Pricing is one of those tricky subjects that people often don’t like talking about, it’s very uncouth isn’t it. I do love that word, uncouth! It translates as lacking good manners, refinement or grace (according to that font of all knowledge that is google). What on earth did we do before google?! Anyway, talking about money is frowned upon, and talking about pricing is not dissimilar. But I’m going to take the bull by the horns and address it, because I think it’s time it was discussed.
When we buy something, and part with our hard earned cash, we expect something of appropriate value in return. As I write this, I’m wearing a T-shirt that I love and I picked up for a fiver from Primark. It caught my eye because it says “Don’t Quit” on the front. I liked the colour (it’s grey, I have a thing for the colour grey...some days I’m head to toe!) and thought it might encourage me to work harder in the gym. But it was only a fiver, so if it bobbles or doesn’t wash particularly well, or if some thread comes away, I won’t fret. I don’t expect much from it.
Compare that to my new watch. It’s a Michael Kors smart watch, and was in the hundreds of pounds. I love it because it looks smart, tells me my step count, and keeps me easily up to date with my notifications. And of course, it tells the time. However, the battery life is not great. Which has left me very underwhelmed. I don’t get those benefits I’ve outlined above when the battery runs out, which is most days. I charge it overnight but by mid afternoon it’s out of charge. So I’ve taken to carrying the charger around with me and plugging it in over lunch. But it’s an inconvenience and given what it cost, I don’t feel I’m getting the value from it that I should. My expectations were (and are) higher, because of the price I paid.
So, when I don’t pay a lot for something, I perceive the value to be lower. My expectations are more Primark T-shirt and less Micheal Kors! Now that value might not pan out that way, as in the above example, but it forms the basis for my expectations.
The value that we place on something also impacts our thoughts and actions. I wrote in a blog a couple of weeks go about the care I take over my more expensive coats than my supermarket chic versions, and this is an important point to make. If you invest a lot in something, you will take it more seriously. You will take action because it’s a lot of money to waste if you don’t.
Let’s just translate this into investing in something to get a certain result, for example if the outcome you want is to get a new job. If you invest in a book for example, you might pay around a fiver, so it’s kind of the equivalent of the Primark t-shirt. It might be packed with value and lay out everything you need to do to get a new job. But it relies on you reading it and taking action and working out anything that’s not black and white on your own. Which I’m sure you’re capable of doing, but it’s harder (otherwise we’d all buy books, read them, and transform everything from our weight to our culinary skills!). And you’ve only invested five pounds, so it’s not a big deal if you don’t take action. You haven’t really lost anything, and there’s nothing to hold you accountable.
In comparison, investing in a coach to help you get those results is a significant investment. But in making that investment, you show up. You take action, even if it’s scary, because you’ve made the commitment. Much like you treat the expensive coat well, you take your goal seriously. You make the time to do the things you need to, because it’s important.
One of the business owners I work with has something she calls “bugger off” pricing, which is basically that given all of her experience and knowledge, she knows it’s good value and so if someone doesn’t want to pay it they can, well, you get the gist! As a coach, my fee is not to cover my time spent coaching. My fee is for the years of experience and knowledge I’ve developed so that I can get you the results you want. My pricing is set so that you’ll show up and take action and get the results you want.
At the end of the day, it’s a value consideration. If you invest in the coaching, will you get the right return on your investment? Perhaps the results you want include a higher salary, like Laura. She secured a promotion and a significant pay rise. She sought help because she knew the result she wanted and she knew she’d be more likely to achieve it with some help. When you’re considering investing, you need to think about what the return would be and how quickly the investment would pay back.
Something else to consider is what NOT investing is going to cost you. What is it costing you to stay where you are? You might not be able to put a pounds and pence figure on it but just reflect on that question. If you don’t get the results you want then where will that leave you? For example, if you want to apply for a new job and you don’t get it, how will you feel? What will be the impact on you? Or worse, not even applying because you’ve ruled yourself out before you even start. If there’s something you want and you can do something that will help you get there, it’s worth thinking carefully about doing it.
I want to end by saying that I love coaching, and helping people achieve the results they want. And to do that, to be able to help people, I need to charge a fee that means you show up, and I show up. And if you question whether it’s worth it, think about what those results are worth to you and then decide whether you’ll get a good return on your investment. Only you can make that decision.
If you’d like results like Laura’s and you’re ready to invest in yourself, you can book a discovery call here.