Do you know what you’re worth? More importantly, do you know how to get others to pay you what you’re worth? Here’s how to make sure you’re getting the money you deserve.
1. Be worth it
This sounds a bit backhanded, but the top reason many entrepreneurs can’t charge more is that they’re not worth more. Your value to a client doesn’t come from what you know; it comes from how you make them feel.
2. Give every client one-on-one attention
You’re serving a room full of individuals, not one entity with multiple parts. Or maybe you have thirty clients booked into your clinic today. Don’t forget to have a personal interaction with each of them, and do not treat them as mere problems to solve. You don’t have a sprained ankle and three sore backs in your schedule. You have Mary, Bill, Adam, and Steve.
3. Review their goals in person several times per year
How can you lead them if you don’t know where they want to go? It’s important to understand what your clients want and keep their goals at the forefront before deciding how to solve their problems.
4. Look like a professional
Dress better than your clients. Wear a “staff” shirt. Don’t sip coffee while working with them. Run to fetch equipment. Smile, whether you feel like it or not. Every impression you make on your clients is important, so treat your presentation as a priority.
5. Give them your undivided attention
Stay off your phone. Don’t carry on a conversation with others while coaching a one-on-one client. Don’t coach “the room” but each person within the room.
6. Establish your expertise…but don’t barf it all over them
Use one-to-two technical terms every session—no more, no less. Teach them more than any other coach in town, and they won’t have a reason to leave. Give them a taste of future knowledge every session. Tell them the next step in whitening their teeth, and they’ll look forward to it.
7. Don’t give discounts or “sales”
Your current clients are more important than any future ones. Is it worth risking them to bag a few extra sales? Price fluctuations erode trust, undermine consistency, and encourage price shopping. And they could cost you more than they bring in. Everyone deserves the same excellent service, and they should pay the same rate for it.
8. Base your rate off your service…not your competition
After doing thousands of one-on-one business evaluations with entrepreneurs in all industries, I can promise you this: your competitor probably had no idea how to price his service. Why place your business on the same shaky foundation by copying or, worse, pricing yourself cheaper than him?
9. Know who your clients are
Who is your best client? I can’t answer that question for you, but I can help you figure it out.
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You are probably not your best client.
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Your best clients come from the top 10 percent of professionals in your area.
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They make more than you do but have different constraints (schedule, family, stress).
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Your best clients have different goals than you do (fat loss, stress reduction, “turn off my brain”).
You need to determine who your best clients are and exactly what they want from you.
10. Stop projecting your budget onto your clients
Your clients likely make more than you do (for now). They will pay more than you would (for now). If you base your prices off what you could afford personally, you may be selling yourself short.
11. Know what establishes value and what erodes it
Your list will be specific to your business, of course, but here are a few considerations to get you started:
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Price anchors establish value.
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Starting appointments on time establishes value.
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Professional caregivers establish value.
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Clear, attractive branding establishes value.
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A good website establishes value.
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Shiny equipment and floors establish value.
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Dirty bathrooms erode value, but they don’t create value. They’re just essential. No one looks for the lawyer with the cleanest bathrooms, but they’ll quit the lawyer with the dirty ones. The same goes for not answering the phone or returning emails. These aren’t bonuses; they’re foundations.
12. Set a limit
The law of supply and demand applies to your business. You have limited supplies of attention, time, and space, so build your prices, staff needs, and purchases with that limit in mind. Recruit and reject clients and staff with that limit in mind too. Don’t chase infinity.
Live up to it every second
A client’s experience is only as good as their last exposure. What you know doesn’t matter. How you make them feel does. Solving your clients’ problems and making them feel great are cornerstones of sales in the Founder stage of your business.
By applying these principles every day, you should be well positioned to charge exactly what you’re worth.
This article was adapted from the book, “Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief,” written by Chris Cooper. Chris Cooper is the founder of international mentorship program Two-Brain Business, and is also the author of the books Two-Brain Business 2.0 and Help First.
This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Featured Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
