Pricing.

Ugh!

It’s a topic that many heart-centered solopreneurs dread because it’s confusing and raises many questions, including:

• “Where should I start?”
• “Will prospects see the value I offer if I charge that much?”
• “Why are some businesses able to charge a high fee (that nearly had me choking) yet I’m stuck pricing myself at the lower end and still struggling to sell my services?”
• “I’m pricing my services at the lower end hoping to attract more people – and it’s still not working. What am I doing wrong?
• And the list goes on…

HELP!

So why do so many solopreneurs (including you too, perhaps) struggle with their pricing?

I’ve identified three reasons:

• Your Money Mindset, which impacts:

• Your Self-Belief and Self-Worth, which impacts:

• Your Influence and Impact Status.

Let’s look at each of these three areas more closely.

1. Your Money Mindset

The beliefs you have about money (i.e. your money mindset) will either help you or hinder you from getting paid what you’re worth.

Is your money mindset helping or hindering you?

For many years my money mindset hindered me.

“You have to work hard for your money” was what I heard growing up, and is the unconscious message I continued to tell myself as an adult.

I ‘assumed’ that making money was hard – so for many years struggled and worked to the point of exhaustion and frustration. [Thank goodness I now have a MUCH healthier and supportive money mindset and belief].

Did my parents mean for me to create this unhelpful money belief and have it impact me in such a negative way?

Of course not.

They wanted (and still do) the best for me. They wanted me to have a strong and conscientious work ethic.

They were doing what they felt was best for me; they had my best interest at heart.

As did your parents.

The great thing is that I know now that I HAVE A CHOICE and CAN CHANGE MY BELIEFS.

And SO CAN YOU – these following articles will help you get started:

• 3 Common Money Mindset Beliefs that can Keep You Stuck
• Magnetic Money Mindset: Are You Attracting Or Repelling Money in Your Business
• Women Entrepreneurs: How Your Money Story Can Keep You Stuck

2. Self-Belief and Self-Worth

Is your level of self-belief and self-worth energetically pushing potential clients away because you doubt the value you offer?

A lesson I learned years ago was that it was vital for me to operate at a vibrational level where I wanted my clients to step up to.

That meant if I wanted clients to invest in my high-end programs, I needed to be investing in high-end programs too.

The excuse I kept telling myself “I can’t afford it” was keeping me playing small. And, the unconscious message I was telling myself (when I kept repeating “I can’t afford it”) was “I’m not worth investing in higher end programs.”

So, I made the decision – NO MORE! I AM worth it.

I raised my level of self-belief and self-worth, stated that I WAS worth it and invested in a high-end business coaching program.

It was the scariest thing I had ever done – however the payoff was incredible.

My confidence increased, I started to attract high-level clients, and I quadrupled my fees, with clients happy to pay me what I was worth.

I’m sure this would never have been possible were if not for me believing in myself, recognising I WAS worth it, and valuing the work I offered my clients.

Do you need to raise your level of self-belief and self-worth? Check out these articles:

• How Rich is Your Self-Worth Account
• The Self Belief Movie

And if this is something you want to bust through FOR GOOD, why not apply for one of my Business Breakthrough Strategy Sessions.

3. Your Influence and Impact Status

How influential and irresistible are you to your prospective clients? Do they seek YOU out rather than your competitors?

To stand firm and confidently in your pricing you MUST continue to build your credibility, visibility, and desireability out in the market place.

If not, it’ll be difficult to increase your pricing to a level that you are being paid what you’re worth.

Have you defined your niche or are you trying to be all things to all people? Being seen as a Jack-of-All-Trades and a Master-of-None is unwise and NOT what you should be striving for if you want to get paid what you’re worth.  Being seen as a specialist however, will.  Niche, Niche, Niche.

Do you have a powerful Signature Brand that distinguishes you from your competitors and confirms why YOU are the go-to person in your field?

Are you marketing and communicating your programs as THE solutions to your ideal clients needs in an irresistible way?

You should be – especially if you want to attract high-end clients who will pay you what you are worth.

Here are a few articles to help you:

• Niching: Aim Small to Grow Big
• Pricing Perils: Why Selling on Price & Not Value Can Cripple Your Business’s Growth
• 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Pricing Your Services

Another thing that will negatively impact your reputation, influence and impact is to slash your prices or offer discounts as the only way to get clients.

Here’s why:

• Your prospective clients may just think you’re not experienced or not very good at what you do if you’re too cheap.

• Getting into a pricing war with your competitors is NOT something you want to get caught up in, especially if you want to position yourself as a specialist and get paid what you’re worth. Do you want to continue feeling undervalued and underpaid? I hope not.

• Lowering your prices and offering discounts is sending the wrong message to a prospective client that you are a cheap alternative. You’ll also continue to attract the wrong type of client – the demanding client who pays very little yet expects you be at their beck and call. Do you want to continue attracting that sort of client? NO!!

Strengthen your self-belief and recognise the value you offer; stop telling yourself you can’t afford it and recognise you ARE worthy of investing in higher-end programs yourself; and continue to take the actions steps that will help you build your credibility, influence and impact so you can continue to increase your pricing and offer high-level programs that your ideal client will love and want to invest in.