Defining your prices pre-meeting???

15 replies
Hi All,
Ok, so i have had success with cold calling and in fact love to do it.. Honestly...

I have a couple of things going through my head the more I read threads here.

Firstly I want to say a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who contributes here, you are all awesome and inspiring and I personally have gotten some great info.

I have met with different business owners over the last few months with some success and some disasters. I have seen some people using different cold call follow up methods such as free reports and things like that.

Q1. Are other follow up methods any better than just making the appointment on the phone.

Q2. Many times when I meet the business owner, they say to me, ok what you got?? I say well there is a number of things I can do... Should I go in with predefined options that I want the owner to buy, or be flexible and just make up prices for XY and Z on the spot. Pricing has become an issue for me lately.

Sorry if my post seems a little scattered, but it actually defines where my head is at right now.

Thanks in advance

Irish
#defining #premeeting #prices
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Q2 is the most unsettling thing. Here you go with the "show up and throw up" barf of features and benefits.

    But at this point, you don't even know if what you offer is a solution for them yet.

    Gotta get them back on track with, "I'm not sure yet. When we spoke on the phone and booked this discussion, you shared that you were having a problem with _______. Is that still the case?"

    Otherwise you're doing the dog and pony show, and you turn into a commodity.

    Find out more about their world and their problems before you diagnose a solution and give them a price. Think like your doctor: would you like it if they came into the room and started prescribing to you?
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  • Profile picture of the author irishclark
    Mr Kanigan,

    Thanks for your input, I hear what you are saying and I probably did not explain myself properly. I generally go in with questions about their business, not written down, just asking questions pertaining to their business and their marketing. I guess by writing this I kind of have my answer.

    Example, I met with a coffee shop owner this week. Having spoke about his business I asked him, what are your goals for this coffee shop. After that I handed him a proposal that I had done which matched what he was looking for ie, get more customers, create an upselling training plan for his staff and a facebook page. When it came to price I honestly did not know what I should have charged for this, so I charged a monthly fee of €300 per month. I think that may have been too cheap as I will be doing personal selling training once a month with his staff.

    I guess I have to clearly define what I offer and what prices are for what "commodities". I am over thinking things maybe.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by irishclark View Post

      Mr Kanigan,

      Thanks for your input, I hear what you are saying and I probably did not explain myself properly. I generally go in with questions about their business, not written down, just asking questions pertaining to their business and their marketing. I guess by writing this I kind of have my answer.

      Example, I met with a coffee shop owner this week. Having spoke about his business I asked him, what are your goals for this coffee shop. After that I handed him a proposal that I had done which matched what he was looking for ie, get more customers, create an upselling training plan for his staff and a facebook page. When it came to price I honestly did not know what I should have charged for this, so I charged a monthly fee of €300 per month. I think that may have been too cheap as I will be doing personal selling training once a month with his staff.

      I guess I have to clearly define what I offer and what prices are for what "commodities". I am over thinking things maybe.
      Pricing is to be set at what you are comfortable at. What is the point at which you would feel resentful, ripped off, if you gave them the service or product at that price? Now price above. You can always raise it later.

      You do not want a bunch of clients to work with who make you feel resentful every time you interact with them, because you set your prices too low.

      Read this post on valuing what you offer.
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      • Profile picture of the author CalinDan
        Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

        Pricing is to be set at what you are comfortable at. What is the point at which you would feel resentful, ripped off, if you gave them the service or product at that price? Now price above. You can always raise it later.

        You do not want a bunch of clients to work with who make you feel resentful every time you interact with them, because you set your prices too low.

        Read this post on valuing what you offer.
        Just read through that post. Awesome Jason, thanks for the share...

        Cheers!
        -Dan
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      • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
        Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post


        You do not want a bunch of clients to work with who make you feel resentful every time you interact with them, because you set your prices too low.
        The reverse side of that is that you don't want to resent
        having to do so much work for them at such a pittance.

        Or you just don't put in the effort and attention you could because you're
        making so little from it.

        Generally speaking charging more is better because most
        marketers undercharge for their services compared to
        their real value to the client.


        Charging is about what you're happy with though.

        A good guideline is to charge enough upfront so that
        if you never get paid another cent you're happy doing
        the work.

        With monthly fees the same principle applies...just make
        sure your clients are paying in advance for each month.

        Kindest regards,
        Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author irishclark
    Thanks Andrew,

    I hear what you are saying, I guess that I am in a position where I need the money so I charge what I feel I can as to not lose the sale but get enough that I am happy enough with. I feel like I should be charging more but then some negatives pop into my head like.. the economy is bad in Ireland etc.

    I guess maybe I should target businesses with bigger budgets?
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      A wise man once said "Price your services high enough so that you love your clients. Provide enough service so that they love you" Pithy, but I like it.

      Kanigan does more than just bring up price. He gets the prospect to quote you a value that is more than your price. Really, really, really it's worth getting his qualifying sequence before making the appointment.

      The economy in Ireland is bad because not enough merchants are using what you offer. Go get em.
      Signature
      One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

      What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
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      • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
        Dan.

        Your remark:

        "...make lots more money selling what I KNOW than what I did!"

        took me back to the days when I was sole seller of MY seminars. I was producer, host, promoter, speaker and collector of checks. Phew, almost got tired listing all of that.

        That one piece of advice given by Dan worked well for me and I think it would work well for everyone on this forum if what I read in the threads is any indication. Nobody cares what you do, they care about what you know. What you know is what makes them money.

        They can only know what you know if you tell them. Don't worry about all the peripheral nonsense, it'll fall into place. Know what you know and tell them. They'll buy.

        Tom
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        • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
          Originally Posted by sandalwood View Post

          Dan.

          Your remark:

          "...make lots more money selling what I KNOW than what I did!"

          took me back to the days when I was sole seller of MY seminars. I was producer, host, promoter, speaker and collector of checks. Phew, almost got tired listing all of that.

          That one piece of advice given by Dan worked well for me and I think it would work well for everyone on this forum if what I read in the threads is any indication. Nobody cares what you do, they care about what you know. What you know is what makes them money.

          They can only know what you know if you tell them. Don't worry about all the peripheral nonsense, it'll fall into place. Know what you know and tell them. They'll buy.

          Tom
          Tom,

          I'm glad you liked the post, but all I did was recall, navigate, copy, navigate, and paste.

          It's a quote from an e-mail from Don Crowther. Just gotta' be sure credit goes where it should.

          Dan
          Signature

          "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by irishclark View Post

      Thanks Andrew,

      I hear what you are saying, I guess that I am in a position where I need the money so I charge what I feel I can as to not lose the sale but get enough that I am happy enough with. I feel like I should be charging more but then some negatives pop into my head like.. the economy is bad in Ireland etc.

      I guess maybe I should target businesses with bigger budgets?
      Your mindset is not good right now. You don't have the money because you're afraid to charge for it.

      And yes, you will have to qualify your buyers for budget. Find out quickly. If they don't have the money to pay you, move on. If the increase in revenue from your service doesn't justify the investment, move on. Qualify quickly.
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      • Profile picture of the author irishclark
        Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

        Your mindset is not good right now. You don't have the money because you're afraid to charge for it.

        And yes, you will have to qualify your buyers for budget. Find out quickly. If they don't have the money to pay you, move on. If the increase in revenue from your service doesn't justify the investment, move on. Qualify quickly.
        I hear you Jason, I met a guy who has a quite successful Launderette, has money and asked him on the phone if he needed a website and some marketing. He said yes and would love to talk to me.

        On Thursday evening I went to meet with him, he came across great very interested and when I mentioned I could do him a great responsive website AND set up a facebook page I would include everything all in for €1000 ( for nothing right?) He himmed and hawwed and said how much for just setting up the facebook page and managing it for him. I said I charge 150 for the facebook page and 150 per month to manage it for him.

        We said our goodbyes and he asked could I meet him again on Wed... How do you think I should handle our second meeting as I feel like i have a second chance at closing him?
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        • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
          Originally Posted by irishclark View Post

          I hear you Jason, I met a guy who has a quite successful Launderette, has money and asked him on the phone if he needed a website and some marketing. He said yes and would love to talk to me.

          On Thursday evening I went to meet with him, he came across great very interested and when I mentioned I could do him a great responsive website AND set up a facebook page I would include everything all in for €1000 ( for nothing right?) He himmed and hawwed and said how much for just setting up the facebook page and managing it for him. I said I charge 150 for the facebook page and 150 per month to manage it for him.

          We said our goodbyes and he asked could I meet him again on Wed... How do you think I should handle our second meeting as I feel like i have a second chance at closing him?
          This was a mistake, giving him prices like that. He has to set the value.

          Next time you talk to him, reboot the whole conversation. "Say, I was thinking, while we've been doing our own thing..."

          How many new customers, conservatively does he think your solution will bring him per week?

          And how much does the average customer bring in, in terms of revenue?

          Now have him multiply the two together, and you'll have a conservative weekly new revenue from your solution.

          Have him multiply by 4 (for a month)

          Then have him multiply by 12 (for a year total.) This number should be large and impressive!

          Now ask him what kind of an investment he'd expect to make to get to this figure.

          If it's over 1000 pounds, then you remind him the investment you quoted.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    I like this quote from an email I received from Don Crowther (I'm just on one of his lists and hope he does not mind and I won't plug the promo here.):

    "Does this sound familiar?

    For many years I was unhappy, sometimes downright miserable, about my work.

    I felt underappreciated, underutilized, and certainly underpaid.

    And interestingly, this happened both while I was working for corporate America and after I went out on my own.

    Then one day something changed. Actually, I know what changed - it was my mindset.

    I was pitching my services to a potential client when I realized that the people in the room were much more interested in what I knew than what I was selling.

    And that's when the ol' mind shifted, the ceiling opened up and a ray of light fell upon me, everyone began moving in slow motion, inspiring music began to fill the room. (Actually not.)

    But it was at that point that I realized that I should stop selling stuff/services and start selling what I know.

    Bam, right then and there, in the middle of that presentation, I shifted, stopped selling my $13,250 website development service and instead sold them a $20,000 consulting package where I taught them how to get more traffic and sales to their website.

    I walked out of the room with a $20,000 agreement in hand. And nothing has been the same since.

    And here's the cool thing - it actually took lots less work and was lots more fun to make lots more money selling what I KNOW than what I did!

    Now, I know something about you - there's something that you know, or are interested in researching and reporting on, that other people are willing to pay money to know themselves.

    It may be something about how to be a better parent, how to have a successful marriage even though you're a child of divorce, or how to deal with the loss of a loved one.

    Or it could be something about business - how to be a better marketer, leader, or how to produce blue widgets at half the cost.

    Or it could be something about health and wellness - how to lose weight, how to beat depression, or how to control diabetes.

    Or it could be a tough experience that you've had somewhere in your life that you learned how to overcome.

    There's something that people ask you about all the time, or that you find yourself advising other people about constantly.

    That's a huge opportunity for you!

    Because your life's story, professional experience, and unique message to the world is VALUABLE beyond your imagination.

    You can make an extraordinary difference (and a fortune) sharing your advice with the world.

    Who you are and what you know can be leveraged, packaged, and monetized through books, speeeches, seminars, coaching, or online marketing."


    Hope it helps.

    Dan
    Signature

    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Originally Posted by irishclark View Post

    I charge what I feel I can as to not lose the sale but get enough that I am happy enough with. I feel like I should be charging more but then some negatives pop into my head like.. the economy is bad in Ireland etc.
    You don't live in your customer's wallet. You don't know what it feels like there. You only know what it feels like in yours. So don't price yourself according to your wallet. You are not your customer.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

    If it's over 1000 pounds, then you remind him the investment you quoted.
    And phrase it so as to get agreement. And get the deal. No need to drag out this dance.

    So it's not "well, as I previously said, my fee is 150 setup and 150 per month"
    but instead,
    "So 150 setup and 150 per month maintenance is a bargain then, isn't it?" as you reach out to shake his hand.
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