Are you falling into the trap of billing your coaching/mentoring clients per hour? If so, you need to change that, and fast!

While you may be the best coach/mentor in the world, there are still only 24 hours in a day, not all of those working hours, of course, and there is still only one of you. You can only serve a set number of people. Instead of burning yourself out by trying to work harder to bring in more clients to raise your income, you need to work smarter.

Before we get into practical ways to break through your income ceiling, let’s talk about your potential self-imposed mental barriers.

How do your beliefs support and empower you in pricing the services in your business? If you know you’re holding onto beliefs that don’t serve you, consider the impact. It could cost you a few pounds an hour. At worst, it could cost you precious time with your family and friends, where you’re working super hard to make ends meet because your prices are too low. Of course, you can choose to hold on to these beliefs now that you know their impact. But, on the other hand, it may be time to challenge them.

Here are three practical ways to smash through your income ceiling and live the fabulous and flexible lifestyle you want.

Raise your prices

I don’t just mean to raise your prices for the sake of it, but if you do the maths, fewer clients at a higher price point = less stress, more time and energy, and a higher bank balance. But how can you increase your hourly rate when set at a specific point? Simple. Add value. Instead of charging for your time per hour, offer additional resources that you add to your packages, i.e.:

1. Access to online groups

2. Digital downloads – pre-recorded training programmes, audios (meditations, hypnosis), worksheets, cheatsheets, forms and templates

3. Pep talks in between sessions, i.e. via phone, WhatsApp, Voxer or equivalent

The list is as limitless as your imagination.

So what started as a coaching/mentoring session at a fixed rate now becomes a complete package of coaching/mentoring and supporting resources that can be priced at a much higher price point. The beauty of the additional resources is that they support your client while you work together. So when your client comes to the sessions, they will have made some shifts, enabling you to go deeper in the sessions to create more transformation.

Consider adding additional income streams

You’re missing out on multiple income streams when you solely focus on your 1:1 work. On top of your focused work, you could add many passive income streams that can earn you money while you sleep or work. 

Now, a caveat here. ‘Passive’ does not mean there is no work involved. You still have to create the items for sale. However, items can be sold on repeat without you being present. For example, I have four essential training programmes for sale that repeatedly sell in my business. I put in a lot of work upfront, and now I have to market them.

Passive income could include online training programmes you’ve written once and pre-recorded for sale. In addition, they could include digital downloads that you sell, i.e. audios from an online event you’ve run, planners, cheatsheets, worksheets, and templates. Again, the list is endless.

Create more opportunities for sales

It’s very easy to leave money on the table. Sometimes all you have to do is create a ‘Call to action’ inviting someone to take the next step with you, and a sale is created. For example, a call to action might be to check out your latest book, programme or offer.

The next step might seem obvious to you, but with so much information overload, we need to spell out the next step and make it as simple as possible for your potential client to take it.

Another way to generate more opportunities is to create an automated series of emails in which you teach your client some valuable content and sprinkle it throughout the series. You make offers for programmes/resources to support them along the way.

So to avoid falling into the billable hour trap, first work on your mindset and then:

1. Consider ways to add value to your current packages

2. Identify areas where you could diversify with additional income streams

3. Help your clients take the next step to buy from you by adding calls to action.

PS. When considering your prices, remember to factor in the time it took to learn the content you needed to create the package(s). People buy into your expertise, not just the finished product and service.