Do you ever hesitate to promote yourself to your email list? If you’re concerned that you’re being too salesy by promoting yourself, don’t panic! I learned something very interesting lately that might help you step up and make offers with less fear.
For some quick insight on striking a balance between promoting yourself and offering valuable content, enjoy this video!
This is a question I get asked a lot, and the simple answer is to raise them whenever you want (it’s your business, after all!).
You don’t need a new certification. You don’t need 2 more years of experience. You don’t need to build a new website.
And you certainly don’t need approval from anyone.
As Nike says, “Just do it.”
But in case you’re like 100% of my clients 😉 … know that it’s completely normal to feel resistance to raising your prices.
Let’s go through some guidelines and strategies together to help you get clear about when, why and how to raise your prices. (Be sure to read to the end for a tip to make the whole process easier!)
• You are at or close to capacity with client appointments in your calendar.
• Prospects tell you they would have paid more.
• You’re starting to resent the time you’re spending with clients.
• You realize your pricing model won’t allow you to make the income you want.
Before I go into the why and how of changing your pricing, I want to be clear about something. Adjusting your pricing doesn’t mean charging a sky-high price for your services. One great way to get more income out of your time is to look at different delivery models, like creating knowledge products or group programs to supplement or replace one-on-one work.
With that being said, don’t be afraid to charge a premium for your time.
Why raise your prices?
• Reduce your stress level around money so you can take care of yourself and continue making a difference through your work
• To model a healthy relationship with money for your clients and customers (everyone has money issues!)
• Your clients will engage more fully and see better results when they are more invested financially
That last one always struck me as strange, but I’ve seen it prove out time and time again. Think about it. If you paid $5 for a personal trainer to meet you at the gym twice a week, how motivated would you be to show up? Now what if you paid $2400 for 3 months for the same personal trainer? At which price point are you more likely to show up and, consequently, get better results?
Same goes for your clients.
How do you raise your prices?
1. Adopt a philosophy of generosity. Instead of approaching pricing from the mindset of “how much can I get from people,” I highly recommend a different question: “What pricing will make me feel 100% free to generously give to my clients without resentment or feeling like I have to charge extra if I invest a little extra time with them?”
2. Ignore what people think. Or rather, what you THINK other people think. The truth is, people do not wonder about how you came up with your pricing. They don’t. Really. I mean it.
Just as you don’t quiz the clerk at Starbuck’s about their exorbitant latte prices, prospects are wrapped up in their own lives and trust you know how to run your business and set your prices.
3. Create a communication plan for existing and new clients. This is both the most difficult and most important step. But once you have the timeline for rollout and the words to express your value, then everything else flows.
How do you make raising your prices MUCH easier?
Have a clear marketing plan, compelling messaging and a simple sales process. What people will pay for your services depends significantly on the value you establish up front. With a clear marketing plan to establish credibility with prospects, compelling messaging to make them say “I need YOU” and an sales process that consistently closes the sale, by the time you’re discussing pricing with a prospect, the investment isn’t much of an issue. This happens for my clients and me all the time.
One last thought… give yourself raises on a consistent basis. In the corporate world, we could depend on cost-of-living increases and promotions. It was structured and determined by the corporate machine.
When you run your own business, you only have yourself to depend on for increasing your income. Don’t be afraid to get paid well for your gifts and talents. You’re worth it!
Thanks for reading! If you’d like individual mentorship on how to raise your prices and communicate your value, please get on the calendar for a time to talk! http://marycravets.com/breakthroughwithmary
The #1 way that coaches and most other service professionals get client is… drum roll please… referrals!!!
Admittedly, referrals have an image problem.
Referral generation sounds downright dull compared to “ultimate digital content planner” and “master Facebook ads in 5 days” or “the underground playbook for building your company online”.
It’s easy to get distracted by shiny new promises, but consider this: to generate referrals, there is almost no cost to you (awesome!), the technology is limited to email and phone so there’s no learning curve (yay!), referrals are warm prospects so the sales process is easier (yes!), and those referred prospects generally invest in higher level packages (cha-ching!).
Did referrals get just a tad more attractive?
Sweet!
But there’s another problem…
Most people don’t know how to generate referrals intentionally. It seems like it’s a random thing, with no stability or consistency. So even though you KNOW referrals are great, knowing isn’t enough.
Luckily, it’s easier than you think to get referrals rolling in. Let me show you what I mean:
To generate referrals consistently, there are really only 3 steps:
The key to making this step work: Only invest time nurturing referral relationships with people who are in a position to, and are willing to, refer you
The keys to making this step work: First… before you say, “But I don’t want to be pushy,” let me assure you that people LOVE to help. They LOVE to contribute and be a part of your success. And second, make sure your “ask” is crystal clear: know who your ideal client is and describe them simply in your request for referrals.
The key to making this step work: Make this a priority every single month by scheduling an appointment in your calendar to connect with your list.
Now for confession time: as amazing as referrals are for a business, I still struggled to do the actions necessary to generate them. So if you find this challenging, please don’t beat yourself up.
Here are a few things that help to melt resistance and get results:
And remember to ask for help. Adam (the expert on my team who grew my referrals exponentially) has a variety of ways to help you succeed with referral generation. Contact Adam here to explore how he can help you build your business through referrals.
Believe it or not (in some ways) it’s already 2017.
2016? That is SO last year.
Because in most businesses, there’s a time gap between doing work and getting results from that work. Usually a 60-120 day delay.
The activity you’re doing now? Expect to see results around January.
This delay holds true all year long, but becomes most apparent in January. When the only sound in your office is crickets, because you decided to wind down your year when things started getting hectic in October.
So…it’s decision time.
Are you going to get focused and serious during this crucial time, and have 2017 roll in on a wave of results? Or are you going to wind down, and in January essentially have to start over from a dead stop?
Now is the time to get serious about what kind of year 2017 will be. Here are 5 tips to keep your momentum going and make 2017 a success:
The truth is achieving your goals takes discipline. It takes planning and saying no and making hard trade-offs.
But keep in mind: achieving your goals is exhilarating and positively impacts lives far beyond your own.
In other words… it’s worth it. Put in the work. You won’t regret it.
After giving a prospective client a proposal for my services, and she said “If I look at your pricing, and the actual hours of your time I get, well, it seems like you get paid an awful lot per hour!”
Without missing a beat, we dove into her concerns and she agreed on the spot to sign on as a client. My biggest client to date.
As I hung up the phone, I thought, “WOW. A few years ago, her comment about my pricing would have totally freaked me out.”
What did I say to close the deal? Well, first of all, let’s travel back in time to how I would have responded earlier in my career. I would have started to justify or stammer or lower my prices (or all three) and it would have sounded something like this:
“Well uh, you see you have to understand that I, uh, work from home and, um have to pay for my own insurance and computer and taxes and I, you know, live in California where the cost of living is really high and, you know, I charge less than my competition, so you’re really getting a deal actually but well, I guess, if you want me to give you my best deal, why don’t we take another $1,500 off…”
Groan…
Now, compare that hot mess to how I responded this time:
“It’s so interesting that you bring that up and there are two things going on here that are opportunities for us. The first has to do with us working together and the second has to do directly with your business.
First, I’m glad you brought this up so I can clarify everything you’re getting in this program, and it goes way beyond the hours we spend directly working together. You will also get email access to review any documents or promotional materials you’d like feedback on. Your staff can also have access to me and be included in any of our coaching calls. In between formal calls, if you need support through a specific challenge, you have access. What you get is a dedicated coach so you can meet your goals faster, because you don’t have to figure it all out yourself.
Which brings us to the second opportunity. Why aren’t you charging more? If my prices seem high, I’m betting there is an opportunity in our work together to increase what you’re charging. You’re a 25-year expert running a million-dollar company – why aren’t you charging more? That’s one of the first things we should work on.”
Feel free to use this as a model the next time a prospective client hints that you’re charging too much for your expertise!
I’ve been bombarded with ads on Facebook recently and started to panic… “I better learn about how to master Facebook ads or I’m going to fail. I need to keep up, stay relevant, not miss the boat!”… and I bet I’m not the only one to freak out like this.
Then sanity returned and I thought, “WAIT. STOP. This is crazy. I built my business to beyond six figures without placing a single Facebook ad.”
Which brings us to this article where I’m going to show you exactly how I did it.
If you’re like most coaches, you are a completely amazing human being. You love your profession, you’re a hard worker, you adore your clients, and when those clients have “aha” moments, you’re floating on Cloud 9. And…
If you’re like most coaches, you spend a lot of time worrying about how to fill your business with great clients.
I get it. The first few years of my own Business Consulting practice was definitely like that. Chasing after every strategy that every expert proclaimed to be the answer to all of my business woes. “Live events!” they shouted. “Speaking! Social Media! Blogging!” they insisted. “Joint Ventures! Podcasting! Write a Book in a Weekend!” they proclaimed.
I ran around and ran around and ran around. Wanting to do good for my clients. Wanting more clients. But ultimately just completely burning out.
To survive the burnout (and avoid it in the future), I created a simple plan to fill my business with great clients and pass the 6-figure mark.
And I’m going to give you that exact plan right here.
The plan is crazy simple, and includes a complete marketing system of just 5 client-generation strategies. To get a simplified checklist you can follow each month, plus email templates, audio training, and more, be sure to download the Implementation Guide.
Ready for the details?
Client Generation Strategy 1: Referrals (20 “asks” per month)
Why this works. Referrals come to you as warm leads, so you have a better closing ratio, they make better clients, and generally are more profitable. Just this single strategy can double your income. But how do you get more referrals consistently?
Where to start. The first thing that stops people from asking for a referral is not wanting to feel pushy. The solution? Knowing exactly what to say. Here are a few samples of how to ask for a referral professionally, conversationally, and without being pushy.
Next steps. Even with the right words, referral generation can feel very hit-or-miss. Which is why you need is a systematic strategy to make referrals come in consistently. It simply requires regular contact, tracking, and nurturing of your list. When you do this, you can double or triple the referrals you get within a couple of months. To get my complete referral generation system, including an audio class that walks you through it step-by-step, download the Implementation Guide.
Client Generation Strategy 2: Speaking (20 inquiries per month)
Why this works. Instead of spending hours and hours meeting potential clients and trying to establish credibility one at a time, speaking allows you to gain instant credibility in front of a room full of potential clients. It’s a much more leveraged, effective use of your time!
Where to start. The first step is NOT writing your complete talk. You can spend a month or more writing your talk… but for what audience? The most important first step is to start doing inquiries to groups about speaking.
It may surprise you, but it isn’t necessary to have a complete talk prepared in order to be booked as a speaker. Here is all you need to prepare:
To see examples, go to the Speaker page of my website: https://simplygetclients.com/speaking/
Next steps. Start reaching out to groups who align with what you offer and inquire about being their speaker. To find groups who want speakers, use Google searches, ask for referrals from colleagues, and if you want the no-fail search strategy and “magic” inquiry email that my clients and I have used to book our schedules solid, download the Implementation Guide.
Client Generation Strategy 3: Teleclasses (1 per month)
Why this works. This strategy gives you all the benefits from Strategy #2, with the additional benefit of creating valuable content that you can use again and again.
Where to start. The key to using this strategy is to get started. Don’t get caught up in technology or attracting a huge crowd… that will come. Your immediate goal should be to simply conduct your first teleclass, and make a sales offer of some kind. That’s it. Keep it simple! Here’s how to get started quickly:
Next steps. Once you’ve gotten over the hurdle of doing your first teleclass, now you can get more strategic. There are the three main areas of opportunity to focus on:
Take these one at a time. Listen to other experts’ teleclasses for ideas on how to improve your delivery. And (you guessed it) download the Implementation Guide. I include details about how to grow your audience, leverage your content, and two great tricks for making sure your audience stays for the entire teleclass to take advantage of your offer!
Client Generation Strategy 4: Prospect Follow up (20 per month)
Why this works. People who have expressed interest in working with you, or who have worked with you in the past are considerably more likely to hire you again in the future if given the chance. Any time you have a new program or a special offer, these are the people you want to contact first!
Where to start. Create a list of all of your past prospects and clients with their contact information and put it in an easy to access location. You must start here, because if you start the process by digging around your desk and computer for contact information in order to reach out to these people, you’ll likely get frustrated or distracted and end up not making any contacts at all. Get the list created first so each month you can simply reach out to these prospects and check the activity off your list.
Next steps. Contact your prospects monthly. This can be done via email, text, phone, or social media. You just want to stay top of mind and nurture your relationship with these contacts, so the method of contact is not particularly important.
Client Generation Strategy 5: E-Newsletters (1 per week)
Why this works. On any average day when your path crosses with another human being, they do not need your services right at the moment. However, within the next 6 months to 2 years, it’s highly likely that they, or someone they know, could use your services… IF they remember you and have easy access to your contact information! That’s where e-newsletters come in.
Where to start. When sending it out, always keep these six elements of a successful newsletter in mind:
Next steps. If you want more, get the Implementation Guide. It includes a link to one of my most popular trainings, “How to Create E-Newsletters that Make Prospects Say YES” plus my top four list-building tricks (including how you can add 50-200 contacts to your list before the end of the week!).
FAQ
There you have it. That’s how I did it. And to wrap this up, here are a few Frequently Asked Questions. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions I didn’t address here.
Yes, of course. A sales conversation structure, time management, marketing messaging, ideal client profile. But honestly, I was pretty sloppy with these things. I had a basic handle on them all, but didn’t spend much time on them.
I only included the client generation strategies in this article because I can track back every success I’ve had to absolutely NAILING my client generation strategies. Everything else is secondary.
Implement the client-generation strategies I shared, start getting clients, and everything else will follow. Without clients, you don’t have a business, you don’t have income… the rest is simply refinement.
If you don’t want to do any element of this plan, then don’t. Your marketing plan should be as unique as you are. In a separate article, you can get a step-by-step guide to create your personalized marketing plan.
For your personalized client generation plan to get you to beyond the six figure mark you must do two things.
First, include activities that give you visibility and credibility, opportunities to make new contacts and sales offers, and systems to keep you top of mind.
Second, all of the elements must mesh with and leverage each other so when you engage in one area of the plan, all of the other parts are activated so you get the biggest results with the least amount of effort.
Yes, IF you implement consistently and your services are priced right.
All of the strategies in the world will not get you to six figures with your sanity intact if you are selling your products and services cheaply. I highly recommend you look at raising your prices, and creating high-ticket packages.
Commit to valuing your expertise, and charge accordingly. Commit to providing a higher level of transformation, and charge accordingly. Commit to asking your clients to commit to themselves at a higher level, and charge accordingly.
In a word, generosity.
I charge a fee that allows me to be generous with my time without resentment. That way, I can commit fully to my client’s success without haggling over adding an extra appointment or resource to their program.
My pricing also makes sure that I am being generous to myself. By asking my clients to invest in themselves at a significant level, I honor the value of my time and expertise, and get the peace of mind that comes with getting paid well for doing excellent work.
This philosophy of generosity-based fees creates an amazing synergy where my clients get better results than they imagined possible, and I can truly show up and be present because I am valuing myself and respecting the worth of my abilities.
Any other questions? Don’t be shy. Contact me. Let’s see what we can do together.