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Make It Real December 2009
News and Views from Clarity to Business, LLC
Discover what you love. Build your business. Prosper. | |
"...Read [Christy Strauch's book] and do the exercises. Your business, your customers and your bank account will thank you." Jim Horan, The One-Page Business Plan
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Greetings!
Lately, I've been ruminating about pricing. Many of my coaching clients are wrestling with this issue. A lot of them haven't raised their prices in a couple of years because of the economy (or at least that's the stated reason).
The truth is, it can be scary to raise prices. We all worry that our clients will desert us in droves. See the article and tip below for ways to raise your prices effortlessly.
As 2009 draws to a close, I'm feeling the pull to plant seeds for the New Year. One of these seeds is new marketing schedule of one hour a day connecting to my people in some way-blogging, commenting on other people's blogs, setting up radio interviews, or making phone calls.
Announcing this commitment publicly helps me to be accountable. Speaking of which, I'm starting three new accountability groups in January: Marketing, Numbers, and Business Plan Accountability. You'll find details below. Please forward this newsletter to your colleagues and friends if think they might benefit.
And write me about the seeds you're planting for the New Year.
Love,
Tel:(602) 560-8499 |
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Dare to Raise Your Prices
Pricing can be very tricky, especially for people who set the price for the product or service and also perform the service or deliver the product. It's very easy to confuse the price you need to charge for what you make or do, with your self-esteem.
You can overcome this issue one of two ways:
1. Research what your competition sells their work for
2. Figure out how much value you deliver, and set your price at some fraction of that value.
Research is pretty easy to do. The Internet is an unlimited source of pricing information. In the unlikely event you can't find an exact price for what you do, you can pick up the phone and call someone outside your area and ask what they charge for a similar product or service.
If you do this research, you'll find a huge range of prices for almost every product or service sold. People who go to the local barber shop and pay $11.00 (plus tip) for a haircut may be flabbergasted (or horrified) to know that you can pay $400 for a man's haircut (and even more for a woman's cut). In my field, you can pay a coach $25 or $5,000 an hour, depending on who you hire.
Why would someone pay $400 for a haircut? Why would someone hire a coach for $5,000 an hour? Because they feel like they receive much more value than the cost they incur. Perhaps the $400 hair cut made you look a lot better on TV, hiking your ratings and securing your employment contract for the next five years.
Maybe the $5,000-an-hour coach showed you how to break through a barrier that had been blocking you for years, enabling you to triple your income.
Farfetched? The $400 haircut and the $5,000 per hour coach both exist. Plenty of people are willing to pay these rates for that kind of value.
Click here to post feedback. Do you need to raise your prices? Are you afraid? What's next for you?
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New Clarity To Business Accountability Groups
Are you ready to be more accountable to your business? Start 2010 off on the right foot. Join a Clarity to Business Numbers, Marketing, or Business Plan Accountability Group.
Here's what two participants said about their experience in the last groups:
"Being in this group is definitely helping me clarify what I want and am able to do with marketing."
"The group is helping me focus on my business -- always a good thing!"
Each group begins in January, will go for three months, and is limited to six participants each.
Your business numbers are your report card. What's your grade?
This group is for you if:
- You want to increase your revenue
- You want to understand what your business numbers are telling you
- Your business numbers irritate, confuse, puzzle, or downright scare you
- You want your business numbers to make sense, and to grow
Consistent, compelling marketing is the key to steady sales growth.
This group is for you if:
- You know what to do to market your business, but you just aren't doing it
- You hate marketing
- Your marketing isn't working
Click here for more info or to register for the Marketing Accountability Group.
Business Plan Accountability Group | MORE INFO
When you fail to plan, your business can also fail. This group is for you if you:
- Don't have a business plan
- Have a business plan but it's sitting on the shelf gathering dust
- Spend all your time working IN the business and no time working ON it
- Want your revenues to increase
- Want stand out in your market
- Want a lot more business
- Need to understand who your best customers are and how to find more of them.
Click here for more info or to register for the Business Plan Accountability Group.
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If you aren't convinced raising your prices can be effortless (or at least the right thing to do), here are three posts on the topic (written by two of my favorite bloggers and business coaches) that will help you think about your prices in a new way.
