Are you worried about raising your prices? Buyers pay less attention to pricing than you think they do. Learn why it is far more important for you to believe in what you sell rather than what the price you sell it at.

Last week I got two emails from subscribers about the same topic.

"I need to increase my prices but I'm nervous about telling clients." The other said, "I'm really struggling with charging my new fee having increased it for the first time in 3 years. Logically I know it's quite OK and well within the band of what others charge, but I feel so uncomfortable...I know I'm putting people off when they phone because I cringe internally when they ask how much I charge."

The problem here is not an economic one, but a psychological one, so here's my rapid fire advice if you can relate to this situation.

The first person you have to sell on price is YOU. As these examples show, if you're not 100% convinced that you're providing great value and worth every penny that you charge, then you will convey this to your customers. And if you don't believe that what you are offering is valuable and unique, then how on earth can you expect your clients and customers to? You must find a way to differentiate yourself and convince yourself of your own unique value first and foremost.

Stop comparing yourself to others. If you're selling a commodity, offering something that is freely available on the open market, then I agree that the final influencing factor before a buyer says yes may be price. But that's actually a very good reason for not offering a 'commodity'. My first advice to would be client magnets is to take yourself out of buyers' markets like these, and position yourself in such a way that price comparisons are difficult, if not impossible.

Please don't email me saying, 'But there are other corporate trainers/hypnotherapists/shiatsu practitioners/coaches/consultants in my town, and they charge a lot less.' That's really only a problem if you believe they're offering exactly the same thing that you do. I personally believe that what you're offering is a lot more unique than that. The question is, do you?

Buyers pay a lot less attention to price than you think they do. It's a proven fact that less than 10% of buyers buy ONLY on price. Think about it. Is price the only factor that you consider when making buying decisions? Are the clothes you are wearing the cheapest you could find? I doubt it. So why do you believe that your potential customers shop around for the cheapest professional services? The fact is, most buyers are more than willing to pay premium prices when you have taken the time to educate them about the value they will receive in return.

The trick to raising prices is to do it. If you believe that a certain amount is 'too much', then the only way you'll bust through that limiting belief is when someone cheerfully pays full asking price without quibble. It only takes one sale for you to realise that other people think that you are worth this, and then you'll wonder why you waited so long to raise your fees. But no one will pay you more than you're already asking, so you need to RAISE YOUR FEES.

What's the worst that can happen? Let's say you raise your prices by 20% and 20% of your clients go elsewhere. You're still better off, because now you're earning the same amount but working 20% less. What are you afraid of? That they will be outraged by your audacity? That they will get angry at you? Let's face it, even if clients do have an emotional reaction to what you charge, that is THEIR issue, not yours.

They have a choice - to take their business elsewhere. Just like you have a choice, as the seller, to charge whatever you choose. What you will find actually happens is that when you set fees that reflect your true value, then you'll attract a better caliber of client, people who respect and value what you do and appreciate you.

There is so much I could say on this topic, I could write a book about it - oh, yes, I already did! It's called 'How to Charge What You're Worth and Get The Fees You Deserve', and it really is a magic bullet for helping people to truly transform their pricing from the inside out. Some people have raised their prices as much as 50% with the help of this programme. You can get it FREE with 'How to Get Clients for Your Complementary Practice' and 'How to Attract Corporate Clients'.



Bernadette Doyle publishes her weekly Client Magnets newsletter for trainers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, then get your free tips now at https://www.clientmagnets.com.

© Bernadette Doyle, 2008.