Pricing Strategies for Coaches and Consultants: How to Charge What You're Worth

You don’t have to wait until retirement to be a coach or consultant. If you have skills and knowledge that can help other professionals and businesses, it won’t hurt to kickstart your coaching or consulting career today, whether as a side gig or a regular job. Here’s why.

1. It’s flexible work. The rise of flexible work opens more opportunities for coaches and consultants. It offers a range of benefits, including better mental health, higher job satisfaction, and increased work-life balance. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. professionals conducted by Deloitte Insights, 94% confirmed that flexible work arrangements greatly benefit them.  
2. You have more time to sharpen the saw. Flexible schedules and remote work setups allow you to develop your own time management strategies and self-improvement techniques that drive individual growth and success. 
3. It pays well. Based on data from the International Coaching Federation’s Global Coaching Study of 2023, the number of coaching practitioners reached more than 100,000 for the first time, rising 54% from 2019. Over half of coaches reported less than $30,000 in income from coaching alone. In the U.S., the average annual income from coaching rose 12% from 2019 to 2022 to $52,800. Meanwhile, the average yearly income per management consultant in the U.S. reached $212,000 in 2023. Not bad, right? 

Before you start writing your academic CV for a coaching or consulting proposal, you must first learn the art of pricing yourself. 

Factors to Consider in Creating Your Pricing Strategy

According to a LinkedIn article, there are three basic factors to ponder in arriving at a fair and workable price scheme. 

Cost

First, you must calculate your cost. What costs do you expect in your coaching or consulting business? Think of rent (if you plan to establish a physical office), office equipment, utilities, transportation and travel expenses, and taxes. 

Value

Next, think of the main “product” you’re offering: you. Consider your skills, experience, expertise, and the results you promise your clients. Your value includes your reputation, your unique selling proposition, and your competitive advantage. Learn the rates of long-time consultants in the same industry, niche, and location to get an idea of your “worth.”

Pricing Method

Determine what type of projects you want to handle and how you want to charge for them. Some charge by the hour, and others charge per project. Some work on retainer fees or fixed fees based on the value or performance of the consultant. More on these methods in the next section.

Now that you have a pricing strategy that addresses your cost requirements, professional value, and pricing preference, it’s time to communicate your price, terms, and conditions through a transparent and detailed proposal, contract, and invoice. Review and update your price as needed. 

How to Charge for Coaching or Consulting Services

Pricing method is an important aspect of coaching and consulting. Not every pricing scheme works for every type of project or client. Professional resumé services say how you charge often takes into account the job’s difficulty level, the depth of your skill and experience, and the potential of the prospect to become a long-term client.

Here are three common ways coaches and consultants charge for their services: 

Hourly Rate

In this option, you will be paid for every hour of work you put in. The process is straightforward: you work, you finish your work, you get paid. It’s ideal for one-off requests with minimal requirements, such as teaching HR staff how to use a company’s proprietary dashboard. It might need just a few hours per day of training. 

Seasoned consultants don’t recommend it for long-term projects. Hourly pricing implies that your value as a coach or consultant is only as good as the hours you spend. Remember that your expertise and experience are what bring value to the project, not the length of time you put in, and you should be compensated for those things.

With that said, many consultants charge hourly in this manner as a rule of thumb. They take the hourly rate + benefits that they would earn when working on salary for a company, and double or triple that amount. Here’s an example:

$16,000 monthly income with bonus

$16,000 / 20 working days = $800 daily income

$800 / 8 hours of work = $100 hourly wage

$100 x 3 = $300 hourly rate for a consultant

Retainer

In this option, you will be paid a fixed amount for your services. A retainer contract is a long-term agreement wherein the client pays you in advance or regularly for ongoing services. You agree on the scope of work and support inclusions each month. All other services outside of the agreement will be billed as ad-hoc work. 

It’s an attractive option as it ensures long-term earnings for you. It also gives you time to observe how the arrangement works while receiving consistent income. 

Some consultants don’t like retainer pricing because it invites clients to exploit them. For instance, if the contract mentions unlimited consultation calls (meaning no limits on the number of calls), some clients might define “unlimited” as permission to call after work hours and disrupt your personal space. 

Package or Project-Based

This option is a balance of the two. It’s more results-oriented and has a shorter duration than a retainer, but can be renewed for the same scope or adjusted goals. Pricing is based on a set package or programme, which runs for a specified period, such as 3 months or 6 months. 

For example, you may offer a 3-month coaching programme consisting of twice-weekly sessions. Every session has a set goal and the client understands the outcome. 

The beauty of this option is that the boundaries are clear. Your duty begins and ends with the programme, but your expertise resonates throughout those tasks and results.

Now that you have an idea of how to price your worth, you can be more confident in opening your coaching or consulting business.