Life Coach Training

Lesson 21

Coaching and Money

      Charging a fee for coaching will help you in several ways: (1) It will move you to get clear about any issues you have about money and self-worth; (2) It will increase your income; (3) It will increase your clients’ perceived value for your services; and (4) It will help your clients get clear about any issues they have about money.

      All value is perceived value. If two people agree that something is worth a particular amount, it is. There is no absolute scale of value in relation to money; it is all personal and relative. Some people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a baseball card, and others put five dollars in the contribution basket at church. Others give huge donations to churches and wouldn’t pay ten cents for a baseball card. If you think something is worth it, it is.

      You will earn as much money for your coaching as (1) you believe you deserve; and (2) you and your client agree. It doesn’t matter how much your brochure says you charge; the amount that comes to you will reflect your internal beliefs. Sometimes more will come than your stated fee, and sometimes less will come. So the place to establish your fee is not just on your brochure, but in your subconscious mind.

      If you have difficulty asking for a fee, or a substantial fee, consider the value that you are giving your client. You are changing his life for the better; bringing  him inner peace, confidence, and healing of the spirit; helping her open doors to achievement and success; supporting him to have rewarding relationships; improving her health; and much more. How much is any or all of this worth?  It is priceless. People pay vast sums of money for health care and all kinds of frivolous things that give them a momentary thrill and then leave them empty and unfulfilled as they were before, even more so. When you help your client change his life for the better, you are contributing far more than a pill he takes or a dinner at an expensive restaurant. And if you assist her to learn how to increase her success and income, your coaching will be worth whatever you charge a thousand times over.

      As we discussed at our retreat, you have to find your “happy zone” about what you charge. If you charge less than you want and believe you deserve, you will feel cheated. If you charge more than you believe you deserve, you will not attract clients who pay that amount. So choose a fee you can really get behind, and you will receive it. You can always change your fee if you wish, typically starting at a lower fee and then raising your fee as you gain confidence, experience, and clients.

      Charging a fee, and the amount that you charge, will increase your clients’ perceived value for your services. It’s a funny thing about human nature, perhaps because we have experienced that good things are more expensive. When you charge a professional fee for your service, people will respect what you do more, and they will extract more value from their coaching experience. In truth, people could receive extraordinary value from your coaching even if you did not charge; but conditioning and experience tends to influence people to the contrary.

      When I first began teaching, I told my mentor Hilda that I felt guilty about charging people for help that I was happy to just give them.  She suggested two factors to me: (1) You have to pay your rent and expenses to live in the world, and money is the medium by which all commercial transactions take place; so to not charge a fee and then worrying about how you are going to pay your rent would create an unhappy imbalance; and (2) You would not turn away someone who wanted and could be helped by your service, but could not pay.

      People are used to paying money for everything else; why would coaching be an exception? 

      If you encounter people who want your service, but say they cannot pay, tune in on each case individually. Some people are in that situation, and they are sincere. In such a case you would do well to offer them a discounted service, or work out payments over time. Others could pay if they really wanted, but they are looking for a deal. In such a case you would serve neither that person nor yourself to discount your fee. In other cases, you might support someone by asking them to pay even if it is a stretch for them, and you and they will be amazed at how they manifest the money for something they want.

      Here is the key to remember: You are coaching because you want to help people and because you love to do it, and the money is a secondary issue. This is not to deny receiving money, or a lot of it; it is to keep money in its proper perspective. Stay clear and focused about why you are offering your services, stay true to your intention to make people’s lives better, including your own, and the money piece of the equation will reveal itself and take care of itself.

Exercise:

1.       What thoughts and feelings do you commonly have, for or against, charging a fee, or a substantial one, for your coaching services?

2.       Which of these thoughts and feelings are motivated by joy, creativity, self-esteem, and service, and which are motivated by guilt, fear, or self-criticism?

3.       To whom have you paid a fee, modest or substantial for healing, coaching, or consciousness training? 

      Do you believe that was a fair exchange of money for services?

If you harbor any doubts about receiving money for coaching, why would your transaction be any less worthy than the one(s) you have paid for?

4.       What life benefits do you think you could potentially bestow upon your clients as a result of your coaching?

            How much are these benefits worth in dollars?

      5.  What fee is in your “happy zone”  for coaching?