Price the Value, Not the Hour

Key Points:

0:00 – Pricing and Negotiation Topic
Zoe opens the call by explaining that pricing and negotiation are some of the most common questions she receives.

0:28 – Close More Deals Through Pricing Conversations
The session focuses on how to price, negotiate, and drive the assessment conversation more effectively.

0:56 – Stop Doing Hourly Math
Zoe warns coaches not to think, “This will take 10 hours, and I normally charge $250 per hour.”

1:14 – Pricing Is About the Client
Once coaches price based on their own time, they lose control. The conversation needs to stay focused on the client and the value created.

1:43 – Not Every Client Fits One Price
Not every prospect fits a generic $2,500/month bucket, so coaches need to understand the client’s situation.

2:25 – Think in Value, Not Hours
The client is not buying hours. They are buying value creation, change, and a path to better profitability.

3:09 – Put the Client First
The pricing process starts by focusing on the client’s pain, goals, and willingness to change.

3:20 – Coaches Sell Change
Zoe explains that coaches are not selling hourly rates. They are selling change.

3:29 – Test Commitment
Coaches need to test whether the prospect is actually committed to change before taking them on as a client.

4:07 – Use the Socratic Method
Zoe introduces the Socratic method as a questioning style that helps uncover emotion, pain, and commitment.

4:24 – Ask Emotional Questions
Questions like “What would an extra $100,000 in profit do for you?” help the prospect connect the numbers to real outcomes.

5:08 – Do Not Talk About Yourself
The coach’s job is to ask about the client, not talk about themselves.

5:23 – Avoid Mechanical Assessments
The assessment should not feel like a robotic form fill. It should help uncover where the business owner wants to be in one year or five years.

5:53 – Ask for Clarification
Zoe recommends asking prospects to clarify and repeat their own pain so they hear it from themselves.

6:27 – Use the Question Flywheel
The flywheel includes questions around what they want to accomplish, how they are doing it now, how that is working, and what the ideal outcome looks like.

6:41 – “How’s That Working for You?”
This question is presented as a powerful disruptor when prospects say they already have a process, assistant, sales team, or plan.

7:23 – Make Assessment Questions Your Own
Coaches should use the PAS questions, but adapt their delivery so it does not sound robotic.

8:00 – Create the Vision
The goal is to help the business owner imagine what more profit could do for their life, such as vacation, tuition, mortgage payments, or freedom.

8:54 – Get to the Root Cause
By continuing to ask why, coaches can move from surface-level revenue goals to deeper issues like bills, stress, time, and freedom.

9:24 – The Close Becomes Easier
When the coach has uncovered the real pain and future state, the prospect is more likely to ask when they can start.

9:55 – Current State and Future State
The questioning process should clarify where the business is today and where the owner wants it to go.

12:49 – Do Not Skip the ROI Screen
Zoe says coaches should not pass over the ROI screen because the ROI is the whole point of the software.

13:15 – Repeat the Numbers Back
When reviewing the ROI screen, repeat the current revenue, current profit, projected revenue, and projected profit back to the prospect.

13:56 – Tie ROI Back to Pain
Use the prospect’s earlier pain points, such as vacation, mortgage, or stress, when explaining the profit increase.

14:53 – Change the Selling Mindset
Instead of thinking, “I need to close this at $2,500,” coaches should think, “How can I help this business owner?”

15:32 – Make the Math a No-Brainer
Use simple math to show that the coaching fee is a small percentage of the profit opportunity.

15:59 – Example ROI Framing
If coaching is $18,000/year and the opportunity is $188,000 in net new profit, the coach is charging about 9% of the opportunity.

16:41 – Coaching Is an Investment
Zoe emphasizes using the word investment instead of expense or cost.

17:40 – 10X ROI Framing
Gary suggests framing it as: “For every dollar you invest, I’m helping you create ten dollars back.”

18:28 – Do Not Jump to the Close Too Early
Even at the ROI screen, coaches should keep conditioning the prospect instead of rushing into pricing.

19:00 – Let the Prospect Ask About Cost
The ideal sequence is that the prospect becomes so clear on the pain and opportunity that they ask what it costs.

20:42 – Use the Success Questionnaire Gauge
Before pricing, Zoe recommends qualifying the prospect’s hunger, capacity, and willingness to do the work.

21:16 – Do Not Show the Questions on Screen
Use the success questions conversationally, not as a shared-screen checklist.

22:03 – FOMO and Qualification
Zoe frames qualification as a way to create healthy FOMO while also protecting the coach from bad-fit clients.

22:26 – Know the Client’s Cash Reality
If the client has low profit or cash strain, the price should reflect what they can realistically handle.

23:20 – Keep ROI Simple
Connect the investment, the projected profit increase, and the client’s desired outcome.

24:59 – Revenue Share Question
A coach asks whether a percentage-based model or revenue share should be considered.

25:04 – Revenue Share Requires Confidence and Commitment
Zoe says revenue share can work, but only if the coach is confident in delivery and the client will actually implement.

26:06 – Pricing a Startup or Early-Stage Client
Scott asks how to price for people who are not yet generating significant revenue but want to build a photography business.

27:30 – Sell Speed and Education
Zoe explains that early-stage clients are paying for speed, shortcuts, education, and avoiding years of trial and error.

28:02 – DIY vs. Guided Path
A strong question is: “If you did this on your own, how long would it take?”

29:23 – Premium for Faster Access
If a client wants faster results or more access, the coach can charge more for a more intensive version.

30:44 – Keeping Clients Enrolled
Scott asks how to keep people engaged when they pay monthly instead of one large upfront fee.

31:47 – Qualify High-Ticket Buyers
Zoe explains that high-ticket or mastermind offers require strong qualification so the coach attracts people likely to succeed.

32:53 – Payment Plan Options
The group discusses using tools such as Stripe/Affirm or payment plans to help prospects spread out payments.

34:07 – Downsell With Intention
Zoe reminds coaches not to lose opportunities and to create downsell options intentionally.

35:00 – Bakery Role Play Setup
Zoe sets up a role play with Bob and Mary, bakery owners working 60 hours per week with no vacation, no pricing increases, and little digital marketing.

38:46 – Role Play Begins at ROI Screen
The coach begins by reviewing current revenue and profit with the bakery owner.

39:18 – Ask One Question at a Time
The role play shows the importance of not stacking multiple questions together.

40:20 – Objection: No Time
The bakery owner says they want change but are already working seven days a week and worry about fitting coaching in.

41:20 – Focus on Small Improvements
The coach explains that the process works by improving small areas, not creating a massive burden all at once.

42:06 – Ask for One Hour Per Week
The coach positions the commitment as one hour per week plus implementation.

43:28 – Pricing Moment
The role play moves into the question, “How much is this going to cost?”

43:41 – Avoid Rate Language
Zoe catches the coach using “rate” language and reminds them to talk about value instead.

44:01 – 10% of the New Profit
The coach reframes the investment as roughly 10% of the new profit created.

44:53 – Role Play Close
The bakery owners agree to move forward.

45:13 – Practice Talking in Questions
Zoe recommends practicing speaking only in questions to build the habit.

46:24 – Role Play Observations
Scott notes the importance of the ROI screen, investment language, tonality, pauses, and making the $18,000 feel small compared to the upside.

47:56 – Avoid Overpromising
Phil notes that instead of saying “Yes, we can do this in 12 months,” coaches should tie results to the client’s willingness to commit and implement.

49:06 – Hunger Scale
Scott suggests asking “How hungry are you on a scale of one to ten?”

50:15 – Early Wins Matter
For prospects who say they do not have a year, show them what can be accomplished in the first two weeks or early phase.

51:32 – Ask About Desired Profit Margin
Gary shares that he asks prospects what they want their profit margin to be, which helps define the target.

52:19 – Ask About Investment Expectations
Gary asks what return they normally expect when they make an investment, then compares that to the 10X ROI shown in the software.

53:53 – Risk Reversal
Gary suggests using the P&L as the scorecard and allowing month-to-month continuation if the client feels the work is not moving in the right direction.

54:50 – Cost Control and Price Increases as Early Wins
The group notes that cost control and price increases often create early “shot in the arm” wins.

55:31 – Closing
Zoe closes the call and invites everyone back next Wednesday.

Five Key Takeaways

• Do not price based on your time. Price based on the value and change created for the client.
• The assessment should be a conversation guided by questions, not a mechanical data-gathering exercise.
• The ROI screen is central to the close. Do not skip it.
• Coaching should be positioned as an investment, not a cost, rate, or expense.
• Qualify hunger and commitment before taking on a client, especially if considering revenue share, discounts, or payment plans.

Notable Quotes

“Don’t do that.”

“They’re not buying an hour.”

“We’re selling change.”

“How’s that working for you?”

“People love talking about their own pain.”

“Don’t pass the ROI screen.”

“Make the math feel like a no-brainer.”

“You are not an expense.”

“This is going to be an investment.”

“Do not jump for the close.”

“I only work with business owners that are really, really hungry.”

“Downsell with intention.”

“Talk in questions.”

“Ask one question at a time.”

“Your P&L is our scorecard.”

Action Steps from the Call

1. Stop calculating price based on your hourly rate.
2. Reframe pricing around value created.
3. Use questions throughout the assessment.
4. Ask what the business owner wants to accomplish.
5. Ask how they are trying to accomplish it today.
6. Ask, “How’s that working for you?”
7. Ask what their ideal outcome looks like.
8. Ask what additional profit would allow them to do personally and professionally.
9. Have the prospect clarify and repeat their pain.
10. Use the assessment questions conversationally, not robotically.
11. Do not skip the ROI screen.
12. Repeat the current revenue and profit numbers back to the prospect.
13. Repeat the projected revenue and profit numbers back to the prospect.
14. Tie the projected profit back to the pain points they already shared.
15. Simplify the ROI math.
16. Show the coaching fee as a percentage of the opportunity.
17. Use investment language instead of cost, expense, or rate.
18. Qualify commitment before discussing pricing.
19. Ask how hungry they are for change.
20. Use FOMO carefully by making it clear you only work with committed clients.
21. Consider scaled pricing, payment plans, or downsells when appropriate.
22. Be cautious with revenue share unless the client is committed and you can track results.
23. Practice role plays around pricing and objections.
24. Ask one question at a time.
25. Use the P&L as the scorecard for continued engagement.

Resources & Tools Mentioned

• Workshop Wednesday
• Profit Acceleration Software / PAS
• ROI Screen
• Profit Acceleration Assessment
• Success Questionnaire Gauge
• Socratic Method
• Curiosity Questions
• Question Flywheel
• Market Dominating Position / MDP
• Investment Language
• Revenue Share
• Stripe
• Affirm
• QuickBooks
• Payment Plans
• Downsell
• DFY Group Coaching
• Photography Business MBA
• Bakery Role Play
• Cost Control
• Price Increase
• P&L Scorecard