Which option are you most comfortable selling your prospect?
- Your introductory offer where you won’t make money but you’ll get a new customer
- Your main offer that will get you decent revenue for the work you’re doing
- Your premium offer that will get you the most revenue
Here’s the thing about most business owners who are not familiar with sales and pricing strategies…
Instead of pushing for the highest paid option… they’ll resort to the first option where they hope to get a small sale. A small win.
Now don’t get me wrong…
There’s nothing wrong with grabbing small wins, but do it too often and you may find yourself tired, exhausted from running multiple projects that doesn’t pay much in return.
This is one of the reasons why many freelancers find themselves burnt out and tired of the entrepreneurial journey.
If this is starting to sound familiar…
Let Me Share With You How You Can Charge Your Customers What You Are Worth
And leave them feeling like they’re getting amazing value.
What most people don’t realise is that how you price your services will affect your sales. I’m not talking about giving discounts…
The first natural instinct freelancers turn to is to offer discounts. That’s the quickest way to get new customers. Especially if you are brand new, without much experience right?
WRONG!
You see, every customer (yours included) is looking for a solution to their problem.
And you as the expert have the solution they need. Once you understand this simple concept, you’ll know how to price your services. Pricing in a way that rewards you fairly for the work you’re doing.
Because while price is a consideration for business owners (your customers) it is NEVER the first consideration on their minds.
No. It is all about the value you bring.
This is why I focus on building Business Prestige.
Creating value in your clients’ minds so they see you as an important resource to solve their problems. In fact, you are the only one who is best suited to solve it for them.
Even if you are premium. (Because you have prestige)
If all this sounds complex, let me share with you a recent sales experience I had at Challenger.
A Curious Sales Story That Unfolded At Challenger
So the story goes like this…
I have been considering getting a desktop for some time now. (Before you suggest going and custom-make my own CPU, read the story first)
I’m not familiar with the different specifications of a desktop but I do know that I have a few key requirements. Such as…
- I want to link my desktop with 2 monitors (this is an important function for me)
- While it is not a definite requirement, I want at least 1 TB of data to hold my files
- Speed is another criteria, both in terms of booting up and running multiple programs
Sure there are other considerations, but for a home office desktop, those were the key things I needed.
As I walk towards their selection of CPUs on display, I could feel one of the sales staff watching my every move.
So when I stop at their HP product and read their product catalogue… it didn’t surprise me to hear him ask…
“Sir, can I help you?”
Good start. I thought to myself. But what happened next was disappointing.
Here’s why…
I asked him back, what’s the difference between the 2 models since 1 is priced $699 and the other was $899. That’s a $200 difference.
Instead of telling me why it is priced higher, he replied…
The more expensive one had more 4GB more disk space and {other feature}.
He was just giving me information I either already knew or could read off the brochure myself.
There was no new value-added.
When I probed further, he told me honestly that he wasn’t sure and asked me to wait for his superior who was making his way back up.
But when his superior came…
It Was The Same Process All Over Again!
This is happening in big companies. Companies that have full-fledge sales staff running on commissions.
And if they are performing at this level… what about simple 1-man-show freelancers?
So the question is…
Are You Applying The Wrong Tactics In Your Business?
Most business owners (not just freelancers) make this common mistake. They assume their customers understand the value they are offering.
For example, a designer after practising for over 10 years is now able to extract the key ideas of her clients and create beautiful corporate designs. In a few days.
Ask any designer and they’ll understand how valuable this skill is and why their designs should command premium prices.
The problem?
Their clients don’t. To them, a designer should be able to create designs instantly. They shouldn’t have to wait days or weeks for a good design.
This is why famous copywriter and direct marketer, Eugene Schwaltz, came up with his 5 level of market sophistication.
And you as a freelancer need to understand which level of awareness your clients are at.
Once you’ve established that, you can work towards educating them on the value of your services. Not before.
But How Do You Educate Premium Value Your Clients Are Excited About?
Going back to my experience at Challenger, there were many things the sales person could have done better. But I’m going to zoom in on the most important question both of them missed out.
Neither of them asked me what I was looking for.
And if you don’t know what problem your client is trying to fix, there is no way you can ever hope to justify your prices.
The truth is…
I don’t know the difference between 4GB and 8GB of ram. Sure I can tell that one of them has 4GB of ram more than the other but…
SO WHAT?
What does that information mean for me?
Sounds simple yet many business owners are making this same mistake on a recurring basis.
The Secret to Pushing for Your Premium Packages
If he had inquired first about the problems I was trying to solve, it would have been simple to close me for the more expensive package.
Remember my key requirements?
I wanted to connect at least 2 monitors to my CPU, I want my desktop to run fast and I want to hold at least 1TB of files.
With this information, the sales rep could explain to me first how the cheaper model resolved all my concerns. Instead of regurgitating out information I can read for myself, he could explain how those features were what I was looking for.
Once he had gotten me convinced, he could then emphasize the importance of having the right processing power to run multiple programs.
Example: So for a small increase of $200, you can get more than double the processing power. That means your programs run faster, you won’t experience lag time or ever run into a situation where your screen just crashes. This is especially important when you run multiple screens.
Ok, I made most of them up on the spot, but the key is to explain your value.
First you get them committed to the purchase, then and only then, do you show them how they can get even more value with your premium offer.
By doing that you’re using your initial price as an anchor and your premium pricing will appear much more valuable. This is an example of how you can use pricing as a tactic to get clients choosing your premium services.
If you are interested to find out more about using pricing tactics in your business, I’ve prepared a Premium Pricing “Cheat Sheet”.
Inside are 8 more different pricing tactics you can use to charge higher than your competitors and still attract more clients. They were developed using my TRIPLE R Pricing formula.
So grab your copy and start earning more.
