Author Name: Bernadette Doyle
Last week I got two emails from subscribers about the same topic.
"I need to increase my prices but I'm nervous about telling
clients." The other said, "I'm really struggling with charging
my new fee having increased it for the first time in 3 years.
Logically I know it's quite OK and well within the band of what
others charge, but I feel so uncomfortable...I know I'm putting
people off when they phone because I cringe internally when they
ask how much I charge."
The problem here is not an economic one, but a psychological one,
so here's my rapid fire advice if you can relate to this
situation.
The first person you have to sell on price is YOU. As these
examples show, if you're not 100% convinced that you're
providing great value and worth every penny that you charge, then
you will convey this to your customers. And if you don't believe
that what you are offering is valuable and unique, then how on
earth can you expect your clients and customers to? You must
find a way to differentiate yourself and convince yourself of
your own unique value first and foremost.
Stop comparing yourself to others. If you're selling a
commodity, offering something that is freely available on the open
market, then I agree that the final influencing factor before a
buyer says yes may be price. But that's actually a very good
reason for not offering a 'commodity'. My first advice to would
be client magnets is to take yourself out of buyers' markets
like these, and position yourself in such a way that price
comparisons are difficult, if not impossible.
Please don't email me saying, 'But there are other corporate
trainers/hypnotherapists
practitioners/coaches/consulta
lot less.' That's really only a problem if you believe they're
offering exactly the same thing that you do. I personally
believe that what you're offering is a lot more unique than that.
The question is, do you?
Buyers pay a lot less attention to price than you think they do.
It's a proven fact that less than 10% of buyers buy ONLY on
price. Think about it. Is price the only factor that you
consider when making buying decisions? Are the clothes you are
wearing the cheapest you could find? I doubt it. So why do you
believe that your potential customers shop around for the
cheapest professional services? The fact is, most buyers are
more than willing to pay premium prices when you have taken the
time to educate them about the value they will receive in return.
The trick to raising prices is to do it. If you believe that a
certain amount is 'too much', then the only way you'll bust
through that limiting belief is when someone cheerfully pays
full asking price without quibble. It only takes one sale for you
to realise that other people think that you are worth this, and
then you'll wonder why you waited so long to raise your fees.
But no one will pay you more than you're already asking, so you
need to RAISE YOUR FEES.
What's the worst that can happen? Let's say you raise your
prices by 20% and 20% of your clients go elsewhere. You're still
better off, because now you're earning the same amount but
working 20% less. What are you afraid of? That they will be
outraged by your audacity? That they will get angry at you?
Let's face it, even if clients do have an emotional reaction to
what you charge, that is THEIR issue, not yours.
They have a choice - to take their business elsewhere. Just like
you have a choice, as the seller, to charge whatever you choose.
What you will find actually happens is that when you set fees
that reflect your true value, then you'll attract a better
caliber of client, people who respect and value what you do and
appreciate you.
There is so much I could say on this topic, I could write a book
about it - oh, yes, I already did! It's called 'How to Charge
What You're Worth and Get The Fees You Deserve', and it really
is a magic bullet for helping people to truly transform their
pricing from the inside out. Some people have raised their
prices as much as 50% with the help of this programme. You can
get it FREE with 'How to Get Clients for Your Complementary
Practice' and 'How to Attract Corporate Clients'.
© Bernadette Doyle, 2008. Reprints welcome so long as by-line
and article are published intact and all links made live.
Bernadette Doyle publishes her weekly Client Magnets newsletter
for trainers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and
solo professionals. If you want to get clients calling you
instead of you calling them, then get your free tips now at
http://www.clientmagnets.com
