RTWay Week 9: How your pricing reflects who you think you are and what to do about it

CLASS NOTES AND RECORDING

Your attitude and beliefs about money and wealth aren’t just a factor in the amount of money you have — they are the deciding factor. Chris Cardell, marketing guru

5 myths made re pricing

Myth 1: Discounting makes you more attractive – it may do to some people, but take a look at how you decide to choose a service. If you’re looking for an intangible service, which is what we are all providing, what are the most important things for you?

- Do you want someone who charges what everyone else charges?

- Do you search for someone on the basis of how much you are willing to pay per hour?

- Is it how much you can afford to pay, in that you think, I’ll look for someone charging this much or less?

- Or do you is it that you are willing to pay for the service dependent on the value you will receive?

You usually base your decision on a whole lot of different factors, all concerned with the value to you. Eg you may only be willing to visit a hairdresser/therapist who is in your home town because of travelling time. So discounting is not necessarily a good idea.

Instead of discounting, consider offering more for the same price, something that doesn’t take up any more of your time. (eg e-book, CD, create a group). Then if someone really can’t afford you, they can have the other things at the lesser price (group, or e-book).

Myth 2: It’s all about the content of your service

Your value to a client is more than just what you know. Although your knowledge is an important component of the overall value you provide, just as important as your knowledge is how you give your service. You could give away all your content, but you can’t give away ‘YOU’. That’s why people will pay – because although there may be other people out there doing apparently the same thing as you, they are not you, and people are paying for YOU, and your particular way of doing things.

Myth 3: Charges should be by the hour

Why? Because everyone else does it? Consciously choose what you want to do: eg give packages which specify what you get for a certain price. Advantages of packaging:

a) People can see exactly what they are getting

b) the work you do is more than just the time you spend with your client, so you can build this in

c) Gives the opportunity for different price points. Eg massage/reflexology/Indian head massage therapist. Could offer the following packages:

Easy Does It = 4 sessions over 4 weeks; includes ‚ self-massage tips sheet

Go with the Flow = 8 sessions; self-massage tips sheet; 1 s/h techs; 1 1/2 hr reflexology taster w. yr colleague

Going for Gold = 12 sessions; self-massage tips sheet; 3 s/h techs; 1/2 hr reflex taster; 1 extra hrs session of your choice. Payment in advance – or get most of it upfront, ie pay total within first 2/3 months.

You accommodate people with different budgets and different needs this way.

Also you can bundle together some of your services eg with products, throw in extra ones rather than discounting prices. Really think about this – how can you offer better value for money to your clients without it taking up any more of your time? Might initially take up time but after that it’s just a benefit.

Myth 4. It’s all about providing the client with a great service.

You can’t serve others well without serving yourself first. Align yourself first with your thoughts and feelings, get into a feeling-good place, then step into your business vision, and allow the energy of Spirit to help shape your business, to inspire you, to pull your ideal clients towards you. This way you will be serving without being drained.

“Once you feel taken care of, it’s much easier to turn your full attention to those you serve”

Myth 5: Determine your value and then set your price.

Better to turn this on it’s head – get clear about the money you want to charge, and then provide the value.

Think along the lines of ‘I want to attract the ideal clients, who when they invest with me will be really delighted to make that investment, and they’ll receive the value they get, want to celebrate it and share it with others, and want more!’

It is all about how you are perceived and how you perceive yourself.

When someone objects to your price, what they are really saying is, ‘You haven’t convinced me that I will receive value equal to, or greater than, the amount you are charging.’ So price objections are really VALUE objections, and they can be avoided when you take the time to establish — in advance of revealing your price — the value that your product or service represents to the buyer. You need to establish this value so completely, and demonstrate such a large and compelling return on their investment, that it is practically impossible for the prospect to say no, regardless of price. B. Doyle, www.clientmagnets.com

How to determine your value:

Ex: Stand in your clients’s shoes. How important is it to them to have their problem solved, or their needs met? Learn to understand the value you are giving and then be able to speak about it very well.

Home Inspired Action: Think of 3 of the clients you have impacted the most in your business. Step into their shoes. Write a testimonial from them to yourself. Be very specific if you can, and put numbers and figures on it. For instance, if you treated someone for a bad back, who previously had been unable to work, then if they went back to work, it was your service that at the very least made a huge contribution to their lives. Or if you helped someone with a fear of flying, and then they were able to make a plane trip to see their long lost relative for the first time in 20 years, then that is specific!

Ex: Answer the question: How can I expand the perceived value of my service for my client? Really think about how you can use the points in this class to affect how you price your services, and what you can do to increase the value you are giving. Brainstorming with friends who also have businesses is a great idea, as its often easier to see solutions for someone else than for your own situation.

Addressing limiting beliefs you have about pricing:

Common beliefs that get in the way of setting your prices at a level that feels good to you and brings in enough revenue.

Beliefs:

1. I love what I’m doing, therefore I shouldn’t be concerned about the money side of things. (Earning a healthy income and providing a valuable service are not mutually exclusive – unless you think they are’. Most people recognise that you are earning a living and can respect that).

2. My clients can’t afford higher fees (do you really, truly know that? Be careful of that assumption)

3. Too much competition – I have to keep my prices low to get clients at all or I can’t charge more than others in my field! That would be competition and I don’t like competition. (Start to think with an abundance mindset – there is plenty of room for everyone and anyway no-one else offer exactly what you offer.)

4. I don’t think I’m skilled enough to charge more. (Really? Will the day ever come when you feel skilled enough? Start telling the truth – you’re afraid.)

The real value of what you offer is determined by the benefits your client receives from your service – and in some cases, that is so valuable, you can’t put a price on it. So it becomes important to firstly believe you have a valuable service, and then learn to put that across effectively.

What to do? Work with letting go of these beliefs/feelings and practice enhancing your own self-worth, so that you can easily say I am a really great therapist, and my fees are x.

NB: YOUR PRICE MUST RESONATE WITH YOU! if there is any energetic mismatch then it will be picked up by your clients. Better to change them in stages, so that as you feel comfortable with each level, you are simply moving more and more congruently towards a price that feels just right. Then review it every year at least, and put them up by at the very minimum the rate of inflation. But consider also every year what you can do to increase your value even further.

How to put prices up:

a) get comfortable with what you want to charge first

b) give warning to existing clients as to when they will go up

c) start charging new clients immediately