Niiamah Ashong leads a Tribe group coaching session on the Outlier's Edge Podcast about what allows trailblazers to be profitable and sustainable in the work they do. He coaches two coaches live: one is putting out deeper work than ever and wants the return to match, and the other is building her business toward high-committed, high-paying clients. What emerged is that being paid what they're worth comes from creating the container, really inviting people in, and serving bigger problems and possibilities rather than doing more.
Episode at a glance
- Host: Niiamah Ashong, coach to outlier leaders
- Show: Outlier’s Edge Podcast, released July 7, 2020
- Format: session, 52 minutes
- Topics: Profitable and sustainable work, What clients are really buying, Creating the container, Stories about what clients can afford, What is it worth to you, Problems versus possibilities
What this session is about
Two coaches brought the coaching businesses they are creating. The first has just completed an intensive coaching program, is putting out content deeper and more meaningful than ever, and has already pitched a high price for a company project based on the value on offer, had it accepted, and been paid more than ever before. The coaching this coach wants to do is about possibility: shifting people's perspectives away from what they think is impossible until they take that first step. The second coach is working toward a business of high-committed, high-paying clients, and is serving widely, including offering meditation sessions and group coaching to a company going through layoffs.
What emerged
Niiamah Ashong told the first coach that time is out of anyone's control, and that what matters is how well people are served and whether there's a container they can step into, because no one will show up unless they're really invited. With the second coach, he slowed down her account of a conversation with a decision-maker who could bring in coaches, and she saw the chance to offer that leader a coaching session of her own. He asked how much her stories about what clients can afford were shaping how fully she serves the person right in front of her, and she landed on her own distinction: she was being paid in problems while serving possibilities.
Questions this episode answers
How can a coach charge what their work is worth?
Niiamah Ashong says he isn't interested in how much someone is doing; what clients are really purchasing is the vision they have for themselves. He frames raising rates as a question of how someone will show up in the world and serve bigger and bigger problems and possibilities, not as being about the number.
Why ask a client what the work is worth to them?
Niiamah Ashong suggests asking 'what is that worth to you?' early in the conversation. If the answer isn't meaningful, the next step is to talk about the thing that would be worth ten times that much, because working only on small problems won't give the client the return on investment they're looking for.
What keeps coaches from inviting clients into higher-priced work?
In this session it was the stories a coach tells about clients' circumstances, such as assuming they can't afford it right now. Niiamah Ashong says that's where the service gets disconnected: there's no way to know what someone can afford or what it's worth to them, and making investments during down times tends to help people leapfrog.
Why does a coach need a container, not only great conversations?
Niiamah Ashong says he spent a long time giving value in conversations, and what was missing was creating the containers that help someone contextualize and understand what is actually happening. As he told one coach, no one will show up unless they're really invited.
What is the difference between coaching problems and coaching possibilities?
Niiamah Ashong says most people talk about problems and get only a marginally better result, while knowing where they're heading and creating a possibility makes the difference, especially during uncertainty. One coach realized she was being paid in problems while serving possibilities, and planned to start asking existing clients what the work is worth to them that week.
In their words
Will someone show up? Not unless you really invite them.
Niiamah Ashong
You have no idea what they can afford, you have no idea what it's even worth.
Niiamah Ashong
I'm being paid in problems and whilst what I'm doing is serving possibilities.
A participant
Key moments
00:03 – Profitable and sustainable trailblazers
08:57 – What clients are really purchasing
11:02 – Creating the container
15:43 – Not unless you really invite them
17:49 – Shifting what feels impossible
29:20 – High-committed, high-paying clients
35:02 – Serving the leader right in front
41:44 – Stories about what clients can afford
43:46 – Quadrupling rates by serving more
48:24 – What is that worth to you
About Niiamah Ashong
Niiamah Ashong is a coach to outlier leaders, host of the Outlier’s Edge Podcast, and founder of the Trailblazer Collective. He coaches leaders who are creating something only they can make: a company, a body of work or a movement. Make a difference with your difference.
Work with Niiamah: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference
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