Figuring out how to price your coaching services is tricky.
Some coaches charge $75 a session, and others charge $100,000 per package. So what on earth should you charge in that massive range?
I’ve sold thousands of coaching packages in my work as a career coach. Eventually I founded the International Association of Career Coaches to train other coaches and help them build thriving practices too. I’ve learned what type of coaching packages work and why some coaches are successful with their businesses, and others aren’t.
So whether you are a life coach, a career coach, a business coach, or any other type of coach, I’ll show you the crucial pricing mistakes to avoid so that you can build a thriving coaching business and help more people.
Mistake 1: Offering Single Sessions
If you only offer coaching at a per-session rate, you’ll be in for a tough road.
When you charge per session, clients will come in and out. Some may book for just a single session. And each time they want to work with you, they have to go through the strain of paying you again.
This puts you in a position where you’ll be constantly chasing down new clients week in and week out.
It also changes the relationship to be more transactional, like an attorney being paid by the hour. Because for coaching to really work, it must be much longer-term relationship than single sessions.
What to do instead: Offer your coaching in packages.
There’s no set length for packages. The length of time should be the shortest amount of time it would take a client to go through all of the activities with you.
So if you can figure out what you’ll need to cover to get clients the results they want, then that should be the length of youru packages.
It could be a 5-session package, a 10-session package, a 3-month package, a 6-month package, etc.
When you offer coaching as a package, you’ll reap three major benefits:
More impact for the client. If you offer one-off sessions at an hourly rate, clients will tend to work with you for shorter periods of time. Thus, when you sell packages instead of sessions, you can help your clients achieve more ambitious results. It’s the difference between reading a few blog posts by an author versus reading their book.
Focusing on outcomes, not time. If you charge $150 for a 60-minute session, then the client believes they are buying your time. This puts a natural ceiling on what they'll pay. But if you sell a coaching package, you can position it as a solution to their problems. A client might balk at paying $5,000 for a certain number of coaching hours, but they may happily invest that money if they see it as a service that’ll deliver life-changing results.
More commitment. When a client pays more money and agrees to a longer package, then they’ll feel way more committed. And honestly, so will you. Don’t you think you’ll be more likely to bring your best self if a client is paying you $10,000 instead of $200?With greater commitment often comes greater results.
Caveat: While packages make more sense in the long term, early on it can be helpful to offer one-off sessions just to get more people through your door.
It’s easier to sell a one-off session than a larger package, so if you need some practice and confidence-building, selling single sessions can give you that experience.
It’s just not a financially viable long-term option.
If you do offer individual coaching sessions, I’d suggest starting in the range of $75 to $250 per session.
Mistake 2: Underpricing Your Coaching
If you’re a newer coach, then you may fall into the all-too-common trap of undercharging.
The thinking is something like: “I’m new at this! I’m not super skilled or experienced yet. So I should charge crumbs for my services.”
And look, there is something to be said about gaining skill and experience. It does make sense for you to charge more the more value you deliver.
But most newer coaches could charge a lot more. It’s just their confidence that’s holding them back.
And charging more isn’t just good for you; it can actually be better for your client.
If you charge more, it communicates to clients that you offer a better service. And they may actually experience greater commitment and impact.
Because let’s be honest, which wine below would you assume is better quality?
And studies confirm that when people drink identical wines at different prices, they prefer the pricier one, and their brains actually experience more pleasure. 🤯
Of course, there is also such a thing as charging too much. Though it’s not a trap that most newer coaches fall into.
What to do instead: Find the right price for your packages!
Don’t charge so little that you undervalue yourself and can’t pay the bills.
But don’t pay so much that you have no clients.
Here are five tools to try to get the right price for your package:
The highest rate you can handle. Pick a rate that you can say without throwing up. You may have a rate in your head but if it doesn't come out sounding confident, then consider saying, "This is my regular rate, however, if you can sign up by XXX then it is this rate."
Look at other coaches in your niche. What do others in your coaching niche charge? (Especially the ones who live near you.)
What are your clients willing to pay? If you know the demographic of your target market, what would they pay for the results you’ll deliver them? When picking a clientele, it’s worth considering the advice of entrepreneur Alex Hormozi: “Solve rich people’s problems. They pay better.”
For example, you’ll be able to charge a lot more if offer executive coaching to companies versus if you offer life coaching to starving artists.
Calculate your needs. How much do you want to make a year? How many coaching clients do you want to work with at a time? And how long do you want each package to be?
Let’s say you want to make $100,000/year. And you want to work with 10 clients at a time, each client on a 6-month package. So that means you’ll work with 20 clients a year. And ($100,000 salary) / ( 20 clients per year) = $5,000 per client for a 6-month package.
But be aware that 10 clients per week does not mean 10 hours of work per week! When you’re building up your coaching practice, you’ll only spend about 20-30% of your time actually coaching. The rest will be marketing, sales, networking, and training.
Notice your conversion rate. If you’re already making sales, and you offer a free consult, then notice how many consult calls convert into paid clients. The target is to convert 20-25% of all sales calls.
If under 15% of your consults turn into clients, this could mean that your coaching rates are too high (and that you should sharpen your sales skills!). And if you’re converting over 40%, you might not be charging enough.
Mistake 3: Offering Too Many Packages
I recommend offering only one package. I offered one for the first 12 years of my business and only recently began to offer multiple packages.
As a solopreneur, it is challenging to offer two or more packages. It is hard to manage it, and now you're needing twice the marketing.
Plus, there’s a marketing principle called “Choice Overload,” which says that when buyers have too many options to pick from, they struggle to decide and feel less satisfied when they do.
Don’t make your potential clients feel like this:
What to do instead: Offer one package and a "TRY YOU" option
A “TRY YOU” option can be sold as a smaller package, but it is really a paid LEAD MAGNET.
If you’re a career coach, that may be a dossier review (resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile). For a health coach it could be a kitchen sweep. For a life coach maybe a goals workshop.
It’s a smaller, cheaper service that gets them in the door.
Then if they like working with you, they’re likely to buy your full package.
Mistake 4: Not Offering A Back-End Product/Service
Once your client completes their coaching package with you, you don’t need to say goodbye forever.
Often there’s still more benefit they could achieve from working with you—even if it’s just maintenance calls to keep them on track.
The front-end is the principal product (your coaching service). And the back-end is how you help them after your coaching package expires. That could be a monthly retainer, a group coaching program, or an online community. Really anything to continue to support your client.
A back-end product or service means more support for them and more money for you.
What to do instead: Offer a monthly retainer
Let’s say you’re a career coach, and your client purchases a 3-month package from you. After those 3 months, they successfully got a job. Woo! They’re happy. You’re happy. And your work with them is done, right?
Wrong!
At this point, you can offer them a retainer where you keep coaching them for another month. After all, they might still want support crushing their new job or learning to network better.
After each monthly retainer concludes, give them the option to renew again if they’d like.
When pricing your retainers, make sure that the monthly retainer costs less than what a month of your package costs. For example, if you sell a 3-month package for $3000, then your monthly retainer should be in the ballpark of $750.
Mistake 5: Keeping Your Rates Fixed
Homing in on the right coaching package and pricing models is an art that takes time to refine.
It’s not a matter of picking the right number and then sticking with it forever.
Because the reality is, there is no single coaching package that all coaches should use. Your coaching package, pricing structure, and coaching process should be as unique as you are as a coach.
And that’ll take time and experimentation.
And the beauty is that you're your own CEO and you can set your rates and inventory however you wish. There is no boss to ask or a committee to get approval from! HOORAY!
What to do instead: Let your packages be fluid. Experiment to see what works and what you like.
You might find you like doing packages based on the number of months rather than the number of coaching sessions.
Or that you like to offer email support between coaching calls.
Or maybe you like to offer results-based guarantees if the client puts in the work.
The ways to customize your coaching offer are limitless.
Mistake 6: Not Offering a Free Consult
If you sell single sessions by the hour, then a consult isn’t necessary. Because there’s not much risk for the client to book a call.
But if you offer larger packages, then a client will be more likely to pay you if they’ve met you first and built some trust.
Put yourself in the client’s shoes—if a coach offers a 6-month package for $5,000, it’d probably feel pretty scary to book them just from clicking buttons on their website!
Plus, so much of a coaching relationship is about personal chemistry. Even if potential clients trust your ideas and content, there simply might not be the right social connection.
What to do instead: Offer a free consult, strategy call, or discovery call
Offering a free consult can look different depending on what type of coach you are.
If you’re a business coach, then it might be offering a free strategy session.
As a life coach, it may be taking them through a sales framework to help them clarify what they want out of their life, what’s blocking them, and how you can help them get there.
And here’s another option that I do with my Career Coaching business.
I offer a 60-minute job search analysis for $95. I try to make these sessions super useful. I help the client clarify their career goals and preferences. I go into their strengths and challenges. And at the end of the call I give them action steps and a free copy of my book The Art of Finding the Job You Love: An Unconventional Guide to Work with Meaning.
And if the client then decides to open a coaching package together, that $95 goes into their coaching fee.
This model has worked great for me because it filters out uncommitted clients. The small fee ensures they value the session, and it gives them a taste of my coaching style and the value I provide. Plus, by applying the fee to their package, it feels like a seamless step into a deeper level of work together rather than a separate expense.
Overview of the Mistakes to Avoid When Pricing Your Coaching Package
Here’s a summary of what we went over:
Mistake 1: Relying on 1-Off Sessions
When you charge per session, growth is unsustainable.
What to do instead: Offer packages (e.g., 3-6 months) so that the client gives more commitment and gets bigger results.
Mistake 2: Underpricing Your Services
If you undercharge, it makes your service seem low quality, and it won’t be financially sustainable for you.
What to do instead: Find the right price by:
What’s the most you can charge without throwing up?
Studying competition in your specific coaching industry
Discerning what your ideal client would pay
Calculating your own financial needs
Noticing if your conversion rate is too high or low
Mistake 3: Offering Too Many Packages
Just stick with one package. Keep it simple.
What to do instead: If you want, you can also give a “TRY YOU” package where you offer a cheaper, simpler service as a lead magnet.
Mistake 3: Not Offering Back-End Products
Just because the package ended, doesn’t mean you need to stop supporting your client.
What to do instead: Offer monthly retainers at a reduced rate once a client finishes their package.
Mistake 5: Keeping Your Rates Fixed Over Time
If you never experiment with your rates, you’ll never find the right package price and offering.
What to do instead: Continually experiment with packages, timeframes, and add-ons.
Mistake 6: Not Offering a Free Consult
It’ll be hard for a client to trust you enough to fork over thousands of dollars if they’ve never met you.
What to do instead: Offer free (or cheap) consults to build rapport and give them an experience of your value.
Want to Get Better at Coaching?
If you’d like to build your coaching skills and knowledge base in the realm of career coaching, I encourage you to check out the Senior Professional Career Coach training with the International Association of Career Coaches.
Career coach training can fill massive blind spots for life coaches and executive coaches too.
It’s a cohort based course with an online curriculum and expert teachers. Plus there’s a graduate community that can give you solidarity and build your network.