Possibly, Maybe I Could Almost Certainly Perhaps Raise My Prices
What Blocks You From Doing Your Marketing?
In the last post I talked about what blocks people from doing their marketing. The fear that comes up over and over is this:
If I do my marketing regularly and well, I’ll attract too much business, and end up working seven days a week. My service level will drop off, everyone will get mad at me, I’ll lose a bunch of customers and be back where I started, except worse off because a lot of people will be mad who weren’t mad before.
Three Alternatives
Of course there is another alternative to this scenario. Three, actually. Raise prices, start a waiting list, or hire people to help. This week we’re going to talk about raising prices.
This option frequently scares people. It’s also not right for everyone. There are scenarios where you can’t raise your prices; and perhaps even if you could, you wouldn’t want to. That’s up to you to decide; but before you reject this idea out of hand, read on.
Raising Prices
If you absolutely love doing the primary work of your business and you don’t want to delegate any of that to someone else, and you don’t want to supervise employees, raising your prices is a good option.
How Do I Do It?
Here’s what to do. First, delegate everything you don’t enjoy or aren’t good at (bookkeeping and administrative work being two possible candidates). You can hire other companies or other solo entrepreneurs to do this work for you so you don’t have to directly employ anyone. Independent bookkeepers, virtual assistants, organizers, and lots of other kinds of administrative support people abound. Talk to your business friends about who they use and take the plunge. This should begin to free up some of your time.
If You Are The Spiritual Type
Next, if you are the spiritual type, read this blog post by Mark Silver about setting prices using your heart.
If this idea makes you scoff or cringe, read this blog post anyway. It contains some very practical advice about how to price.
If Your Are the Analytical Type
If you can’t stomach the spiritual approach, research your competition on line, even risking calling some people in your same business outside your competitive area and asking them what they charge.
Now Do It
Then raise your prices. Don’t go crazy, obviously, but I’m guessing that in your research, or in doing Mark’s method, you found that your prices were too low in the first place. Some customers may leave, but you’ll have less business at a higher price, which should give you some breathing room.
By the way, this is the law of supply and demand. Things in greater demand (non-stop plane flights, homes in good school districts) cost more. For some reason, we think this law doesn’t apply to us in small business. But it does. If you are great at what you do, your perfect clients want what you do, and you are communicating to them regularly about how you can help them, you’ll earn more business than you can handle. The demand will exceed the supply. One way you can respond to this is by raising your prices.
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