Why Undercharging Is Killing Your Coaching Career with Anthony Diehl

Undercharging as a Coach: Why Cheap Pricing Is Killing Your Coaching Career

Many coaches start with low prices because they want to help people. They do not want to scare prospects away. They do not want sales conversations to feel awkward. They may also assume that lower prices make coaching more accessible, more competitive, or easier to sell.

But undercharging as a coach creates problems that go far beyond revenue.

Cheap pricing can quietly damage your coaching business, your client relationships, your schedule, your service quality, and your long-term ability to stay in the profession. When a coach charges too little, the result is often more clients, more work, more stress, and less ability to deliver the kind of coaching that actually changes lives.

Matt Reynolds and Anthony Diehl discuss why undercharging is one of the most common mistakes coaches make, especially early in their careers. The problem is not simply that coaches make less money. The bigger issue is that low pricing often attracts low commitment, forces coaches into unsustainable volume, and makes it harder to provide the high-value service clients actually need.

Cheap Coaching Often Attracts Cheap Commitment

Price affects perception.

A coach may know that their service is valuable, but prospects do not always judge value objectively. They often judge it through the price. If the price is too low, they may assume the service cannot be very good.

Anthony Diehl shared the story of a client who had considered hiring him earlier but passed because the price seemed too low. The client did not think the coaching could be high quality at that price. Later, after Anthony raised his prices and publicly communicated that change, the same person was more willing to engage because the price finally matched the value he believed Anthony was offering.

That is an important lesson for coaches. Low prices do not always remove friction. Sometimes they create doubt.

A cheap offer can make coaching look like a commodity. It can make the service feel interchangeable with every other spreadsheet, template, app, or low-ticket program on the market. When that happens, prospects compare on price instead of value.

High-value coaching should not be positioned like a generic product on a shelf. The coach is not selling a spreadsheet. The coach is selling clarity, accountability, personalization, trust, problem-solving, and a real transformation.

You Are Not Selling Workouts

One of the biggest pricing mistakes coaches make is assuming they are selling workouts, macros, or nutrition advice.

They are not.

Most of the basic information about training and nutrition is already available online. A motivated person can find programs, technique videos, meal plans, calorie calculators, and articles for free. The problem is not usually access to information. The problem is knowing what to do, when to do it, how to adjust it, and how to stay consistent when life gets complicated.

That is where coaching becomes valuable.

A good coach helps clients apply knowledge to their actual lives. That may include adjusting training around travel, injury, stress, work demands, poor sleep, limited equipment, or family obligations. It may include helping a client build discipline, recover from setbacks, or stay focused when progress feels slow.

The value is not the template. The value is the relationship, the judgment, the feedback, and the ability to help a client move toward the result they actually want.

That means coaches should not price themselves as if they are selling a downloadable program. They should price according to the value of the outcome, the depth of the service, and the level of personal attention they provide.

Undercharging Forces Coaches Into Unsustainable Volume

Low pricing creates a volume problem.

If a coach charges $50, $79, or $99 per month, they need a large number of clients to make a meaningful income. That might look attractive on paper, but it usually creates a fulfillment problem.

More clients mean more messages, more check-ins, more programming decisions, more missed workouts to review, more problems to solve, and more relationships to maintain. If the coach does not have the systems, pricing, and service model to support that volume, the business becomes exhausting.

The coach may technically have clients, but the hourly rate is terrible.

This is why Matt emphasized the importance of calculating real hourly earnings. Revenue matters, but hourly earnings matter too. A coach can make decent gross revenue and still be trapped in a business that consumes every spare hour. On the other hand, better pricing, better systems, and better service design can allow a coach to serve fewer clients at a higher level while earning more per hour.

That is better for the coach and often better for the client.

A burned-out coach cannot provide excellent service forever. A sustainable coaching business gives the coach enough margin to think, learn, communicate well, and keep improving.

Better Pricing Allows Better Coaching

Charging more does not automatically make someone a better coach.

But better pricing can create the conditions for better coaching.

When a coach charges appropriately, they can take on fewer clients, spend more time with each person, and invest more energy into improving their craft. Anthony explained that higher pricing allows him to focus on the work he actually wants to do: communicating with clients, marketing the business, and studying deeply so he can become a better coach.

That matters.

If a coach is constantly buried in low-ticket fulfillment, they may have no time to learn, research, refine their systems, or think strategically. They simply react. They answer messages, put out fires, and try to survive the week.

A higher-value model changes the equation. It gives the coach space to provide more personalized feedback, stronger accountability, better client relationships, and more thoughtful problem-solving.

That extra margin is not selfish. It is part of delivering better service.

High-Touch Coaching Deserves Premium Pricing

A coach who provides true high-touch service should not charge like a low-touch template business.

High-touch coaching may include personalized programming, regular video feedback, voice notes, nutrition guidance, lab review, weekly calls, community access, or deeper lifestyle coaching. Not every coach will provide all of those things, and not every client needs them. But the more personal, specific, and valuable the service becomes, the more important it is for the price to reflect that value.

Matt contrasted low-value spreadsheet coaching with premium coaching that builds trust, solves problems, and adapts to the client’s real life. Anthony added that tools like video feedback and voice notes allow coaches to communicate tone, body language, urgency, and care in a way that text alone often cannot.

That kind of communication builds stronger relationships.

Clients are not just buying sets and reps. They are buying access to a coach who knows them, understands their goals, and can help them make better decisions. When that relationship is strong, the service is worth more.

The Right Clients Will Pay for the Right Result

Many coaches hesitate to raise their prices because they assume no one will pay.

But that assumption is often based on the coach’s own budget, not the client’s priorities.

A coach may not personally pay $500, $1,000, or several thousand dollars per month for a service. But that does not mean no one will. Different clients have different problems, different resources, and different levels of urgency.

For a client dealing with serious health concerns, major body composition goals, chronic inconsistency, business travel, or a demanding professional schedule, the right coaching relationship may be incredibly valuable.

The coach has to understand the client’s pain, the desired outcome, and the cost of staying stuck.

This is why pricing should be tied to value, not insecurity. The question is not, “Would I pay this?” The question is, “What is this transformation worth to the right client, and can I deliver it?”

Value Ladders Help Coaches Serve Different Clients

Raising prices does not mean every offer has to become expensive.

Anthony described using a value ladder, with higher-ticket options at the top and lower-touch options below. That kind of structure allows a coaching business to serve different clients at different levels of support.

A high-ticket offer may include more personal attention, more frequent calls, deeper analysis, or a more comprehensive transformation. A mid-tier offer might combine strength and nutrition coaching with less frequent direct contact. A lower-tier group model may provide community, templates, office hours, and access to general coaching support without the same level of individual attention.

The key is that the price should match the service.

Low-ticket coaching can work if the fulfillment burden is low and the offer is clearly positioned. The problem comes when coaches charge low-ticket prices while delivering high-ticket service. That is how they burn out.

A value ladder can also help with retention. If a client completes a high-touch engagement and achieves the goal, they may not need the same level of support forever. A lower-tier community or group option can help them stay connected, continue receiving value, and remain in the business ecosystem.

Know Whether Your Service Actually Delivers

Coaches should not raise prices blindly.

The service has to justify the price.

Matt pointed to several important business metrics coaches should understand: client results, churn, net promoter score, and lifetime customer value. These numbers help a coach evaluate whether the business is actually serving clients well.

If clients are getting results, staying long term, referring friends, and rating the service highly, the coach likely has room to raise prices. If churn is high and clients are not satisfied, the answer may not be to raise prices immediately. The first step may be to improve the service.

A strong coaching business needs a positive value gap. Clients should feel that the value they receive exceeds the price they pay. If a client pays $600 per month but feels like they are receiving $800 or $1,000 worth of value, retention improves. If they pay $600 and feel like they are receiving $300 worth of value, they will eventually leave.

That is why pricing and service quality have to rise together.

Raise Prices for New Clients First

For coaches who realize they are undercharging, the simplest place to start is with new clients.

Change the price for new prospects immediately. The next person who signs up should see the new rate, the improved offer, and the clearer positioning.

This does not require a dramatic announcement. It requires a better offer, better communication, and the confidence to stop selling coaching like a commodity.

Current clients are more complicated. Matt recommended giving existing clients advance notice instead of springing a price increase on them overnight. A coach might tell clients that prices will increase in three or six months, while offering them a chance to lock in their current rate for a period of time if they pay in advance.

Anthony also recommended giving clients options. A current client could move into the new higher-touch offer, meet the coach halfway on a price increase, or shift into a lower-touch group model if they want to stay at a similar price point.

The goal is to communicate clearly, respectfully, and confidently.

Stop Competing at the Bottom

The coaching industry does not need more coaches racing to the bottom.

Cheap templates, low-touch programs, and generic advice will only become easier to find. As artificial intelligence and automated tools continue to improve, basic programming and information will become even more commoditized.

That means coaches need to compete on the things that are harder to replace: trust, judgment, relationship, accountability, communication, and real human service.

Undercharging as a coach makes it harder to deliver those things well. It forces the coach into too much volume, too little margin, and too little time to invest in the client relationship.

Better pricing supports better coaching. It allows the coach to build a sustainable business, serve clients with more attention, and keep improving over time.

Coaches should not charge more just because they want more money. They should charge appropriately because the service is valuable, the transformation matters, and the business must be strong enough to keep serving clients for the long haul.