Tag Archives: business goals

5 Keys to Setting the Right Rates for Your Products and Services

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

If I were to survey 100 entrepreneurs about their biggest challenges, more than half of them would say, knowing what to charge. You see, it’s different when YOU are calling the shots. You could work for someone who has the courage to charge $500/hour and while you may think it’s too much, when asked about the company’s rates, you’ll confidently reply “we charge $500/hour.” But, when asked that same question in your own business, doubts and fears that you may be not worth it start to creep up to the surface.

Trust me, I get it. I experienced the same thing when I first started my business. I bought into the popular misconception that you have to “pay your dues” by charging lower rates or working for free. I say this is a myth, especially in my case because I hold the advanced degree, have the certifications, etc. I had already paid my dues when I invested in my education to serve my clients in excellence, but the truth of the matter was that I wasn’t confident that people would actually pay me what I wanted to be paid.

And that leads me to you. Perhaps you feel the same way. Perhaps you have the degree or certification or experience getting big results for the people you serve BUT you’re afraid that people won’t pay you what you want or worse, you’re unclear about what you must be paid to earn a profit. Either way, setting the right rates for your products and services comes down to these five considerations. Take heed before you tell another person what your rates are.

What will your market bear? Based on the ideal client that you’ve chosen to serve, what will they pay for your service? While I am of the mindset that you can charge more when you have social proof or results substantiating the value you add, you don’t want to price yourself too low or too high based on your market. You must, dare I say it, do some research. You need to ask yourself, “what are people who buy products and services similar to mine paying for those products and services?” My recommendation is that you start by asking those who would buy your products and services instead of just looking at a colleagues website and determining that is the right price. Just because their price is listed doesn’t mean people are buying it. If you can prove your results that can lead to you charging a little more in your market. While research is important, do not look at another’s prices, set yours and move on. You don’t know how they priced themselves, and again you have no clue if anyone is even buying.
What is your overhead in producing the product or service? Do you have to bring in a subcontractor to help you complete the work? If so, how much will that cost you? Have you added that into your price? Do you have to set aside a massive amount of hours when you can’t be earning other money to complete the work? Being clear on your numbers is essential to setting your fees. Many people pull a number out of their behinds but can’t back it up and as a result they end up undervaluing their products and services. So be clear on what it will take for you to produce the product or service, as well as how many you’d need to sell to break even and ultimately to create profit in your business.
How much time will it take to deliver the product or service? In general, you should charge more when you must be active to provide the service. If you have created a passive or leveraged way to get what you need to your clients, you can charge a little less. But you need to be clear on what your time is worth and how much you must make in order for it to be profitable for you.
What is your overall revenue goal? Again, knowing your numbers is essential. Let’s say your goal is $100,000 but you charge $250 a month for your services with a 12 month commitment. That’s $3,000 per client. To achieve your goal with no other revenue streams, you’d need 33.3 clients for the year to hit your income goal. Now, if that’s doable for you, great. But that means you have to work with 33 clients each and every month to make $250 per client each and every month. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a lot of work to me.
Will charging that rate make you feel good? It’s no secret that when we feel good, we do better work. So, if looking at the number makes your stomach hurt, it is probably too low. You want to feel good about the contribution you’re making and ultimately getting paid for. So while some would tell you how you “feel” has nothing to do with your prices, I believe it has everything to do with your prices. If you are excited, grateful, appreciative and passionate about your work and prices, you’ll be in a positive energy space. When you send positive energy into your work, you attract more people who want what you have to offer. It’s all about attracting more of what you’re passionate about.

So, before you settle on a price for any product or service, get clear on these 5 considerations. Have a comment? Share it below. I’d love to hear your opinion on this pressing matter.

©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio download “How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients” visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com

Posted in Blog, Darnyelle Speaks | Tagged achieving your goals, attracting ideal clients, Building a six figure business, Business coach Delaware, business goals, business success, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, growing your business, Incredible One Enterprises, Marketing systems |

5 Simple Strategies for extending the life of every potential client inquiry — Darnyelle A. Jervey

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

It’s no surprise if you’re in business to have people inquire about your products and services. What may be surprising, is how to handle the inquiry so that you maximize the exposure to your business while also doing your due diligence to help the prospect solve their problem using your products and services.

One of the most essential skills to be learned in business is how to inspire the sale, which includes the entire selling process – from introduction and closure. Many entrepreneurs, because they don’t feel comfortable selling, end up stopping the process before its maturation, costing them a new client.

My recommendation is to focus on the value you provide to the prospect and when leading with the value, ensure that you are helping them to understand that not only do you understand their problem, but you also have a solution that will change their current pain to pleasure.

When a prospect inquires about your products or services, there are five things that you should do so you can maximize the interaction and advance the process to inspire the sale:

1. As soon as they inquire, if not part of the inquisition process, begin a prospect profile. On this profile, be sure to collect as much information as you can about them and their challenges so you can validate if this is the type of client you’ve chosen to work with. Included in the necessary information should be:

a. Full name
b. Mailing address (for future direct mail marketing efforts)
c. Phone number
d. Email address
e. Reason for the inquiry (to help them, you can create a short list of the problems your ideal clients have before hiring you and then leave a small space for something other than the core problems you solve)
f. How they learned about you (this is so you can thank any referral partners appropriately)
g. What they are hoping to gain to consider their problem solved
h. Other things they’ve tried to solve the problem

2. Based on the scheduling process that you use, if the profile warrants the scheduling of a conversation, get it scheduled so you can talk with them to clarify the problems and offer how you can solve their problems using your products and services. In this conversation, be sure to share your solutions, while also offering the one you feel would be best for them based on how you understand their problem. (They see you as the expert, so they will be expecting your recommendation.)

3. During the meeting (in person or virtual) be attentive, ask key questions and summarize before you share your solution. When you share your solution, focus on the benefits and value, not the features and process. Seldom will the prospect care about the step-by-step, typically they want to know that their ultimate goal can be achieved using your product or services.

4. Ask for the sale by focusing on how your solution will lead to the achievement of their core goals concerning the problem area. Say something like, “I’d love to work with you, is now a good time to discuss my service options?” Listen and wait for their response.

5. After the meeting, enact your follow up strategy in this way:

a. Send a thank you card, a hand written note, thanking them for taking the time to meet with you. You may also opt to send them a small token of your appreciation but a handwritten note will go very far in the process.
b. As a 2nd thank you, opt for a video email or traditional email thanking them for meeting with you, summarizing the highlights of the discussion and next steps for each of you. Be sure to include the timeline you set to follow up for the decision. Include any documents you promised to send highlighting your products and services for their review.
c. Hold a follow-up call/meeting. If they’re not ready to become a client, ask them when it’s a good time to follow-up with them to see where they are in the process. I recommend following up every 60 days after that initial meeting until they say otherwise. Low hanging fruit is the easiest to pick and often the follow-up is what helps you seal the deal.

When you focus on creating a systematic approach to handling service inquiries, you will naturally extend the life of the inquiry and close more new clients.