Balancing affordability and value in pricing

The age-old debate prolongs

Dearest gentle reader,

I’ve struggled to balance affordability and pricing my worth for a long time. I kept swinging from charging my worth and increasing prices to overthinking everything about them. I know I’m not the only one here for sure.

It’s hard, isn’t it? You want to serve as many beautiful souls as possible, guide others, and spread your light, but there are also these conflicting voices of:

• Can everyone afford what I have to offer?

• I don’t want to reduce my prices just because I want to serve more people.

• I want to increase my prices because it feels right

• But there are so many who need this!

• What about my worth? And my service’s worth?

On and on it goes.

That’s why I decided to take some time off from the question, to give my soul space to clear up. And I’ve been meditating the last few weeks, constantly returning to the question. Here’s what I’ve found:

Before I continue…I do wanna give some disclaimers:

• This post isn’t about me giving advice. I only share what’s worked for me and others like me. I’m specifying this because everyone’s energy is so different! And one size doesn’t fit all! So take what inspires you and what feels right and leave what doesn’t:)

• I don’t believe in freebies compensating for affordability. Which is also one of the main reasons I have structured my business this way. My newsletter, podcast, LinkedIn posts, conversations in DMs, and Discovery calls are where I serve folks for free. I spend a lot of time on them too. My lowest ticket offers start from $25. And if someone cannot pay $25 to get into my inner world, then it’s not the right time for them anyway.

  Again, these are my personal opinions and values. If giving free programs has worked for you, go ahead! But be sure to sit down and journal your values regarding pricing your services.

• This post wasn’t meant as self-promotion. I’m specifically giving examples about my prices because I can do it. It didn’t feel right to use any of my client’s examples, since pricing is sensitive to each person.

• Last one: So many disclaimers because…it’s pricing! It’s a sensitive topic haha. Now, let’s begin!

Have flexible 1:1 packages

I’m not going to reduce my 1:1 prices. That goes against my values. And I know it is so for many of you.

But what you could do is make your packages flexible. What does it mean?

For example: I charge $1500 for 4 calls a month. I have divided that into $300/session and $300 for the 1:1 message support I provide my clients throughout. This is how I consider my packages, and you can do something similar or what works for you.

Now, if I meet a new client who either cannot afford $1500/month or doesn’t need 4 calls, I offer them options for 2 or 3 calls a month. This still gives them the transformation, while not getting them into panic zone.

(I personally don’t prefer offering 1 call a month option since it puts too much time between calls. I only do it for my long-term clients who don’t need much guidance now).

Other points to note:

• I also offer one-off calls for those who want to experience sessions with me before making a big investment.

• If someone decides to work with me for 4-5 months at a time, I offer a discount for the full payment too.

• There was a time when I offered scholarship spots for my 1:1 sessions. I know many other coaches, healers & mystics who do that too! If it feels right for you go ahead, but after doing it for 3 years, it didn’t feel right for me anymore. Which is why I came up with other options.

• I’m not even getting into retreats or in-person events here. That’s a different ballgame altogether.

Play around with running group programs

Everyone directly goes to group coaching and masterminds when they speak about group programs. Not realising that it might not work for everyone, for various reasons. Plus you might not have done it before, so there’s the aspect of fear too.

Here are some ideas:

• Week-long challenges (synchronous/asynchronous) - You can make it super specific, and start with a small group (5?) with a community aspect involved. It’s much less overwhelming than planning out a whole mastermind, for sure.

• 3 Workshop bundle - Sometimes one workshop/masterclass isn’t enough to cover a topic. So you can divide it into 3 parts spread over a week or two to reduce information overload.

• One-day Deep Dive Challenges - You can bring a group for a whole day together (5 to 6 hours with breaks) where everyone works on a single project, and by the end of the day they have the basic foundation in place. You can guide them through the steps and put them in breakout rooms if required.

• 3/6-month memberships - I know so many folks who don’t start memberships because they don’t want to commit a lifetime. So I suggest setting the expectations clear with folks coming in, that this is an experiment you’re doing for a specified period. This makes it much easier if it doesn’t work out in the future.

Charge whatever works for you. But I’d charge anywhere between $40-$100 for these programs. The programs are fun to run, and I don’t depend on them for my income. But they do make a great addition:) You could do them once in 2 months, once a quarter or whenever it feels right.

Other points to note:

• Don’t run multiple programs at once. It confuses your audience. You can invite people for one program while you still have open invitations for 1:1 going on.

• I’d suggest not running these programs too close to each other. You need to clear off energy from one, before jumping into the next. Give at least a month (other than specific collabs which are different.)

• For individual workshops (typically 90 min) you could charge anywhere between $30-$60. They take 2-weeks to “market” [still in search of a word to replace this lol] and a few hours to prep.

• If you’re planning to run group coaching programs, you could charge anywhere from $300-$800 a month. More if you’re planning to mix in 1:1 calls in the offer, and are keeping the group small too!

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This feels so beautiful and right in my soul!

Also the best part? It keeps me on my toes, trying out different things!

In this climate, where the economy isn’t stable, it’s stupid to expect more and more people to invest in full-fledged high-ticket 1:1 services. I’m not saying people aren’t. But it also feels stupid to completely depend on it (that’s what I was doing because of procrastination and laziness for last 4 months).

It also gives your ideal clients to experience what you have to offer and your energies. So it becomes a perfect win-win for both!

What do you think?

If you have any questions on the topic or want to talk things out, please feel free to respond to the email, or DM me on LinkedIn! Either way, I’d love to get connected with you!

P.S.: The typical 3-tier pyramid model doesn’t work for me, since I get bored easily. But if that works for you, go for it!

I know many of my friends who run the same workshop/webinar every month! But this model gives me a chance to cater to the same people repeatedly depending on their needs and energies❤