You're Too Expensive
Pricing your services is always tricky because there are so many different models you can use. Plus, you’ve got to consider your expertise, experience, and the current market situation. So, it’s only reasonable that there will be times when you have clients that challenge your pricing.
Today we’re going to work through what to do and say when a client tells you you’re too expensive.
A very common initial reaction to this kind of remark is to back down - to really start to doubt yourself with regard to your fees & hourly rates. And what this will do is have you immediately consider reducing your price.
Or in other words - reducing your worth.
Why does that happen?
It’s the people-pleasing trigger or part of us that gets pulled. We always want to have satisfied & happy clients, or we want to get that new client across the line (aka get more cash flowing into the business).
But, I’m here to tell you that you need to silence that initial inner voice. Stop discrediting & downgrading yourself.
Instead, do the opposite. Flip the conversation.
Think about how much it would cost the client not to work with you. How much it would cost them not to engage you and your expertise. What would that involve? Would it be hiring someone else with a cheaper rate to yours, and also how efficient or effective would that person or business be?
Would another business with less experience at solving your clients' problems miss the big problem altogether and cost your client hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars?
It’s really about focusing on the value that you bring and looking for ways to bring this into your conversation with your client – particularly when the discussion turns to your fees.
This is especially true when you reinforce in your own mind that you are a specialist in your industry. Naturally, everyone expects to pay more for a specialist. So, it’s crucial that you position yourself well as a specialist - and do it right from the start.
To conclude, the key takeaways I want you to have from this are to know your worth and act accordingly. Resist the urge to back down when pricing is discussed. Rather set realistic expectations for your client – both in terms of the results you get for them, how much you will save them in better project outcomes, as well as how much you charge for getting them these outcomes.
If you’d like to learn more, please take a look at my most recent podcast episode on this exact topic:
Click here for the podcast episode.
Click here to watch the video.
Josh ‘Know your Worth’ Stone
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