These Clients Are Overjoyed To Pay You
Summary:
No matter your industry, no matter whether you’re a service based entrepreneur, a provider of web content, a purveyor of goods, an author or a coach… Every business owner I know would agree with this common similarity all “perfect clients” share.
Their customers are delighted – overjoyed, even – to whip out their credit cards and pay them for service or products rendered.
More...
Does this happen very often to you? Upon request, clients simply pay you. Confidently, promptly, and happily.
If this sounds too good to be true, read on. But before I tell you the secret to finding these people, I have to be honest with you...
It’s not your clients. They’re not cheap, stingy, uneducated, clueless, nor lazy.
This one’s on you.
You’re the one who has to own it.
Receiving the Money You Deserve
I recently spoke about this at Small Business Academy hosted by the Allen Chamber of Commerce. This evergreen topic is always popular among people who really want to see their businesses thrive while serving their communities with the best they have to give.
Why does this resonate with small business folks? Three reasons...
1. You've invested your time and effort.
It takes SO MUCH WORK just to get a shot at sending a proposal to a potential client. For many small businesses, the long and arduous sales process reaches a crescendo when you put in your bid. To be rejected on price hurts, especially if you know you can really help this person, and if you’re feeling bad about your cash flow for the month, etc.
2. You Question Your Value
When the general customer can’t understand why anyone would pay what you’re asking, and expresses their dismay, you eventually start to question your value. Your confidence erodes around your prices, and consequently, your effectiveness at sales and marketing. In my work, I find that women are especially prone to hesitation when it comes to charging what they’re worth.
3. Consider Your Pricing
You may really believe that the market can’t bear your prices. You start wondering if maybe you do need to lower your fees to meet the market where it is.
Before you go decreasing your prices, refer back to the same subject in the first Small Business Academy where we determined how to establish a fair price that leads to business growth, let alone sustainability. We know this number already, so let’s move on to the other first two reasons.
Discussing price with prospects requires understanding how to position your value. The rest of this article will focus on communicating your value, something I learned a few years ago.
When someone says “You’re too expensive…”
In most cases this has nothing to do with your ability to sell. Most people who run up against this problem actually have potential clients share that they understand the value. But after a 60-minute conversation they claim not to have the money to move from interest to commitment.
Years ago, I was sitting in a conference where Jeffrey Gitomer was presenting, and he opened up the floor for Q&A. I had written my problem in detail and turned it in beforehand, so I was thrilled when the first question he answered was mine.
“YES!” I thought. “Jeffrey Gitomer, king of sales is finally going to give me the secret.” He read the question and looked out to the crowd.
He said, “You know what the problem is?” (I was on the edge of my seat.)
“You're not talking to the right people.”
Three Characteristic Ideal Clients Share
He was right.
Over the years, I’ve honed that simplistic answer into a more thoughtful description of the “right people" (aka ideal clients). Now, when I talk about ideal clients, in my mastermind and my workshops, there are three characteristics they all share.
- 1They know they have the problem that you solve.
- 2They're willing to invest in themselves, meaning they're willing to pay for it.
- 3They already know before they talk with you, that it’s worth having the discussion about working with you..
1. They know they have the problem that you solve.
There's no convincing people that they have problems. Even if they do have them, and even if you’re aware of it, they must acknowledge the problem for themselves. If they can’t or won’t, then you’re kind of walking up a hill on that one.
2. They're willing to invest in themselves, meaning they're willing to pay for it.
Did you know there are about three things that people will pay very value driven pricing for? If you read my book, you know that one of mine is travel. I often joke though, I have no problem buying my clothes from Nordstrom and my groceries from Walmart. Almost every consumer has a different set of values, and for some there’s no discussion around the things for which they’ll pay higher prices and those they will always find the least expensive option. In your business, you’ll save a lot of second guessing and hurt feelings if you understand this.
You own your individual value proposition and your customers need to be able and willing to pay for you.
This element of your ideal client, you must get very close to this idea and explore the nuances around your value. Please hear me on this.
If you're getting this message, you probably just need a shift. A lot of people like to make 180-degree turns on things like this, but that's actually the wrong thing to do because in most marketing cases, you probably only require a slight pivot to your message.
You own your individual value proposition and your customers need to be able and willing to pay for you.
You own your individual value proposition and your customers need to be able and willing to pay for you.
This element of your ideal client, you must get very close to this idea and explore the nuances around your value. Please hear me on this.
If you're getting this message, you probably just need a shift. A lot of people like to make 180-degree turns on things like this, but that's actually the wrong thing to do because in most marketing cases, you probably only require a slight pivot to your message.
Only 12% of businesses have what it takes to scale their business profitably and sustainably.
Do You Have What it Takes?
3. They already know before they talk with you, that it’s worth having the discussion about working with you.
By clearly illustrating your value proposition, you’ve already communicated the reasons to buy in your marketing.
So, by the time you get to sales, you're more inclined to receive a yes, because your marketing and content has already helped the “wrong” people de-select themselves from your sales process.
Please know that you can do that with great kindness, great positivity, and encouragement. Many people who are not sure they are ready for you yet, simply hang out in your periphery waiting for the time that they can say yes.
This is the precious value in getting your value prop correct, because then those folks just convert that much better down the road!
Meanwhile, I’d like to help you decipher what it is your non-paying prospects are saying. We'll work on what I call The YES Formula so that your sales and marketing helps prequalify all those people. I'll also give you a few of my tools that I use with my clients to make it very easy to do.
In business, it’s hard enough to get the YES. Why make it harder?
Leslie Hassler
Leslie Hassler is a popular author and speaker who spends much of her time coaching business owners on how to run their growing businesses by their rules. Delivering high-touch, personalized service, Leslie works with her clients as a partner, not just a consultant (who would pop in, tell you what to do, then leave).
Leslie teaches her clients a structured way to decide what to do first, second, next -- and never – in their businesses, so that they can learn to do it for themselves.
Leslie lives in Dallas with her husband and two kids, so she knows it’s not just about growing the business – it’s about getting the business ship shape so it grows and you can be home in time for dinner.
Leslie speaks on topics such as business leadership, prioritizing the business owner’s To Do list, and how to create and implement a strategic plan for growth.
If you’d like to have Leslie come speak to your group or organization, or present at your event, inquire here.