Is it You with the Actual Money Problem?
A problem we sometimes see with health coaches we speak with in possible partnership discussions is an issue with money.
Some of them feel that their clients and prospects can’t afford to pay for their services and recommended nutritional products.
That’s not the real money issue, though.
In reality, it is the coach’s problem with their own mindset regarding money and value.
They work from a “lack” mentality… a scarcity mindset.
They feel that they don’t deserve to charge what they are worth.
They make (false) assumptions about what someone is willing to exchange (pay) for value, because they don’t place real value on what they provide.
They then give off this vibe, and a negative result is they tend to find and speak with people who also have a scarcity mentality and the problem self-perpetuates.
My friend, fellow sales trainer Mike Weinberg says,
“There is no way someone can clearly articulate the value they deliver when they are obsessed with or panicked about the price they charge.”
Allow me some straight-talk with you here:
You DO provide tremendous value to people, right? If you don’t believe that, you shouldn’t be in business. Fine, be popular and give advice for free on social media and at parties, but you will get foreclosed on if you hope to pay your mortgage from coaching.
So then, assuming you agree that you do provide amazing value, how in the world could you even begin to make an assumption about what someone would not pay for that value?
That’s absurd. Delusional. Arrogant.
As a coach, in business, you are a professional problem-solver and value-creator. When you believe that in your heart, and your goal is to learn about health problems, issues and desires for which you have solutions, then price should be the last thing on your mind.
Why would YOU make it about price, when they are concerned about what they really want?
Have a Talk With Yourself
Stop believing that your prices are high. If you have preconceived notions about what your targeted market will pay, get rid of those now.
Never, ever think or voice these excuses:
- My clients/prospects can’t pay that
- They can get supplements cheaper online or at Costco
- This is a poorer area
- This is a small town
- People won’t pay that much for a coach
- I’m just starting out
- My prospects/clients are older
The real fact in most situations is this: Until you actually contact and speak with an individual, and then have a consultative conversation using the methods we discuss here, you have no idea about their innermost needs, their visions for their health and future, and how much they will truly invest to attain the real value they desire.
Think about something you really wanted… maybe were obsessed with getting and owning. Did you care about the price?
One of my passions is cooking. I’ve won professional barbecue competitions. When I built my outdoor kitchen, I wanted a premium grill with all the bells and whistles. I paid $5,000.00 for it. Sure, I could have gotten a gas grill at Home Depot for $200. But it wasn’t what I really, really wanted.
Write this on your whiteboard, or print it out and frame it:
When there is a perceived desire and need and there is perceived value in filling that need, and they can see it in their mind’s eye there is always enough money, IF you are talking to the right person
When You Communicate Perceived Value and Transformation, You Can Charge Whatever You Want
If you feel you have nothing unique to offer, of course you will not value it highly, and consequently no one else will.
If you view yourself just by your professional designation (“I’m a health coach”) you are immediately commoditizing yourself. You’ve put yourself into a class of service providers numbering in the tens of thousands nationwide! Why should they care? Commoditization begins in your mind. So does the road out of commoditization. You are in charge of managing your customer’s perception of your value. The prices that you charge should never be a function of what you think that your client can pay. They are a function of the value attached to your services by your client. The more your services contribute to helping your clients move closer to long range health goals and values, the more they will value what you do and will pay accordingly.
Positioning Your Services
Determine where you fit on the continuum of positioning your services.
Here are four ways to view the marketing of health and wellness consulting and coaching services:
- If you charge for undifferentiated stuff, you’re in the commodity business.
- If you charge just for activities that you perform, you’re in the marginal service business.
- If you charge for the feeling clients have when they work with you, then you’re in the experience business.
- If you charge for the results and benefits that your clients receive with your guidance, you are in the transformation business.
If you’re only selling menu planning, and personal meetings with you, then you’re probably in the commodity or service business. It’s not very exciting and certainly not very lucrative. You do get to put in a lot of long hours though.
If you can offer your clients an experience (Apple sells an experience) or you can offer them transformation (the way they want to look and feel) you get to charge rockstar prices.
How?
- First, you need to have unwavering, rock-solid belief in the value you deliver.
- Understanding your prospective clients’ needs, pains, problems, values, and desires at the deepest level.
- Painting a picture of the solution, with them in the picture.
Our goal is to help you with those three areas, so you can help more people, and be compensated handsomely as a result. Read through and study the other posts on this site, view the videos, put the ideas into practice. And do reach out and let us know about the areas you personally would like to see us address.
(If you enjoy these tips, would you please help spread the word? Please post this http://healthcoach.training/money-problem/ in the online health coach groups and communities you participate in, and forward it to your colleagues. Thanks in advance!)
