Building a Life Coaching Practice: Price Setting
Is Your Sliding Scale a Slippery Slope?
by Molly Gordon, MCC

I'm starting a life coaching practice and have set a realistic pricing structure. I've researched what other coaches charge and I've priced my services in the middle of the range. However, I also recognize there are people who will not be able to meet my pricing but who still need my help. I want to be able to reach these people as well. One idea is to do a series of workshops and price them lower than individual coaching so lower income people can get some exposure to my help. For private coaching practice, though, what do you think of using a sliding scale for those less able to pay the full rate and what would be a good way to work that?
-- Julie Holly, Inner Radiance Coaching

I imagine many readers share Julie's concern about their responsibility toward people who want but cannot afford their products or services.

There are a number of ways to address the question, and they all lead to the same conclusion: A sliding scale, if you'll excuse the pun, is a slippery slope.

Whose business are you in?
Perhaps the slipperiest part of that slope is where your presumption about someone else's need intersects your responsibility for yourself and your business.

Byron Katie states that in all the world she's found only three kinds of business: her business, someone else's business, and God's (or Reality's) business. When you're in anyone's business but your own, you are arguing with or trying to manipulate reality, and that is always a losing proposition.

It's easy to tell when you are not in your own business: it feels crummy. If you are to examine the roots of frustration, loneliness, fear, or any other sort of distress, you will invariably discover that you have abandoned your own business in favor of someone else's.

The reason sliding scales as a price setting strategy usually don't work is that they result from insinuating yourself into the business of a prospective client or customer by basing your pricing strategy on your assessment of what they need and can afford.

There are two losers in that scenario. You lose, because you've abdicated responsibility for your own wellbeing and that of your business in favor of managing the wellbeing of someone who has not requested the favor.

Your prospective client loses, for you've co-opted their business, deciding in advance of meeting them that they (1) need you and (2) can't afford your regular fees.

I'm not saying you should never negotiate your prices with a customer or client. I am saying that you owe it to your business to settle on a price that is right for the service rendered, using a price setting strategy that will meet both basic expenses and the growth needs of your company.

When you use a sliding scale, you are asking your client to decide what that price should be. That's not your client's job; it's your job.

Should a prospective client or customer ask if your stated price is negotiable, by all means explore the question on a case-by-case basis. It may be that in May you have some extra time and find that you'd be delighted to work with a specific client for a reduced fee. At another time, you may have both a full workload and financial commitments that require you to charge your full fee.

When you let the client raise the question of revising your fees, you leave their business in their hands. Of course, that leaves your business in your hands, which can be uncomfortable until you get the hang of it.

The good news is that, with practice, you will get the hang of it, and both your clients and your business will thank you for it. Whether you are building a life coaching practice or another business, one way to practice is to apply The Work of Byron Katie to stressful thoughts about money and pricing. For an example, check out "Do The Work: There are people who need but cannot afford my help."

Talk Back: love to hear from you, and I read every letter personally. Send your thoughts to letters@authenticpromotion.com. And be sure to let me know if you prefer not to be quoted.