"Your price is too high" is where most coaches fold. Chris Do's answer is to ask better questions, not to drop the number.
In a short sales role-play on The Futur, Chris Do shows how to meet the price objection without discounting or getting defensive - stay calm, find the real concern, reframe around the outcome, and change the scope before you ever change the price. This breakdown covers his approach in our own words, adds our honest take for coaches selling packages, and shows how to make a premium price defensible with real structure behind it.
By Markus Evers · September 2026 · a Coachway video breakdown
the short version
Chris Do's role-play argues that "too expensive" is almost never a price problem - it is missing information. Instead of discounting or defending, you pause, ask what the price is being compared to and what the prospect expected to invest, reframe the conversation around the outcome and the cost of staying stuck, and if the budget is genuinely lower you shrink the scope rather than the value. The one thing a coach should do about it: stop selling sessions and start selling the result - then have the structure to back the price up.
Chris Do (The Futur) - When Client Says "Your Price Is Too High" - How To Respond (Role Play)
Source: The Futur on YouTube - "When Client Says "Your Price Is Too High" - How To Respond (Role Play)", presented by Chris Do. Watch on YouTube. We embed the public video and summarise it in our own words; the video, title and channel belong to The Futur, and nothing here implies Chris Do's or The Futur's endorsement of Coachway.
Who is Chris Do, and why coaches should watch
Chris Do is a designer and business educator, and the founder and presenter behind The Futur - the education company and YouTube channel this video lives on. (Worth being precise about: the channel is The Futur's, and Chris Do fronts it, so what you are watching is a company channel, not a personal vlog.) The Futur's whole teaching centres on value-based pricing and selling for creative professionals and service providers, which maps almost perfectly onto online coaching: you are a solo expert charging a premium for an outcome, and the price objection is the moment that decides whether the sale survives. That is exactly the lens this page takes - not "become a designer," but "what does his objection-handling mean when a coaching prospect tells you your package is too expensive."
What Chris Do actually does in the role-play (our summary)
This is our summary of the ideas in the role-play, in our own words - not a transcript. Watch the original for his exact phrasing and delivery.
- 1
Do not discount, and do not get defensive. The first instinct - drop the price or immediately start justifying with features - is the one to resist. He stays calm and keeps his number where it is.
- 2
Ask what "too expensive" is measured against. Questions like "too expensive compared to what?" and "what were you expecting to invest?" surface the real budget and the real concern instead of guessing at them.
- 3
Reframe from cost to outcome. The conversation moves off hours and deliverables and onto the result the client wants - and the cost of staying where they are - so the price is weighed against value, not against a rate.
- 4
Change the scope, not the value. If the budget is genuinely constrained, he adjusts what is included rather than cutting the price - so a smaller engagement stays intact and honestly priced instead of a discounted version of the full one.
- 5
It sits inside value-based pricing. The whole exchange assumes you price the client and the outcome, not your time - which is why holding the number and reframing to value is coherent, not stubborn.
Coachway's take
We think this is the single most useful sales idea a coach can borrow from outside fitness. The price objection kills more coaching deals than bad programming ever will, and most coaches lose it in the first five seconds - by flinching, discounting, or reciting the feature list. The reframe here is the whole game: "too expensive" is a request for information, not a verdict, and the calm answer is a question.
Where we would add a coaching-specific caveat: the reason so many coaches fold at the price objection is that, deep down, they are selling sessions. If your offer really is "an hour of my time per week," then "too expensive" is a fair fight you will usually lose, because a prospect can divide your price by the hours and compare it to a trainer down the road. The only way holding your number works is if there is a genuine outcome and a genuine system behind it - accountability, progress tracking, a real professional experience between calls. Sell that, and the price stops being measured per hour.
The "change the scope, not the value" point is the one coaches under-use most. When a prospect can't hit your full number, the reflex is to quietly knock a few hundred off the same package - which teaches them the price was soft and cheapens the outcome in their head. The cleaner move is a smaller, honestly-priced version: fewer live calls, a shorter initial block, or an app-led tier with lighter touch. Same value density, smaller scope, price integrity intact.
So our version of his advice is: never negotiate the price in the moment, negotiate the scope. Get curious before you get defensive, tie every number to the result the client actually wants, and make sure the thing you are charging a premium for is visible and real - not just a promise on a sales call.
Make the premium price defensible with real structure
Holding your number only works when there is something visible behind it. That is where Coachway comes in: client progress tracking turns your coaching into something a prospect can see - logged sessions, check-ins and trend charts that prove the outcome is being managed, not just promised on a call. When someone says "too expensive," you are pointing at a real system, not defending an hourly rate. And built-in payments and packages let you sell a genuine tier structure - so "change the scope, not the price" is a two-minute setup (a lighter, app-led plan next to your full premium package) instead of an awkward discount you regret.
If you want the strategy layer first, our guide to handling price objections in online coaching works through the full conversation, and the companion piece on pricing your coaching packages covers how to set the number you are then defending here.
Price-objection response script (for "that's too expensive")
A steal-and-adapt script for the moment a coaching prospect pushes back on price. It follows the same spine as the role-play - pause, get curious, reframe to outcome, adjust scope not value - written in plain sales language you can say on a call. The wording is our coaching adaptation, not a transcript of the video.
The 6-step response
- 1
Pause. Don't discount, don't defend.
Let the silence sit for a beat. Your first words are not a lower number and not a feature list.
- 2
"Too expensive compared to what?"
Find out what they are measuring the price against - another coach, a gym, doing nothing.
- 3
"What were you planning to invest?"
Get the real number and the real concern on the table before you respond to either.
- 4
Reframe to the cost of inaction.
"What is staying where you are actually costing you - another year, your energy, your confidence?" Tie the price to the result, not the sessions.
- 5
If the budget is real, change the scope.
Offer a smaller version - fewer calls, a shorter block, an app-led tier - and keep the price integrity. Never a cheaper version of the same package.
- 6
Then be quiet. Let them decide.
You have reframed the value. Don't talk yourself back into a discount - hand the decision over.
How to use it: run steps 2 and 3 before you say anything about your offer - you cannot reframe a concern you haven't heard yet. Steps 4-5 are where the sale is usually won or lost; keep the value fixed and let scope be the only thing that flexes.
PRICE-OBJECTION RESPONSE SCRIPT (via Coachway) - when a prospect says "that's too expensive" Adapted for coaches from Chris Do's role-play on The Futur. Our coaching wording, not a transcript. 1. PAUSE - don't discount, don't defend. Your first words are not a lower number and not a feature list. 2. ASK: "Too expensive compared to what?" - find out what they are measuring the price against (another coach, a gym, doing nothing). 3. ASK: "What were you planning to invest?" - get the real number and the real concern on the table. 4. REFRAME to the cost of inaction: "What is staying where you are actually costing you - another year, your energy, your confidence?" Tie the price to the result, not the sessions. 5. IF the budget is genuinely lower: change the SCOPE, never the value. Offer a smaller version (fewer calls, a shorter block, an app-led tier) and keep price integrity. Never a cheaper version of the same package. 6. THEN BE QUIET and let them decide. Don't talk yourself back into a discount. RULE OF THUMB: never negotiate the price in the moment - negotiate the scope. Get curious before you get defensive, and make sure the premium you charge is backed by something visible (accountability, progress tracking, a real professional experience), not just a promise on a call.
Handling the price objection - FAQ
How should you respond when a client says your coaching is too expensive?
The move Chris Do models is counter-intuitive: do not discount and do not get defensive. Pause, then get curious. Ask what the objection is actually measured against - 'too expensive compared to what?' - and what the prospect was planning to invest. That surfaces whether the real issue is budget, doubt about the outcome, or simply a reflex. Only once you know the real concern do you respond, and you respond by reframing around the result they want, not by shaving your fee.
Should you lower your price when a coaching prospect pushes back?
In this approach, no - not the price. Dropping your number the moment someone flinches trains the prospect to distrust the original figure and quietly tells them the outcome was never worth it. His alternative is to change the scope, never the value: if the budget is genuinely lower, offer a smaller version of the engagement so the price integrity stays intact. For a coach that might mean fewer live calls or a shorter block, not a cheaper version of the same premium package.
What does value-based pricing mean for a coach?
It means pricing the client's outcome, not your hours. The role-play sits inside The Futur's broader argument that you charge for the transformation and the system that delivers it, not for time on calls or a count of sessions. For a coach, that reframes the whole sales conversation: the price is tied to where the client wants to be - and the cost of staying where they are - rather than to a per-session rate a prospect can mentally divide and compare to a gym membership.
How do you justify a premium coaching price without sounding defensive?
You do not justify with features - you reframe with questions and outcomes. Instead of listing everything included, ask what staying stuck is costing them: another year, their energy, their confidence. Then tie the price to the result and the structure that produces it - accountability, progress tracking, a real professional experience - and then be quiet and let them decide. Justifying feels defensive; reframing to the outcome keeps you the calm expert, which is exactly the posture the video is teaching.
More sales and pricing breakdowns
- · Price-objection scripts for coaches - more word-for-word responses to steal.
- · How to raise your coaching prices - the confidence and messaging behind a bigger number.
- · The full coaching sales script - the whole call, not just the objection.
Keep sharpening your sales
all guidesHow to handle price objections in online coaching, without discounting (2026)
When someone says your coaching is too expensive, defending the price or quietly discounting are both usually wrong. An objection is rarely a flat no; it is a question the person has not finished asking. This guide covers diagnosing the real concern, re-anchoring on the outcome not the hours, why discounting attracts the wrong client, payment plans as a genuine option, and being okay to walk away.
Read the guideHow to price your online coaching packages (2026 guide)
Most coaches do not have a pricing problem - they have an anchoring problem: they price the hours instead of the outcome, sell one-off blocks instead of recurring commitments, and never raise the number even when the waitlist says they should. This guide covers value-based vs cost-plus pricing, building good/better/best tiers, why monthly recurring wins, when to raise your prices, charging what your time is genuinely worth, and how predictable platform costs protect your margin.
Read the guideCoaching Sales Call Script: The 7-Step Call Coaches Close With (2026)
A sales call script for online fitness coaches: the six beats word for word, the 25-minute split (2 to frame, 12 to 15 to diagnose, reflect back, one package, price then silence, ask for the decision), a copyable run sheet, LAER objection handling and a top-5 objection prep sheet.
Read the guideFree tools for this: Referral Value Calculator · Ad Spend Breakeven Calculator · Email List Value Calculator for Coaches
Hold your price with real structure behind it
The price objection is easy to win when your coaching is visible, not just promised. Coachway gives you progress tracking clients can see, a professional app experience between calls, and built-in packages so you can offer a smaller scope instead of a discount. Start your 14-day free trial and build a premium offer that's actually defensible.
