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The key components are simple: know what you want to accomplish, learn the necessary skills, then execute your plan. It’s amazing to me how many people sit on their butt, do nothing and then complain about how hard they are working. Take action, be busy, make it happen!
What is the next step? I hate to be a broken record on some subjects, but you must increase your prices, and to do so, certain factors must be in place. For example: after reviewing the revenues of one of my coaching clients recently, I calculated if he would just increase his down payment, then he’d add $98,000 in revenue with the same number of clients. Guess what happened? I spent three months banging on my drum before he did anything. He added $0 in revenue. After a while, he decided to listen and finally “took the plunge.” Guess what happened?
His client ratios increased — yes, at a higher price point, he obtained more clients. His staff (he has multiple branches in different locations) told him my strategy made things much easier. As they say in direct-response TV commercials – “but wait, there’s more!”
Before you think he is an isolated example, please let me explain I often find this to be the case; the only limitation is in the minds of the owner, program director or whoever is running the business, not in the minds of prospective clients.
What should you charge? It depends on multiple factors. What’s the most important factor? That would be creating a perception of value. You must present your program, product or service as being valuable — very valuable. Once you’ve established the value, then it’s only a matter of what I refer to as “fishing in the right pond”, i.e. marketing to your target demographic who can afford your prices.
As we are covering such a broad range of industries and areas of business, I can’t provide a blanket price recommendation, but when it comes to pricing, there are many reasons and excuses I hear for not charging as much as people think. These are:
“I can’t charge that much because my competition charges $X.” and “My clients cannot afford that much.”
Frankly, my concern about your competition is exactly zip, zilch, and nada. Who cares what they are charging? If your prospects are making price comparisons, then it is due to one of two problems: either you are not very impressive during their first impression of you or you are failing to ‘market in a vacuum’. These could mean all sorts of things, especially with the first impressions: this could be your website, your presentation, the building, your social media presence — anything you showcase to the public.
The ‘market in a vacuum’ concept is one I have addressed before. Essentially, it is what occurs when you rely on the Yellow Pages or other similar marketing resources for most of your clients. They will be prone to make price comparisons. If you are following my advice, however, then you won’t experience this problem.
The other concern is typically a figment of your imagination: “They can’t afford it?” Take a minute to observe and understand the spending habits of your clients. Maybe you are in a poverty-stricken area, in which case it’s recommended you should move. Otherwise, I’ll bet your clients (and prospective clients) are spending much bigger sums on many other purchases than what I suggest you charge.
For example, a family recently explained they couldn’t afford their renewal since they had spent $12,000 on a Disney World vacation! A couple of weeks with the Mouse and $12,000 were gone!
So, just a bit of caution about your current clients. You should keep in mind your current clients have already been very solidly sold on what you are worth. You have ‘pre-framed’ them to think of your services, no matter how much they love them, to be worth what you’ve asked them to pay.
It’s difficult (not impossible, but difficult) to increase the price they pay to receive the same training they are currently receiving. There is a strategy which will allow you to increase your prices as well, but I won’t go into it now. We’ve made those increases at my business a few times in the past and have experienced amazingly huge financial results. |
