How To Price Your Investment Coaching Services
In this post, I explore the importance of pricing in your investment coaching business, and share the following 6 pieces of advice to help you determine how to price your investment coaching services.
Investing is a marathon, not a sprint. As with investing, being an investment coach requires you to determine who your target audience is and to price your services competitively to ensure your business thrives in the long term.
When starting out, you may be tempted to undersell to expand your customer base. Remember, however, that you also need to earn a fair income that takes into account your expertise and education. Here are some tips to help you competitively price your services as an investment coach and kickstart a sustainable business.
What is an investment coach?
An investment coach is a financial expert who not only provides financial advice to clients, but also identifies the client's investment philosophy and guides them throughout the process. In addition, a reputable investment coach reviews a client's progress at different milestones to ultimately help them achieve their financial goals. All in all, an investment coach is there to help clients navigate the complexity of the financial world and make informed decisions that fit their vision.
How do I become an investment coach?
To become an investment coach, you need to have a solid understanding and passion for finance, investing and the financial market. A bachelor's degree or master's degree in a financial field is ideal, but not always necessary, especially if you have learned the ropes through experience.
Real-world experience in the financial industry is a must - alongside a proven track record of successful investment portfolios. Last but not least, taking advantage of platforms like TraderX to keep up with the latest investment trends is essential to ensure that you are fully equipped to help customers navigate their trading journey.
Pricing Your Services As An Investment Coach
As you start your investment coaching business, it is important to get crystal clear about your ideal clients or target clientele. Start with a brainstorming session where you ask yourself questions that build your client persona, such as: What would be the ideal client's annual salary? Which jobs would your ideal clients have? What age group are they? What are their financial goals or aspirations? What are their pain points and how can you help solve them?
Asking these questions, defining your audience and marketing yourself to your target audience will be of immense help in deciding on your prices. The reason for this is that different types of clients have different financial capacities. Therefore, keeping your target audience in mind helps to ensure that you stay within the budget of potential clients and avoid overpricing.
Researching who your competitors are and what they charge is absolutely crucial. By understanding what other investment coaches are charging in your area of expertise, you can figure out how much you should charge. All it takes is an internet search, but it will save you having to guess how much you should charge clients.
When you research your competitors, it is important to keep in mind that pricing your services is not a simple case of copying and pasting the prices of other investment coaches. Instead, think about what your unique selling point is and how you can stand out from the crowd. Consider your expertise, target audience, experience, education and individuality before setting a definite price.
Your education, education and expertise are valuable assets and you must take all of them into account when deciding on your pricing model. If you have certifications in a particular financial niche, you might consider focusing your business on that niche so you can command higher prices.
If you regularly attend conferences, seminars and courses, you should reflect these ongoing investments in your prices. Undervaluing yourself can do more harm than good. After all, the right clients will understand how much time and resources it took for you to get to this place in your career and be willing to pay for your expertise.
Having a clear pricing structure avoids unnecessary woes when clients have to pay up. Setting clear pricing tiers with details of what each tier includes, helps potential clients understand the exact value of your service. Transparency is also essential to foster a good relationship between you and your clients and build a loyal clientele.
Providing a basic tier that includes a limited number of sessions and scope is a good idea for potential clients to test the waters. If they are satisfied with the initial result and want additional services, they would be more likely to consider a premium package that includes ongoing portfolio management, goal reviews, and so on.
Let's face it - everyone loves incentives! Providing perks such as a free consultation, a discounted first consultation and a referral bonus is a good way to attract and retain clients.
According to Forbes, 75% of consumers are likely to make another purchase after receiving an incentive, while 18% of consumers say incentives always sway them to choose one service or product over another.
If you want to increase your client retention rate, offer perks such as 24/7 support, an exclusive resource whitepaper, access to a community of like-minded individuals, a personalized coaching app, and discounts on products purchased from partner businesses. By offering these benefits, you can justify higher pricing tiers.
It is important to remember that you are ultimately a business owner. Like any other business, the more certifications and experience you gain over the years, the higher the value of your service. Therefore, it is always a good idea to put aside some time on a quarterly basis to review your prices and adjust accordingly.
Raising prices is a sign of self-respect. As a qualified, experienced, and hard-working professional, you deserve to be fairly compensated for the work you have done to reach this level. Your prices should reflect this, and if they do not, perhaps it is time to take a good look at your pricing model! Good luck!