Do You Know Revenue Secret # 2

Do you want to stop undercharging for your services?

If you do, you are not the only one with this costly problem.

Every time I research this, I get a similar response, about 40%.

Think about that; 40 % of people undercharge for their services. (This applies to both self-employed and employed if you were wondering)

So while on the one hand, while people work hard to bring in customers, 40% of people leave a lot of money on the table which should be theirs.

It’s a huge problem, but very few people talk about it as a way of increasing their revenue.

This is why I call it a secret, Revenue Secret No 2 to be exact.

All of my clients have excellent skills, but 90% are underselling themselves.

But they rarely say “my problem is I undersell myself.”

Most people, who have this problem, either don’t know they are underselling themselves, or they mention it as a consequence of the real problem, which is usually around self-doubt, fear of risk and failure and a lack of confidence.

The people who don’t have the problem? Well, they don’t talk about it because it does not matter to them.

But the next question we need to answer is, how much do people undercharge?

This is when it gets serious, and people start to pay attention.

Instantly doubling fees is quite usual.

Often, it can be far more.

You may think that is crazy, but in every industry, some people are hired at rates far higher than the average ‘market rate’ which most people judge themselves against.

Here are some examples after fixing their belief problem:

A client doubled her prices and got paid with no questions asked.

Another had three pay rises in 18 months.

Another got two bonuses and a pay rise in 8 weeks.

Your value and fees are not based on your skills alone!

Two Things To Focus On To Increase Your Fees and Profit Margin.

Improving your marketing and especially your ability to attract higher paying customers is one of the two things that you need to do.

But, there is a bigger problem that stops people reaching out to the higher-paying customers and is at the root of this 40% problem.

By far the biggest cause of undercharging is undervaluing yourself.

Not believing you are ‘good enough’, smart enough’, not ’skilled enough’ and so on are by far the real causes of people’s bank accounts being leaner than they should be.

They lead to a lack of confidence.

This leads to desperation when it’s time to sate your price and customers will hear the fear in your voice.

The three bad things will happen.

You get the contract and get poorly paid, and your life will not improve.

You will get beaten down in the negotiation stage because they know you are not confident.

Also you won’t get the contract because the customer is suspicious that you can’t deliver what you say you can because your fee is lower than they expect.

The One Thing A Customer Wants More Than A Low Price.

We all want the best deal, but the one thing we want more is the certainty that our problem will be solved, which will help us hit our goals.

We all could choose the cheaper option, but often we don’t.

We choose what we decide is the right option.

Also if we had more money, we would choose the best option we could.

Your customers are the same.

If you undersell yourself, they will see that you can do the job and pay you less than they would, or they will worry that you aren’t good enough and pick someone who can, regardless of the price.

Don’t compare yourself to the market rate.

Don’t under value yourself because you are ’not good enough compared to ….

Don’t under value yourself because you are too young, too old or the wrong sex.

Don’t think someone is buying your skills, knowledge and services. They are buying what these will do for them.

Instead;

Price yourself based on the value to the customer.

Learn how to be very good at explaining and demonstrating that value.

But, most importantly, clear your issues around your value.

You first have to believe in yourself before you can convince someone else to believe in you.

Self-esteem and confidence issues learnt in your childhood should not be running your pricing strategy.

Then you will get the Revenue Secret No.2 working for you.

#Motivation #Sales