Are You Under-Valuing What You Offer? You May Be Losing Clients and Money
By Fabienne Fredrickson
There's a question in my intake packet
for new clients titled, "What is holding
you back or slowing your progress?",
as it relates to attracting all the clients
they need and having a full practice.
Having worked with hundreds and
hundreds of clients over the years, I've seen it all. Other than "no knowledge of
marketing," one thing seems to come up over and over again, and it happened again
this week, with a brand new client.
The client answered this: "Sometimes, the 'Little Voice' inside me asks, "Who needs
my program anyway? This is basic information that I offer. People already know this
stuff!"
This is so common, but in most every case, this is absolutely not accurate.
I have to admit, in the past, I too have taken for granted what I already know and
teach everyday and started questioning my value in the marketplace. For example,
when I was teaching holistic nutrition years ago, I sometimes wondered why people
were paying me (or WOULD pay me) to teach them about whole foods versus
processed foods. To me, it was a no-brainer that brown rice was more healthful than
white. But to a person who grew up on Twinkies, it was crucial that I explain it to
them in detail, and then the shortcuts to fitting in those brand new foods into their
busy life.
I would also question the value of the cooking classes I gave once a month to 15 or 20
people crammed in my living room. As I was stirring carrots and onions on my
Coleman grill in the middle of my tiny apartment, I couldn't help but think "Are these
simple recipes REALLY of value to them?" (I'd been through serious Boot Camp at
the French Culinary Institute, so this came naturally to me.) But they kept showing
up, asking questions, and referring friends. Go figure!
Even in the early years of my business coaching practice, I sometimes wondered
about my value. Clients asked me daily about the secrets of getting clients to call
THEM and making a lot more money with smart marketing techniques and even
smarter systems. For me, it was now ingrained and like second nature. I took for
granted that I knew it, and because I'd been doing it for so long and knew that it
worked, I thought everyone knew it too and that it was common sense.
On the contrary! What's common knowledge for us, is a secret to someone else.
Because we "bathe" in our information all day long, and for years, we start taking
for granted what we know. We forget what we know is actually a secret many others
would do anything and everything to discover. It becomes the answer to their most
pressing problem. It becomes the solution others have been praying for. And that's
when they call us.
If you're in this situation, you are probably OVER-estimating what everybody else
knows. The more common what you teach is to YOU and the longer you do what it is
you do, the more you tend to undervalue what you know.
The irony here, as I've discovered, is that the more we teach things to our clients in
SIMPLE terms, the happier they are, the more referrals we get and the more we make.
It's not the convoluted teachings that people are looking for. It's the practical and
simple solutions.
The real shame about the whole undervaluing what you know is that as a result, you
may be undercharging for what you offer. This is actually one of the major reasons
why most people don't have enough clients. Because they don't see value in what
they offer, they don't charge enough, and there is therefore a low perception of value
from the prospective client's point of view. They then go somewhere else for the same
exact information. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Some entrepreneurs even go so far as discounting their services, or offering a sliding
scale, because of their lack of confidence and low perception of value in what they
offer. In my book, discounting is a BIG no-no. Again, it portrays a devalued product
or service and it's NOT Client Attractive.
Your Assignment:
Notice that your clients came to YOU for the information you take for granted.
Sometimes, they may even have known some of what you know, but didn't have the
discipline, accountability, resources or structure to do it on their own. Many of my
clients KNOW how to attract other clients, they're already somewhat successful, but
they don't have the discipline or accountability to do it consistently on their own. So
we do it together. This is actually my favorite type of scenario, because these clients
are very driven and since we're not starting from scratch in the learning process, we
move at warp speed.
Be confident in what you offer. Read your testimonials over and over until your
confidence comes back.
See yourself as their problem solver. Charge accordingly and never discount your
services. Ever.
If you're not sure how much to charge or how to position your value in the
marketplace, then it's time to take action and invest in a step-by-step marketing
system that will feel easy and authentic to you.
About the Author: The Client Attraction Home Study System avoids all the
unnecessary stuff and instead gives you the most important things to do to set up
simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get
new clients. It's all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of
the system, and when your done with that, you move on to step two and so on. You
can get it at: The Client Attraction System
By Fabienne Fredrickson
There's a question in my intake packet
for new clients titled, "What is holding
you back or slowing your progress?",
as it relates to attracting all the clients
they need and having a full practice.
Having worked with hundreds and
hundreds of clients over the years, I've seen it all. Other than "no knowledge of
marketing," one thing seems to come up over and over again, and it happened again
this week, with a brand new client.
The client answered this: "Sometimes, the 'Little Voice' inside me asks, "Who needs
my program anyway? This is basic information that I offer. People already know this
stuff!"
This is so common, but in most every case, this is absolutely not accurate.
I have to admit, in the past, I too have taken for granted what I already know and
teach everyday and started questioning my value in the marketplace. For example,
when I was teaching holistic nutrition years ago, I sometimes wondered why people
were paying me (or WOULD pay me) to teach them about whole foods versus
processed foods. To me, it was a no-brainer that brown rice was more healthful than
white. But to a person who grew up on Twinkies, it was crucial that I explain it to
them in detail, and then the shortcuts to fitting in those brand new foods into their
busy life.
I would also question the value of the cooking classes I gave once a month to 15 or 20
people crammed in my living room. As I was stirring carrots and onions on my
Coleman grill in the middle of my tiny apartment, I couldn't help but think "Are these
simple recipes REALLY of value to them?" (I'd been through serious Boot Camp at
the French Culinary Institute, so this came naturally to me.) But they kept showing
up, asking questions, and referring friends. Go figure!
Even in the early years of my business coaching practice, I sometimes wondered
about my value. Clients asked me daily about the secrets of getting clients to call
THEM and making a lot more money with smart marketing techniques and even
smarter systems. For me, it was now ingrained and like second nature. I took for
granted that I knew it, and because I'd been doing it for so long and knew that it
worked, I thought everyone knew it too and that it was common sense.
On the contrary! What's common knowledge for us, is a secret to someone else.
Because we "bathe" in our information all day long, and for years, we start taking
for granted what we know. We forget what we know is actually a secret many others
would do anything and everything to discover. It becomes the answer to their most
pressing problem. It becomes the solution others have been praying for. And that's
when they call us.
If you're in this situation, you are probably OVER-estimating what everybody else
knows. The more common what you teach is to YOU and the longer you do what it is
you do, the more you tend to undervalue what you know.
The irony here, as I've discovered, is that the more we teach things to our clients in
SIMPLE terms, the happier they are, the more referrals we get and the more we make.
It's not the convoluted teachings that people are looking for. It's the practical and
simple solutions.
The real shame about the whole undervaluing what you know is that as a result, you
may be undercharging for what you offer. This is actually one of the major reasons
why most people don't have enough clients. Because they don't see value in what
they offer, they don't charge enough, and there is therefore a low perception of value
from the prospective client's point of view. They then go somewhere else for the same
exact information. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!
Some entrepreneurs even go so far as discounting their services, or offering a sliding
scale, because of their lack of confidence and low perception of value in what they
offer. In my book, discounting is a BIG no-no. Again, it portrays a devalued product
or service and it's NOT Client Attractive.
Your Assignment:
Notice that your clients came to YOU for the information you take for granted.
Sometimes, they may even have known some of what you know, but didn't have the
discipline, accountability, resources or structure to do it on their own. Many of my
clients KNOW how to attract other clients, they're already somewhat successful, but
they don't have the discipline or accountability to do it consistently on their own. So
we do it together. This is actually my favorite type of scenario, because these clients
are very driven and since we're not starting from scratch in the learning process, we
move at warp speed.
Be confident in what you offer. Read your testimonials over and over until your
confidence comes back.
See yourself as their problem solver. Charge accordingly and never discount your
services. Ever.
If you're not sure how much to charge or how to position your value in the
marketplace, then it's time to take action and invest in a step-by-step marketing
system that will feel easy and authentic to you.
About the Author: The Client Attraction Home Study System avoids all the
unnecessary stuff and instead gives you the most important things to do to set up
simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get
new clients. It's all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of
the system, and when your done with that, you move on to step two and so on. You
can get it at: The Client Attraction System
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