Pricing Has Nothing To Do With Numbers (BONUS: FREE Download)
Pricing is our jam. Figuring out our worth so we can pay our bills, grow our business and have happy clients and customers is kind of our favorite. In fact, pricing is what brought this whole thing here at TCC together (meaning it’s how Emylee and Abagail met!). The very first program that we launched together was called “Pricing for Profit” (now known as The Money Making Creative). All that to say we’ve had the conversation about pricing with other creatives many a time, and you want to know a big fat spoiler? When it comes to mindset and “do you think they will pay $X?”, pricing has absolutely nothing to do with numbers.
The number one question that we receive from every small business owner is something along the lines of, “What should I charge for this?” As creatives, we all want there to be a magic number that we can charge for our services or products. A number that we could choose, and then automatically succeed. But by looking at just the numbers of your pricing strategy, you are leaving so much out of the equation.
So, first we’re going to burst your bubble and tell you that you just need to pick A number. You will never pick the right number the first time. There will most likely be price increases, package tweaks, new offerings, and offers taken off the table. The only way to get measurable results is just to just pick a number, any number, at first. However, here are a few guidelines that you should consider when calculating your pricing.
Pick a Number That Feels Right to You But Scares You a Little
If you constantly pick numbers with which you’re totally safe, you’ll probably never see the business results you’re dreaming about. The number you go with needs to make you feel just a little bit crazy-excited about the potential of your business, while also staying true to the authenticity of your biz brand.
Pro tip: If putting some math into it will help you take the emotion out of your pricing, then do that. Figure out how much you need to be making every single month to pay your bills, save for school, pay off your house or just to help with groceries. It doesn’t matter. If you know what number you’re hoping to get to, you can work backwards from there.
Add Value For Your Clients Instead of Slashing Prices
We understand that you want to create hype around your products or services, and the usual way of doing this is by having sales. But, depending on what you’re offering, a sale could actually hurt a client’s perception of value. So when you want to have a “sale”, think about keeping the price exactly the same, but add value. (Think: How can you add in more of your time? Can you create a quick and easy printable or download, can you add additional products if clients spend X amount, can you add in a bonus hour of your time, et cetera.) However, you definitely don’t want clients waiting around for your next sale before buying from you, so make sure you implement this strategically.
Showcase Your Offerings in Packages
There’s a specific psychology behind combining your offers inside packages. Your clients are able to see the value of a simple upgrade to the next package at a quick glance. Usually, the package you want clients to gravitate towards is your “middle of the road” package — it’s neither your cheapest, nor your most expensive. To your clients, it becomes the no-brainer package. Design your lowest and highest packages to highlight your middle package, and your clients will feel super confident in their decision. Your lowest package should cover the bare minimum of what you need to make from a client to make sure you’re making ends meet. Any upgrade from there is just icing on the cake!
As you can see in the strategies above, pricing involves far more than just picking the “right” number. It’s all about providing great value, charging what you’re worth and staying true to your brand.
We want you to be able to dive further into making your biz profitable. We want you to shake off the overwhelming thoughts that it’s “always about the numbers” and understand that there are distinct strategies that you can use to get there. But before you get there, you need a plan. Yes, an actual written down plan. Some might call it a business plan. We like to call it “Party in my Biz Pants, Because Now I Know What the Heck is Going On Plan”. Rolls right off the tongue, yeah?
We wouldn’t want you to head out to make this plan without some guidance. Heck, we don’t just want to give you guidance, we want to give you the freaking worksheet to make the plan. Oh, and it’s free. Happy day! We created The Easiest Business Plan Ever and you can grab your free copy by heading here.
Pop in your first name and email and we’ll send it right over. Here’s what we DON’T want you to do: please do not go download it and love it but let it die a slow death in your “Downloads” folder. It serves you no purpose there.
