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How to Create Your Coaching Services Package

January 13, 2017 by Kristen Moran

This is a guestpost written by Christine Cristiano.

One of the biggest challenges for novice coaches is how to create your coaching services packages. Ideally you have completed your specialized training and now you are ready to throw yourself into the marketplace to offer your services to potential clients. Like many new and seasoned coaches, you have done your due diligence in researching how to set up your coaching services including signing up for numerous webinars, workshops and Linkedin groups, but may still be confused as to how to package your knowledge and information to sell to your prospective target market.

Like all new businesses, setting up your services and internal processes is just that—a process. You will enter into your coaching business with some specific ideas in mind, but chances are those ideals will change and be refined as you gain more experience in running your own business and working with a diverse group of clients. Creating your services is a common challenge that business owners face when trying to create and market their services, here are 10 steps you can take to help you along your way:

1. Product/service description

This is your starting point to creating your coaching services. A lack of clarity on what it is you’re offering and the benefits to your clients will be detrimental to your quest to define your coaching services. No doubt you’ve entered into the coaching sector because you were helping others before you embarked on this journey. What talents do you possess that others seek out? Is there anything specific that is lacking in the marketplace that you can supply? Get clear on what unique skills and experience you bring to the table and who, specifically, will benefit from working with you.

2. Research and compare

Conduct a thorough research of your sector to determine what is being offered. This research should include emerging industry trends and also what your competitors are offering and their rates. Checking out the competition is a good way to generate ideas of your own and discover any gaps that your expertise can fill.

3. Identify your speciality

Businesses that have a speciality or fulfill a specific niche have a better chance of success than those that generalize. What is your speciality? What skills and training do you have that makes your stand out from the crowd? Who would benefit the most from your coaching and why?

4. Create your potential services list

Study the information that you have gathered from your industry trends research and competitors and create a list of the potential services that you can offer. Make sure that you’d be comfortable coaching clients on these services; you can always add to the list as your business, expertise and clientele grows.

5. Conduct a survey

Poll your acquaintances, family and friends with a simply survey detailing the different coaching services you have discovered through your research. Ask questions regarding what services the respondents are most interested in and most likely to hire professional help for? Allow the respondents space to elaborate on what kind of services they may be in need of but are not listed on your services list.

6. Pricing your services

Once you have decided what services you are offering, determining your rates can be challenging. There are three factors to consider: what the industry can bear, what your competition is charging and what is an acceptable rate based on your level of expertise to conduct the work that you are doing. Keep in mind, the cost of coaching is often value-based pricing; likewise your target market can affect your rate. For example, your rate may be higher if you’re providing transformational coaching to executive-level clients as opposed to mid-career professionals. Other factors to consider include administration costs, travel time, overhead costs, business insurance and training materials.

7. Your business and service model

There are various ways to market your services including fixed rate per session or bundles and packages. There are pros and cons to both; if you create coaching packages, a client will be locked in for a set number of sessions or certain duration. However you may be excluding potential clients who would rather hire on a per session basis. Likewise, if you offer individual sessions only, you will miss an opportunity to lock clients up for multiple sessions or a specific time-frame, hence creating a short/long-term predictable revenue flow. If you’re just starting up, consider offering both options to capture clients on either side of the spectrum. Consider other program delivery options including group sessions, DIY programs, webinars and onsite workshops.

8. Creative packaging

Be innovative when naming your coaching packages by wordsmithing and using action words. Generate a value proposition that gives potential clients a clear vision of what you offer and the impact it will have on their lives.

9. Incentive attraction

One way to attract clients to interact with you is to offer an incentive or take-away that will provide some level of value to potential clients. Ideally, the incentive should be created in such a way that the client has to fill out something and send it back to you for assessment and reporting. In doing this, you will open up the lines of communication and also capture the client’s contact information for future promotional use.

10. Create a business plan

Create a business plan that outlines your vision, mission, business objectives, target market and action plan to follow. As your business grows, your business plan will require some tweaking to accommodate changes to your business. 

As you plan out your coaching services packages, remember that your coaching business is a work in progress and will continue to evolve as you secure more clients and diversify.

About Christine Cristiano

Christine Cristiano is a Career Development Practitioner, Certified Career Strategist, and Certified Life Coach with a genuine passion to empower clients to uncover the perfect job or create their own destiny through self-employment. Connect with Christine on Noomii or through her website.

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