mentor: Never sell yourself short

It is tempting as a Mentor when you are not reaching your financial goals, to start lowering your price to accommodate for more accessibility. We have been tempted to do so ourselves in the past when we first created this mobile app. We started off with a much lower price point because we wanted to be more accessible to those who were marginalized and disenfranchised. Then we realized that those who were in this lower income bracket, did not have the expendable income to pay for Mentorship when they are just trying to survive day to day. That to ask these people to make this type of commitment was unreasonable and maybe we should look at partnering with some organizations that could offer this opportunity to the underserved for free. Our solution was enterprise accounts that could help these folks take advantage of Mentorship without being financially burdened.

We also recognized that the middle class is slowly dwindling and need support now more than ever to revamp and revitalize their skillsets to remain competitive in the job and business market. The working middle-class have more disposable income and were far more likely to be able to pay for a subscription for Mentorship if they deemed the experience valuable. People pay for what they prioritize. Plus paying for a subscription based service is much easier because you can budget for it. But you can’t or won’t budget for something that you simply don’t want badly enough no matter what the price tag is.

As Mentors/Coaches, we have to recognize that although some folks may be well-intended, they are not in the phase of their life where they are ready to make the necessary steps to better themselves. They know they should want to because they are not where they desire to be in life but they simply can’t bear to make changes. It is not the price point that is stopping them, it’s the mindset. The price point is the excuse they make to allow them to feel better about making the choice not to take action towards self-improvement, but the real reason they do nothing is they are scared to make a change. As a Mentor, you have to understand that not everyone is your customer and to not take it personally when people don’t jump on your current offerings. They are not your target audience and you will have to learn where to find your customers.
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Just remember, you have VALUE as a Mentor. You don’t have to charge your customers exorbitant prices to show that you are valuable but you do have to make a living desirable enough for you to do the hard work of mentorship. If you find that you have to constantly lower your prices to drum up customers’ interests, maybe you should be pitching somewhere else. Because eventually if you keep working at a reduced price, it will feel like you are doing more charity work than running a business and you will become resentful. And no one wants to work with a bitter Mentor who does not really enjoy helping them because they can’t make a living doing so.

We hope that you realize that the caliber of folks you are looking for are out there and not to give up looking for them. They are billions of people in this world and there is a Mentee or group of Mentees that are perfect for you and only you. Just be patient with the process and don’t sell yourself short. You will find “your people” if you continue to craft good offers that are mutually beneficial for both you and your Mentee (s).

Your target audience is out there. Don't give up.