Unfortunately,  it is a story I’ve heard too many times.

I’ve been on the phone with a LAB member or coaching client and they tell me they used to work with another online business coach, paying some sky-high 4-figure monthly fee, only to be disappointed.

One story, the guy was working with a “big name guru” you might have heard of. He was paying this “coach” a rather insane monthly fee, even took on debt to do it. Ended up cancelling it because he was growing his debt paying this coach, but not getting enough results to pay for itself. By the time I talked to him, I could tell he was still pretty confused on some things and hadn’t made a lot of headway. He had little to show for the money he paid that coach… and the coach basically blamed him for “not wanting it enough”. Just pissed me off even hearing that story, really.

Another person I more recently spoke with told me a similar story. I remember the price point since this was more recent. She was paying $1250/month to a coach. Yet, she felt that most of what this coach was telling her could have been read out of a blog post or a book. What she needed was for somebody to peel back the theory and bullcrap and help her with the specifics… but clearly this coach thought that she was placing herself onto some kind of online business pedestal because she was charging $1250/month.

Here’s the thing…

No, I am definitely NOT saying that all business coaches are full of crap.

I’m also NOT saying that all expensive coaches are full of crap. Some of them are very much worth what they charge. But…

Some are not. 🙂

Some of them charge really high fees just because they think it makes them look good. It is a positioning thing. It makes them seem like a “guru” when they might not actually be all that much better at it than the average joe.

And let’s face it, in the world of online business, there are far too many theoretical gurus out there. They’ve read stuff… maybe even took some courses. But, they don’t have the experience behind it. They’re wet behind the ears. They can “talk shop” all day long, and they understand how things are supposed to work. So, they parade that around like an expert. But, the moment something doesn’t fit their theoretical template, they don’t know how to handle it.

Plus, there’s this whole movement in the online marketing world toward “high ticket offers”… or “high ticket coaching”. There’s gurus out there…. err, I mean “gurus” since I can never forget to put that word in air quotes ;-)…. but these “gurus” out there will preach from the rooftops about the beauties of high-ticket coaching. And they’ll coach people to show them how to coach people.

It’s sorta funny. 🙂

So, you get a lot of people offering up high-ticket coaching because it is the “in” thing to do. It is “what’s working now”. They look at it as an offer and a way to make a pile of money, but usually they’re not looking at it as actual delivery.

No, you’re supposed to pay that sky-high fee and feel honored to touch their freakin’ robe. Like their gracing you with their time to be on the phone with you. Pft. No, sir. The way I look at it, if you’re going to charge somebody many thousands of dollars for coaching, you better freakin’ DO something concrete to earn that money. Not just talk on the phone.

All this to say…

Practice some due diligence out there. There are people who call themselves coaches who really shouldn’t be.

Look for deliverables. Look for what they will DO for you and what that’s actually worth. No phone call is worth $1250. I fully understand there might be exceptions. And I fully understand the value of one’s time. But, I’m talking about the client side of things. If the client is going to pony out $1250 for a phone call, they better have everything they need to make back at least $1250 of value from that call. Deliverables and actions make that happen, not words spoken.

This is all a huge reason why I do my own coaching in a very different manner.

Via the LAB Platinum program…. or now (brand new) the ability for any LAB member to add coaching to their membership without changing their member level.

And if somebody wants to get on the phone with me, I charge a fee which is quite reasonable compared to my level of experience (2 decades). I don’t charge a fee designed to position me in your mind, or indulge my own sense of self-importance. I charge what a phone call with me is actually worth. Because I’m giving you my words and my advice, but it isn’t as if I’m jumping in there and doing the work for you.

I think everybody who is trying to grow an online business should have a coach. It is really freakin’ helpful to have that outside, experienced viewpoint.

But, if you had to max out your Visa to do it, that makes zero sense.

So, please don’t do that.

And if you ever decide to join Platinum, this is a coaching option done in a different way in order to keep the price down and therefore accessible.

– David