When I first stepped off the traditional career path to do what I love, I had this skewed idea of what Coaching could really do.
I knew Coaching was powerful, but I also thought that Coaching could guarantee results.
I thought that Coaches possessed magical guidance that would poof me into the reality I dreamed about—that just because I invested money into a program, meant that I would receive the results the program promised.
How could you blame me though, when I didn’t have a guide to warn me about inflated marketing? Or about multi-million dollar Coaches who were way out of integrity?
I had no one. Not a friend. Not a parent. No one to look up to who had been where I was going. I blazed this entrepreneurial path all on my own and so when my first beloved mentor stood on stage and claimed that I would add $100K or more to my income within a year, I was hooked.
I invested $13K {that I didn’t have} in a minimal-support Group Program and in so doing, made one of the worst financial decisions of my life.
Of course, I’m thankful for the lessons this experience taught me, but it truly burned me. I didn’t create anywhere close to the results that were alluded to in the marketing and this made me REALLY freaking bitter.
It also resulted in subconscious beliefs about business and Coaching, which have been running the show up until last week, when I hashed it out with my Coach once and for all.
On our call together, she reflected back to me how much responsibility I’ve been carrying—how much pressure I’ve been putting on myself to CREATE breakthroughs and results for my Clients.
Because of this belief, I’ve been pricing my programs based on RESULTS versus the SKILLS I possess. My thinking has gone like this: “If I keep my prices low, then someone who doesn’t experience the results they thought they would {just like I didn’t when I invested all that money}, it wouldn’t be a huge loss for them.”
The truth is though, I am not your savior!
{And neither was my mentor and his program all those years ago.}
The truth is—I can’t create the results for you. I can’t take the actions for you. I can’t even guarantee a BREAKTHROUGH for you on a single session. I’m not in control of any of that.
All I’m in control of is my part of the relationship. All I can do is show up for you 100% and give you my undivided attention and presence. All I can do is fully hold and support you and give you unlimited access to my phenomenal skills as a Coach.
Being energetically open to breakthroughs?
Deciding on and committing to take action?
Creating the results?
That is ALL up to you as the Client.
Realizing this has been so freeing for me. I’ve often wondered how Rich Litvin can charge $75K for a year of Coaching. Or how my Coach can charge $4500 a month. When I look at how they Coach, I’m JUST AS GOOD AS THEM. Except their prices aren’t tied to the results their Clients create—they’re tied to the SKILLS they possess.
And don’t get me wrong—as a Coach, you need to have phenomenal skills that will ALLOW your Clients to create results, but the level of results that they create from your skills are up to them.
If I look at my own practice, some of my Clients have created profound financial results, while others have created powerful mental and emotional shifts that will lead to HUGE results long after our work together is done.
Looking at in more detail—some of my Clients have manifested major successes in their relationships, while others have manifested a totally new level in their company that they had been previously trying to get to for years! Some have connected back to their power and felt confident enough to ask for and land an investment, while others have taken action to pursue higher education/certifications when they previously felt paralyzed.
The results literally vary for every person, so it has nothing to do with me! I’m simply the guide and in the end, I can’t force them to make the most of the journey.
I feel so profoundly shifted in realizing this. And I hope that you can glean some insight from it too.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Have you believed that it’s up to the Client to create results in a Coaching relationship? Do you believe Coaches should charge based on their skills or the results they create? Why or why not?
With light, love, & insight,
-Kayla
Words & Wisdom
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