As a business owner, one of the most important aspects of running your company is to set the prices for the services and products that it offers. Setting the right prices is vital to earn money; not only because the amount of funds you bring in are literally dependent on the pricing but also because the wrong pricing could scare off potential clients and lose you sales.

Therefore, the decision making behind pricing services and products can be extremely overwhelming to a lot of people. Today, to help with that, I’ve built this post as a sort of guide to teach coaching business owners to price their services and products accordingly.

First and foremost, you need to accept that you’ll likely start from the bottom…

One of the biggest, and most commonly made, mistakes that I see small coaching businesses make is pricing everything too high in the beginning. It’s an understandable mistake, considering that everyone wants to make as much money as they can and ego can sometimes come into play as well, but it can be detrimental to a new business.

The thing is, as a new business, you don’t have much credibility. You could be the best coach your field/niche has seen for a long time, but nobody will know that yet. You don’t have any reviews or testimonials, and these things are important to justify higher price points in an industry like coaching.

Plus, putting ego aside, your service may not be the most high quality in the beginning. There’s no shame in admitting that beginners exist in everything, including business. Over time, things evolve; your services will get better, you’ll be more efficient, and your products will be higher quality. But most people start out with lower quality services and products in the starting stages of their coaching business.

So because of all these factors, many small coaching businesses will need to charge lower price points at first purely so they can break into the industry. Customers will probably be a lot more likely to choose you over more seasoned coaches, because of the cheaper prices.

For intermediate or advanced coaching businesses, you could potentially charge more…

Now, if you’re reading this article as a fairly seasoned coach then you could consider skipping the first step and charging higher price points as long as you have testimonials, loyal clients, and connections in the industry. If people trust you, and/or your business, then you could charge more than a beginner because you have the leverage to work with.

One way to judge what you can charge is by taking a look at the competition. Pay attention to what they’re charging, whether or not they’re actually making sales, and what it is that they’re offering. If you feel like you’re charging something of equal value, then you can consider basing your prices competitively around others in the field.

But How Do You Get From A (Lower Price Points) To B (Higher Price Points)?

The key to reaching the more advanced stage of the game is simply to gain experience and be willing to fine tune your offers.

The more experience you have, the more pleased customers you’ll have under your belt and the more credibility you’ll earn as a coach, so you can gradually start to raise your prices.

Likewise, as you gain that experience, you can take a look at your offers and see where improvement is possible. Remember that the prices you charge should directly correlate to what you’re offering your audience. So if you increase the value of your products and services, then you can increase your price points as well.

The Real Trick To Pricing Is Knowing Where Are Right Now…

The real takeaway from this post is that you need to be able to objectively evaluate your business and your prices, and work from there. Look at what you’re offering and ask yourself if you would buy that product or service at that price point; if you’re being truthful and the answer is yes then you may’ve found the perfect pricing, but if the answer is no then you’ll need to lower them for now.

So to conclude…

• Take into consideration your reputation in the community. Are you a well known figure or business, or will you have to build credibility in the industry?
• Take into consideration where you products and services are right now. Are they worth higher price points, or are they objectively worth lower ones. How can you improve them?
• Take into consideration how you measure up against the competition, if you’re value is equal to theirs then you can price everything competitively depending on their prices, but if you’re offering something of higher or lower value then adjust accordingly.

Extra Considerations –

Although we’ve already covered most of the main points to keep in mind when evaluating your price points, there are few extra things I want to mention.

Niche – Your niche will play a big role in the amount you’re able to charge, which is another reason why I suggest taking a look at your competition in the field. You might be able to charge higher price points for a niche that’s in higher demand than one in lower demand, etc.

Gut Feeling – At the end of the day, nobody knows your business like you do. So make sure to take your own opinions into account as long as you’re looking at things objectively.

What’s Working – Ultimately the best way to find the ideal price point for your service and product is to take a look at what’s working for you. Try out a price you believe will work because, if need be, you can always change the prices later on. A ton of interest could signal that you’re ready for higher price points, whereas a lack of it could show you that you need to lower them for now.