Who is scared of pricing?
Where are the weeks going?! I just can’t believe we are already over a quarter of the way through May. Many of you will already be well into your wedding seasons and I do hope you’re enjoying it.
Thank you to all of those who replied to my newsletter last week, it would seem it struck a chord for many of you. Pricing always does and I suspect always will. Much is said and written about the costs of weddings and I fear this rubs off on wedding suppliers in a negative way.
So today I thought we’d talk about it a little more… because if you haven’t been told already, you will at some stage be told that you are too expensive. And yes I understand the panic that this can cause and I know very well the seed of doubt that it can plant in your mind.
Every day (in both of my businesses) I am told:
’you’re too expensive’
‘I don’t have the money’
‘this isn’t within my budget’
After 8 years of being in business, speaking to hundreds of clients, I’ve been told I’m too expensive a lot – hundreds of times in fact. And let’s be honest, that’s just the people who have actually told me – I’m not counting the people who have looked at the price on my website(s) and left straight away.
But let’s be clear – being told I’m too expensive doesn’t mean I haven’t worked with hundreds of amazing brides and grooms and coaching clients over the years (and actually many of these are clients who originally told me I was too expensive!)
You will always be too expensive for someone.
So let’s look at why some people will say no…
Usually behind the excuse of you being too expensive the reasons for saying no are FEAR or VALUE.
- FEAR – when making any sort of investment people feel scared. Especially when someone is planning a wedding and their budget is running over, they can feel scared and worried that they are not planning in an effective way. Many brides won’t have invested in a photographer, florist, cake etc before and it can feel like big amounts of money.
- VALUE – they use money as an excuse but actually it’s because they do not see the value in your service. You may not have told them or they may not have seen exactly why and how you can help and support them.
Next time you hear that you are too expensive:
DO NOT:
- Be defensive.
- Offer to work for free.
- Assume it’s the end of the relationship.
- Panic.
- Beg them to reconsider.
DO:
- Ask if the money was no object would they be interested in your service.
- Ask yourself whether you believe in your pricing (if you don’t, how can you expect anyone else to?)
- Ask yourself whether they are actually your ideal client (If they aren’t, do you even want to book them? If they are, reiterate your niche and explain exactly how you can help and support them).
- If price is genuinely an objection ask them whether they had a budget in mind and then offer a package suitable for them (ONLY if this fits with your business model).
It’s incredibly important that you believe in your pricing. If you’re feeling desperate for your next booking this desperate energy for money will be reflected back at you. If this sounds like you I believe you need to do some work on your own relationship with money and take some time to work out your own money story.
Ask yourself whether you are the sort of person who would invest in a luxury/premium service? If you’re not, how can you expect your clients to align with you when you don’t share these values?
Avoid the temptation to drop prices to attract the wrong clients. Ask yourself how you will feel to offer your service to someone who doesn’t value it enough to pay your full prices. Consider the extent to which this will drain your energy and question how easy someone like this will be to work with.
I really hope this has been useful. If you’re still struggling with pricing and need more help and support I’d love to talk to you more about how I can help you. Business coaching isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution and is completely tailored to you and your business.Together we build a programme to support you to achieve your business goals. Very often this has a focus on pricing and if you ‘re ready to up your game then I’d love to talk to you. Book some time using the link below. With love Faye x