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How to avoid working for clients who undervalue you

By Jim Connolly | November 29, 2013

business development, biz dev

They say that money goes to money. And they’re absolutely correct. It does. In today’s post I’m going to explain how this works.

Once you understand how wealthy business owners get wealthier, you can adopt the same strategy and reap the rewards. Plus, you’ll never need to work for a low value client again.

Why money goes to money and what it means to your business

The idea behind that saying, is that people with lots of money find it easier to make even more money. Interestingly, a significant chunk of the equation is not the actual money that wealthy people have behind them. Instead, it’s the mindset behind wealthy business owners that helps them acquire more and more wealth.

We see this mindset in play, when we look at how business owners think, regarding the clients they choose to work with and the fees they are prepared to work for.

Here’s what we see:

  • Those who feel poor, will take on almost any new client who comes their way.
  • Those who feel financially strong, will usually cherry-pick who they work with. If they think someone is a bad fit or unprepared to pay what they are worth, they won’t work with them.

Under performing small businesses often struggle from year to year, because the business is run from a mindset of fear. As a result, they work for low fees and eagerly grab anything that comes their way.

This then ensures they stay in that fear cycle, as they never earn enough to become more selective about who they work with or what they charge.

I have met with business owners, who have been stuck in that cycle for a decade or more. They work hard. They often offer just as good a service as those charging far more than them. Yet, their focus on fear causes them to undervalue their work and lower the bar on the clients and fees they will accept.

How to escape the cycle

We have to start by understanding something fundamental:

A wealthy business owner would soon find themselves in trouble, if they were to apply that fear based thinking to their business development.

No business can thrive, working for peanuts and for clients who undervalue them.

Here’s what your escape plan looks like, if you want to break free from this cycle:

  • Gather the courage to start being selective regarding who you are prepared to work with. This may feel risky, but the riskiest thing you can do is carry on working for low value clients.
  • Offer the highest quality service you can. Look for ways to pump as much value into your work as possible. Create an amazing client experience, so that hiring you becomes a pleasure for your clients… an experience they will cherish and want to tell their friends about.
  • Then, adjust your fees up to reflect all that great value you deliver.

You need to do this before you become wealthy or you will find yourself stuck in the cycle.

Ironically, playing it safe, by working for low value clients for low fees is one of the riskiest things you can do. That’s worth remembering, the next time you accept a new client or quote a fee!

This will help

Here are all 3 parts of a series I wrote, on how to market your services to the best potential clients:

How to attract the best clients and the highest fees – Part 1.

How to attract the best clients and the highest fees – Part 2.

How to attract the best clients and the highest fees – Part 3.

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Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

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