A while ago, I had a business mentor as a client. She supported small business owners at various stages of their business journey.
Quite wisely, she’d realised that lumping total newbies in with seasoned entrepreneurs made it unclear who should buy from her – and why. She needed to sharpen up her messaging.
After a chat, she toddled off to split her offers into three levels:
- Newbies
- 2–5 years in business
- 5+ year scalers
When we met again to review her packages, I spotted a problem.
The people who were newer to business, the ones who needed the most support, had the least in her service offer.
And the seasoned business owners who were already up and running had the most.
Why?
Because she assumed the newbies were cash-poor and investment-averse. So the offer she built for them was bare bones; one short call a month, no in-between support.
And she assumed the seasoned business owners would have more money, so she gave them all the bells and whistles, which they didn’t need and didn’t have time for.
She wasn’t completely wrong.
You could argue that sometimes people setting up businesses do have a pot of money to invest. And sometimes people 10+ years in hit rocky times.
But in my experience, that’s not the norm when it comes to paying for mentoring services.
So, what do you do when the people who need you the most have the least money?
It’s a puzzle I’ve come across time and again with clients.
Some other examples…
Like the coach who wanted to help NHS nurses. Huge need. But very little disposable income. Plus, many of them had never experienced coaching before so didn’t see the value of it yet.
Or the wellness coach who wanted to support frazzled people-pleasers. Not necessarily low-income, but highly reluctant to spend anything on themselves.
I won’t pretend to have all the answers to this sticky wicket — but I can shed some light on the options you have, so you can move forward with intention.
Let’s go!
1. Let’s play detective
First up; some detective work.
Are there people selling similar services to yours (or even dissimilar ones) to your ideal customers?
Back to our examples:
- Are NHS nurses buying things that cost as much as your coaching?
- Are the frazzled people-pleasers spending similar amounts on other things?
If the answer is no, they might genuinely not have the money. In which case, scroll down to point number 2.
If the answer is yes, then the issue may not be who you’re targeting but how you’re showing up and what messages you’re sharing.
This is one of the key reasons I chose to focus on helping people with their offers and messaging because it’s often the key that unlocks everything else in your business.
No amount of LinkedIn tips, compelling email templates or spangly webinar advice will help if your messaging is off.
Your messaging is the key component of any service offer.
If the right people don’t notice you, or when they do, they don’t believe you can help them, then you’re toast.
More on creating and selling coaching offers here.
2. Are these people really your ideal client?
Brace yourself. It’s tough love time.
You set up your business to earn money.
If you’re like my clients then you’re not doing it for not for yachts and diamonds.
But the ability to pay your bills, save for a rainy day, go on holiday, and not panic when your car fails its MOT would be nice!
Whether you consider yourself “a business owner” or not, the goal is still the same: to make money.
Business School 101 is: sell your services to people who have the money (and willingness) to pay you.
So if you find yourself saying:
“The thing is… my ideal client doesn’t have any money…”
Then it’s time to revisit who you’re picturing as your ideal client.
Can’t bear the thought of changing the type of person you want to help? Go to point number 3…
3. The Robin Hood approach
Ask yourself; apart from your low-income audience, is there another type of client you’d also enjoy working with?
For example – your passion might be coaching low-income parents to help their kids get better long-term outcomes. But you might also enjoy working with high-income parents of children with additional needs.
By centring your business around clients who do have the money and willingness to pay, you can then put aside time for:
- pro bono or discounted spots for people with fewer resources
- free or low-cost content (e.g. books, talks, workshops, social media)
You could also consider:
- Payment plans – e.g. allowing clients to pay for a 3-month package over 6 or 12 months (though there’s some risk of non-payment).
- Referrals – point people toward more affordable providers or services.
- More affordable options – like a course, guide or low-cost group programme. Just bear in mind, if they really need 1:1 support, a DIY product may not cut it.
- Group programmes – these can be more effective than 1:1, depending on your clientele, because of shared support and accountability.
For a run through of the pros and cons of the different business models check out my blog post:
4. Set up a CIC or charity
I’m not being facetious here – but if you want to help people and don’t care about earning money, have you considered setting up a charity or Community Interest Company (CIC)?
Good news; you’re no longer burdened by the pressure to turn a profit.
Bad news; you still need to be clear on your mission, your audience, and where your funding will come from.
I’m no expert on setting up CICs or charities, but here are two articles to get you started (UK-based):
I’m going to go ahead and assume that if you’re reading this then you probably do want to run a profitable business so let’s…
5. Check your assumptions
Do your ‘people with no money’ actually have no money – or is something else going on?
The heartbeat of marketing is curiosity.
It’s so easy to assume we know why someone says ‘that’s too expensive’. Especially if they remind us of people who’ve said the same thing before.
But from my 20+ years in marketing and as someone who’s bought plenty of coaching services, I can tell you this:
When someone says, ‘It’s too expensive’ or ‘I don’t have time for that,’ what they often mean is:
- I don’t believe this will work for me
- I don’t believe you’re the right person to help me
- I’m not ready yet
In other words it’s not ‘I don’t have time or money’ it’s ‘I don’t have time or money for your thing’.
Harsh.
This is exactly what I cover in my book The Easy Yes®.
Trying to sell something to someone who doesn’t want it is exhausting.
“Trying to sell…”
You can feel the icky, desperate energy oozing out of it can’t you.
Trust that feeling!
You shouldn’t need to persuade and convince reluctant people to buy your high-touch coachy services. It’s really not the best footing to get started on.
There’s a much better way.
It starts with understanding what “ready to buy” looks like for your ideal clients:
- Are they clear on what they want?
- Are they ready to take action?
- Do they know who you are?
- Do they believe you can help?
For more on this, read my microbook The Easy Yes® (snappy, helpful, and well-reviewed!).
Going back to assumptions- they’re why I work closely with clients when we’re building their offers.
It’s all too easy to spend time creating something that no one actually buys.
That’s why I help clients get their offer (messaging + service package + price) sorted quickly, so we can get it out into the wild as quickly as possible to test the reaction.
Because you never know how something will land until it’s for sale.
So, what happened with that client?
Remember the client with the three business levels?
Once we looked at what each group actually needed (rather than what she assumed they could afford), we rebuilt her packages.
- The newbies got more structure and support, with regular access to her.
- The experienced business owners got a streamlined, focused offer that respected their time and honed in on exactly what they needed.
The result?
Sales got easier. Clients felt seen. And her business grew in a way that felt ethical and sustainable
Your next steps (should you choose to accept them):
- Be honest about who you really want to help and why
- Get curious about how your clients want their lives to be different, not just what’s hard for them
- Find out what would answer that “why buy now?” question for them
For more on why some coaching services are trickier to sell than others, read my post: The 6 most difficult coaching-shaped services to sell (and how to tackle them).Or book a call with me here and let’s get you back on the path to a smoother flow of fabulous clients. You don’t have to figure it all out alone.