When I start work with a new client, we almost always talk about raising their prices. If you and I started working together, we’d have that conversation!

Why is that?

Because you are likely undercharging for your services!

Having these conversations with hundreds of business owners, I’ve found four beliefs that undermine our willingness to ask for a premium price.  We’re going to talk about two today and two more on Saturday.

For today let’s focus on two beliefs that come up in the sales conversation.

We want them to like us.

The early part of the sales process involves making a lot of deposits into the emotional bank account. We give them a chance to talk about their business challenges and opportunities. We listen. We’re concerned…

But, to close a deal, and especially to close a deal at a premium price, you need to make a withdrawal from the emotional bank account. “You want how much?” Even asking for that kind of money feels rude and off-putting!

But to create the change you know your service can create, you need a client who’s committed and who sees you as a valuable expert! That means asking for real money.

Do you want to be liked, or do you want to get paid?

We believe that we should close every deal.

When we engage in a sales conversation, we assume that we want to win it – often even before we have done any qualification! If we’re talking to a prospect, we want to close them. That’s why we’re there!

But think about what that need to close the deal does to our head!

If we need to close every deal, we don’t want to present a high price. Having higher pricing may lower your closing rate – and why would we want to do that? It’s hard enough to attract leads as it is!

The longer the sales process goes on, the more meetings you have, and the more work you do on the proposal, the worse this gets. You’ve got this! You can feel it. To lose at this point would be a major disappointment. You’ve become invested in getting the “yes.”

That emotional investment in the close undermines your willingness to ask for a premium price!

The secret is, if you target your ideal buyer, that same high price will be more attractive! You’re promising to make a bigger difference for them.

In Saturday’s email, we’ll talk about two more beliefs that hold back our fees, but until then, watch yourself as you talk to clients. Where do you see yourself compromising to be liked? Where do you see yourself getting over-invested in the close?