Ep #110: How to Thrive as a Coach in the Trust Recession

This may sting a bit, but what if the fastest way to stabilize your coaching income right now is to actually coach better? In a trust recession, which we're in, your most valuable asset is the power of your coaching skills. I'm Kendall, and in this episode of The Money Coach School podcast, we're talking about why client hesitation is on the rise, what's really driving buyer behavior right now, and how premium coaching must evolve in a season where emotional safety, not just strategy, is what sells.

You're going to learn what trust looks like in today's market, why pricing down isn't the answer, and how to create sessions that clients remember, refer, and return to without overgiving or second guessing. And of course, I'm including one potent coaching question to help you identify the exact skill you need to strengthen in order to confidently charge premium fees. It's all here for you inside The Money Coach School Podcast. Let's dive in.

Welcome to The Money Coach School Podcast. To really excel at coaching women, you have to be skilled, confident, and even fearless at money coaching. If you're passionate about women holding genuine money power and love supporting women entrepreneurs, then this is the show for you. Now, here's your host, money feminist Kendall SummerHawk.

Hello, beautiful coach, and welcome back to The Money Coach School Podcast. So, let's talk about what's really happening in the coaching space right now. Maybe you felt it: more hesitation, slower yeses, clients needing more time. It's easy to think something's wrong with you or your business. There's nothing wrong with you or your business, trust me, because what's actually happening is much bigger than just you.

We are in a moment of global uncertainty, absolutely. But more specifically, we are in a trust recession. Now, six months ago, I recorded an episode where I characterized it at that time as a trust deficit, but now I think it's running deeper than that. And this is not a quick season that we're going to be going through. I actually believe it's here to stay. However, there's also an upside to this that is good news for you. If you understand how to lead yourself and your business through this, your coaching business becomes more powerful than ever. Yes, your marketing needs to shift. Yes, your offers probably need to be tweaked a bit. And no, your pricing does not need to downscale.

So in this episode, I'm walking you through what this trust recession looks like, what's really going on behind buyer behavior, and what premium coaching feels like right now because it is definitely different than it was even a year ago. Now, before we dive in, if you could do me a favor, please take one second and click that follow button. That way, you never miss an episode, and it also signals to our lovely bestie, the algorithm, to put this podcast in front of other like-minded women who want to lead powerfully as a coach and lead powerfully with money. So click that follow button. All right. And let's get into it.

So, number one, the world is uncertain, but guess what? You don't have to be. Yes, there's a lot swirling around us economically, emotionally, energetically, and it is tempting to think that waiting will help you, to wait until things will calm down or feel more certain or feel more stable. But two things make that truly a terrible strategy. First, the energy of waiting is like the worst thing for your business. Waiting breeds inaction. It dulls your power. It stagnates your momentum. And if you're waiting for trust to return to the market, yeah, you may be waiting a very long time.

Second, your business isn't a victim of the world. Your business is independent of that, and it is an extension of your identity. And this moment isn't about waiting; it's about choosing to lead. When you understand and accept, and yes, even embrace that this is the way things are going forward, what gets to happen for you then is that it opens a door for you to adapt in your mindset and adapt through action.

So for example, the women in your world, they don't need another motivational reel or a productivity tip. They don't need that. They need you, and they need you anchored and clear and resourced. They need a space that helps them connect to their purpose and their values and their next-level vision. And that's what coaching becomes if you choose to become the calm in the room. There's a phrase I love using, and I've mentioned it in previous episodes: I am the certainty. Now, this isn't a branding line; it's actually a frequency that I create within myself, the frequency of certainty. And that frequency of certainty shapes how I show up, how I price my offers, how I lead my coaching, and how I run my business.

Your clients may be living in a chaotic world; we all are. But when they come into a session with you, let that be the moment that their nervous system exhales. Let that be the place they feel clear and safe and seen and capable.

All right, number two, the trust recession is real. People aren't making slower decisions because of their bank account. They're making slower decisions because their emotional trust has been depleted. They've said yes to programs that didn't deliver. They've been burned by coaches who overpromised. They watched content that sounded great, made them feel confident in the moment, but never really felt safe for them to implement. So now, well, they've changed. Your ideal clients are very discerning, and you know what they're watching for? They're watching for integrity. And I love this because, of course, honesty and integrity tie for first place as the core values for me in my life and business. So I say bring it on.

So they're watching for integrity. They're checking for congruence. They're no longer impressed by star power, and they're asking this question: Will this actually help me move forward, or is it just going to be more noise? Here's what that means for you. Your number of coaching sessions, your fancy sales page, your bonus stack, they don't build trust. Your presence does, your emotional clarity does, your consistency does, and so do your coaching skills.

And here's the good news. If we're in a trust recession, which we are, then you know what the fix is? The repair? The repair is coaching because nothing rebuilds trust like coaching that actually shifts someone. The fastest way to stand out right now isn't with louder messaging or being a spectacle or any of that or flashier funnels. It's by becoming a coach whose sessions create movement, create momentum, and create emotional safety. Your ability to listen deeply, coach skillfully, and hold the highest vision for your client, yeah, that's your edge.

Which leads me to number three, what premium coaching feels like right now. So in this season that we're in, premium doesn't mean fancier. Yes, there was a time when premium meant proximity and polish and flash, big stages, champagne bonuses, expensive gifts, and an emphasis on coach-centered status. Remember, I've been in business over 20 years, 23 years plus and going strong. And so been there, done that. I've seen that. And there are still bros out there performing that model. But for women today, that era, it is so done. It's impersonal, it's performance-based, it's entertainment-based, it's coach-focused instead of client-focused. And it fails to give clients what they really need, which is, hello, high-quality, high-touch coaching.

So here's what clients are paying for now: coaching sessions with clear direction, not just vague check-ins and what do you want to coach on today. Coaching that cuts to the truth without drowning in emotion. A coach who listens deeply but also leads. Shifts that are felt in the body, not just heard in the mind. Emotional safety without emotional coddling. Clarity the client can see and articulate and act on, and decisions that move her forward. Women are not saying yes to noise right now. They are saying yes to precision, resonance, and results. They're not saying yes to the 100-module course. They're not saying yes to the 200-person program that has no personalized attention. And by personalized, I mean the kind of attention where the coach or the coaches actually know their clients. They're not just a name; they're a human. They want to be seen, they want to be held, they want transformation. And your coaching, it either adds to their overwhelm or it becomes the place they come back to over and over again. You get to choose.

So the coaching question I promised you here is this: What's the number one coaching skill you want to strengthen that would let you name your premium price with certainty? What is that skill?

All right, number four. Coaching skill is the highest currency in a trust recession. If you've been feeling wobbly about sales, if your income has felt unpredictable, if you're wondering how to lead when things feel unsure, let me offer this. Your coaching skill is the shortcut to safety. The more precise you are, the more your sessions land. The more they land, the more your clients trust you. The more they trust you, the more stable your income becomes, no matter what the market is doing. So if you can create transformation in 30-minute sessions, which is the hallmark of the coach certification that I teach, if you can hold someone's emotions without collapsing yourself into them, if you can coach from leadership, not performance, then you become the coach they remember, refer, and return to. And that's what supports premium pricing. That's what creates longevity, where clients coach with you for months and months and months and years and years. And that's what builds a reputation in any economy.

So to wrap up here, let's recap, and I really want this to land for you with clarity. Number one, the world is uncertain, but you don't have to be. You get to be the steady, grounded presence that your clients crave. That's real leadership. Number two, the trust recession is real, but that's not bad news at all. It's your invitation to coach at a higher level than ever before. Number three, in this season, premium doesn't mean fancier. It means high-quality, high-touch coaching. The intimacy, attention, and precision you bring to your coaching is what elevates your value. And number four, coaching skills are the highest currency that you can hold in a trust recession. It's what protects your income, grows your demand, and stabilizes your business when everything else is shifting. Because your coaching can become the most trustworthy thing in a woman's week. Whether the trust recession passes or not, it doesn't really matter, because your skill, your presence, and your emotional clarity, that is permanent power.

And I would love to help you sharpen this. If you want the coaching method that teaches you how to coach with soul and structure and skill and get paid abundantly for it, come join me inside Courageous Coaching certification. You'll learn how to coach powerfully without second guessing and how to lead your sessions with clarity that sells. The link is in the show notes, and you can also go to kendallsummerhawk.com/cc, which stands for Courageous Coaching. We are enrolling now, and if this episode resonated for you, this may be your very moment for Courageous Coaching certification.

All right, remember, you are here for more: more money peace, more money power, and this is your money empowerment era. Bring it on. And it begins by leading in a season where trust is rare and really leading with the soul-deep authentic you that is an extraordinary human being. All right, remember that coaching changes lives, starting with yours. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for your loyalty, and I will see you here in our next episode.

Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode of The Money Coach School Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you follow so you never miss an episode. Also, I would so love and appreciate if you would leave a 5-star review. Your review supports women just like you in discovering all of the juicy tips and insights I’m sharing here on how to coach women on money.

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