How to Charge the Highest Fees Possible
By Kevin Nations Posted on Dec 27, 2007
Tired of Competing on Price? Try charging the Highest Prices in your Field – THEN EARN THEM! Here’s how…
Too many service providers try to grow their business by continuously focusing on price – in fact FOCUSED on convincing the market that they are indeed the Low Price Leader…
LEADER?
How in the world can someone claim to be the LOW PRICE LEADER. Doesn’t the very fact that they claim to be the lowest price in the market mean that they have researched the market and RESPONDED? And isn’t responsive positioning in the marketplace a textbook trait of a FOLLOWER rather than a LEADER?
By definition, leaders LEAD.
And that means finding that pricing that will allow you to provide the absolute BEST level of support within your market and educating the marketplace as to why it is in their best interests to retain you at a clear premium.
What are some of the immediate advantages to pricing your services at a premium. Doesn’t the market really want to be served at the lowest possible cost? NOT AT ALL! What they want is to be continuously educated as to WHY they are paying the premium and the specific benefit that they receive for choosing to pay additional fees for your service.
Actually, a lot of the defense for higher prices is in the actions the client will take rather than the difference in your service. Let’s examine a number of defenses you can use to establish yourself as the TRUE Market Leader in Pricing – the company with the wherewithal to LEAD with your price and watch the competition scramble to find their place in the leftover space….
This can best be defined as follows..
The Three “C’s” of Raising your Fees.
The first is COMMITMENT. People are much more committed to applying and doing what’s necessary to achieve a result if they’ve invested significantly. So you’re always going to get a much better result if your clients invest at the top end of the pricing scale.
Second, COMMUNICATION. One of the most demanding requirements of any business, and a true value of their clients’ satisfaction levels is the money that they’ve invested in Communication. If you perfect the art of the post-sale followup you will have raving fans, no matter what they paid. If your follow up after the sale isn’t consistent with their buying experience, your satisfaction level will suffer. Charge fees that allow you to invest the BEST in follow up systems.
Finally, CONTINUITY. Who wants to invest and begin a program that isn’t available for as long as you want to be a part of it? Or one who isn’t able to consistently innovate and remain at the cutting edge. You OWE it to your clients to continue to offer products that allow them to grow along with you…
If you plan to be in business for the long haul (and you’d BETTER be or you’ll be devoured by hungrier competition), you owe it to yourself to raise your fees to the highest level possible! Then EARN those fees. Build your fees based on the cost of your clients NOT doing business with you, not from the efforts you put into the process. The net difference in those two numbers is your Value Leverage.
If you’re ready to begin charging 200% – 1,000% more than your currently billing AND having more satisfied clients, implement the above strategies and watch your profits grow accordingly.
Kathryn Perry
Nov 13th, 2009
Hi Kevin,
I listened to your teleconference tonight and now having read the article. When I think about the lives we change with our technique, the relationships healed, the personal growth, the new sense of satisfaction and confidence while becoming aware of the banquet that is life and the increases in income; you are so right we are bringing huge value to others but haven’t placed the right value on the work itself.
I intuitively knew this and felt we should be seeing better results in our business.
We have many admirers and friends, not enough customers.
This will change.
Thanks Kevin
Ruth Deutsch
Oct 1st, 2009
With so many people shifting their pricing because of their expectations of what the market will pay, it’s refreshing to be reminded about why it’s not in our best interest (or our clients) to lowball what we charge for our products and programs.
Thanks a million Kevin!
Ruth Deutsch
Deremiah *CPE
Jan 7th, 2008
Hi Kevin Nations,
it’s your good friend Deremiah *CPE just chiming in to say you’re absolutely right about people proving themseves the Low price provider. The worst thing you can do is play this game. When I was in the Security Industry tesing my theories on the “Servant’s Mentality” I found so many of my colleagues got suckered into playing the price game. I found that offering the best Customer Care and Serving the Customer with PASSION far out weighed price. Sometimes my competition, my company and my clients were shocked at the prices I was charging. But when I carried around a binder filled to the hilt with over 200 letters from customers who were satisfied with the work I did and they were willing to share that with world it was hard for customers to argue that I wasn’t worth what my clients were willing to pay. My own company could not believe what customers were willing to pay me for the work I did and still turn around offering my prospects the option to call them via a signed letter on their companies letterhead. This was one of the most powerful secrets I used way before the concept in the “Social Proof” document was written.
I just want to say you’re right on target and I agree that what you say does work for those who are willing to out SERVE their competition and then not be afraid to ask Top market prices in a low ball economy.
Is there anything I can do for you?
Your Servant (Because my clients loved to be Served)
Lovingly Deremiah *CPE
Nightingale Conant Award-Winning Speaker/Author
Nationally Syndicated Columnist