How to Get the Guts to Charge Your Friends and Family for Your Coaching Services?
Why do coaches have such a hard time asking family and friends to pay for services?
I admit, from time to time, friends or family members will corner me with a question and instead of me saying “here’s my card, we need to schedule a session” it will turn into a full blown hour session.
As much as we like to help our friends and family, in order to earn living we have to charge for our coaching services. Even more importantly, to do our best as a coach, we need the time and energy to give to those who are paying for our services. When we help someone on the side, both parties get cheated. The friend may not receive all the help they need, and you don’t get paid.
Why do you feel guilty charging for your services?
Here are a few reasons that I have come across throughout the years.
- You don’t feel worthy or realize the value of your skills in relation to other people.
- You don’t feel qualified as an expert, especially if you’ve never received training.
- You are concerned that asking for money will change the dynamic of your relationship with the other person
- You’ve been coaching them or giving them advice or free for years.
Understand the RESULTS you are helping them to get.
You must charge based on results not time.
Why? Because how much time you put in is irrelevant to how much money you make.
Think about this.. a farmer works 40 hours a week for 50 weeks…2000 hours to create…let’s say 10,000 bushels of corn. He makes $50,000 at the end of the year when he sells the corn. That’s $25 an hour. (I know these are crazy numbers, but it’s just an illustration). The merchant on Wall Street that buys his corn for $50k and sells it to some cornflake factory for $100k…makes $50k for one hours work.
The time you put into something is totally irrelevant for pricing issues.
It’s all about results.
So what are the results worth for the problems you help solve?
For the services you are providing look at how much success the person will have. If success doesn’t happen instantly then look at it over a 1 year time frame.
How much is it worth to:
change their life
save their marriage
lose 50lbs
make $100 per year
whatever your niche is
Get Training, Become Certified, and Establish Yourself as an Expert
Once you have been trained and certified let your friends and family members know that you have been trained and certified as a coach.
Let them know you (a) know more now then you did before and/or (b) have demonstrated your knowledge to a coach training company who deemed you qualified to help others get RESULTS in their lives or business. Your time and services are invaluable.
And don’t stop at training. If you want to establish yourself as an expert continue learning. Attend continuing education programs, workshops, read, read, read. Buy the book of every expert in your NICHE (key word is niche, so you don’t overwhelm yourself). Buy their books and you will learn more than the average person in your niche.
Set Up Your Coaching Business
Get a website designed, a professional logo, business cards, set up your office and show your friends and family that you are a professional and you get paid for your services. They wouldn’t want to work for free and if they value you, they wouldn’t want you to work for free either.
Offer Complimentary Sessions
Offer your family or friend a complementary session. At the end of the session clearly state the price for your services going forward.
Change Your Mindset
Please read “Keys to a Successful Mindset in Your Coaching Business“.
