Should You Cut Your Prices?

I've heard this question from many experts recently:

Should I cut my prices and/or offer lower-priced services right now?

I'm going to start with a situational assessment.

Things are UNCERTAIN. That's the key energy with what is happening right now. Every single human is being affected by what's going on and no one has any idea what the future brings. There are experts on all sides of this thing.

We, as humans, naturally hate uncertainty. Of course, uncertainty is at the core of life, yet we still like to think that we control stuff.

That's why the financial markets are crashing. Markets hate uncertainty (driven by irrational investor behavior).

Aside from pandemic-related supply chain issues - which will resolve as the pandemic resolves - there aren't many fundamental issues in the markets so they should rebound as soon as there's some stabilization of CV.

Meaning - this is not a long-term crisis.

But we are experiencing huge disruptions in life and massive uncertainty.

The short term is volatile.

So, what does this mean for your business? In this post - I'm speaking specifically to expert-based businesses - coaches, consultants, etc.

The demand for your business has not fundamentally decreased. In fact - for most - the demand is probably way up, though people may be scared to spend money because of the uncertainty so there is pent-up demand sitting on the sidelines.

This is your chance to show up and serve! The world really does need our type of support right now. Humans and businesses need support right now and we are the ones to provide it.

Here is my advice to address the question on services:

?? Keep offering and marketing your services, focusing on the ones that are especially needed right now (mindset work, energy healing, life coaching, business coaching, etc.)

?? Do not assume that people can't / won't pay for your services - that is doing a disservice to you and to them. There are plenty of people with enough income, savings, and access to credit who are excited to use this time to uplevel their lives and businesses. Be here for them!

?? Allow compassion and grace to the ones who don't want to spend money right now. Maintain the relationship and serve them once the uncertainty is over.

?? Is your demand elastic? (does demand go up when prices go down?) If so, do the math on what price/client ratio optimizes your profit. If you haven't done this - this isn't pandemic related and is an exercise you should be familiar with. That said, most expert-based services are NOT elastic so this may not apply to you.

?? If it aligns with your business vision, add some lower-priced services to serve the people who want the help but aren't comfortable spending beyond a certain amount. For example, I'm offering $99 strategy sessions for business owners who need to get some clarity around what to do right now.

And as I've said in other posts - this is NOT the time for major pivots or shifts for most of us. We get to ride this out, show up, serve, the ride the wave back up as things get back to normal as they inevitably will.

How are you handling this? Have you shifted how you're serving? What questions do you have that I can support you with in future posts and videos?

We've got this!

Jane Sagalovich, CFA is a business strategist and scaling expert. She loves guiding experts who are ready to further their reach using their wisdom and expertise and design a life of abundance and freedom to create results-driven, profitable, and sustainable online programs using her proprietary Thriving Online Program Blueprint process which you can learn more about HERE 

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