What Are You Worth?
One of the biggest challenges facing many professional service providers is deciding what to charge for their services. Some are afraid of charging too much or not charging enough for the services they deliver. There can be many reasons for this confusion over pricing but I have listed a few of the more common ones here.
1. Fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of what people may think about you or your business if you charge too much. Fear can paralyze your business. Identify your fears, face them, and move on.
2. Lack of confidence. Many times a lack of confidence can be traced back to a lack of preparation. Your prospects can sense self-doubt and they know when you are not prepared. Make sure you are thoroughly prepared for every meeting you have with potential clients. How much better do you feel going into a meeting knowing you have done everything you can to prepare in advance for the meeting? This will give your confidence a boost in addition to making you appear more professional to your prospective client.
3. Assuming your prospect does not have the money to pay for your services (especially in these economic times). This is usually the wrong assumption. You should always give them the benefit of the doubt. You should always assume they have the money but you may need to better communicate your perceived value to your prospect. The fact is most people do have the money to pay for your services if you can increase the perceived value of what you have to offer. People generally have money for things they need. Raise the perceived value of your product or services through better branding and by improving your presentation skills.
4. Not knowing the true value of the services you deliver. For example, if you approach a business doing a million dollars a year in sales and assure them you can increase their sales by 10% in the next 12 months. If you are charging $500 to do this, it may give them cause for concern. You are offering an increase of $100,000 to their bottom line and only charging them $500 to do it. How good could you possibly be if you are the "cheap"? Do the math. If you only charge 5% of the increase they are expecting to receive as a result of using your services, that is $5000 (not $500). See the difference. Charging $5000 is much more realistic and it will make your clients value your services even more. If you can deliver the goods, make your price match.
If you become more aware of the four things listed above, you will be able to increase your fees with confidence. By charging more, you will attract better clients and make more money. You will be happier and will deliver better service to your clients.....which will lead to more referrals and more money. You get the idea.
Know what you bring to the marketplace and charge what you are worth. Let your clients know they are investing in a service that will provide them with a huge return on their investment. As you can see, everybody wins.
1. Fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of what people may think about you or your business if you charge too much. Fear can paralyze your business. Identify your fears, face them, and move on.
2. Lack of confidence. Many times a lack of confidence can be traced back to a lack of preparation. Your prospects can sense self-doubt and they know when you are not prepared. Make sure you are thoroughly prepared for every meeting you have with potential clients. How much better do you feel going into a meeting knowing you have done everything you can to prepare in advance for the meeting? This will give your confidence a boost in addition to making you appear more professional to your prospective client.
3. Assuming your prospect does not have the money to pay for your services (especially in these economic times). This is usually the wrong assumption. You should always give them the benefit of the doubt. You should always assume they have the money but you may need to better communicate your perceived value to your prospect. The fact is most people do have the money to pay for your services if you can increase the perceived value of what you have to offer. People generally have money for things they need. Raise the perceived value of your product or services through better branding and by improving your presentation skills.
4. Not knowing the true value of the services you deliver. For example, if you approach a business doing a million dollars a year in sales and assure them you can increase their sales by 10% in the next 12 months. If you are charging $500 to do this, it may give them cause for concern. You are offering an increase of $100,000 to their bottom line and only charging them $500 to do it. How good could you possibly be if you are the "cheap"? Do the math. If you only charge 5% of the increase they are expecting to receive as a result of using your services, that is $5000 (not $500). See the difference. Charging $5000 is much more realistic and it will make your clients value your services even more. If you can deliver the goods, make your price match.
If you become more aware of the four things listed above, you will be able to increase your fees with confidence. By charging more, you will attract better clients and make more money. You will be happier and will deliver better service to your clients.....which will lead to more referrals and more money. You get the idea.
Know what you bring to the marketplace and charge what you are worth. Let your clients know they are investing in a service that will provide them with a huge return on their investment. As you can see, everybody wins.
posted by Mike Coleman @ 9:00 PM
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