The Truth about Consistent Income in Your Coaching Business

If creating consistent income is a dream for most coaches, why do so few actually achieve it?

One reason is that it’s easy to get lost putting the pieces together—and in the right order—to make it happen. Keeping all the plates spinning, working with clients, and marketing can make even the most devoted coach wonder if it’s really possible to reach this goal.

Guess what? It doesn’t have to be this hard.

In fact, creating consistent income is actually easier than you might think.

It does require a willingness on your part, as the coach, to stretch outside the standard coaching business model of offering your services by the hour or month.

(Most coaches don’t do this, and that’s why so many coaches are frustrated with their results.)

So, the big question is this: If your current business reality doesn’t align with your goals, are you willing to try something new?

If so, let’s dig in.

The Hard Truth

The old model of trading time for dollars doesn’t work.

It’s an outdated mindset that traps coaches with a lower level of income and impact than what they desire. Perhaps it’s an easy way to get started, but that’s where the benefit ends.

When new clients start out and are investing in coaching either hourly or month to month, they are constantly re-deciding if they want to continue. Whether they realize it or not, in the back of their minds, they know there’s an easy out. They aren’t ALL IN.

And that’s not good.

One of my past clients, Valerie, hired me because she was ready to reach a higher income level (her goal was $100,000) while maintaining her part-time work schedule. So, we dug in and looked at her business model and the types of coaching packages she was offering.

The opportunity that we saw very quickly was she wasn’t.

She wasn’t packaging her coaching services and was simply offering the option to work with her one month at a time and to decide, each month, whether or not to continue.

Frustration is a Clue

In the same breath, she voiced extreme frustration. She shared that her clients would often reach a “three-month dip”, right when they were deep in the discomfort of change, and they’d stop showing up. They wouldn’t respond to her emails, calls or texts.

The good news was that they’d often resurface, several months or a year later. The bad news was that the clients had lost all of their momentum and progress.

One of the changes that allowed Valerie to grow her business (and reach her goals), while shrinking her frustration, was to package her services. All new clients understood that they’d work together for a minimum of four months, which allowed her to support them through the pivotal three-month mark.

Did she lose a few clients that only wanted “one-off” coaching services? You bet.

She gained clarity about her ideal clients through this process and realized she was OK losing clients that weren’t ALL IN and willing to invest the time and energy to create real change.

The Courage to Take a Stand

When you create a program, you create value.

You create a container to support the person to achieve what they want most.

For Valerie, a new confidence beamed from her as she stepped away from the old mindset of trading dollars for hours and stepped fully into owning her value and the benefit to her clients of her new offerings.

As humans, we’re wired to take the path of least resistance. So, when following the old model, it wasn’t a surprise that her clients disappeared when things started to shift and felt uncomfortable.

Consistent Clients, Referrals and Income

Not only did her clients stay longer (because they stuck with the process long enough to move through the discomfort of change and reap the benefits), but they were also happy to refer friends and family.

Her business grew and for the first time, she had a wait list. She was smiling more and working with clients that brought her joy.

It’s Your Turn

As you begin mapping out your coaching packages, there are a lot of things to consider.

To get started, take a deep look at your ideal client and what they most need and want to be different.

Then, choose the duration for your coaching program (four months, for example) and the access that your client will receive to you (email, 45-minute coaching calls every week, group calls, text, etc.) You can add on from there but this will get you started.

I’m curious…what’s possible for you, your clients, and your business when you take a stand for your clients and their dreams in this way?