💡 Business Tip - Test Bundles and Packages (Issue #40)
💡 Business Tip - Test Bundles and Packages (Issue #40)
It's good for you and the customer
When I started my coaching business, I offered two types of engagements:
A fixed-price coaching engagement for a specific duration of time (e.g., 90 days of career coaching for $x).
An ongoing retained engagement for a monthly fee (e.g., $x/month for two calls every month and a private Slack channel).
Since then, I’ve shifted to offering more call packages instead of retained engagements. I still like the retainer model for my leadership coaching, where I play the role of an ongoing advisor. We check in monthly, and there’s always much to discuss. It works pretty well for business coaching, too.
However, career coaching and interviewing preparation are more unpredictable. Some months are active, while others are quiet because a client is too busy at work to need my help or conduct too many job interviews. So, unused hours from previous months would start to pile up.
That’s when I introduced call packages. Clients can purchase a bundle of calls and use them when they want. We could have two calls in a single week, skip talking for a month, and catch up again the following month. They also save money with the call packages (e.g., purchase 8 calls and save over $700).
I’ve found that people seem to enjoy the new model more than the retained engagements. They commit to more calls, save money, and I know I have a steady calendar full of happy clients.
I’m sure you’ve seen other companies using a similar strategy of packages and bundles (e.g., Apple). They’re popular because they work!
So, look at your product and/or service offerings and see if you could test this with your clients.
I’m Larry Cornett, a coach who can work with you 1-on-1 to design, launch, and optimize your business. You might also be interested in my “Employee to Solopreneur” workshop. I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane while running my businesses 100% remotely.