Episode 19
Forget the Price Ladder: Build Coaching Offers That Match Client Readiness
Is it time to stop chasing the pricing ladder and start building offers that actually transform lives?
In this episode of The Solo Coach Podcast, we’re diving into the concept of capacity-based ascension—a powerful alternative to pricing strategies based solely on perceived value or authority.
If you’ve ever felt torn between pricing your programs higher or meeting your clients where they are, this episode is for you.
We’ll explore:
● Why some high-ticket clients are the most overwhelmed
● The hidden cost of ignoring client readiness
● How to build offers that lead to real transformation
As a solo coach building a transformational business, this episode will empower you to rethink how you structure and price your offers, so your clients can actually grow into them.
What You’ll Learn:
● Why emotional, energetic, and logistical readiness matter more than money
● How to create a “readiness stack” instead of a pricing ladder
● The shift that leads to more client wins, referrals, and results
Resources Mentioned:
● Subscribe to Find Coaching Clients Newsletter
Support the Show:
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review! Your feedback helps other solo coaches discover the show and build their businesses with clarity and heart.
Visit my website
Transcript
Forget the price ladder.
Speaker:Build your offers around client capacity instead.
Speaker:I call it capacity based ascension.
Speaker:I know it sounds rather woo woo.
Speaker:But it's not, I promise.
Speaker:But let me explain.
Speaker:There's this idea in the coaching industry that keeps getting recycled.
Speaker:Raise your prices, create a succession of higher and higher pricing,
Speaker:then raise them again.
Speaker:That's how you grow your coaching business.
Speaker:And, and you know, I'm not against raising your prices.
Speaker:That's not what this is about.
Speaker:I think you should absolutely charge what.
Speaker:The transformation is worth.
Speaker:You should have different priced programs.
Speaker:But I want to bring to your attention this very different concept of capacity.
Speaker:Based ascension to give you a different.
Speaker:Perspective if you find yourself getting stuck in
Speaker:the pricing game, you know, like of how you price your programs
Speaker:and products and services.
Speaker:So, you know, I really, really get it.
Speaker:It's when we're told to price higher, you know, at a price level that you're
Speaker:completely uncomfortable with and you're told.
Speaker:That this signals authority and that clients.
Speaker:Who pay more will value the work.
Speaker:More and that raising your rates is the sign of success.
Speaker:And there is this thing of perceived value when you're pricing.
Speaker:Right. We have seen, and there are studies.
Speaker:To show this, that people can be given a price for some, a product or program or
Speaker:digital product that's super low and they don't buy and then you triple the
Speaker:price and suddenly they're buying because it must be super valuable, right?
Speaker:And if it's priced really low, it's really not worth all that much.
Speaker:So there is this kind of fine line.
Speaker:And although you, I have programs and.
Speaker:Products and services that are priced very low.
Speaker:Not services so much, but certainly low tier, right?
Speaker:Products and programs.
Speaker:And that serves a purpose too.
Speaker:But I think a lot of coaches.
Speaker:Get really stuck in this place of how to price.
Speaker:And so that's what I, I know I keep getting off track, but that's what
Speaker:we're going to get to today, I promise.
Speaker:So again, you know, we're often told that raising your rates or pricing
Speaker:really high is the sign of success.
Speaker:But what if that's not the full story?
Speaker:I look at this by comparing two things.
Speaker:A successful coaching business versus a transformational coaching business.
Speaker:So I want to say that again, I look at this by comparing two things.
Speaker:A quote, successful coaching business versus a transformational
Speaker:coaching business.
Speaker:One looks good on paper, the other actually changes lives and it requires
Speaker:that you have a certain kind of awareness.
Speaker:I'm talking about the one that actually.
Speaker:Changes lives like a transformational coaching business.
Speaker:And it isn't something that you necessarily.
Speaker:Get all at once or it does again.
Speaker:Just like so many things in growing a business, it takes time.
Speaker:But what if growing a transformational coaching business isn't about price at
Speaker:all, but rather it's about creating offers that match.
Speaker:Your clients capacity to actually change and.
Speaker:They only elevate or ascend based on their readiness to do so?
Speaker:I know, I know, might be a.
Speaker:Little controversial, but hear me out because here's what I do know.
Speaker:True transformation doesn't happen because someone pays more.
Speaker:It happens when the offer meets them where they are and helps them step into more.
Speaker:So think about it. You may have experienced this.
Speaker:I know I sure have.
Speaker:You invest in a program you're not.
Speaker:Really ready for and yes, sometimes that.
Speaker:Can stretch you and be a good thing.
Speaker:It can push you forward.
Speaker:But most often it just leaves you.
Speaker:Behind and that doesn't feel good at all.
Speaker:And that happens when there's a whole.
Speaker:Lot of selling going on without attention to where the person or the potential.
Speaker:Client is right and whether they actually
Speaker:have the capacity to take on this
Speaker:program and move to another level.
Speaker:Some of the most overwhelmed clients that I have ever, ever seen were
Speaker:the ones who paid the most.
Speaker:100% true.
Speaker:In all of my years of coaching I have worked with clients who have paid
Speaker:as much as $200,000 to be in a program.
Speaker:And the most overwhelmed clients that I have seen, as I said, are
Speaker:the ones who paid the most.
Speaker:And it wasn't because they weren't serious or because they didn't
Speaker:care how much they paid. Right.
Speaker:It didn't matter to them or, or, or for that matter that they weren't.
Speaker:Let me see how to say this.
Speaker:They, it wasn't that they weren't capable.
Speaker:But it's a matter of capacity and readiness.
Speaker:So it was because the coaching program required a level of readiness, emotional,
Speaker:energetic or even logistical that they didn't have.
Speaker:Built yet or they didn't.
Speaker:They weren't at a place to be ready for. Right.
Speaker:So they weren't ready either emotionally.
Speaker:Maybe they had some belie or some.
Speaker:Resistance in, in, in place that the.
Speaker:Course was not going to address.
Speaker:The, they weren't ready energetically and that is across the board.
Speaker:So whether that's physical energy, mental energy or even just energy
Speaker:around belief like I said.
Speaker:And the course was not designed to address that.
Speaker:And then of course logistical.
Speaker:So maybe they, they are a brand new coach and they need to have.
Speaker:Like some of their messaging and their.
Speaker:Offers figured out and tested like proven.
Speaker:And validated before they go into this.
Speaker:Bigger program to really scale.
Speaker:They don't have that foundational stuff in place.
Speaker:It's just going to be completely overwhelming and very, very discouraging
Speaker:and frustrating and it's going to leave them probably in.
Speaker:A worse place than when they started.
Speaker:So hopefully that makes sense.
Speaker:Like that there's, there's this level of.
Speaker:Readiness emotionally, energetically or logistically or, or multiples of those.
Speaker:Right. That your clients aren't going to have.
Speaker:Some will have them, one or two of them, some will not.
Speaker:And you really do need to look.
Speaker:At your coaching offers in terms of this readiness and we're going to get.
Speaker:Into this a little bit deeper.
Speaker:So I've been that client too.
Speaker:You know, it's, it's because it's very.
Speaker:Normal and it's very much human nature to want to be that coach.
Speaker:Right. Who is in that high level program.
Speaker:And succeed and just growing their business faster than ever.
Speaker:It's very, very normal to want to be that.
Speaker:But it's another thing if you don't have the capacity to be that just yet.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Investing in a high ticket program, thinking.
Speaker:It was the next step when what I really needed was clarity, calm
Speaker:and capacity building first.
Speaker:Like I said, I've been that client too.
Speaker:In coaching, we're told that premium pricing leads to premium results and
Speaker:sometimes paying more holds your feet to the fire.
Speaker:It's true, yes.
Speaker:But it's not always the case either.
Speaker:So here's something to consider.
Speaker:People can pay more than they're ready to receive.
Speaker:So I suggest that your offer strategy addresses more than money.
Speaker:As I said at the very, you.
Speaker:Know, very beginning of this, you should.
Speaker:Have an offer stack. Right.
Speaker:If you're struggling to price those or even figure those out, look at it.
Speaker:From this capacity ascension or capacity based ascension perspective first.
Speaker:And like I said, we're going to.
Speaker:Get into that capacity is actually more than financial.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Because mostly what I'm talking about here.
Speaker:Isn'T do they have the money or not?
Speaker:That's not what I'm getting at.
Speaker:What I'm talking about is when we.
Speaker:Talk about client capacity or capacity based.
Speaker:Ascension, I'm not just talking about what they can afford.
Speaker:I'm talking about their readiness to receive the transformation
Speaker:your offer provides.
Speaker:So have a high ticket program. Absolutely.
Speaker:Just remember that some people who want to come into your high ticket program.
Speaker:Are not going to be ready to.
Speaker:Receive the transformation that it provides.
Speaker:And you know, you have to make the call of whether to, to let.
Speaker:That person join or not.
Speaker:Because ultimately if they are not ready.
Speaker:And even if it's a matter of.
Speaker:Like they can't even do the stretch.
Speaker:Right, that's going to end up in with a, not a positive result for them and
Speaker:certainly not a positive feeling for you.
Speaker:And if we're in this as coaches for true transformation and change and helping
Speaker:other human beings, then we want to.
Speaker:Take that into consideration.
Speaker:So this readiness I'm talking about, this includes emotional bandwidth,
Speaker:confidence and self trust.
Speaker:Nervous system regulation, energy and mental clarity, ability to
Speaker:take action consistently.
Speaker:You know, I want to come back.
Speaker:To this like confidence and self trust.
Speaker:This is a big one that I see.
Speaker:And it shows up as this nervousness.
Speaker:And over the top excitement.
Speaker:And they want so badly to be you or be.
Speaker:And I mean in the sense of like having achieved the outcome and they want
Speaker:that so badly that they believe.
Speaker:Wholeheartedly that you're gonna be the person.
Speaker:To help them do it.
Speaker:When they don't have the confidence and.
Speaker:Self trust to, to make sure it.
Speaker:Happens right to move forward and take the actions necessary.
Speaker:And that's a, that's a big deal. It's a really big deal.
Speaker:But there are, but here's the thing though is you can create, if you identify this in
Speaker:your people, you can create an offer that meets them where they are.
Speaker:An offer that helps them to build the confidence and the self trust so.
Speaker:That then they are absolutely ready to go into the bigger program
Speaker:emotional bandwidth.
Speaker:Do they have a whole lot of other things going on in their life and it's
Speaker:just sapping the, their, their.
Speaker:Mental energy, their emotional energy. Right.
Speaker:That's something to consider.
Speaker:Again, it's not to say that they shouldn't stretch themselves and
Speaker:reach for something.
Speaker:Bigger if that's what they, they want need to do.
Speaker:But it is something to consider and.
Speaker:It shapes how you create your programs and what kind of programs you create
Speaker:as well as how you price them.
Speaker:If you want to build coaching offers.
Speaker:That actually get results, you need to.
Speaker:Design them with human readiness in mind.
Speaker:Not everyone is ready for deep identity level transformation.
Speaker:That's why I offer a simpler email coaching option instead
Speaker:of the full mastermind.
Speaker:And that's okay.
Speaker:When your coaching programs or services meet people where they are,
Speaker:they feel seen, not sold to.
Speaker:So coming back to that, like not.
Speaker:Everybody is ready for deep identity level transformation.
Speaker:But I do believe that as coaches.
Speaker:We, it is part of our job.
Speaker:To help them get ready for that. Right.
Speaker:Because that's part of their ultimate desired outcome.
Speaker:And so if we identify that they're not ready for the deeper Identity level
Speaker:transformation, what can we do to get them ready for that?
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:That's all part of the transformation that.
Speaker:We'Re helping to deliver, or I should.
Speaker:I should say that we're helping to facilitate.
Speaker:So when again, when you're coaching programs or services, meet people where
Speaker:they are, they feel seen, not sold.
Speaker:To create coaching offers that match and expand capacity, here's
Speaker:where the shift happens.
Speaker:Instead of building a pricing ladder that pushes people upward regardless of
Speaker:readiness, what if you build a coaching offer ecosystem that honors
Speaker:client readiness at every stage?
Speaker:Crazy concept, right?
Speaker:I'm a big fan of offer stacks and I'm only just now beginning to implement
Speaker:a readiness stack instead.
Speaker:So not everyone starts in your highest tier.
Speaker:Some need to build belief, some need to practice consistency.
Speaker:Some need to reclaim their energy first. This is huge.
Speaker:Some need to get foundational pieces in place so they can take on the
Speaker:bigger growth, the scaling.
Speaker:When you create transformational coaching offers based on capacity, you give people
Speaker:a starting point that's safe and doable.
Speaker:They get to have a big win, right?
Speaker:A victory, a path that expands what they're able to hold.
Speaker:You grow them, you facilitate more personal growth than they would if they
Speaker:went into the bigger program that they don't have the capacity
Speaker:for, which isn't going. To create any personal growth.
Speaker:Nine times out of 10, they have a way to grow at a pace that actually sticks.
Speaker:And that might look like a low cost clarity session to activate self trust.
Speaker:Again, it doesn't have to be a full program, right?
Speaker:But if you recognize that your people.
Speaker:Some of the problems that you're seeing and this, this really happens when
Speaker:you know a coach has a core program.
Speaker:Usually it's like a mid tier or high tier and they have a high percentage of people
Speaker:who are not experiencing a significant outcome from the program.
Speaker:And that's because there is some readiness issue, right?
Speaker:And so observing that you can see and identify, okay, I have clients who, some
Speaker:of them are struggling with belief or self confidence, some of them are.
Speaker:Struggling with structural stuff.
Speaker:They don't have a foundation in place.
Speaker:So that tells me that I then need to create some other offers that, that help
Speaker:them to move through that issue and become more ready and to increase their capacity.
Speaker:And you know, again, that doesn't have.
Speaker:To be a full program.
Speaker:It can be just a low cost clarity session to activate self trust, a foundational
Speaker:offer that builds habits and momentum or a high touch container once they're
Speaker:ready for identity level growth.
Speaker:When I started to really dig into this concept, it really kind of gave.
Speaker:Me some big aha's.
Speaker:You know, and it isn't like I.
Speaker:Said, doesn't mean you have to throw out your pricing.
Speaker:I just want you to perhaps develop your offers through this lens first and.
Speaker:Then go back in price.
Speaker:Because we get driven to price and so we start to price a certain way
Speaker:and we create programs we think.
Speaker:Are worthy of that pricing rather than programs that create transformation.
Speaker:This isn't just ethical, it's effective and it's very powerful.
Speaker:You'll see more client wins, more word of mouth referrals, more long
Speaker:term trust and alignment.
Speaker:Because your offers aren't based on what.
Speaker:Sells, they're based on what serves.
Speaker:And I absolutely love that they're not based on what sells, but
Speaker:based on what serves.
Speaker:Rethinking coaching program pricing models Scaling a coaching business
Speaker:doesn't mean charging more just.
Speaker:Because someone told you to.
Speaker:It means matching value to readiness and knowing when your client needs
Speaker:space to grow before they leap.
Speaker:You know, it's also like, I'll say.
Speaker:This, and this is going to be.
Speaker:Controversial, but it's also being being solid.
Speaker:Enough in yourself and brave enough to say no to a client who wants to come into
Speaker:a high ticket program who isn't ready. Right.
Speaker:You're protecting them and yourself.
Speaker:Your next coaching offer doesn't need to be your highest ticket one, it
Speaker:needs to be your most aligned one.
Speaker:Start looking at the offers that you.
Speaker:Currently have and reflecting on the needs.
Speaker:And the readiness of your audience and the interactions that you've had with them.
Speaker:And if you haven't had enough interactions yet to be able to see these issues or
Speaker:this capacity, their capacity, you.
Speaker:May not have these answers yet. And that's okay.
Speaker:You just know that you're going to be watching for it going forward.
Speaker:So instead of asking what price feels.
Speaker:High enough to be next level, try.
Speaker:Asking what kind of transformation does this offer deliver and what kind of
Speaker:capacity does it require to work?
Speaker:That's really powerful.
Speaker:That question alone will transform your entire business strategy.
Speaker:The kind of growth that lasts.
Speaker:When I look at the biggest wins.
Speaker:My clients have had, they didn't necessarily.
Speaker:Happen because they bought my highest ticket offer.
Speaker:They happened because the offer was right for where they were at the time and gave
Speaker:them enough of a stretch to believe in where they were going.
Speaker:That's what creates lasting transformation.
Speaker:That's what builds coaching programs that work.
Speaker:Because real transformation, it isn't transactional, it's relational.
Speaker:It's based on readiness and personal capacity.
Speaker:And when your offer matches your client's capacity, everything expands from there.
