If you are sick of talking to fee sensitive prospective clients, you are making 1 or more of 3 marketing mistakes, which I am going to share with you right now — along with the solution.
Let’s get started!
A quick look at value
I want to start by looking at the way your prospective clients think about value:
- It’s always too expensive, when the price or fee is considerably greater than the value.
- It’s always great value, when the price or fee is considerably lower than the value.
To get that price / value balance right, we have 2 options:
- We can pump more value into the product or service.
- We can lower the price.
The race to the bottom
Most small business owners focus on lowering prices or fees, in order to make themselves appear better value. This is why we often see competing businesses in that dreaded race to the bottom. The race to the bottom is where business owners race to out-discount one another. It’s a low leverage, low profit and totally unnecessary way to run a business.
- Here’s the thing about slashing your prices: Your prospective customers will still be able to go to Google and find 20 lower priced alternatives to you, in minutes.
- Note: The bargain-shopping clients who put “cheap” before everything else are the worst clients to work for. They’re the least profitable, plus they dump providers as soon as a cheaper alternative comes along.
- Here’s the thing about increasing your value: High value providers are rare. Rare value comes at a premium, which the right clients are happy to pay for.
3 questions you need to answer
Firstly: Have you put so much value into your product or service, that the price or fee represents great value? As every quality brand will confirm, we can always sell a superb product or service for a great price. However, we are fooling ourselves if we expect prospective customers to pay a premium, for something that’s average or close to average.
Secondly: If you have created a product or service that represents outstanding value, is that value clear from your marketing? In other words, when a prospective customer reads your marketing or talks with you, can they easily see a clear reason why your services are of great value? Use the best copywriter you can afford, to make the value obvious, attractive and crystal clear. I find the vast majority of small business owners get this wrong and use DIY copywriting, thinking they are saving money. In reality, it’s losing them a fortune… every day!
Finally: Is your marketing attracting the right type of leads or enquiries? You can provide an amazing service, offered at a wonderful price, but if the people responding to your marketing can’t afford it, you’re wasting your time.
For example: A diamond ring that’s worth a million dollars, would be amazing value if offered for sale at $10,000. However, if you’re trying to sell it to someone, who knows the value, but is broke, they can’t buy it.
Getting your value balance right
Lowering a price is easy. It can be done in seconds. However, it locks you into a race to the bottom. It also acts like a magnet to fee sensitive clients and customers.
Instead, look for inconsistencies between what you charge, what you offer, how you market it and who you are marketing to.
IMPORTANT: If you want to make more sales, boost your profits and grow an amazing business, this will help you!