Pricing Coaching Services: Stop Undervaluing Your Corporate Experience

In this episode of The Pricing Lady Podcast, I sit down with Glasa Gottschalk life and Business Mindset coach to talk about her Pricing journey and how to price your coaching services. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the episode.

Welcome to The Pricing Lady podcast. I'm Janene Liston, your hostess. This is where smart business owners price with purpose and profit with clarity Today, I'm very excited to have a special guest with us. Please help me welcome Glasa Gottschalk.

Yay.

right, Glasa?

Yes. Perfect.

Excellent. Welcome. I'm super excited to have you here with me today. Where are you joining us from?

I am joining from Rockford, Illinois in the us. We're about 60 minutes northwest of Chicago.

Okay, excellent. What would you describe as your personal or professional superpower?

Ooh. I would definitely say my determination. That's one. No matter what, I'm the person I am going to like figure it out. I'm gonna decide what I want and really find the path to go get it.

I love that. So you're an intrepid spirit.

I've never heard it explained that way, but

No.

that. Yeah.

It's a great word. What's one thing that most people don't know about you that you'd like to share with us today?

Interesting. I actually started my career in a small business running a record store and used to DJ. Like records and play at parties and things like that. And it's something that still lives close to my heart because I love electronic music and house music and techno. My husband actually says if I ever come home and there's house music on, I know to leave you alone 'cause you're in a mode to get stuff done. But it's one of my favorites and I love sharing my music too, online. Just things that, you know, inspire me or keep me motivated.

Super.

Yeah.

To give us a bit of context, why don't you tell us about what kind of work you do and how you got started in that?

I am a life and business mindset coach, and I work with women leaders and entrepreneurs that wanna show up bolder and braver in life or in their career or business. In 2017, when I had left my last job, I was headed for a sabbatical year. And in that year was just saying yes to anything that really energized me and lit me up. During that time I started a consulting business where I was consulting business owners and leaders on ways to increase their profitability and revenues. Leadership and business development has always been a part of my background, so it's. It felt natural and motivating to help folks with that. it wasn't long into that journey that I really understood this thread of your business or your organization or your team will only grow to the aspect that you're willing to grow as an individual. And so I started to sit with this question of how do I get folks to become more self-aware. And this led me to get curious about coaching. I ended up doing a year long certification program that totally opened my eyes to a different, a different world. And I came to understand that without this work, without, adopting a growth mindset and leaning into coaching tools everything else that we do in business or in life becomes more difficult. And so this became the foundational work, that creates everything else that we want in life. I've done it since 2019. And it's been something that has brought me so much joy and fulfillment.

excellent. When you first started your business and you had to price what you were offering, what was that like for you?

Yeah, this was a challenging one. When I started my original consulting business in 2017, I really didn't have, a lot of knowledge in terms of how to price things and to say that it was something that I master quickly would be false. It's definitely something that was a journey for me. But the journey was really about understanding the value that you have to offer, what that creates for your clients. And then Pricing appropriately. One of the biggest hurdles I faced in the beginning is not really understanding the total aspect of the work that you bring to the client. Sometimes we only think about initial stages or the time that we're front facing with the client, and there's so much more, so much more time and energy that actually goes in. And so I had to really make the switch from charging for my time to charging for the value that I'm bringing to the client. And that was one that was eye-opening for me.

Right, right. When you made this shift into coaching, what felt most uncomfortable or confusing to you about how to go about charging for your work?

Oh, I think the confusing thing for me when I switched

Hmm.

to coaching was that everywhere I looked in the coaching industry, there was a variation of pricing, methods, pricing cadences, pricing like some coaches were pricing for sessions, some coaches were doing recurring retainers where it was just like you paid a monthly fee. Some coaches were doing like a timeframe, like we worked together for X amount of time. So it was really confusing because there was no real template out there in terms of. These are the things that you should be looking at for you to decide on how you want to price. Everywhere you look, you know, there's everything from folks charging $50 a session on up to $50,000 a year for program, and you have to kind of tune into yourself and understand, how do I define what is the right pricing package for me?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Was there a moment when you realized that, the way I'm Pricing right now isn't working for me anymore and or working for your clients and what happened?

Yeah, I think one of the best things that happened for me was shifting out of the time aspect and focusing more on what it, what creates a win-win scenario. What is a win for my client and also what is a win for me. So often sometimes I think we look at it through one lens just in terms of here's what I wanna make and here's how I wanna break it down. But we don't think what actually creates a win for the client as well. that was something, when I really started to explore it, it helped me build confidence in presenting it because I understood the value and I understood the win for the client outside of just the win for my business.

Right, right. Now, it sounds like, maybe I'm wrong here, but it sounds like you've experimented with a lot of different ways to charge clients over the years.

Yes.

which one taught you the toughest lesson?

Ah. Probably. The hour, the hourly when I switched from, yeah. So I used to think in terms of, okay, I am gonna do a 60 minute session and I'm gonna charge this much. It's an hour of my time.

Mm-hmm.

But there was a lot more context that went into that in terms of preparing for sessions, in terms of follow up to sessions, in terms of sharing resources or tools with my client outside of that session.

Mm-hmm.

and that was a really eye-opening experience to understand that the time that I'm allotting for this is not just within the session and the value that clients are receiving is not just within the session. So how do I broaden my scope to, to focus on the value that I'm offering versus just the time there. And I think when we're. Especially in the US we come up in a system that teaches us to be employees. We're taught to go for the higher per hour or the higher salary every year, and we don't really think about once we switch to a business that is no longer the primary factor.

Yeah, that's a very, very good point. One thing that you and I had talked about when we had a conversation earlier on, I think what even sort of prompted us bringing, having you come on the show was around some of the guidance that coaching programs might be providing people in terms of how they should price themselves. And one of the things that I see and hear all the time, you see very, a lot, especially with women, but also with men. They come out of a 15, 20 year corporate career and they get a coaching credential. And when they're setting their prices, they're not always considering, that corporate experience into the context of the value that they bring to the table as a coach. And I'm curious what your thoughts are on that, because I find, I personally find that. A disturb to themselves and to their clients, but maybe I've got it all wrong.

Yeah. It is of my philosophy that when you switch into business ownership, you're not starting from scratch. A lot of the folks who go through coaching certification, they've come from leadership experience. They've come from developing businesses in terms of like working for organizations and, and building books of business and building them out, and we seem to forget that when we make. Leap as if, because I am, I'm doing coaching. None of that stuff matters, but it does because all of that experience is valuable and has and translatable skills that you can apply to your business. Another one just 'cause you bring this one up that I always hear is like, charge your worth and then add tax.

Ah, you can't see my face everyone, but that one Charge your worth. I know, and it's so terrible because I have to confess, when I started my business, my program was called Speak Even Charge Your Worth. And now when I hear that phrase, it just makes me cringe.

Yeah, it's, and when you think about that. You know, some of that is pulling in your experience. So I get where it comes from of like wanting to take all of that experience with you as valuable, but I think it's it attaches something to our identity that. Does it need to be? Right? Our worth is inherent as an individual. The experience and skills that we bring, and maybe even the certifications are the things that we want to add that value on are the things that we want to price accordingly on.

Right.

And in the beginning, because we don't yet have the experience, it can feel really hard to

Yeah.

out. What are the skills and values that I wanna bring into this business ownership journey that are going to make me feel like it's a valuable use of my time, that it's a valuable use for the client, and that it's creating a sustainable, livable income.

Yes, yes, it has. It has to meet a lot of different criteria, or actually I boil it down to three usually with people. The prices you set, they need to be enough people willing to pay for it. Reflect it needs to reflect the value you deliver. Not your personal human worth. As a val, you know your value as a human being and it needs to be profitable enough and you know, it's not for me to judge what's profitable enough. That's between you and your tax person.

Yes.

No, I'm just kidding. But you know, you're right. There is an aspect of, yes, it needs to reflect the value that's delivered, but also it needs to be profitable enough to make sense for you financially. Otherwise, you know, I had a, a client, one of my very first clients, she goes, if you're not making a profit, it's just a hobby and that one stings,

I've heard that one. Yeah, it does sting, but it's the truth, right?

it's.

in business because you need to make a living

Yeah.

You know, we have to figure that out for ourselves in terms of, or work with someone like you to really determine like how do we, how do we price that? How do we understand the value that we're delivering? How do we understand the market that is available for that particular service?

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So. Also, when we were talking before, you mentioned about how clients sometimes are bringing more to the session than what you expect. And that changes, especially in coaching, that will often change what you deliver or how you need to deliver that. And what I hear from a lot of my coaching clients is they're like, oh, it's too hard to price based on value, because I can't determine that upfront. I'm curious what your takes are on, on that and the scope and the boundaries aspect of working with a client, especially on something, you know, like mindset, which is, let's say some people would say less quantifiable.

Intangible.

know, how, how have you dealt with that and come to terms with that in your own business and Pricing?

One of the things that I've adopted in my own personal business is a client agreement, which basically defines the scope of work, what I'm responsible for, what they're responsible for, and the expectations in terms of what is the outcome that they're seeking. Having this agreement helps us create kind of the sandbox that we're gonna play inside of so that clients understand if, if that scope does expand right, that's okay. There's no issue. However, the, the Pricing and the package that we've worked on and agreed to together has very clear boundaries. so there have been times in the past where we've had to shift a little. of re-agree on Pricing package and scope. Those, those conversations sometimes can feel uncomfortable. Most oftentimes than not. I feel like it's more uncomfortable from the consultant or the coaches side. But when you have those agreements in place. It helps both parties come to the table understanding what is the expected outcome, what's expected of me, and what is expected of them. I will say, and this was prior to coaching, but in consulting this was. This was definitely a hard lesson for me because they, I would work with clients, they would have success in their business or organization, and then they would be asking, can you help me here? Can you help me with this? Can you help me with this? And while I was happy to do so, at that point in my business, I started. To understand that the things that they were asking me to help with were outside of the package and Pricing that we had agreed upon and the scope originally. So having that client agreement where you're both on the same

Right.

with what's on the table, I think is a very essential piece to make sure that your boundaries aren't being pushed as the coach and

Yes.

that. If that does happen to expand that, you can come back to that document and say, okay, this is a great time to tune in to what we agreed to and

Mm-hmm.

just align on how

Right.

to move forward Purposefully.

Right, right. No, that's very true. I share with people that if you get nervous in those situations, when people ask you those things and then you find yourself saying, oh yeah, I'll do it for free. You can always say Yes. Why don't I send you an offer?

Yes.

Right.

yeah.

Because then you're very kindly signaling that this is outside of scope but in a way that's still very positive. And because I know some people get really tongue tied in those situations as well.

Yeah.

Yeah. So today it sounds like your, your Pricing model feels really good for you and your clients. If you look back. What do you understand now about coaching and value and Pricing that you simply could not have known at the beginning?

Ooh, this is a good question.

Yeah.

I think one, of the things that I know now that I. Was trying to work through, very early on in my business was that there folks who are willing to pay for intangible results, like things that we are trying to experience inside. When I first transitioned to focus on coaching in my business, because I was on the consulting realm of helping them increase profitability and revenues, which we can metric, right?

Mm-hmm.

how do we, how do we. Create value on things that are maybe not so tangible on feeling more energized in your day on having less stress in your life, on feeling more connected to your team or your coworkers in understanding what it takes to actually move up and get a raise or a promotion. In my organization, in developing my leadership network, you know, in. Finding more joy and balance in my life. These things, when I first started, I did not understand the value that they actually create for people. Although it comes in intangible ways, in terms of the coaching that I sell, it does have a return on investment when we apply it to more tangible areas of life, right? When we talk about actually getting more salary at your job, because now you feel more confident about what it takes to get there, how to get there, and when you're gonna have those conversations with your boss, right? When it comes to having more balance, it comes out in tangible ways about having more space for the things that are actually important to you. Spending more time with kids, spending more time with family, friends things of that sort. So, we discount sometimes the power and impact of intangible results and what they have in creating tangible results in our life. And I think that was a huge shift for me in, in understanding. only that, there is a market for that, but how to actually talk about those things in a

Right.

feel like it is worth spending money on for them.

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's really important. I know a lot of my clients struggle with that intangible aspect as, as well. Part of our journey working together is helping them to, to find I'm not finding the right word here to find. Almost what's tangible in the intangibles, if that makes any sense whatsoever.

Yeah, it's

Yeah.

if you feel like you're more clear and confident internally, what tangible result does that actually create in your

Right, right,

Yeah.

right. Yeah. What did you need to unlearn before Pricing your work started to feel more sustainable and more honest for you.

Ooh, I have to think about this one. What did I have to learn,

Unlearn,

unlearn?

that you had to unlearn in your Pricing journey? No.

Well, one thing that I've spoke on is I had to unlearn charging hourly. That was something in the beginning that was a huge shift for me. I think another thing I had to unlearn, so in my past there was always product or a service that I was selling, so it felt very easy to price the product or the service when it was something outside of me.

Mm-hmm.

think one of the things for me that I had to. Unlearn is that as a coach, I'm not, yes, I am the brand, you know, as the coach, but I think there was a lot of connection between I'm out here selling me as the coach versus I'm out here selling, the container, the result, the service

Mm-hmm.

and. I don't know if you see this with women especially, but when we attach that identity to what we're selling, it can be a lot harder to show up for marketing. It could be a lot harder to speak about what we do because we're tying it to a sense of that worth, right. That identity. And that was one of the things I had to do. A little bit of untethering. I do understand there is in terms of branding, right, a presentation of me as the brand, but. The coaching skill, right? The coaching container is something that I feel like is value in its own. Am I explaining it? Like

Yeah.

there's There's this, yeah. There's like this

There is a, there is a connection there. Absolutely. And I think, you know, that's where the phrase charge your worth comes from for a lot of people because we tend to... the reason I don't like that phrase is because it implies there's a connection between, between your personal value or your personal worth and what you're offering or what you're charging for. And I think that. That is a connection that we need to, you don't have to sever it, but we should put those things in, in the right perspective. 'cause it's not about your value as an individual. I think that's sort of what you're alluding to there.

Yeah, there's the word that I keep thinking about is like, we have to be aware of it and observe it

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Because if we don't it can keep us from showing up powerfully to put our business and market our business out into the world. So that was, that was definitely something that I had to unlearn in my journey. Yeah.

Which is an important one. And a hard, it's a hard one because it's not always happening at a conscious level. I remember there was a lady years ago, Michelle Masters, who I attended a program of hers and she was talking about worth. We all have issues with money, success, and worthiness. And one of the examples she gave, she goes, okay, so if you feel you're not worthy, when did you stop being worthy? You were worthy when you came into this world. Is that correct? And you were worry worthy a year later and a year after that, and a year after that. And at some point in time your brain decided you weren't worthy. When, when did you become unworthy? And when you look at that in, in that context, you can see that there's no justifiable reason for you to think that you're unworthy in any way. And that always stuck with me because it's some sort of construct that we come up with in our, in our own minds, through our lived experiences and, and things like that. But when you kind of give it the the BS test, it doesn't pass. Must,

Yeah, that is a great exercise. I love that.

yeah.

when was it that you started feeling unworthy? My guess is there is a point in there for business owners when they finally let reins of like the working for an organization, there's a shift that happens, right? In that aspect

Yeah.

you know, can I really do this? Am I really worthy of this? You know?

Yeah, yeah. Okay. I've got two more questions for you.

Yeah.

If someone listening is Pricing in a way that kind of works but doesn't feel right, what is it you want them to know? I.

Listen. There's a reason that it does not feel right. And the longer. That you continue down that road, the more painful it's gonna get. A hundred percent. There's this principle I learned in our coaching certification, which is, pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice. And it really. Tunes into, you know, we can experience these things and if we try to shove them down when they're trying to tell us something, right, we're gonna continue that painful journey. And so listen, if that's coming up for you, so that you can really get to the root of why does this not

Yeah.

feel aligned and congruent with the stage of my business and where I'm at right now?

Yeah. No, I couldn't have said that better. It's very true. Listen, that's a great advice. Where should people go if they'd like to connect with you, find out more about you?

Yeah. I am most active on LinkedIn, so you can find me there at glac Gotchu. I would love to connect with folks there. I'm also a business owner that loves connecting with people, so reach out to me. I'd love to connect with you and just. Learn more about you. I love connecting with folks.

Excellent. Thank you for joining me, Glasa. It's a pleasure having you here with us today, and thank you to those of you who are listening. If you wanna support the show, the number one thing you can do is share this episode on social media and tag me and Glasa today's guest that really helps get the word out. I wish you a wonderful day, and as always, enjoy Pricing. Okay.