster, M.Ed, M.NLP - Life Changing Energy Coach
Right now, I have three open coaching slots for women in the helping professions working on BIG personal projects (health, work, home, relationships) & MUST get it Right the Very First Time. Success at the "speed of thought" turn you on? Then you might be right Are You My Ideal Client? Check here: http://maryamwebster.com/coaching.html
Then get in touch here: http://quantumflow.com/contact.html
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