This is a lot of misunderstanding in relation to a coaches "earnings" so here's things to think about and questions to ask.
I shared the above comment initially on Facebook. I knew it was something important to share but I had no idea it would get such a response and lead to some amazing conversation and connections with my community there.
I had so many people reach out to me to take the conversation further. Let’s just say, my list of amazing people to chat to on the podcast increased in numbers as women all over the world wanted to share their experience with the lack of transparency when it comes to coaches sharing their income and sales as a marketing strategy.
If you want to be a part of the conversation you can on Facebook below where I have embedded the original post, and here on Instagram.
Once the conversation fired up on Facebook I decided to extend things over on Instagram and that is when I shared the following.
It can be SO easy to think that because a coach shares their PayPal or Stripe screenshots, and shows they’re earning big money, that they’re also a phenomenal coach.
Not necessarily.
Many of them are exceptional at sales and selling.
But it does not equate to them being exceptional at teaching you the same. Which is, incidentally, not coaching. Teaching and coaching are not the same thing but that’s for another day.
I’ve seen a trend burst onto the coaching scene the past 2-3 years that’s normalized using your earnings as a marketing strategy. But it’s not the thing to base your decision on when choosing who to coach with.
If I cared about my future coaches earnings, which I don’t, the questions I’d be asking before hiring someone are
- Is this profit?
- Is it sales that reflect future potential income or is it cash they’ve already been paid?
- What were the expenses paid to achieve this income?
- How many clients, programs, services were sold and how many participants gave raving reviews or testimonials of their outcomes? Not just how they felt, their tangible outcomes!
- What is the coaches way of working with clients, from, do they actually coach or do they outsource a large part of it to team and “support coaches”?
- If they outsource part of the coaching or teaching if it’s a program that is education focused, do you know this when you invest?
If you are drawn to the “here’s my income” as a strategy, then go for it. But know that you do not always get what you pay for and there are SO many legit coaches who prioritise client experience and outcomes over their earnings who will likely coach you forward in a collaborative relationship that you’re going to find SO value filled.
- Find them
- Hire them
- They’re waiting for you whilst sharing content that’s meaningful and useful
Oh and if you’ve got a story about your experience with a coach who was all about their income more than yours I’d love to hear it. I may even include it as an anonymous story on an upcoming podcast episode. DM me over on Instagram to share.