FrontLine Results : Business Coaching

What Should You Charge?

I was looking through my newsletter archives at the weekend and came across this article from 2005! The topic is just as valid today - and I think the tips are too... let me know what you think

 What Should You Charge?
The answer to that question is simple – you should charge what you’re worth! The explanation will take a little longer....

Many businesses bump along the break-even line because they don’t charge enough and unfortunately many go out of business for the same reason.

Whether you’re selling products or services, you have to believe in what you have to offer – or you’ll have an uphill struggle expecting people to buy. If your prices are too low, the perception of your products/services is that they are inferior in quality and durability to those with a higher price tag. In other words, cheap.

If you’re tired of customers trying to beat you down in price or saying you’re too expensive, try something radical – raise your prices! Let me explain a bit more ….

What sort of customers do you want? Those who are just looking for the best price deal or those who appreciate the quality you can offer?

Something most of us forget when setting prices is how much studying, research & development, expertise and experience has gone into our products and services. They need to be factored in, they cost you time and money to acquire. Be proud of what you have to offer, you’ve worked hard for it.

Be First Class
If you’re going to raise your prices, you’re going to have to deliver the goods. Make sure that you give a first class service to each and every one of your customers, for each and every purchase they make. Go further and delight them with great follow up and add value wherever you can – you can afford to as this is now included in your higher price.

I recently bought a new car. The young salesman was very eager to please and personally made sure all my requests (including enough petrol to get home!) were carried out. As I drove away, I thought that was the last I’d hear from him....

However the next day, he called to make sure everything was OK and said to be sure to call him if I had any problems. He called again after a week and yet again after 4 weeks – just to check that I was still completely happy with the car. Now I know I paid for this service in the price of the car but how often do you actually get it? I was and still am a delighted customer.

Two Quick Coaching Questions
What can you do to delight your customers?  And when are you going to raise your prices to reflect what you’re worth?

Amateur videos and paying for value

 Although I said that Nicola didn’t seem to have made very detailed plans before holding her Wealth-A-Thon last Saturday, she had prepared the ground ahead of time in terms of running a competition for a free place in the Money Gym’s Gold program (worth £4.5K).  Entrants had to make and submit a video story, telling a little about themselves and why they should win the place.  Considering that most of them had never been on either end of a video camera before, the entries were brilliant and, as they were played during the course of the show, viewers were able to vote on the entry of their choice.

A few times during the lead-up to announcing the winner, Nicola shared that when she’s given away free places before, hardly anyone has stayed the course and finished the program.  What a waste.  And unfortunately it bears out my own experiences.  For example, when I work with Southern Entrepreneurs, their training courses are of a high standard and free to members.  Popular topics get booked up very quickly, numbers being restricted by the size of the conference room.  Come the day of the course however, it isn’t unusual for there to be several no-shows, which is such a shame when we’ve had to turn people away.

I realise there’s a great difference between a half-day training and the Money Gym’s 12 month Gold membership in terms of cost – but the principle is the same.  When people don’t have to pay, they just don’t seem to attach the same commitment.  When they do pay, they’re much more likely to want to get their money’s worth – and work hard to get every penny’s worth!

Honesty is the best policy

Before the Wealth-A-Thon last Saturday, and on several occasions throughout the day, Nicola gave her reason for holding the event.  She wanted to sign up new members to both her Gold and Silver Money Gym Clubs and to raise money to invest in her property portfolio.  I love the honesty!  It’s refreshing when you think of the number of ‘I’m doing this from the goodness of my heart’ messages out there which no-one believes anyway.

The number one issue I hear from students at my ‘Selling Skills’ workshops is that they don’t feel confident about asking for the business (or the money).  I wish they could have heard Nicola on Saturday!  Not only is she completely upfront about wanting to sign up more people, she totally believes in the value of her services.  That shines through in everything she says so she has no problem asking for the business.

Not only does she say how great the Money Gym is, there are some wonderful testimonials from satisfied clients.  Actually, they’re much more than simply satisfied – more like raving fans!  There were a couple of compelling video testimonials in the show, and audio & video case study interviews.  Very powerful stuff!

How well are you using testimonials and case studies in your marketing materials?  I’m just off to look at mine now!

What I learned from watching TV at the weekend

On Saturday I spent far too much of the day watching The Money Gym’s 12 hour Wealth-A-Thon on U-Stream.  Nicola Cairncross, the energetic and passionate founder of the Money Gym was live on camera from 8am to 8pm (with strategically placed videos when breaks were needed!).  She shared some great wealth tips, interviewed people, held a competition, answered viewer questions – all in all an enjoyable & educational day’s viewing.  (Excerpts from the show are available at Money Gym TV.)

OK, I’ll admit that I eventually succumbed and bought the book, with audio & pdf downloads AND a 3 month membership of the Silver Club.  Somehow I found myself ‘upsold’ from the original order I’d intended to place!  Don’t get me wrong, I do not have buyer’s remorse.  On the contrary, I’m looking forward to working on getting both my personal & business finances into tip-top shape (if I’m completely honest, it’s an area I find incredibly boring and so tend to be a bit lax on the record keeping front).  I’ll let you know how I get on with the club membership.

Thinking about the show afterwards, I realised there were many learning points for all small business owners – apart from the obvious financial ones – so many in fact, that I’m going to spread them over the next few posts.

The first thing I learned was that Nicola, in common with other successful entrepreneurs, is very much a ‘big picture’ person and she uses a ‘Ready, Fire, Aim’ approach!  While there was an overall plan for the 12 hour show, it appeared to be far from detailed.  As a recovering perfectionist, the thought of doing a one-hour teleclass, let alone appearing on live TV for 12 straight hours, without spending many hours of meticulous planning beforehand, is terrifying to me!

But the lesson here is, it worked and overall, worked very well.  Providing you know your topic well, have more than enough material and a clear outcome in mind, a rough plan will get you through.  Nicola announced she was holding this day and then made it happen – what a great way to overcome procrastination!