It can be a challenge to determine how much to charge for your products and services. You need to charge enough to cover your costs and consistently generate a profit, but you don’t want to scare your prospects away. Pricing doesn’t have to be a struggle. Follow these tips to price your services for maximum profits.
Give a free sample. Some people will need to sample your products before they invest. So give them one! It could be a video (series), a free training course, an eBook or an introductory consultation. You choose, but make it REALLY good. Give them your best and really strive to be of service. Once they see how good your work is, they’ll be compelled to want more.
Don’t lowball your products or services. Some people, like me, believe you get what you pay for and will immediately go for your high-end offering. Countless studies show that 20% of your audience will go straight to the top. Make sure you have something for us to buy! Another advantage to having a high-end offer: those who buying on price, will buy a mid-range option and feel like they got a good deal. The high-end offer often boosts sales on your mid-range items.
Look over your existing products and services for new package ideas. Not sure what you can offer at these multiple price points? You may not have to create anything new. For service providers, offer a full or half day VIP package. People are drawn to exclusivity, pampering and special one-on-one services. If you normally do coaching or consulting, try offering done-for-you services at a premium. Group your consulting or coaching sessions into packages around a specific problem. For example, a marketing coach could offer a bundle of sessions to walk her client through a launch or a relationship coach can offer a bundle of sessions to help recent divorcees get back onto the dating scene.
If you create products, bundle an existing eBook and recording into a kit. You can also turn an eBook into a printed book. Use existing material in a live workshop or teleseminar. You could also try offering on-demand webinar training.
Make it easy to for people to make the buying decision. A payment plan will help your audience buy at any price point. Showing a monthly payment helps them get over sticker shock at the full price. Most people will focus on the monthly cost, making the product or service appear less expensive. It’s typical to charge an additional 10% to help you defray the admin costs of offering a payment plan.
Focus on solving problems. When you make an offer, make sure your offer solves a problem that your audience has. So many service providers make the mistake of selling only what they want to offer. Match your expertise with the problems your clients have and are already looking for solutions to. Remember, people pay for solutions, not services. Focusing on solving specific problems is a sure-fire way to get the attention of your ideal clients.
Approach it psychologically. There’s a lot of psychology behind pricing. Use it to your advantage! The psychology of numbers is a powerful motivating factor in the buying decision. Prices ending in 97 are the most successful price points for products, especially online. 99 is the best price point for services. Tweak your prices up or down to make this work for you.
Pricing doesn’t have to be hard. By using these tips as guidelines, you can be sure that you have something for everyone and make it easy for your audience to access the solutions they are looking for.
Your Take Action Plan for This Week:
1. Create one comprehensive list of everything you offer. What problem do those offers solve? Make sure you are clearly communicating the value of your offerings and letting prospects know how your products and services help them.
2. Review the list again but focus on the price for each offering. What price range is missing? Do you need a high end product? Do you need a free product? Look at filling in the gap with existing products or services.
3. Think about the psychology of pricing and how you can change your pricing to use it to your advantage.
4. For more expensive products and services, look at where you can offer a payment plan to make an easier buying decision for your prospects.
Price strategy is an essential element in the marketing process. Price your product too low and you won’t earn a profit. Conversely, if you price goods and services too high no one will purchase them. The key is to research all available pricing strategies and select the best one for your particular situation.
I couldn’t have said it better myself Yvonne! Thanks for your comment. This is why it’s important to test your pricing. It’s a bit of an art to test different fee structures, but you won’t know if you don’t try!