Pricing!!!
After working with business owners for the last three years, pricing is something that comes up again and again.
It is something that almost every business owner struggles with and I have to admit it is something that I have have struggled with too.
You want to be able to provide a great service or product to your potential clients whilst ensuring that you can pay your bills too, right?
All to often people set their prices at the bare minimum hoping to attract as many customers as possible, and hoping that once they gain them as a customer, their loyalty with be long lasting.
But what happens is, as your business grows and you have to invest in more things, eg staff, training, tech, systems, equipment, and other increasing outgoings, the margins soon decrease and the business owner is left with less and less money.
What also happens is when business owners hit a quiet period in their business, the natural thing that happens is that the business owners panics and holds on to the few people that probably told them their service/product is too expensive so the first thing they think to do is to cut their prices, or offer discounts, hoping to attract those people to purchase from them.
Again all of this eats into any potential profit that was there in the first place and they attract people that will only purchase from them if they are getting a bargain, these are not the type of people you want to attract if you want a business that lasts.
My advice?
Do some serious work on your numbers. Although it is something that most business owners don’t like or feel comfortable with it is imperative to know your numbers to have a successful business. There is the saying of being a busy fool.
Work our what you need to take personally to pay your bills and live the life you want and use this when working out your numbers in your business.
Work our how much time you actually spend on your business including all of the hours you spend on the back ground, replying to emails, taking calls, putting together marketing campaigns, stick check, dealing with suppliers, managing staff, invoicing and other admin tasks. Business owners forget about all of this time when working out their pricing!
Work out what your USP is and market the shiz out of it. Work on attracting the people that value what you offer them and will really benefit from buying from your business, your dream clients.
And ask yourself, do you want people to love your business and buy from you because you are cheap or because they love your brand and what you offer?
I’d love to know your thoughts on pricing. Is it something that you have struggled with?
Are you happy with your pricing?
What have you done to overcome your pricing demons?
