Have you ever felt that heartbreaking pain when a client tells you “it’s too expensive” and later you find out they paid someone else THREE TIMES more? I have, and it nearly broke me.
She was my first “big” client. When she paid $900 upfront for three months of coaching, I felt like I’d finally made it. Someone believed in me enough to invest real money. I was over the moon.
The results we got together were incredible. She was crushing it in her business but drowning in oneon-one meetings. Her biggest fear was speaking to groups. She was terrified of it. But in just one month of our work, she transformed completely. There she was, confidently speaking to 50 people at once! Her revenue tripled! She finally reached more people without killing herself with endless meetings. She was so happy she booked a beach vacation to celebrate.
I was certain she’d continue working with me. How could she not? We had amazing results, she was making more money, and she finally had time for her family. In my mind, I was already planning our next three months together.
But then she hit me with those words that felt like a knife to my heart: “I need to pause. It’s too expensive – I spent money on vacation, and I need to invest in my business.” I felt sick to my stomach but tried to act professional.
Then came the sucker punch: A month later, I discovered she signed up for my competitor’s program – for $3,000! Three times what she would have paid me. I was physically ill when I found out.
I was devastated. I had given her everything – real transformation, concrete results, proof that my coaching worked. Yet she still chose someone else’s more expensive program over mine. For two weeks, I couldn’t sleep. I kept replaying every conversation in my head, wondering what I did wrong.
After drowning in self-doubt for weeks, I finally saw the truth: My competitor wasn’t a better coach – he was better at selling the dream. While I focused on immediate wins, he painted a picture of how his coaching would transform their entire business and life.
This painful experience taught me three huge lessons about business:
- Results alone won’t keep clients. You need to engage them with the bigger vision of what’s possible.
- When clients say “it’s too expensive,” they’re really saying “I don’t see the full value” – and that’s on us as coaches.
- Price isn’t about being “fair” – it’s about showing the true transformation and lasting impact you create in people’s lives.
Now when I work with coaches who struggle with pricing and keeping clients, I feel their pain in my bones. If you’re struggling with pricing, remember this: Don’t slash your prices when clients hesitate! Instead, upgrade how you communicate your impact. Because when clients truly get the transformation you offer, price becomes the least important part.