Charge What You Deserve

Increasing the value of your business is a quick ticket to more profits.  One of the fastest ways to begin charging what you deserve is to improve your self-confidence and when you perceive the value of your business increasing, it becomes much easier for you to ask for the fees that you deserve.

Here are 8 ways that you can add value, both real and perceived, to your business that will also save you time and earn you more money.

1.  Create a content-rich ezine or newsletter

Writing a regular newsletter or ezine (e-magazine or online newsletter) is a great way to stay in contact with prospects and clients.  By offering useful information for your subscribers, you are immediately adding value to your business.

Create a FREE report or some other “tasty” offer that would be of interest to your prospects.   In exchange for the report, prospects opt-in by leaving their name and e-mail address.  Now you can continue to offer them great, useful information and announce any product or service offers that you have through your newsletter.

2.  Hire a virtual assistant

A virtual assistant, or VA, is a work-from-home service professional that will handle administrative and office work for a variety of different clients.  Because they work with several clients at a time, you don’t have to be responsible for 40 hours a week worth of work to make them happy.  To start with, you may hire a VA for 4-6 hours a month, but the return on investment is wonderful.

This is a great way to save time and effort on tasks that you shouldn’t be putting your energy into.  They will do the job better and more efficiently.  This in turn helps you to build a more valuable business.

3.  Create a group program or tele-seminar series

Adding a group program is as easy as holding a series of tele-seminars or workshops.  This allows clients that wouldn’t normally pay for the more expensive one on one time a chance to learn from you.  It doesn’t matter whether you are a coach, consultant, speaker or a private chef.  There is SO much information that people need to learn that you have in your head, any service professional can put together a group coaching/mentoring program.

4.  Interview known experts

Imagine all of the great content and information that you can pass on to clients and prospects that you learned first hand from experts in or around your industry.

So, how do you go about getting an interview with an expert?

Do you have e-mail?  Do you have a telephone?  They probably do too.  Remember, all of the “experts” out there started somewhere.  Be persistent and don’t be shy.  What’s the worst that can happen by asking for a ten minute phone interview?  They can say “No”.  That’s the absolute worst thing that can happen.

Use the 6-degrees of separation principle.  Ask your friends and colleagues who they know that they could introduce you to.  This has worked with AMAZING success for me.

I recommend that you make it a healthy habit to raise your fees 1-2 times a year.

Whether or not you raise your fees with existing clients is a judgment call.

You may want to consider it if you have a very long life cycle with your clients. If this is the case and you don’t begin raising your fees then you’re going to be frustrated with your income for a long time coming.

If there’s plenty of room in your practice for new clients then this may be a different call. You can significantly increase your income by raising your fees with new clients and not raising them with existing clients.

If you do raise your fees with existing clients, here are some tips.

1. Don’t raise their fees to the same price as new clients’.

Let them know that you are increasing your fees but the increase for them will be less than all new clients. Make sure that they know that you appreciate their business.

For example, let them know that you are increasing your fees $150 with all new clients, but only $75 with them. In a sense they will feel that they are getting a discount. Now, I know that they aren’t stupid and they know they will be paying more, but they will also understand that they are being treated fairly and respectfully.

2. Only mention the increase in fee, not the new fee amount.

In other words if you’re a coach going from $500 a month to $575 a month, let them know that the increase is $75. If a client is getting results and value from their relationship with you it is very tough to argue over $100. In fact, if that is a make or break for them then they really weren’t getting value out of the relationship and it’s time to move on.

3. Give them ample notice.

It’s unrealistic to spring a fee increase on clients effective tomorrow and expect them to be cool about it. As a matter of principle they will be put off. As long as you give them some advance notice, most clients will understand.

How much notice? That, again, is up to you. I would suggest 45-60 days.

4. Create a unique offer.

As long as you aren’t adding more of your time to the table, I think it’s a great idea to offer a little something special for your existing clients.

For example, if you’re planning to create a group program, you can offer this to them for free or for a reduced price. This can be for a limited time or it can be indefinite. This is the beauty of group programs. You can add a couple of people gratis without having any negative effect. And you aren’t spending any additional time by doing so.

What else can you offer so that they know that you appreciate their business and want to continue the relationship?

Let your imagination go here.

But remember not to trade more of your time for the increase in fees or you will be right back to trading hours for dollars.

Most of us get a little nervous when discussing our fees.  Some of us get VERY nervous.  A little case of the nerves is fine, but when it gets to the point that you try to avoid the subject of your fees altogether it becomes damaging to your business. 
 
Here are some tips to help you manage your nerves when discussing your fees with prospects. 

1.  Say it until you can say it with a straight face 

Literally repeat your fees to yourself until it becomes a reflex.  Say it out loud; in the mirror, while you’re in the shower, while you’re driving down the road, whenever.  Just keep saying it until you take yourself seriously.  If you can’t take yourself seriously when it comes to what you charge then don’t expect your prospects to. 

2.  Emphasize value and not process when talking with prospects

Always emphasize the value that your service offers, not how many times a month you will meet and how long each meeting will last.  When you develop the habit of discussing value, you will begin to recognize more and more how much your service is really worth and you will stop being hesitant about discussing your fees. 

3.  Offer multiple pricing options so you don’t have to discuss specific fees too soon

If you offer multiple solutions for your clients’ problems, then you can honestly tell prospects that you have several levels of services and products and you would like to get more information about their needs first.  You now have a built-in reason for learning more about your prospect and communicating to them the value that they will get from working with you. 

4.  Sell without selling 

When you’re excited about what you do and the results that you’re able to provide for people, you can easily sell without having to ever be a salesperson.  Ask your prospects questions.  What do they want?  What are their goals?  What pain do they want out of?  Where would they like to be in 6 months or a year? 

Now let them picture how working with you will allow them to achieve these goals.  Guess, what?  When you do this, there will be no selling necessary.