The Single Reason Why You Are Just Like 95% of Other Coaches and Consultants

And struggling to earn a decent living month on month.

Let me tell you why, dear friend.

By the way, if you think you’re already a successful coach/consultant then there’s absolutely no point in you reading any further. Good news, you’ve made it go and continue being successful.

This post is for anyone who has ever got towards the end of the month and watched their 160+ hours of graft be repaid with earnings less than the national average wage (about ￡2,000 before tax).

Who have invested all those years of training and education, and who were excited when starting out on their own, only to be left wondering whether they’d be better off getting a job again.

Who gets to the end of each day wondering, “Is this it? Is this really what being a business owner and entrepreneur is all about?”

Who goes to bed at night dreaming about landing that one big client or earning ￡10k+ per month and not having several “bosses” needing their attention right now.

This, to me, is an absolute travesty; I’ve got a few facts for you that may surprise you. Read them. Adopt them. Finally get paid your true value.

FACT ONE:

At a recent speaking engagement I asked an audience of 150 consultants how they chose their pricing. Their reply was to be expected, “We looked at the competition and charged what they charged.” And several people charged below market value to attract prospects through the door.

“Great”, I replied, “And how did they choose their prices?”

“Well...they probably did the same thing!” Came a slightly mooted, but unquestionably agreeable audience.

“And then...?”

The penny dropped. 150 consultants all looking at one another, charging what they were charging. It appeared there are no specific rules, or a governing body setting prices, they all just looked at one another’s prices and assumed the other guy (or girl) was correct.

Most coaches and consultants are charging the same, but how do we know they are correct? The perceived value, I can 100% guarantee it, is much, much higher.

Don’t charge what everyone else is charging, don’t even charge what you feel you’re worth. Charge what your clients perceive you to be worth.

FACT TWO:

David Beckham started doing keepie-uppies when he was 6. By the time he was aged 9 he managed 2,003 consecutive keepie-uppies. I can do about 3 so this number is staggering.

Undoubtedly like any sensible 9 year old he got bored, so he switched to free kicks.

His coach estimated that by the age of 18 he’d taken 50,000 free kicks. Again, staggering. Think of all the feedback and date that Beckham has received though.

Culminating in that glorious free kick, in the 93rd minute, against Greece in 2001 which saw England through to the 2002 World Cup Finals.

How often do you “practise” your pricing. By testing your market, getting feedback, adjusting and incrementing your prices until you’ve perfected them?

Yes, once or maybe twice per year.

One accountancy form I worked with hadn’t put their prices up in six years. We made the decision to go for it, resulting in a ￡214,000 increase in net profit.

Not putting your prices up is safe, it’s “comfortable”. Prospects are already saying yes, so why would you want to disrupt that. But you are already at capacity, exhausted and not earning enough so ask yourself, “Are my current prices? really serving me?”

The answer is to test and validate...frequently.

Do a little Dutch Auction with yourself and put your prices up until it feels uncomfortable. Where it feels slightly squiffy, slightly outside your comfort zone, that’s the next price point to test.

Pitch it to 10 people. I can guarantee two will buy from you.

When you’ve sold five packages. Increase your prices until you sell five more and so on.

FACT THREE:

You are selling the wrong thing...time. Time is so precious. You can always make more money but you can never make more time.

So, why then are you selling sessions by the hour? Instead of focussing on results?

It’s likely that you have a conscious or unconscious fear in your own ability to deliver the result.

“What if they don’t do the work? What if my process doesn’t work? What if something goes wrong or life gets in the way and it impacts the result? Well it’s ok, it’s safe, I’ll tie the price to my time, that’s something tangible for clients to buy. They can’t quibble my time. And I work really hard during that time, I’ll try my best to get the result.”

It’s my belief that every single service provider should be able to back their product up with a cast iron 100% money back guarantee based on results. Just like anyone selling products has to.

Now I know certain industries can’t, therapists, for example can’t because of their ethical code of conduct. But any decent human being should “want” to give a client back their money if they don’t help them solve their problem.

Imagine this scenario: a career coach whose offer is coaching sessions to help their clients progress their career and get that promotion they’ve been chasing for years. The desired outcome, a promotion. The coach “normally” helps her clients achieve this within 6 sessions...I won’t tell you how much she charges just yet. The fee is fixed to the result. And Mark’s promotion is worth ￡15,000 per year at least for the rest of his working life...so it’s a shrewd investment.

However, with Mark, it didn’t quite happen in 6 sessions...he just has one more block...one more session. The coach has three choices.

1. Rub her hands with glee, pocket ￡2,400 and say cheerio and good luck to Mark...because he paid for 6 sessions (yes, ￡400 per session).
2. She offers Mark another session, maybe two, but Mark’s a little miffed as she said it would take 6 sessions.
3. She actually charged Mark a fixed fee of ￡2,400...tied to the result. She offers Mark a complementary session or two and it’s on her.

Which option do you like best?

The first two options are about the coach. The third option; is all about Mark.

Put the client first. Charge accordingly based on the desired result/outcome you promise your clients.

Attach the price of your programme to their perceived value of the outcome you promise your clients...do not attach the price of your programme to your time, otherwise it’s all about you.

FACT FOUR:

All of the other coaches and consultants around you are marketing like crazy, doing all of the marketing things, and having amazing success with getting all of the clients.

Or are they?

Firstly they’ve outsourced their Facebook Ads, LinkedIn connections, social media posting, blog writing, any number of marketing things to so-called experts...and really all they’re doing is spraying marketing muck all over their prospects without even realising it.

Truth is nobody knows your business better than you, and whilst they’re trying really hard (and charging ￡500/mth) for the privilege they don’t really understand you or your business. They certainly don’t get Return on Investment...because their ROI is found in taking ￡500/mth from you.

Oh, it didn’t work out, it must be you, right?

The real truth is, you don’t need to be doing more marketing.

I bet you've already got leads coming in. What’s happening here is that you’re not maximising those opportunities when they come. You’re not 100% confident in your own abilities to sell or deliver your product. You’ve probably never worked with an expert to optimise your product, pricing and help you get better at selling.

You don’t need any more clients.

I repeat. You don’t need any more clients. You can easily double or treble your income with the same number of leads you are currently getting.

Here’s why.

Imagine adding rocket fuel to a Fiat 500. It will go really fast for a really short period of time before shooting a piston and blowing up. But in this analogy, the 500cc engine is your business and the rocket fuel is marketing.

Rocket fuel is designed for a rocket, so get under the hood and optimise that engine, add a turbo or two and a supercharger. Make it look a bit more like a rocket. Get it running optimally; raise your prices; make your offer more robust; learn to sell better. Then do marketing.

FACT FIVE:

It’s a fact, British people are too reserved to talk about money, let alone ask for it.

Which is why most of the coaches/consultants I work with, quite frankly suck at selling.

They prefer to open up their toolbox and show their prospects all of their amazing, shiny tools rather than talk about the great work they do and the results they can deliver.

They would rather start pitching the client things they could try rather than dig several layers deep into their prospect’s single biggest pain point and address that on a powerful consultation call.

How long has this been going on for? How do you feel about this problem right now? How long can it continue for? What does this problem mean to you? What’s going to happen if this pain doesn’t go away?

Armed with some basic information about where the prospect is on their journey you can begin to diagnose the issue and work out a prognosis and potential cure. This is where the value is derived.

However, you will be worried about four things:

1. If I push the client too hard, what if I lose the sale? Well, at this point you’ve already lost the sale, because it’s all about you and not your prospect.
2. I’m too afraid to ask those questions. It’s still about you.
3. If I tell the client my prices they’ll run a mile. They might. They might also buy your product. If they start to say it’s too expensive, then you’ve not articulated your value. Loop and ask them why? What do they need from you to see the value?
4. Leaving the sales conversation not knowing whether it’s a yes or a no. Can you send me a proposal? I’ve got to speak to my wife. Etc. We are programmed to move away from fear, and most people experience fear before they make a big investment, it’s natural. So prospects will lie, cheat, throw up smoke and mirrors and do anything to get off the call when they realise you have the PERFECT solution for them.

Fundamentally you’ve got to learn how to make the consultation all about your prospect. Show them the error of their ways. Show them their bleeding neck. Show them what your approach to fixing it might be. Don’t be afraid of losing a sale and definitely make sure the price is attached to the result.

Armed with a few simple techniques you can be a master at sales and start enjoying the sales process rather than worrying about whether you’re going to get the sale or not and how many proposals you’ve got to write, send out before Friday and then never hear from a prospect again!

Let me know if this has resonated.

Warm regards

Robin

Founder, Fearless Business

PS - if you’re interested in this I did a webinar with my group last week on Pricing your products, which you might enjoy watching, I’ll pop a link to it in the COMMENTS below.