Are You Charging What You Are Worth?

What do your prices say about your brand? Are you "competitive?" Less expensive? Do you change what you think you can get? Or, do you fully understand what you bring to the table and charge accordingly?
 
After working with "tons of tons" of entrepreneurs, it wasn't surprising to learn that women business owners, worldwide, often undervalue their worth. The statistics about women earning less than their male counterparts don't just apply to women in corporate America. It also applies to women business owners.

How many times have you said to yourself, "Let me take this client and serve them for FREE and once they see what I'm able to do, they will hire me full-time?" You held up your end of the bargain, but they didn't hold up theirs?

How many times have you discounted your service and/or products just to give someone a peak into your capabilities? Then, kicked yourself for doing it because it didn't lead to the promising relationship you had originally hoped.
 
How many times have you stayed up all night to meet deadlines, over delivered and thrown in added value, because you hoped a client would see your value and increase your fee? And, it didn't happen.
 
You decide what you are worth, not the other way around. Then you step up to make sure you deliver at that level. But, in order to step up and start commanding what you need, several things must happen:
1. Believe you are worth it. I tell my clients, if you don’t believe it, nobody else will. People can spot a fraud across a stadium. Don’t pose as something you are not. Look at your niche, your skills and talents and set a respectable fee. Look at the industry average. Find out what those who are charging more are delivering. Pull testimonials of clients you have helped and focus on the value you brought. Why was their life enriched by working with you?
2. Get clear on the value you add. Make sure you know exactly what the value is in working with you. So often, we get so caught up in doing the job we actually forget that we need to add value. We should be able to sum up the benefits of hiring ourselves in a few sentences. If you think in terms of the value you add, it will be much easier to raise your fees.
3. Shatter Your Earning Ceiling. Believe it or not, everyone has an earning ceiling. A secret number that once they hit it, they feel “comfortable.” And it’s a good number. That number will keep you stuck, because it is a “comfort number,” instead of a value number. For example: There is a businesswoman who knows that if she consults with you and unlocks your potential, the value of what she brings can take your company to the seven-figure level; so she charges based on value. There is another businesswoman who could work with that same client, bring the same value, but her own internal ceiling makes her think in terms of charging an “hourly fee.”  Move from charging according to an hourly fee to a value-based scale; if you do so, you will never be undervalued or underpaid! Good luck!

 Homework
1. Vision board:  Put together a vision board of what you deliver to your clients. What words define their experience? What benefits do they get? What feelings do they have?  Build a visual experience. Add typed or handwritten testimonials, complimentary emails, etc. Then look at it once a day saying the following affirmation: Everyday, I attract clients who are willing to pay my fees because they know that I deliver the highest value. They know that by working with me, they will get ________, ____________ and __________________.
2. Value Added Bookmark: Put together a list of 10 benefits of hiring your company/you. Go deep. Why are you better than your competition? Why should someone pay more, stand in line to see you or be willing to get on a waiting list to work with you? Concentrate on Value and Benefits. Keep your bookmark in your current reading material so you can look at it daily and really embody what you do and what you bring.
3. Write down the number that you currently charge for your programs/products. Then write down what you would need to bring to the table to double that fee. Start bringing those additional benefits to your clients and go for it!

©2010 Jennifer Ransaw Smith