It’s a tricky one, the pricing game. What number do you put on your service that will please the punters as well as making it worth your while? What value should you put on your service and time? Get this wrong and you’ll lose customers and sales before you even begin. I can go over this in more depth with you if you want some business coaching, but in the meantime I can share four general points that you need to consider when it comes to price.
1. What are your competitors charging?
You don’t need to beat this pricing, necessarily, or even be in the same ballpark, but you do need to know what you’re up against and why they’re charging what they do. How do they structure their costs and is it working for them? Check for their fees online, ask friends who have used them in the path – hey, sometimes you can even ask them and get some good information first-hand. Find out what your competitors key strengths are and then be realistic about how your offering differs and price accordingly. More about this in pointer #2…
2. How good are you?
If you’re a newbie to the scene, just starting out on your own, you may want to price lower than your competitors in order to win some business and prove yourself. Once you have a bit of experience under your belt and a raft of enthusiastic clients who will keenly testify to your good service, then you may look at changing your pricing. Or perhaps you’re already a standout in your field, with some impressive projects, customers or qualifications under your belt. If people will be easily impressed by your credentials and clamouring to work with you, you could set yourself at the higher end of the scale.
3. Price on value, rather than hours
If a plumber prioritises your job and rushes to your house on a Saturday to quickly fix a busted water valve, solving it in record time, do you think he’ll charge you less because he did it so quickly? No – he’ll probably actually double your bill because of the speedy response and hassle he saved you. If a customer asks you to rush through a job to meet their tight deadline for a presentation, should you charge less? No – your ability to meet a tough deadline has value attached, meaning it was actually worth more to the client. If you pitch for a job, give the potential client an overall cost – not your hourly rate. You shouldn’t be penalised for being faster than your less experienced counterparts.
4. Consider what value your service will bring to that company
Obviously, there are some things that people are willing to pay more for, and some things that they can’t see the value in. Have a think about what your service will do to your client’s business. Will it bring in extra sales or revenue? Will it save them thousands of dollars in some sort of cost? Will it cut down on a heady expense bill? Is it critical to their success or just something they feel they “have” to do (like going to the dentist, really). If your service will change your client’s bottom line for the better, charge accordingly.
There are many facets to successful pricing, but these are just a few to consider. For a more in-depth look at your pricing strategy, get in touch for some business advice or business coaching: zac@businesschanging.com
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