How much should I charge?

The theme of last week’s conversations with my clients was…pricing.  I was asked, how much should I charge?  What do I do with my clients in low level programs; I know they need more, what do I do?  I’m new to this, I don’t have enough experience to charge that much. And then the biggest question, how can I possibly charge “that”?  I know my service is worth it, but I don’t think I can say that without throwing up.

All of this talk about pricing led me to spending a lot of time thinking about how entrepreneurs, especially service based entrepreneurs, price their services.  Here are some of the biggest takeaways my clients (and I) had as a result of our conversations this week.

1. When you charge more you show up at a higher level.  You work harder and your clients receive more out of their work with you.  There are many reasons for this.  I think one of the biggest reasons is that you feel better about yourself and do not feel like you are shortchanging your own value.  You want to do better and deliver more to your client.
2. When pricing your services remember that it is not about how much work you put in (or how many hours) it’s about what your client gets out of working with you.  To help you understand this, you might want to ask a few of your current clients what they get out of working with you.  I bet you’ll be surprised by the answers.  I thought I knew what my clients got from working with me and yet was shocked when I asked a few clients last week and heard their responses.
3. Do not price your services based on how long you’ve been doing the work or how many clients you’ve worked with.  It all comes down to what your clients take away from their interaction with you and your business.
4. Give your clients what they want, not what you think they need.  One woman shared with me that she had spent a day with one of her clients.  She told me that the day went great, but they did not end up covering what she expected to cover.  Her client needed something else.  Her client was happy, yet this woman felt that she owed her client more.  Her client did not need or want anything more.  Give your client what they need and they will be happy.
5. If you’ve got a voice in the back of your head saying “this is worth so much more than I’m charging” listen to that voice, even if you’re uncomfortable raising your rates.
6. Get away from charging dollars for hours (or having your clients convert your services into dollars for hours) by packaging a variety of different services together.  For instance, private sessions along with email access, group sessions and check-ins.  This will offer your client more value.
7. Whatever you’re currently charging double it.  The first few times you say it you will be very uncomfortable, then it will become the new normal.
8. Always under promise and over deliver; however, don’t deliver more than your client can handle or they will quickly become overwhelmed and not get what they need from you or your program.
9. Don’t try to pack it all in to one program.  Clients need different levels of service at different times.  Some come into your world slowly and test the waters.  Some come in more fully.  Everyone needs to absorb information at a pace that allows him or her to create a foundation and build on it.  What I can guarantee you is that everyone is different and you have to have a variety of levels to suit your clients.  The other thing I can promise you is that if you dump all of your information on your client at the start, they will not know what to do with it and will leave you more frustrated than they were when they came to you.
10. Above all else, believe in yourself and in your ability to deliver value.

Take a look at how you’ve priced your services.  What do you think of them?  Are you still happy with where they are?  Is it time to raise them?  Let me know by commenting below.