Imagine you are the brand new sales rep for a factory that makes widgets and they have asked you to decide on the price of the widget and to sell as many as you can.
You have no idea what the widget does, who would want to buy one, what it looks like, how it is made or the ultimate benefit it offers your customers.
This is essentially the task you are undertaking when you try to price your services without understanding the potential impact, results and design or structure of your services.
Now imagine you get a call from a customer who wants to buy a widget but they need more details about the widget and what it can do for them. What do you say to them?
So when pricing your services, get clarity first on exactly what it is you are selling because you are not selling your time, knowledge or education.
Your services are serving someone’s needs and should deliver an ultimate outcome or a list of outcomes/results. Can you really describe those results and outcomes clearly in language that people instantly relate to?
Can you clearly explain the method of delivery, set and manage expectations of the likely results and outcomes as well as list the features?
If not, you are simply selling widgets you know nothing about, priced inappropriately, to people who you expect to know what a widget is without you having to explain it.
One of the reasons practitioners struggle so much to price their services with confidence is not because they lack knowledge but because they haven’t got absolutely clear on what exactly it is that they deliver for a client.
You are not pricing the number of consultations or the duration of your course or group programme. You are pricing the service as a whole, that delivers several outcomes using your own particular method of delivery.
Write down the answers to these questions to help you price your course or programme:
Who your services are for (target market)
Who are they not for ?
How they can expect to feel after implementing changes ?
What are the common client frustrations and micro problems that you can solve with your services and method of delivery?
How they will be supported through those changes ?
What level of access will they have to you ?
What potential impact can these changes have on their life at best ?
What minimum impact can they expect from these changes?
What will it allow them to do that they can’t do now ?
What can they expect to enjoy more of ?
What can they expect to suffer less of?
How does your delivery method keep them motivated ?
How does your delivery method keep them accountable ?
What flexibility is there when they’re struggling ?
Client outcomes are everything. Especially if you want to develop an online course or group programme. Get clear on these first to get confident in asking people to invest in your services.
Save this for next time you’re struggling to communicate your services and your pricing.