You and Elizabeth Taylor have a lot in common.
Fame meant nothing to her. “I’ve been famous all my life,” she said. “It never meant anything to me.”
Until her dear friend Rock Hudson died.
And she finally saw how useful her fame was. And she used it to raise millions in his name.
What does that have to do with you?
You know you should charge more.
But there are so many reasons not to.
- My people would be shocked.
- I’d lose clients.
- No one would pay a higher fee.
- I’m afraid to charge more.
- People are struggling out there.
Here’s the real scoop on why you’re not charging more. You don’t think you’re selling a Maserati.
You think you’re selling a Toyota.
Do you know why?
Because you don’t value what you do the way your clients do.
Weird, isn’t it?
They’re thrilled you’re so “reasonable” because they can’t get your gifts anywhere else. At that price.
And why do you do it?
Because you have a natural gift.
You could do it in your sleep.
You’ve always been able to do it.
Just like Elizabeth Taylor, it’s so natural to you that you don’t value it much.
So you give and give, for less. You “take care” of those people who are struggling.
You’re afraid you’ll lose good clients.
You’re reasonable.
And then one of your clients goes and pays $20K to a guru for a gee-whiz program.
And you feel betrayed.
Here are two stories to help you start re-thinking what’s possible.
JEFF AND HIS VIDEO GENIUS
Jeff was a video genius with tons of experience. But he was new to consulting.
“How much to video my entire weekend?” a well-known Guru asked Jeff.
“Uh, $175?” said Jeff, who thought that sounded reasonable for three solid days of shooting and editing.
“You know,” said the Guru, “I used to charge that. Now I charge $1500 an hour.”
“What happened?” asked Jeff.
“Oh, I give pretty much the same service,” said the Guru. “But now I know what I’m worth.”
THE FLOOR TECHNIQUE
One Mega-Guru who’s made millions in the last three years started out charging $75 an hour for coaching.
But she didn’t want to stay there.
So as soon as she got 5 clients, she jumped to $150. Then $350. Then $500.
One day, when she’d filled her quota again, she had a call booked with a prospect.
She had to lie down on the floor for 3 hours to be able to calmly tell him the investment would be $1600 an hour.
She dealt with the shock, and she did it.
Now she’s a multi-millionaire.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
If clients are not investing in the 4 to 5 figures with you, you are not charging enough.
How can you charge $500 or $725 an hour for “that thing you do in your sleep”?
That thing you can do in your sleep – is the diamond on the tip of your nose.
All your friends and clients can see it.
Everyone but you.
A colleague of mine, a world-class salesman, took an advanced selling course at Europe’s
best business school.
Know what they told him?
“If they don’t throw you out of the office, you’re not charging enough.”
There are many techniques to increase your rates, packages and programs.
We can talk about them next time.
(And you don’t need years of therapy to do it.)
For right now, remember this:
The fee you charge is how much YOU think you’re worth.
The fee you should charge is how much THEY think you’re worth.
