Apples to Apples: How Much Does it Really Cost to Become a Coach?

How to read between the lines and know what you actually receive from coach training.

By Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching — Written on Nov 02, 2011

Put Away Your Spreadsheet!
So, you are beginning to consider coach training as a possible next step - either for use within your career or as a livelihood.
This is usually the time that you start to consider important questions that can help you decide on your training and the fees to expect.

The questions that typically cause the most confusion are:
• What is a fair price for coach training?
• How can some schools advertise such low tuition fees?
• How do I know if a school's tuition reflects the value I receive?
• Will the training include everything I really need to start coaching AND succeed?
• Should I plan for additional fees they may not be telling me about?

As you begin to do your research, you may feel like you need a spreadsheet to help you compare the fees across various schools. That's why it is so important to read between the lines when evaluating the true cost of becoming a certified professional coach.

Be an Educated Consumer!
Now that you've been looking around the coaching world, you may already have noticed:
• Many schools advertise low tuition by presenting their program in fragments.
• Others separate out 'fees' for everything from books and materials, to mentor coaching.
• Some offer a "Certificate" in coaching - this means a certificate of completion and NOT accredited certification.
• Some schools claim to offer you a certification approved by a little known "industry association" - but the association is one that they started themselves to approve their own program!
• Others only include teleclass training; in-person workshops are extra or not offered at all.
• Some consider business development training to be an option, and charge extra for it. (How can learning to build a coaching business that will succeed and make money be anything less than an essential requirement?)

Well, that's not how we do things here at the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. At iPEC, we value integrity and clarity, and that holds true for our tuition as well.

Dollar for dollar, you receive more for your tuition at iPEC
than any other program. Period.

Because Professional Excellence is our middle name, we make sure everything we offer is clear and concise, with no doublespeak.

"So, are there any hidden fees?" Nope.
"Upsell courses?"Uh-uh.
"Teaser rates that expire if I don't decide in 24 hours?" Sorry, wrong school.
"Won't I have to pay extra for the actual certification process?" You're kidding right? Isn't that why you enroll in coach training in the first place?

iPEC - All-Inclusive Coach Certification and Training
Assuming you do want to compare apples to apples, here's a list you can use. This is everything that is included with your all-inclusive iPEC Coach Certification Training:
• 350+ hours of ICF-accredited coach certification training, delivered over 8 - 9 months. (This is well above ICF requirements, and all those extra hours and coaching experience help you launch your practice with confidence and mastery)
• 4 live training modules: 3-day weekend intensive seminars with in-person training, role-playing, and feedback
• The graduate-level coaching mastery program, Energy Leadership™
• Archive of 60+ teleclasses-each conducted by experts in the field
• Specialty coach training in the field you choose for your concentration - select 1 of 9 specialty 'niches' as your "Coaching Major"
• All necessary materials, including iPEC's coaching manuals, materials, course books, and Energy Leadership™ manual with materials
• 3 complete coaching programs you can deliver, including client exercises, client workbooks, and extensive coach notes
• Professional written marketing materials, website copy, and workshops with full scripts and PowerPoints
• The Quick Start Business Development Program - mentoring, tele-seminar series, business building workbook and exercises, and ongoing online support (led by an outrageously successful coach!)
• Your own mentor coach for six months of hands-on skill development (This is one of those elements other programs like to charge extra for - they ask you to find your own coach at additional expense)
• Complete examination and certification process
• Graduate support system and lifetime membership to iPEC's Coach Community & Support Network

Full Disclosure Notice
What does all this mean?

You will acquire absolutely everything needed to deliver powerful life-changing results for your clients, so that you will succeed as a coach. If your vision of success includes establishing your own successful and profitable coaching practice, either now or in the future, we make sure you are fully prepared for that, too.

We believe that your success as a coach should not hinge on "options" that you add on to your training. iPEC was founded on the firm commitment to provide the most comprehensive coach training in the industry.

Well, in all fairness, there are some additional items hidden between the lines at iPEC. There are various intangible bonuses our graduates enjoy: professional connections, personal development, partnership opportunities, and the experience of a lifetime.

And yes, there are some options, too. Payment options, that is. We recognize that each person's financial situation is different. But, rather than dilute our training to match different price points, we prefer to help each student in every way possible to receive the full training they need and deserve. That's why we offer a variety of flexible payment options, to turn your vision of coaching others into a reality.

Your Success is Our Only Option
As you can see, we're sort of hung up on making sure our graduates succeed.

If you have any questions about the extent to which iPEC will go in order to help you become a masterful and successful coach, just ask. You'll experience the extraordinary support that is raved about by the 3,000 iPEC coaches who have preceded you in our program.

Some people like the quote "Failure is not an option." At iPEC, we help our graduates focus on success instead. And it's never something we treat as an option.

Starting to Explore Coach Training?
Discover exactly what you need to know about training and certification - from those who set the standards for professional excellence in the industry.

Apples To Apples: How Much Does It Really Cost To Become A Coach?

How to read between the lines and know what you actually receive from coach training.