Coaching Packages And Pricing: What's The Best Model For High End Clients?
"How do I work with you?"
It's a phrase that every coach wants to hear. It means that you're *this* close to getting a new client.
But it can also be stressful.
What if that person wants to work with you, but not in the way you suggest?
What if they like your package structure, but not your price?
Hearing "No" is part of building a business. But hearing "Yes" feels a lot better.
In this guide to coaching packages and pricing, you’ll learn:
Before you dive in…
If you want some actual examples of how my clients are pricing and packaging their services, I’ve put it into a PDF for you.
Click the button below to download:
Let's start with a rundown of your packaging options:
The Pros And Cons Of 3 Popular Coaching Models
There are three main ways to structure a coaching engagement.
Single sessions
Long-term packages
Monthly retainers
You can also offer retreats, online courses, membership sites, etc.
But for this article, we're going to focus on the coaching-centric models above.
Let’s look at each one of them in detail…
🕐 1. SINGLE SESSIONS
Also called hourly billing. Client pays for single sessions with you, either on a one-off basis or in a bundle. A bundle is like a punch pass at a gym. For example, you could sell 6 sessions in bulk for your client to schedule as they please. Single sessions can be a good way to “get in the game” and work with your first few paid clients. Just don't get stuck at this stage.
Pros:
✅ Low risk for client. Single sessions are the easiest to sell since the client only has to commit to a single session. So if you’ve never gotten paid for business or life coaching, single sessions are a good way to build your confidence. They can also be offered as part of a one-time promotion if you already have an audience and need a quick influx of cash.
✅ Flexible timeline. Single sessions allow the client to purchase the exact amount of coaching they need. They also allow the coach to stop working with a client whenever they want.
Cons:
❌ No recurring revenue. Single sessions require the client to “opt-in” each time they want coaching as opposed to “opting-out” to an ongoing agreement. Because of this, the coach often has to remind clients to book another session.
❌ Doesn’t separate time and money. With single sessions, you get paid in direct proportion to the time that you work. If you want to make more money, you have to either work more or charge more. This model is not scaleable.
❌ More clients needed. With single sessions, you tend to work with each client for a shorter amount of time. So you need to constantly find new ones.
❌ Less predictable cash flow. You won’t know how many people are going to book sessions each month. With packages and retainers, you’ll have a better sense.
❌ No large upfront payments. You can sell a bundle of single sessions, but it’s hard to charge really high prices without the context of a package. People may compare your offer to lower priced services, like buying a bundle of yoga classes. You often end up chasing people down to schedule their next call.
❌ Creates smaller results. Because engagement lengths tend to be shortest with single sessions, you’re only able to support the client with a small scope of challenges. This makes your case studies less impressive.
Best for: Beginning coaches who have never charged for coaching
📦 2. LONG-TERM PACKAGEs
Clients pay for multiple sessions, within a defined length of time. Packages may also include group sessions, access to trainings, support between calls, and more. When done well, these packages are niched down and revolve around one primary goal. For example, a health coach might offer 3 month packages that help busy professionals lose 20 pounds without dieting.
Pros:
✅ Separates time and money. Well-designed packages allow you to charge based on the results of your coaching instead of on the time you spend. This means that the better you get delivering your package, the more you make. The better you get with single sessions, the less you make.
✅ Fewer clients needed. Since you work with each client for a longer period of time, you don’t have to constantly market yourself. You can just focus on coaching.
✅ More predictable cash flow. With packages, you know how many people are going to be booking sessions each month. You’ll still need to learn how to generate leads consistently, but packages are less stressful than single sessions.
✅ Large upfront payments. When you sell long-term packages, you can often secure some or all of the payment upfront. This allows you to invest in your business sooner, which ultimately makes you a better coach and entrepreneur. You can try to sell a bundle of single sessions, but it’s hard to charge a lot without the context of a package.
✅ Creates biggest results. Because engagement lengths tend to be long with packages, you’re able to support your client through their full transformation. This provides awesome case studies. With single sessions and retainers, it’s more likely that your client will drop off when things get hard. One thing to watch out for with packages is complacency. Unless the coach and client both stay in touch with the goal of the engagement, there may be a big rush of energy at the beginning that dissipates over time.
Cons:
❌ Higher risk for client. Because the client is committing to a more long term relationship, you’ll need to build more trust in order to make the sale. This can be overcome in various ways: creating useful content, generating referrals, providing successful case studies, and by running an effective enrollment conversation.
❌ Less flexible timeline. When you design a package, you make an educated guess on the amount of time it will take someone to reach their desired outcome. However, the client isn’t able to purchase the exact amount of coaching they need. Packages also lock the coach in for a certain amount of time. It’s hard to end a long-term package midway through simply because you don’t enjoy working with that client.
❌ No recurring revenue. With packages, you know you’ll be working with a client for a certain amount of time. But that revenue isn’t technically recurring. Which means you’ll need to re-enroll them once the package ends. Given the discrete nature of the package, your client may assume the engagement ends when the package ends. So if that’s not the case, you’ll need to create an expectation of ongoing work together.
Best for: Coaches who know their niche and want more cash upfront
📆 3. Monthly Retainers
Client pays a set monthly fee for access to your coaching, support, and content. Monthly retainers do not lock the client into a set number of months. When done well, the client gets charged automatically on the same day each month.
Pros:
✅ Low risk for client. With a retainer, you can always say to the client, “Let’s just start with the first month and see how it goes.” But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easier to sell a retainer than a package. Some people don’t like signing up for subscriptions, and would prefer to invest in a defined goal and timeline.
✅ Flexible timeline. Retainers allow the client to purchase the exact amount of coaching they need. They also allow the coach to stop working with a client whenever they want. If you decide to sell a retainer, you may want to require that the client give 2-4 weeks notice before canceling so that you can replace them.
✅ Recurring revenue. All things being equal, a business with recurring revenue is more valuable. That's because recurring revenue lends itself to repeat business. The more repeat business you have, the less time you spend marketing.
✅ Separates time and money. Your retainer can include more than just coaching sessions. When selling monthly retainers, I like to give an expected timeline based on their goals. This allows you to still sell in a results-focused way. For example, I might say "Most of my clients hit that revenue mark about three months in."
✅ Fewer clients needed. A monthly retainer doesn’t guarantee that clients will stay with you for a certain amount of time, but they generally require fewer clients than a single session model. Instead of buying a minimum of one session, each client buys a minimum of one month.
✅ More predictable cash flow. Long-term packages put the focus on sales. Monthly retainers put the focus on churn. Churn is the percentage of clients who leave each month. Instead of starting each month at 0$, you’ll be able to estimate the amount of recurring payments that will go through based on churn. You can reduce churn by improving the client experience.
Cons:
❌ No large upfront payments. In a traditional monthly retainer, you’ll only ever get paid one month at a time. This is not ideal for cash flow. You’ll be less able to make investments that could grow your business and skillset.
❌ Creates inconsistent results. The main strength of a monthly retainer – flexibility – is also its weakness. Change takes time. With a monthly retainer, you risk the client leaving when things are hard. Unless you’re able to create results in the first month or two, you’ll lose out on that potential case study.
🏅 A Fourth Option: The “High End Hybrid”
You can tick all of the boxes by combining a long-term package with a monthly retainer. I call it the High End Hybrid. In my opinion, it’s the ultimate coaching model. Here’s how to do it:
First, figure out the length of time that you’d need to work with someone in order to ensure a phenomenal case study. This could be 3, 6, or even 12 months. Basically, we want to support them through the entire transformation from start to finish.
Read: Signature System Tips: How To Create A Coaching Program That Clients Love
If you’re a health coach, work with them until they’ve hit their 20 pound weight loss goal.
If you’re a business coach, work with them until they’ve hit their $20k per month goal.
If you’re a career coach, work with them until they’ve transitioned into work they love.
The goal, and thus timeline, of your coaching depends on your niche. Every client will be different, but there’s usually a minimum length of time required to hit the goal.
That should be the length of your initial package.
I recommend that you charge clients either upfront or in two installments. This is better for your cash flow than charging monthly. It also avoids the administrative hassle of failed payments.
At the end of the package, you can transition that client to a monthly retainer. Obviously, you should only offer this if it serves the client and you want to keep working with them.
The monthly retainer should be equal to or less than the monthly cost of your package.
For example, if you charge clients $15k for a 6 month coaching package, the monthly retainer should be $2,500 or less. In most cases, you can charge less and offer less because your client won’t need as much support post-package. If you were to charge $1,000 for your monthly retainer, and include fewer calls each month, it would feel like a steal compared to the initial investment.
I used to feel like retainers created dependency between coach and client. It’s actually the opposite. There are certain cases where the client needs to continue on just a bit longer in order to hit their stride. I’ve had it happen where a client achieved more in the two month retainer than they did in the whole 6 months of the package - they just needed those one or two extra insights and they were ready to go off on their own.
The final thing to consider is a guarantee.
This is not required, but it can help to lower the risk for your clients. Especially if you haven’t created a lot of case studies yet.
There are two different types of guarantees: conditional and unconditional. Conditional guarantees require the client to do certain things before they can ask for their money back. Unconditional guarantees do not.
I wouldn’t recommend offering an unconditional guarantee for the entire length of your package, but you could offer one for up to a month. For example, you could offer a 14 day unconditional guarantee - if they change their mind after the first call or two, you’ll give them a full refund. This eliminates the risk for them and makes your package easier to sell. You can make this a normal part of your sales process or save it as a last-resort when a potential client is on the fence. You can also combine this with a conditional guarantee.
There are different types of conditional guarantees. My favorite is a “release of service” guarantee. This means that if they do everything that’s required and still don’t achieve a certain milestone, they don’t have to continue on. A spin on this is a “delayed second payment” guarantee. For example, they don’t have to pay the second installment until they lose 5 pounds, get 3 clients, or land a job interview. The reason I like this guarantee is that it still honors the time you’ve put in. It keeps the client committed, while also giving them an out. You’ll often notice that if a client doesn’t achieve their first milestone by a certain time, the engagement isn’t going to be a success anyway and you may as well let them go.
The High End Hybrid: a long term package, plus retainer, plus guarantee. It’s a great model.
What To Include In Your Coaching Offer
Structure your offer based on what will best serve your clients.
First, think about the main thing that your clients come to you for. Then ask...
"If I were in my client's shoes, what type of support would help me reach my goals?"
"What would I not want?"
"What would practically guarantee my success?"
Make a list.
The list can include things like:
Monthly coaching calls
Access to live or prerecorded trainings
Email or Voxer support between calls
A virtual or in person retreat every three months
Access to a mastermind with your other private clients
The sky's the limit. Remember, we’re going high end with our pricing. That means we have lots of margin to go above and beyond for our clients.
Once you have your list in front of you, I want you to cross out things that you're not willing to do. For example, maybe you don't want to offer support between calls.
Then, cross out the things that don’t actually add that much value to the package.
Finally, I want you to write the words "so that" next to each remaining item and explain why you've included it.
For example, I offer Voxer support so that my clients can get their questions answered between calls. It could be the difference between them winning or losing a big sale.
The "so that" exercise forces you to justify each component of your retainer. It also gives you a script to follow when you speak with potential clients.
Next, decide what to include in your contract. These are your "rules of engagement."
Here’s an example of what I include in my retainer contract:
Client must notify you at least two weeks before their next payment goes through if they want to cancel.
Client or coach can "pause" the retainer for one month. This allows for a break in coaching and payment without canceling.
A late fee in the case of a monthly payment not going through after x number of days. Termination after 30 days of no payment.
How To Price Your Coaching Packages
There are two strategies when it comes to your business or life coaching fees:
Option A. Charge as little as possible, market like a crazy person, and take on a million clients. This is the path to burnout.
Option B. Charge a lot, learn to sell at those prices, and give your attention to a small handful of committed clients.
I'd recommend you choose Option B.
It's more sustainable in the long run.
High end coaching requires that you move towards results-based pricing. Instead of charging for your time, you charge based on the results of your coaching.
Most people don't do this. They start with a price that seems reasonable and then decide how many sessions they can do for that price. The client does the math on what each session costs instead of focusing on results.
Here’s what to do instead:
Use your intuition by writing down prices and saying "Too high" or "Too low" until you find one that's just right. Start at $1,500 for 3 months. Anything less will be hard to build a business around.
Start proposing the new package and pricing to potential clients. Remember to focus on the results that you’ll be supporting them with, and the cost of inaction.
Use your close rate as a guide. When you're enrolling more than 50% of the people you speak with, raise your prices. If you’re enrolling less, improve your sales skills.
The truth is, no one can tell you exactly what to charge. What matters is your level of confidence. You can always raise your coaching rates as you get better.
FAQs About Coaching Packages And Pricing
Long-term packages and single sessions create an "opt-in" relationship. The client must decide to re-up at the end of a session or package. Long-term packages offer larger upfront payments and better results.
Monthly retainers create an "opt-out" relationship. You keep going until the coach or client decides it's no longer valuable. Monthly retainers offer reccuring revenue and a flexible timeline.
This is why I recommend a hybrid model: package first, then retainer.
You might think it’s harder to sell a package than a retainer, but that hasn’t been my experience. Recently, I experimented with only selling retainers. My conversion rate actually went down slightly compared to selling 6 month coaching packages. I think this is because packages feel more tangible, and thus easier to buy.
Let's dive into some FAQs:
Do I need to name my coaching package?
If it’s a 1-1 offer, you don’t need to name your coaching package. For a group program, I like having a name. Think about the result or identity that your clients want when brainstorming names. Try to use use alliteration and/or rhyming to make it memorable.
How do I choose between the different package types?
If you’ve never gotten paid for coaching before, your first step is just to sell a single session at any price. After that, I recommend the High End Hybrid: a long-term package with a retainer on the backend.
Should I have more than one type of package?
A lot of coaches think that they’re supposed to have three options, sort of like the tiers that you see for software products. You can certainly test this, but I’ve found that the simplest and highest converting approach is to focus on one offer, with two options for pricing (upfront or two-pay). Instead of trying to decide which package to go with, your clients will just be deciding between how they want to pay. Create one package that completely solves the clients problem and sell that.
Should I list prices on my website?
In most cases, you shouldn’t list prices on your website.
If you want some more examples of packages that my clients are selling right now, I’ve put all the details into a PDF for you.
Click the button below to download:
