Pricing your small business services
Okay, I’m going to caveat this by saying I am not a pricing or mindset expert.
What I have is 4 years of small business experience, pricing and selling a variety of services to a variety of clients from £10 to £2000.
Now working with other small businesses to design, structure and write their websites, I have a front row seat to the struggle felt by fellow entrepreneurs when it comes to pricing.
In the early stages of business, pricing can be scary. A lot of business owners price their services lower than they should because:
They don’t have the confidence to reflect the value of their service in the price.
They assume that the lower the price the more people will buy.
They look at competitors and try to undercut their prices.
Yes…I was also one of these business owners.
When I launched my first businesses (a music studio and party band agency) I had no clue how to price the services. I was scared of scaring people off with higher prices, so I set them pretty low.
Over the years I have learned more about pricing, about mindset and I have increased the prices across all my ventures.
One of the key lessons I’ve learned is that it is as hard to sell a lower priced service as it is to sell a higher priced one. I’d heard a lot of other business owners talk about this, but it wasn’t until I began to experience it myself that I finally took it onboard (and in the process shook up my mindset about pricing).
This year the two easiest party band sales I’ve had have also been the highest priced ones – one was actually the highest I have ever quoted for that particular service.
What made these sales so easy (and dare I say enjoyable)?
It was to the right clients, people who were looking at quality of service not just the price.
I had the opportunity to speak to the clients before they bought (one in person, one on the phone), being able to speak to them and understand what they needed from me meant I could offer them a package that met their exact needs.
I felt confident in the package and the price, I knew they would be getting an amazing service and I knew no one else would do a better job (this comes with experience).
Both signed the contract and paid the deposit within 48 hours of me sending the packages over.
I don’t have some magical money mindset now – pricing up and sending out the highest price I’ve ever quoted still felt like a big (scary) deal.
However, over time I have learned that lower prices don’t equal more clients, or even easier/happier clients!
Take your time building up your own confidence with the service you provide, I’m not suggesting you whack a high price on something you don’t believe in or feel proud of.
BUT, once you feel confident in your service and your abilities (overall confident, you are still allowed to have human moments of insecurity), make sure you price your services accordingly.
It won’t make selling to the right clients harder and it will make running your business feel a lot better!