HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE?
Are you a speaker, a guru, a consultant, or a thought-leader? How much do you charge? That is a question that in my circle draws a sharp intake of breath. Truth is I would be considered more polite if I had asked some intimate bodily dimension or performance details. This is, as someone commented, a taboo subject.
My fellow established LinkedIn contacts often complain loudly when a new connection tries to flog them something. "It's bad form Geoff" they cry, but I feel LinkedIn is a business forum so commercial connections are fair game. BUT how often do I get"Great to connect with you Geoff, I help world-famous speakers like you to fill their diary with lucrative international jobs." And this is the bit that is missing "and I charge the following fee scale."
How many leading keynote speakers publish their price? To the best of my knowledge very few indeed if any. But the world has changed, this is the time of the global internet. The buzzword is disintermediation, people want instant facts and figures at their fingertips. Imagine hiring a car "How much is it to hire a four-door saloon for seven days?" "Drop in and we will try and work around your budget." That doesn't happen and if the cost of that hire car does not smack me in the eye from their website I don't even get in touch.
I'm guilty too so I have taken the scary step of clearly pricing myself on my website. Dangerous? How much? Too cheap and I look desperate, too dear and I scare everyone off. On the whole everyone is less than honest when comparing prices with colleagues. "I won't get out of bed for less than fifteen grand Geoff." Either they are spending a lot of time in bed or they are telling porkies. Even the agents can be a bit vague with price, tending to use banding (apparently I'm a band C, exciting if they used the whole alphabet but depressing if they only have three bands.)
Well I've done it. Have a look at www.geoffburch.com
I'd love to hear what you think.
Experienced Copywriter & Marketing Strategist. Stop guessing. Research-driven MESSAGING that gets you RESULTS.
5 年Totally fell for it. Glad I did though... Refreshing, and as a newbie to (subtly) flogging my written wares you've got one or two handy tips! I'll go to bed dreaming of nuclear cats, fag ash lils and blood-drenched sea creatures methinks... cheers ??
Director, Consultant at Charles Monat Associates Ltd
5 年'a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.' Oscar Wilde
Educator and practitioner: Service Design; Filmmaking; Storytelling (but it’s all storytelling…)
5 年This is just a ploy to drive people to your website and in turn the spike will drive your SEO ratings and get you noticed more on Google. Shrewd plan!??
Luxury Mindset Design Coach | Empowering High-Achievers to Redefine Success
5 年Geoff, a great description of the issues and psychological concerns about displaying prices. I put my prices for life coaching on my website. I know that it will hold many people back. The sales advice is usually to have a conversation to get people to know, like and trust you, so that you then get a chance to persuade and close them. Well, sod that! I like to filter out people who are not a good fit. I want to work with inspiring people who are committed to change and something bigger and bolder in their life. Let’s be BOLD and TRANSPARENT.
CEO | Soft Skills Training | Sticky Learning ? | Ex-Managed ￡1bn Portfolio | Forbes Writer | BBC Expert | C4 Expert | The Grocer Writer | Time Management | Category Management | Negotiation | GSCOP | 34,000 Connections
5 年Love it. We display all our training course prices on our website too. Brave, maybe stupid!