If you are delivering an online coaching program, your price might be 1/3 - 2/3 the price of your 1-on-1 program depending on what your 1-on-1 rates are. What you charge for your online program depends on what you will include in your programs.
by
Kathleen Legrys
Founder of Health Coach Solutions
October 30, 2015
You shouldn't feel bad about asking this question, truth be told, it can be tricky to figure out.
If you’re not exactly sure how to price your health coaching programs, this post should give you a few helpful ideas and examples for how to figure it out.
But before we get ahead of ourselves:
Figuring out how much you want to charge should only be approached after you know how you want to package and position your programs.
You could just pick a price, maybe base it on other health coach prices you find via google search, but wouldn’t you like to feel confident about your fees and the value you are providing?
Of course you would!
So, before we talk prices, let's walk through how to address the way you will package and position your coaching programs. Here's what we mean by packaging:
How to Package Your Coaching Programs
Let’s look at how you want to package your programs first.
What do I mean by packaging your programs? It means you need to ask yourself three things:
1. What format do you want to offer clients (live, phone, online, group, 1-on-1, etc.)?
2. What is the length of time of your program?
3. And what will be included in your program?
For example, you could offer a short program, like a 30-Day, then a 90-Day, then go month to month after 90 days. This gives you a path that you can lead your clients through as you move toward your longer program(s). It also gives you more than one way people can work with you.
Or maybe you want to offer online-only coaching with no 1-on-1 coaching, and perhaps do group calls instead.
Another option would be to offer an open-ended membership site so it’s more of an ongoing month-to-month program.
There are lots of options!
Giving people different ways to work with you outside of the 6-month model is key to enrolling new clients. If all you have is one program to offer, when people say ‘no’ you don’t have a Plan B to offer them.
This means you could be leaving money on the table, as well as missing out on helping someone change his or her life for the better.
Think about what you would enjoy doing the most. What fits into your life and what aligns with your goals right now? How do you want to work? Map out what you think makes the most sense to you – this will help you know how to package your programs.
You also want to think about your target market and what they would respond to the best.
There will be people that feel like they can’t afford your 1-on-1 program, but your group program might be a good fit for them. Ideally, you just want to have more than one way that people can work with you.
What will your program include?
In addition to your coaching services, will you offer any extras; recipes, email support, grocery store tours, pantry makeover, video cooking demonstrations that you’ve done, an exercise program, free access to any live workshops that you do?
If your program is online, will you include a private online forum, monthly group calls, and some form of accountability?
If you’re doing 1-on-1 coaching, you’ll also want to decide how long each session will be. For example, 45-minute sessions give you a little time between each client, and then if you run over by a few minutes, it’s not a problem
This will probably take some time and brainstorming to figure out, and it will also probably take some testing to see what works best. Don’t be afraid to try something different, and adjust your course of action when needed.
Once you've decided what is included with each of your programs, it's time to position those offers to fit your target customers.
How to Position Your Coaching Programs
The next thing to consider before you address pricing is how you plan to position your programs.
With positioning, I’m talking about how you market your program. You want to market your program as a solution for your particular audience. This is why it’s important to know who you want to work with so you can tailor your programs (and your sales page copy) to them.
Once you know who you are targeting, you can decide how to position and market your program.
Brainstorm who your target market is and what you think they would respond to. What do they need the most? What do they struggle with and what problem can you help them solve? Be as specific as possible.
If your target audience is busy working moms, an online program might be a great fit for them since they are already super busy. That takes care of the ‘packaging’ part (online), then decide how long (maybe 30-90 days for this starter program).
Once you know their specific pain points, decide on a program name that conveys what the program will help them with.
Do you have a very specific target market? If you do, chances are you can charge more for your programs. People tend to pay more to solve very specific pain points.
Maybe you help post-menopausal women lose weight and get in shape, or you help people that have food sensitivities, or maybe you specialize in helping clients prepare for an athletic event – these are all examples of very specific target markets with specific goals or pain points you can solve, so they are probably highly motivated.
Highly motivated people tend to want to act now, and they will usually pay more to do so. This is something to keep in mind as you figure out your pricing.
The more clear and specific you can be with your solution, the more people are likely to respond. You want them to feel like you are talking directly to them, and they feel like you ‘get them.'
If they know that you ‘get them’ they will also feel like you are the right person to help them.
And finally, this leads us to pricing …
How to Price Your Coaching Programs
If you typically charge $200 per month per client for your 1-on-1 program with two 1-hour sessions per month, you may decide to charge 2/3 that amount for your online program if it also includes things like a workout program, recipes, monthly group calls, a private Facebook support group, etc.
You could even bring in expert guest speakers for some of your calls (think about who you already know and start there).
If you are just starting out, charging a lower price to get more people enrolled will help you test out your program and your system, and allow you to get testimonials.
It doesn’t have to be perfect – you don’t have to know all the answers right now, but start, and get help with things you need help with – like the tech stuff, if that isn’t your skillset.
Once you get started you will see how your confidence builds as you fine tune your programs. And soon, you will find a pricing groove that works.
Everything you do is going to be an experiment of sorts so be flexible with yourself and know that what you do right now will likely change in the future.
Relax ... nothing has to be set in stone forever. Just start where you are now, and keep moving forward. You might just be amazed at where you’ll be a year from now!
Interested in learning more about more about creating a coaching model?
You may be interested in:
6 Steps to a Profitable Health Coaching Program
The Best Online Coaching Platforms and Technologies for Your Business
Ready to scale up your coaching business? Schedule a call with us today to discuss how Nudge Coach can help streamline your coaching business
Kathleen LeGrys is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Fitness Nutrition Specialist and founder of Health Coach Solutions.
Kathleen helps health coaches accelerate their businesses by providing them with exceptional ready-to-go coaching programs so they can spend more time coaching and earning income.
If you’d like to get off to a great start with your clients, you can download your free “Discovery Session Call Guide” HERE. You’ll know exactly what to say during your initial consultation to lead clients to signing up with you.
Grab more free health coaching tools and resources from Kathleen here | www.healthcoachsolutions.net
What questions do you have about pricing your coaching programs? Let us know in the Comments below!
