How to Charge Higher Prices for Your Teaching Services

Read this if you:

• Don't know how much you should charge your student

• Don't know what you should teach

• Want to charge higher prices for your services

Here's a question from a teacher who asked me during a coaching session:

"A potential student is asking for my rates. I have no idea what to tell him. I'm afraid that if I charge too much, he wouldn't enroll. But if I sell myself short then I might regret it...how much should I charge?"

The quick answer is: It depends on the value that you can give. Let me ask you this...

What is more valuable: Teaching a person the different tenses in the English language or teaching a person how to pass a job interview? You might say, "But Bryan, you can't compare apples and oranges...some people need to know grammar while others need to know how to pass a job interview." Yes, that's right. But who will pay more? Someone who needs to pass a job interview or someone who just wants to understand grammar? I guess we all know the answer––the person who needs to pass the interview. Why? Because this person has more reasons to take the lessons. So, if you want to charge higher prices for your students then you have to be able to help them solve a problem that they cannot solve themselves. Something that only YOU can solve. You have to offer something that most teachers cannot do.

You have to have a specific area of specialization...

You have to have a niche.

Why having a niche is important

Having a niche is crucial to your success as a teacher. An ESL niche is a specific area of English teaching that you specialize in. The most popular niches in ESL are Business English, standardized tests like the IELTS, and accent reduction. While teaching general or conversational English is common among teachers, it is not the most valuable in the market. Think of it this way. A doctor who specializes in brain surgery gets paid a lot higher than general practitioners simply because there are fewer brain surgeons than GPs.

And what about Apple Inc.? Why can they charge premium prices while other brands couldn't?

Because their brand caters to a specific niche. It's the same with teaching English. If what you teach is something that everyone teaches, then the demand will be low. So even if your student has the capability to pay you a high price, if he can look for an alternative or more affordable teacher, then he'll pick that instead of you. "Then I'll just lower my price. That way, he'll choose me" Yes, there's that. But that's also what most teachers do which means there's going to be a lot of competition for you. And when you do get that student who pays you peanuts, do you really think you'd be happy to teach? Probably not. So how do you get students without lowering down your prices or even more so, how do you get students who will pay you the amount that you want? By finding your niche.

How to Find Your Niche

There are different ways to find your niche. Some people look at the market and base their niche from the highest-paying niches, while others base it on their students needs. I'd say that finding your niche is a combination of the following: Your experience

Your value in the market

Your target audience/students

Let's talk about your experience first.

Up until now, people still think that you have to have a degree, certificate, or some document to show that you are qualified enough to teach English. Well, that's true in general but ONLY if you are looking for a company or a job. However, if you are talking directly to your target student, then it doesn't usually apply. It's hard to convince people to buy your products or services just by showing them your credentials.

The truth is, the way you communicate your value is far more important than the documents that you hold. And that's why experience matters a lot. Experience = knowledge + skills

If you are knowledgeable in business English but you don't know how to teach it, then you don't have the right experience. This means that business English can't be your niche–at least not yet–because you aren't an expert in teaching it. I'm not saying that you have to be an expert. What I'm saying is you have to have the right amount of knowledge and skills for you to be considered as someone who has the experience in your niche. But what if you don't know your niche? How do you find your niche? And how do you perfect your niche so you can be considered an expert? If you want to find your niche, you have to assess yourself first. Ask yourself these questions:

1. What subject am I passionate about?

2. Do I have enough knowledge about this topic/subject?

3. What are the skills that I already know?

4. Do I still need to learn anything in the subject that I've chosen?

If you know the answer to questions 1 and 3 and you said YES to questions 2 and 4, then it's possible that you already have a niche. If not, then it's time to consider the marketplace.

How to Find Your Value in the Market

It's important to know that your experiences are directly proportional to your value in the market. Teaching general English is not as valuable in the marketplace as teaching business English. So you have to find out what is valuable in the market first. In the world of ESL teaching, the most valuable teachers are the ones who can teach Business English and exam preparations. There are others as well but these are the most popular and in-demand among English learners. So it's safe to say that you can charge higher prices if you can teach Business English or exam preparations. However, keep in mind, just because you are teaching Business English or IELTS doesn't mean you can charge premium to anyone who wants to take these classes. You also have to know the students or the audience that you are targeting. Teaching Business English to Filipinos might be less valuable than teaching Business English to Europeans simply because most Europeans need Business English to connect with foreigners, get more career opportunities, or build their own businesses. Teaching IELTS to Europeans might be less valuable than teaching IELTS to Filipinos simply because most Filipinos (like nurses and engineers) need the IELTS to study or work in English-speaking countries like the U.S. or the U.K.

Bottomline is, to find your value in the market, you have to consider the right audience.

How to Find Your Target Audience

Here are some questions to ask:

1. What kinds of problems do my target audience have?

2. What do they desire to achieve?

3. What is their profile? (age, occupation, income, location, etc.)

4. Do I have the right experience to help my target audience reach their desired goals?

If your answer to question number 4 is "I don't know", then you have to get some knowledge and skills. It's time to get some experience. But if you know the answer to all four questions then you already have a niche and all you have to do is put yourself in front of your target audience. So you really have to know who you want to teach...what your target audience is. Be specific with your niche and target audience. Here's an example of a vague niche and target audience: I am an English teacher who help people become fluent in English. Now here's an example of a specific niche and target audience: I'm a professional IELTS coach and I help Filipino nurses get a band score of 8 in the IELTS.

See how specific the second one is? The more specific you are with your target audience, the easier for you and your potential student to find each other. This prevents you from wasting your time in dealing with the wrong people. "Okay. I get it. But once I found my ideal student, how much should I charge?" Again, it depends on your experience and your market value. But to give you an idea, you can charge around $10 - $30 per hour by teaching conversational English. For Business English and IELTS, the rates are 2-3 times higher. Remember. Once your experiences match your value in the market, all you have to do is find your ideal students (target audience) and communicate your value. That means you have to talk to them and show them how you can help them achieve their goals. When you communicate your value to your potential students, you won't even need to convince them to get you as their teacher. They will automatically convince themselves.