Coaching is a journey. And while you may have a great first session, or even a great discovery call, it’s just the beginning of the road and you should've focused on the end result. This is important to keep in mind when setting prices for your coaching services.
One popular way to charge for coaching sessions is in packages. Coaching packages are groups of services, usually repeated meetings over several weeks or for a set number of sessions, usually offered at a reduced rate. If a potential client commits to buying 12 sessions at once, they might receive a total of 15% off what 12 individual sessions would cost — incentivizing the client to buy more upfront.
Charging this way offers mid to long-term income security. Plus, your coaching clients enjoy a discounted rate on each session when they “buy in bulk.” This is a financial win-win for you and your client.
There’s another reason to implement this kind of plan: it encourages individuals to see their training program through. Your clients will leave your program satisfied they reached their goal, and you’ll watch them make serious progress.
As if financial benefits and personal rewards weren’t enough for you to launch your coaching packages right now, there’s one more perk. Packages encourage consistency, so you can schedule clients for specific dates and times and not worry about having to work out the details before every session. Let’s review the steps involved with building coaching packages and how to price them.
Essential elements of coaching packages
Before you decide what your work is worth, define the coaching packages you’d like to offer. For each, consider the following elements and make sure to consider drafting them into your coaching agreement.
- Duration: Set limits for your coaching programs. Decide how many sessions the program will include and how long each will last. As you consider the total time for the program — whether three months or three years — focus on what you want clients to achieve and use this as the basis for your calculations.
- Price tiers: Offer new clients deeper discounts the more sessions they buy. This encourages clients to stay on for longer. This is a popular — and effective — model. You’ve likely seen it for gym memberships and streaming service subscriptions: The more months you pay upfront, the lower the monthly rate. Apply the same logic to coaching packages with realistic limits. There’s no sense in having a client sign on for a year's worth of sessions if they can reach their goal in a few months.
- Formats: Decide whether you’ll offer package rates for private coaching, group coaching, or both. Your rates will vary for each class format, even if they’re package deals.
- Goals: Consider offering packages that address common goals. If you’re a career coach, perhaps a common goal is a promotion. If you’re a life coach, it might be improved focus. Setting themes is especially useful for group coaching sessions, where people work toward common goals.
- Perks: A discount on multiple sessions is already a valuable benefit for loyal clients, but you can show them how much you appreciate their continued business by throwing in some “extras” like follow-up coaching calls after sessions, discounts on or invitations to retreats and events, and access to online courses.
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Pricing your coaching packages
A lot of work goes into defining your packages. As shown in the list above, many variables determine the structure of these types of services — pricing them may feel like complex math. But there’s a straightforward way to determine how much packages should cost. Here’s our step-by-step guide that you can use as a template for your online coaching business.
- Determine: If you’re new to coaching, research how much nearby coaches with your credentials charge. Ensure the rate matches what your target market can afford. If you already have session rates, skip to the next step.
- Discount: Lower your session rate based on the price-tier logic we described above. If you’re pricing a 10-session program, the per-meeting rate should be less than your 5-session program, and so on. Make sure you’re still making enough to meet your financial goals and business margins while offering benefits to loyal customers.
- Launch: Assuming this system is new to your coaching business, it’s time to sell your coaching session packages. If it’s not too messy, offer these new rates to current clients. This might convince them to sign on for more extensive programs or recommend your services to people they know. Use social media platforms to reach potential clients, advertising different types of coaching package each week. Previous clients may even return for the discounted rate.
- Messaging: One of the most important considerations for your coaching business (and being an entrepreneur) is how you message and position the package. You don’t want your client strictly thinking about your hourly rate or the individual coaching sessions. Your ideal clients are going to connect with the value that you create. This is one of the most difficult parts of starting as a new coach.
- Refine: Packages aren’t set in stone. If you find your earnings don’t match the level of work you’re doing, adjust. Listen to client feedback on both the content and cost of the programs. One of the basics of doing good business is meeting demand. The only way to understand what people want is to listen to them. You should consider leveraging your testimonials as feedback within your coaching niche (both good and bad) to make sure you
Coaching package examples
Coaching packages come in a few different formats, in-person, over zoom, email support, or heck even using voxer!
- Life coach, Michael Herd’s 6-month life coaching package
- Personal financial coach, Andre Nader’s Personalized Path to FIRE
- Performance coach, Owen Murray’s 12-flow performance coaching package
Getting it right
The best way to successfully kick-start a coaching package offers is by using your current data. Think about how many sessions you usually need with a client, how long it takes most to reach certain goals, and the feedback clients have given you regarding program length.
It never hurts to look at what others in the industry are doing. Check out samples of coaching packages online and in your community. These exist to meet demand. While we recommend trusting your businesses’ data to form your packages, chances are your business could benefit from the same program structures that work for other coaches.
And if you want an easy way to create, manage, and track coaching packages and payment plans, Practice has that built in. Our package payment plans allow your clients to pay in installments, making your services more financially accessible. You decide how to break up remittances, when they’re due, and we handle the rest — including automatically charging clients’ on-file payment methods when the time comes. Try us out today.
