Coaching businesses have several options when it comes to ways to offer their services.
The way you choose to offer your coaching services depends on:
- Your business model
- Your interests
- Your abilities
- Your coaching program and service design
- Your personal bandwidth
- The resources your business has available
- The extent to which your services can be offered online
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Service Delivery Types and Pricing Models
Here we describe seven different ways to deliver your coaching services to clients. Keep in mind that none of these service delivery types are mutually exclusive—if it fits with your business model and is true to your coaching philosophy, you can offer several of these coaching options simultaneously.
- One-on-One Coaching: You work exclusively with one client at a time. They get personal attention and recommendations for their specific needs.
- Group Coaching: You develop a program for a group of individuals that have a common goal. This is beneficial when peer support is an important part of your program’s success.
- Digital Coaching: You carry out your services by way of a digital platform like Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or platforms designed specifically for health, nutrition, and fitness coaches.
- In-Person Coaching: You meet face-to-face with clients in your office, in a public place, at a gym, or in their homes.
- Hourly Pricing Models: You charge clients per hour of coaching without necessarily securing future hours.
- Package Pricing Models: You create packages of services that could include hourly coaching and other services.
- Subscription or Retainer Models: Similar to package pricing models, but you offer those services at regular intervals while also securing that income.
A Comparison of Service Delivery and Pricing Options
1-on-1 vs. Group Coaching
Some coaching models emphasize one-on-one coaching, while others emphasize group models. You know your business best, and you should be clear as to why one might be better than another.
One-on-one coaching is advantageous for situations where you are catering to the specific needs of each client and if your coaching model needs to be focused on the specifics of an individual client. Keep in mind that one-on-one coaching is a premium service.
Group coaching brings together many people in manageable groups. While you can offer some personalized aspects to group coaching, clients will be going through the same program or process together. This is advantageous when clients can benefit from peer support and interaction, such as with an exercise program.
Digital vs. In-Person Coaching
In the digital age, it is becoming more and more common to offer digital coaching services. In-person coaching services are still used, however, for older target clients or if your coaching services are offered in conjunction with other in-person services, like a gym membership.
You can learn more about taking your coaching business online by reading these articles:
- How to Start Your Online Nutrition Business
- 22 Tips for Starting Your Online Personal Trainer Business
Hourly vs. Package Models
In the coaching world, it is common to charge per hour for your services. However, for many reasons, it can be difficult for clients to commit to multiple sessions if they feel like it is disjointed from a program or package.
One way to increase client retention and leverage your earnings is by offering package rates. You can bundle your services for a unified price that seems to reflect a discount. The advantage is that you have secured greater income from that individual client.
If you choose to offer package rates in addition to hourly rates, remember that your hourly rates should generally be higher.
Package Models vs. Retainer Models
Retainer models give you the same benefits as package models, plus they secure your income from a client for several months at a time.
Bonus: How to Set Your Coaching Rates
Finding the perfect rate that isn’t too low or too high for your target audience is a challenge for most entrepreneurs, regardless of the industry.
Coaches have a particularly difficult time because there are no standard rates when it comes to coaching.
We have, however, come up with a set of steps for you to set your rates.
Read Know Your Worth: How to Confidently Set Your Coaching Rates to learn more.
In the article, you will learn the different factors that come into play when setting your rates. Then, we’ll ask you to get a pen and paper out because we give you a step-by-step guide on how to calculate your rates for your services and programs.
