When you purchase products or services do you walk into the store and tell the storeowner what you’d like to pay? That would be nice, wouldn’t it? With most everything we purchase, we don’t get to choose how much we pay, so why give your customers that choice?
New business owners all struggle with pricing, so if this sounds like you, you’re not alone. It’s hard to put a value on something you do or something you’ve created. But the truth is, it is valuable and you do deserve to get paid.Have you ever asked a customer to give you a ballpark estimate or said something along the lines of “make me an offer”? If you have, you’re not only short-changing yourself, you’re also making them feel uncomfortable. To your customers, you appear to have a lack of confidence, something that will only transfer to the product or service you’re selling. If you’re not sure, why should they be?
Know this: It is not your customer’s responsibility to set your prices. That’s your job. You must both set the price and convince them that they want to pay it. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you do that:
Homework: Find 3 other businesses similar to yours. Rate how successful you think they are at what they do. Check out their prices. How do they compare to yours? In comparison to others in the market, are you fairly priced? Are you clear about what they’re getting for the price? Make a list of areas where you can improve.