Over the years, I have paid for personal coaching and have pitched coaching in sales.
When I first began paying for coaching, I was quoted a whopping price of $2000 per month for one on one coaching. I was absolutely floored. I opted for a payment of $250 a month for 3 months and received high quality information. Looking back, I wouldn’t have changed anything because I simply did not have the money at the time. Looking forward, I will gladly pay what a coach is worth. Here is my reasoning.
Cost break down analysis (1 year) for depression and anxiety coaching.
Medication Costs (many people are on multiple medications and I have factored in uninsured costs)
- Escitalopram (Lexapro) @ $94/ mon = $1128 for 1 year
- Fluoxetine (Prozac) @ $39/mon= $468 for 1 year
- Alprazolam (Xanax) @ $33/mon= $396 for 1 year
- Diazepam (Valium) @$23/mon= $276 for 1 year
- Lorazepam (Ativan) @ $43/mon= $516 for 1 year
- Total Cost -$2,784
Emergency Room Visit
- Approximately $2,500 per visit, per day
- Average stay at Emergency Room for psychiatric treatment is 2-3 days. I am using 2 days for easy reference
- Total Cost- $5,000
Psychiatric Hospital Visit
- Average Stay of 8 days $7,000
Psychiatrist Treatment
- Initial Visit (Consultation) $500
- Follow Up Appointments $100 per visit. 12 per year- $1,200
- 1 visit per month (usually more when medication has been changed)
- Total Cost- $1,700
Therapist Visits
- Average cost is between $60 and $120 per hour. For easy numbers, $100 per visit is used.
- Average regularity of therapist is twice a month
- Total Cost- $2,400 per year
Total yearly cost $18,884
Shocking. While the mental health system is difficult to understand if you have never received help for mental health.
Average Cost for Anxiety Coach $6,000 over a period of approximately 8-10 weeks
Let’s look at cost benefit analysis in business.
Over a year, a business owner has looked at the net gross profits and have found that growth has slowly increased at 1% with a normal increase in sales around holidays. Yearly gross net income $100,000.
There are many factors in business that contribute to steady growth and incredible growth. There are also many types of coaches for business. If a business owner decides to pivot and receives coaching, they will pay a price between $6,000 and $10,000. This is a large number at first, yet if there is an steady increase in sales the next year of 5% each month, with gross net income increase to $300,000 at the end of the year, a 300% increase. The 10% payment of $10,000 was well worth the money.
JT Foxx speaks about personal or professional coaching like a sports coach. Most professional athletes have at least two to five coaches. Each coach specializes in a different arena: nutrition, trainer, actual coach, etc. Business is a different type of sport and just like professional athletes. I would even venture to say that life is a different form of sport. If you want to get to the next level in life, you need help.
A coach is there to help take their client from point A (now) to point B (where you want to be), in the shortest amount of time possible. They have fine tuned their craft for maximum efficiency and minimal fluff.
High Price Coaching v. Low Price Coaching
In business, if you charge too little, people will not buy because the perceived value is too low. An example is jewelry, the higher the price tag, the higher the value. Same goes for coaching. Yet coaching involves time. A one to one coach will usually offer one hour coaching calls every week for the duration of the contract. While it may seem like you are paying $6,000 for eight weeks of coaching or 8 hours, this is actually not the case.
Unseen costs
- Preparation time- 1-2 hours
- Time in between clients- 30 minutes -1 hour
- Time spent to master the topic- 5-10+ years
A good coach should charge a high price for their time. Because they are actually not being paid for their time at all. They are being paid for the value earned from their services. I see great coaches as a form of education. If you received a higher education, an average year at a university costs approximately $30,000. While this number will fluctuate from region and university, it is a low standard number. Over four years, a student will pay an average cost of $120,000.
Low Cost Coaches.
Most coaches I know are incredible. There are many however that are undercharging for their services and they are worn out. They charge less than $3,000 for their time and are overworked. They have little to give to their clients and business. They want to give more, but are so mentally drained that it is not possible. If you pay a low cost, you get a lower quality.
A look at pricing from a coaches point of view
A coach may or may not have received a higher education. I myself do not have an official degree. I do have about 120 earned college hour credits that cost me about $90,000 over the years. I have also spent money on coaching, about $3,000, time and money spent on mental health services, $7,000. Years spent mastering what I teach, 15.
In order for a coach to be available to their clients full time, they need to not have a full time job. This means, they need to earn a yearly income greater than what they are already making and more. An average monthly goal is what is commonly used for long term financial planning. Normal monthly expenses are approximately $3,000-$5,000+ depending on family size, mortgage, car payment, etc. A coach would need to charge one client $6,000 to cover the expenses of one month. If they work with clients for 8 weeks only, or 2 months, that coach would need 2 clients per 8 week time frame every 2 months.
There are many unseen costs that the coach must pay out each month or yearly as well. Advertising, Instagram or Facebook (usually both) marketing, website cost, email distribution cost, subscription services, financial planners, CPA for tax purposes, and the list goes on and on. This averages up to $1000/month savings on the low end. A coach that has two clients for 8 weeks, a bimonthly expense of $8,000, will only make $3,000 profit. I can assure you the coach is also paying for coaches to progress their business. Add another $6,000 for 2 months. They are negative $3,000.
This coach will have to still work their full time job, have limited time to devote to their clients and their business.
If a coach charges $6,000 for their services and has 4 clients every 8 weeks. That is $24,000 every two months. When they are able to make that type of growth consistently, they are able to quit their full time job and spend all their time on their craft. While equates to higher quality coaching, more time spent bettering themselves and are able to be overall better for their client.
Another way to look at coaching costs
The time spent learning information that coaches have readily available is about the time it took for the coach to learn their craft. It could take you 5-10 years to learn or 8 weeks. Money comes and goes, yet time is the one currency we will never get back.
The true cost of coaching, more time.
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