Yes you can and should raise your prices because, believe it or not, your clients want to pay more. Allow me to explain.
Actually, allow Professor Baba Shiv to begin...
As consumers we love to boast about two things:
- The "steal" we got on something
- The exclusivity of something we got
Let's focus on #2.
Your clients will pay for exclusivity
You see it when people brag about getting tickets to the Super Bowl or The Masters golf tournament. When they post photos of their new Tesla or Rolex or iPhone.
Or when they name drop that they are sending their kids to the same trainer that works on LeBron James or the football camp where JJ Watts first learned to smash quarterbacks.
And as Stanford research has shown—even if we don't admit it—we literally love to consume and partake of and be around that which is more expensive and exclusive.
In today's crazy busy noisy world, people will pay dearly for two things:
- Experience
- Exclusivity
When you raise your prices—assuming you are competent in your field—you have the margin to both create a better experience—you do have a process to deliver that great experience after the sale, right?—for your customer and by simply being more expensive, you are creating an aura of exclusivity.
Since I started The Sales Whisperer® in 2006, I've raised my prices many times, often doubling my rates.
Did I become 100% better one year to the next. Maybe, but not typically.
Become Convicted!
However, I did become more convicted—not arrested and convicted—and aware of the value I bring to my clients and I based my rates on the results I produce.
When you raise your prices and stick to them a few things happen:
- After the fear subsides you'll become more confident
- At first you'll work less but earn more
- You'll derive more pleasure from your work
- Your "motivated" and "right" clients will enjoy working with hyou more
- Those same clients will complain less
- They'll also embrace your ideas more readily ("I paid enough...I might as well do what you say.")
- As the better results are documented and proven and the word gets out...you'll work more, which leads to...
- You having to raise your prices again!
Motivated clients who are focused on producing results and investing in their companies and themselves take my advice and produce results that are 2x to 100x what they pay me, so the utopian state of "win-win" is actually achieved.
And isn't that what you're after?
To be great in sales you must first be convinced that what you sell is worth what you charge.
If what you sell is your personal expertise, it will be a hard sell until you get rid of that head trash that is holding you back.
But remember, getting a deal on your services, which is your time, which is YOU, is not the same as offering a deal on an iPhone or a mouse pad or a hot tub.
When you discount your time, everyone loses.
If you need help getting rid of that head trash give me a shout.
In my next post I'll outline specific ways you can raise your prices without alienating your best clients and prospects so stay tuned. Or just contact me and we'll set a time to speak.
Good Selling,
