Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 015 – A simple strategy for charging premium fees
Want to increase your prices but don’t know how?
Or maybe it feels like a huge leap from what you charge now to what you actually NEED to be charging.
In today’s episode I give you the #1 strategy you need to charge premium prices.
This isn’t a matter of just whacking a price on something because it sounds good and hoping someone will pay you more. There’s a mindset shift around money and value that needs to happen as well.
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there and welcome back to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
I love saying that every time!
If you’re listening in real time, this episode is live on Tuesday 14th February, which of course is Valentines day for a lot of people around the world. Happy Love day to you, to whoever you love, because love is love, end of story!
Its actually not a day I personally celebrate as such, but it is a timely reminder of our wedding anniversary which is tomorrow, the 15th! So if my amazing hubby Chay happens to listen to this, love you and happy 26 years for tomorrow!
Its also one of the hottest months in Australia in February, its summer in the southern hemisphere and let me tell you, its been a DOOZY for heat and humidity so far! I’m already dreaming of the cooler months ahead, autumn (which is fall for the US peeps) is my favourite season of all.
Now of course none of that has ANYTHING to do with today’s topic, but as a Connector money personality a little bit of small talk about the weather is part and parcel of who I am.
Today is a longer coaching episode about charging premium fees, specifically the number 1 strategy you need in order to actually charge premium fees!
Now I don’t know if you can tell this is one of my favourite things to talk about, if you could see me right now I’m doing a little happy dance wiggle in my chair because its so fun!
There are several reasons why that is…
Firstly, what you charge says more about your money mindset than it does about the work you do.
That might be a little uncomfortable for some to hear, but its true.
When you’re delivering immense value that far outweighs the actual investment people make to get it, thats a money mindset issue.
Its easy to say you’re keeping it low because thats what people in your industry will pay, or no one will pay more, but if you’re feeling overworked and underpaid, thats a problem.
Secondly, talking openly and honestly about money and pricing helps EVERYONE to expand their thinking.
For far too long money has been this taboo subject, something to be whispered about between co-workers, or hidden in shame between life partners because maybe you don’t want the other to know you’re having a tough time financially.
And the third reason that I love to talk about money and pricing is that we have to continually break the stigma for women around earning more money and being worthy of it.
I always knew there were some deep rooted issues with the gender pay gap and all that. But reading Rachael Rodgers’ book “We Should All Be Millionaires” a few years back had me seriously fired up about the injustice and inequality that women have dealt with for centuries.
And she’s right, we SHOULD all be millionaires, if not for that inequality. If you’ve not yet read or listened to it I highly recommend it, its packed with insights into the history of women and money, along with some ideas on how to boost your financial situation.
Of course its not just for women either, if all men learnt more about this stuff there would be a lot less resistance to paying women more and recognising their contribution to their own success.
Ok, I’m gonna get off the soapbox now, as you can tell its a topic and a book that literally fires me up!
I’ll be talking a lot more about money mindset in the coming months, so make sure you stayed tuned because just these insights from this podcast alone can cause a major shift in your thoughts and your relationship with money.
So! Lets talk about your prices, shall we?
This is about you starting to truly THRIVE in your business by charging appropriately for your work. Plain and simple. That’s it.
The premium pricing strategy that I’ve got for you today is a game changer, its super simple and you can implement it immediately. You can start to build your confidence in your pricing so you feel like a freakin’ rockstar in your own business!
STEP 1 – DECIDE
The first step is to decide. Yes I know I said that in a recent episode as well, but all good things start with a clear decision.
Decide that you’re going to use the premium pricing model, without knowing the exact numbers or how it works.
Nothing happens without a decision.
Don’t let the mind gremlins take over and talk you out of it, especially if you’re feeling burnt out and overworked already because not reaching your financial goals. If you don’t do the premium pricing model, what else are you going to use? You may as well give it a go.
There are of course some very valuable reasons why you should be charging premium prices.
REASON 1 – Premium pricing positions you, both to the outside world and to YOURSELF, that you’re worth it.
You’re worth it! You naturally attract better clients when you charge premium prices, no tire kickers or time wasters.
It doesn’t mean you’re only working with rich, successful or affluent people, not by a long shot. It means you attract clients who are completely committed to their transformation, or to solving their problem and getting the results.
The best clients are the ones with skin in the game, as they say, they’ve had to stretch to make it happen, they’re actually committed.
REASON 2 – You’re going to have more money!
Obviously! This helps to end the cashflow strain, no more sleepless nights waking up in an anxious sweat, worrying about how you’re going to make ends meet.
REASON 3 – Making more money for less time and energy spent frees you up to live a life you love.
One of my core values is FREEDOM of time and energy, and money is the thing that makes that happen. I’m am NOT down for this unhealthy mindset that you have to work hard for your money, or anything similar to that.
What you do doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to take all of your time and energy, and it doesn’t mean you have to spend 40 years slaving away until retirement before you finally get your freedom to enjoy the life you want.
Charging premium fees is about honouring your talents AND yourself, it increases your self worth, self respect, and your confidence.
So thats nice, isn’t it!
Whats this number 1 strategy for you to charge premium fees, I hear you ask? Get to the point Dee!
That strategy is… drum roll… STAIR STEPPING!
This is something I learnt from money mentor Kendall Summerhawk, its been instrumental in my own personal and business growth and its something I think every business owner needs to understand, #justsayin!
Its exactly what it sounds like – if you’ve got a piece of paper and a pen with you, draw a set of stairs, we all know what those look like, right? Its an upward jagged line of vertical and horizontal movement across your page.
Draw a line up, and across, up and across.
On the bottom step is where your current fees or pricing goes.
If you have multiple offers at different price points, I want you to just focus on your top offer for the purpose of this exercise, that VIP thing with your highest price point. Write that number on the bottom step.
On the top step, we’re taking a flying leap over there, is where you write your goal fee or price, what you WANT to be charging.
This number needs to be something that both excites you AND scares you a little, theres got to be that emotional connection which is essential in achieving ANY goal.
I’m not going to tell you what you should or could be charging unless you’re actually a client, simply because I don’t know your business or your industry. I can’t and won’t advise anyone on the specifics, theres no simple one size fits all answer for this.
Whatever it is, pick your goal. Don’t overthink it, this is a starting point. You might get closer to that goal using this strategy and realise you’ve lowballed it, which is great! You can then aim higher and go for it!
All those steps in between your current fee and your goal fee are the incremental steps you can take to reach it.
As an example, if you’re currently charging $1000 for your top offer and your goal is to be charging $5000 for it, your next step might be to raise it to $2000. The next step from there might be $3500 and then finally $5000.
The thing is, most women will take YEARS to make that next incremental step, so lets just stop wasting time, shall we??
The thing that keeps you climbing the stairs towards that goal is to decide how many clients you’ll work with for each level. Maybe you’ll sign on 5 new clients at $2000, you’ll go for 4 clients at $3500 and finally aim for 3 clients at $5000.
This gets you out of your comfort zone and creating new confidence with each level, each step, but its also not over challenging it.
You don’t want to take a flying leap outside your comfort zone where all of your emotions and self worth are triggered so much that you want to run and hide under the covers for a week after telling someone, in a very whispered and awkward voice, what your increased fees are. That’s the FREAK OUT ZONE!
It really does help to take those baby steps and incrementally move through the terror barrier towards your goal which lies beyond it, that thing thats far bigger than you’ve ever done before. You’ve got to stretch yourself without freaking out about it.
This is how you grow your confidence in yourself, your business, your clients, your results, absolutely everything. That confidence is PRICELESS, its one of the greatest assets you can have in your business.
THIS is why money mindset, and mindset in general, is one of the most important things you can work on in your business. You can add all the tech and pretty brand elements, whatever you want, but if your money mindset and confidence isn’t strong enough to back it up, no amount of posting on social media or paying for ads is going to make a difference.
The confidence that you develop with premium pricing helps to attract better and better clients, which makes YOU more successful, much faster in your business.
You’ll feel more professional and credible.
You’ll have more money in your account, no more cashflow strain.
If you do the calculations for the example I shared earlier, taking you from charging $1K to $5K for your top offer, you’re going from making $5K with 5 clients, to making $15K with 3 clients.
If you sign on FIVE clients at $5K you’ve grown your income to $25K, while still doing the same work in the same time for the same amount of effort.
I don’t know about you, but I much prefer the freedom that comes with charging premium fees.
Now if you’re sitting there thinking this is all well and good throwing these numbers around, its just talk, but you don’t feel like you’ve got an offer worthy of charging $5K for, I got you.
IGNITE is my private coaching program where we spend 3 months together working on your money mindset, on your offers and on your pricing.
This is about setting up a solid foundation for your business and money growth right now and in the future.
You’ll learn my simple pricing formula that gives you a reality check to make sure you’re truly happy with what you’re being paid.
You’ll also have my offer template that you can apply to your premium offer right now as well as any others you’ll develop in the future.
You’ll have rockstar confidence when it comes to talking about your offers, your business, your expertise and what you charge for it.
So if that sounds good? Send me a DM, I’m @funbusinessfunmoney on Facebook and Instagram, and let me know you’re interested in IGNITE. We’ll have a quick chat about your business and what you need, and we can get your first calls booked in in the coming weeks.
Or if you prefer email you can contact me there too, hello@deirdreamies.com – you’ll find the link for that and my not so easy to spell name in the description of this episode, and of course in the show notes.
Thats what I’ve got for you today! Every business has the potential to charge premium fees regardless of your industry or your current business model. It just takes a few tweaks to IGNITE the possibilities and your confidence to take that next step.
As always, take care, have fun, and I’ll catch you in the next episode!
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
