Many business gurus will advise you to go for the big sale. They suggest you create programs, products, or services that you can sell for thousands of dollars. This business model has supported many entrepreneurs in creating successful ventures, but it is not for everyone.
I have worked with many coaches and solopreneurs who felt like failures because they were unable to think this big in the early stages of their business. They began to lose faith in their ability to be entrepreneurs and do the work they felt called to.
Pricing is not a one size fits all proposition. We all have unique styles, skills, and personalities and our target markets have preferences as well. There is a difference between limiting yourself by playing small and building up experience, confidence, and expertise as you right size your pricing.
The True Value of Your Work:
Before setting a fee, research and measure the true cost of time and money that you have invested in your venture. These numbers will help you establish a baseline of what you need to make a profit.
Secondly, ask yourself what benefits your clients will receive by working with you. Here is a hint. It’s not the amazing program you designed or a powerful hour of coaching. The true benefits are how their lives or businesses will be impacted over time.
Think about it. How do you place value on:
- A relationship coach saving their marriage?
- A service that supports health, healing, and extends their life?
- Coaching that helps them shift things that kept them stuck or unhappy?
- A decorator who creates a functional and beautiful home sanctuary?
Write a list of all the benefits your clients will receive, including those that will evolve over time. Keep writing until your thoughts run dry. There are layers and layers of ways that you serve your clients. Own it. Take it in. This will support you finding your ideal price point.
The Pricing Ladder:
For many of my clients who are first time entrepreneurs with new ideas and programs, I encourage them to set their prices at the edge of their comfort zone. You know, that number that makes you shake a little, but some part of you knows you can do it. Start there.
Once you have enrolled several people at that price, raise it. Continue to do this as you become comfortable enrolling at each level. This will create a ladder effect that will lead to your ideal pricing.
If you come to an amount that does not seem to be working, ask yourself:
- Have I truly come to the edge of my markets price point?
- Do other people with similar offers successfully charge more?
- Is there something I can add that will create more value at this price level?
- Is there anything within me that is not able to own this valuation of my work?
- Am I holding myself back?
These questions will reveal the next steps needed to move forward. Keep using the ladder strategy until you find your pricing sweet spot and continue to review your fees twice a year to make sure you are in alignment with what the market will allow.
Your pricing strategy is both an inner and outer game. If you try to force yourself too fast or too far to fit someone else’s model, you may end up feeling there is something wrong with you and want to give up, depriving the world of the gifts you have to offer.
Stay focused on your dream and how you will be serving your clients. Think of setting your fees as a game and trust that your ideal pricing will reveal itself, even if it takes a few steps to get there.
