When I first went into business for myself seven years ago
as a marketing and public relations consultant, I struggled
with setting my fees. Even though I had been making a good
salary working for someone else in this capacity, at first
I found it difficult to set my fees at what they truly were
worth.
Then I learned about "dollarizing" (a topic for another
article) and about looking at the results that I was
creating for my clients. I also had to build my confidence
and comfortability in telling prospective clients what my
fees were without stammering... :)
I don't struggle with this anymore, for a few reasons. One
reason is because I KNOW what a difference I can and do
make in my client's business. And another reason is that I
have loads of clients, past and present, who continue to
TELL me what a difference I've made for them in their
business. Both of these have helped to build my confidence
and comfortability factors in setting my rates.
Now it's easy for me to say that my coaching rates are $350
an hour, or that a private mentorship with me starts at
$5000. Obviously that means I have fewer clients than I did
when I was charging $350 a month (as opposed to an hour),
but it also means I work one-on-one a lot less, which frees
up an incredible amount of time for me to with with as I
please.
And, by packaging my knowledge into information products, I
actually help MORE people now than ever before, and I love
that!
Now, my business has gone through more than one iteration
over the last seven years, so I don't want to give the
impression that this happened quickly for me, because it
didn't. But it could happen for you a lot faster if you
implement some of the tips I've given you here:
1. Consider yourself the expert.
Why wait for someone else to crown you something?
Seriously, if you didn't think you knew what you were
doing, you wouldn't have taken the leap into
entrepreneurship. So make yourself the expert and put
yourself out there as such.
Why? Because you'll build credibility faster, your name
will be the one that comes to mind when people are in need
of what you offer, and because it will allow you to command
higher fees that people are willing to pay.
People want to hire someone who is an expert in solving
their problem. For example, I started out as a generalist
in marketing and public relations (and web development),
and I did ok money-wise as such. Then I started focusing on
working with entrepreneurs in marketing their business, and
financially I did better. Now I focus on online marketing
for a specific niche (solo service professionals) using the
multiple streams marketing and product funnel model, and my
client base and income has increased exponentially! My
business is also a lot easier and much more fun!
2. Increase your income by increasing your fees.
Like I did, most of my clients struggle with this issue at
first. It's normal. They're afraid of losing clients (they
will), and of charging themselves out of their market (they
won't). But, among other things, I encourage them to
remember that if they charge more, they don't need as many
clients, and by having less clients, they will have more
time and freedom to do the things they enjoy (and even more
so if they create products to offer to their niche - see
#3).
If there's still resistance, I suggest that any new clients
they accept, they do so at their new higher rate, and keep
their current clients at their old rate.
3. Package what you know.
Stop trading time for money and start packaging what you
know. By this I mean creating information products that you
can sell to your niche that helps them solve their problem
at a much lower rate than working with you one-on-one.
This has made a huge difference for me particularly since
the birth of my daughter and more recently my son. Creating
products for my niche helps me to continue to bring in the
revenue I "lost" by not taking on any new one-on-one
clients while I raise my children.
There are many ways to leverage your time and talent, but
these three will get you started in the right direction to
building a more satisfying business for you ~ one that
gives you the freedom to enjoy both your work and your life.
----------------------------------------------------
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & CoachT,
founder of ClientAbundance.com and creator of 21 Easy &
Essential Steps to Online Success SystemT, teaches
professionals how to attract more clients, create
profit-making products and services, make more sales, and
ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE
tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit
http://www.ClientAbundance.com .
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