How To Confidently Stand By Your Pricing
I heard a story recently that made me both really sad and really angry...
I was chatting with a colleague and she told about a networking event where another woman at the event questioned her fees in front of the entire group.
Of course, it made me feel defensive for my friend, because ya know, how awkward, right? But then it just made me really sad.
It makes me sad that so many people, both men and women, have been brain-washed into believing they have the right to question another professional's pricing structure.
Listen, if the Crocs Company can charge $50 for a pair of rubber shoes with holes in them that cost approximately $10 to *manufacture, why should a competent coach or consultant feel the need to justify their pricing to anyone?
Let's break this down...
Crocs is asking you to pay 5x their manufacturing fee. Is it worth it? That's up to the buyer:
Do they love the shoes?
Do the shoes serve a really great function for the buyer like for gardening, for their job working in a hospital, for going to the beach?
Do your kids play sports and like to wear them after games and practice?
Do they last more than one season?
Do they serve several purposes saving money on getting other shoes?
Can you see how this changes the perspective? If you think Crocs are ugly, would never wear them and can't get over the profit margin, then yah, you probably think it's a huge waste of money. But that's only one perspective. And NO ONE is forcing anyone to buy Crocs. The buyer gets to decide.
Now let’s say you're a business coach and your program costs $60K a year, or $5k a month. And let's assume your expertise can help your clients create offers and systems that help them close at least 2 clients per month at $5k, that's $10k a month, $120k a year. Your clients have just doubled their ROI.
What if you increased your client's ROI by 5x, which by the way, is the profit margin for Crocs, meaning your client goes from 2 new clients a month to 5 new clients a month. That'd be $300,000 in new revenue. Imagine if the client was selling $10k packages and the ROI was $600K! Is the investment worth it now?
Of course, there are no guarantees and the client may never get any new revenue from their investment with you. But that's not your responsibility. You’re providing the path and the tools to get the ROI. You're not supplying the individual mindset, physical energy, desire, perfect family dynamics and hustle along with those tools. That's up to the client. But does that make your offer less valuable? No it does not. Just like your teenager may beg for Crocs because everyone else has them and then they sit forever at the back of their closet. Does that mean the Crocs company hasn't provided a product that other people find immensely useful? Nope.
This is why price shaming so is ridiculous. How someone determines their value is between them and their BUYER. The BUYER gets to decide if they see the value, not the woman across the room who's too afraid to stand in her own value that she has to challenge a colleague in a public forum.
And let's be clear, the reason we price shame, whether it's on a high-ticket coaching packages or the cost grass-fed beef, is for two reasons:
1. We don't see the value in it which is fine. But that doesn't mean someone else won't. What's trash to one person is treasure to someone else. Case in point, Crocs.
2. We can't afford the thing we want, which is not the problem of the seller to fix. It's not your job as the expert to change anything about what you do to make someone else comfortable with their own financial situation. In fact, you may be doing that person a huge disservice by making accommodations which would help them bypass the work they really need to do to raise their money game.
I hope this has given you more clarity and confidence around standing in your own pricing. Most entrepreneurs highly underestimate the value they really bring to the table. For example, what's it worth to someone to have 5 extra years of healthy living added to their life, to find their soulmate to share their life with or to get out of emotional turmoil? Those things are priceless, yet many coaches act like clients are doing them a favor by signing up for their programs.
YOU are a gift to the world. It's time to show it.
Claim your own value and focus on getting the best ROI for your clients. Let everyone else take care of their own side of the street.
*https://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/13/01/3252281/time-to-trade-crocs-for-deckers