Episode 22: Charging What You’re Worth: Part 1

Episode 22: Charging What You’re Worth: Part 1

Are you 100% comfortable charging what you’re worth? Most transformational entrepreneurs aren’t. Even if you believe you’re satisfied with what you charge now, the truth is that you could probably charge more – a lot more.

Join Pamela in Part 1 of this 3-part series to expand your mind about pricing, what’s possible to charge, and how to do that in integrity.

You’ll discover:

• The #1 principle that enables you to charge high-ticket (it’s not what you think!)
• How to share your new (higher) fees in a way that creates understanding, not surprise
• The minimum you should be charging for transformational work

Timecode Guide:

01:58: Pamela shares the #1 principle that enables you to charge high-ticket for your transformational offer.
07:11: Discover why your high-ticket Signature System should be priced higher than it currently is, and how to share this price increase authentically with clients.
14:17: Feeling overwhelmed? Get expert help from Pamela’s coaches on how to use this information, specifically tailored to you and your business’s success! Book your FREE 30-minute call now.

Podcast Transcription

Episode 22: Charging What You’re Worth: Part 1

Intro

Intro (00:00):
You’re listening to ‘A Profitable Impact.’

Pamela (00:02):
If you’re not 100% comfortable with what you’re charging and you don’t believe you’re charging what you’re worth, you’re probably not only not making enough money yourself, but you’re actually, under-serving your clients too.

Gene (00:16):
Welcome to ‘A Profitable Impact,’ where every single week we help experts like coaches, healers, course creators, and other online professionals expand their reach, increase their impact in the world and be well-paid for their extraordinary gifts and talents. My name is Gene Monterastelli, and I am the lead coach in Pamela Bruner’s Impact Accelerator coaching program. And now, please welcome my friend, my colleague, and the CEO of Attract Clients Online, Pamela Bruner. How are you doing today, Pamela?

Pamela (00:45):
I’m doing great, and very excited that we are starting a three-part series on charging what you’re worth! It’s one of my favorite topics.

Gene (00:53):
It is mine as well because when we do this well, we are taking care of ourselves, but we’re actually taking care of our clients in a more effective way. And we’re going to get into all of that sort of goodness as we move through this.

Pamela (01:04):
So, let me share with the listeners what we’re going to cover today. First, we’re going to discuss the #1 principle that enables you to charge high-ticket (and it’s probably not what you think). Then I’ll talk about how to share your new, higher fees in a way that creates understanding and not surprise or shock in your potential clients. And then finally, a question we get asked all the time, what’s the minimum I should be charging for transformational work? So, very exciting lineup today.

Gene (01:33):
So, as you hear the conversation that Pamela and I are having today, and if you have questions or you’re really struggling with pricing and really living into this, we would invite you to have a conversation with one of our coaches, absolutely free. All you need to do is go to BookMyBreakthroughCall.com, that’s BookMyBreakthroughCall.com, and you can get on the calendar of one of our coaches so they can help you navigate figuring out how to charge what you’re worth.

Principle of Charging for Results, Not Time

Pamela (01:58):
So, let’s dive into this #1 principle that I’m talking about, and that is the principle of shifting what you are charging for. So, one of the biggest mistakes I see transformational entrepreneurs make is that they think about charging for time, not charging for transformation. Or in other words, charging for results.
So, when you know that you can affect someone’s outcome and give them a wonderful transformation in their life, their health, their business, their relationships in a certain period of time, if you are charging by the hour or by the month for your work, you’re basically charging for what is a non-transformational unit called time. And people have an expectation of what an hour is worth. You know, when we think of $50 an hour or $200 an hour, or, heavens, $200 an hour, it seems like an immense amount of money to most people. But the truth is that you can create a priceless in less than an hour, at least most of the coaches and healers and experts that we talk to can do that.
So, instead, if you think about the principle of charging for results or charging for transformation, not time, the whole principle of what you charge shifts. And I think that’s the starting point for today’s discussion.

Gene (03:18):
And one of the things I want to highlight that you said in there, Pamela, and it is something that I quote you on all of the time when I’m talking to our clients, and that is the phrase, “time is not a transformational unit.” And it’s really important for us to hear that because as you said, you know, there’s so many things that we’re used to paying for time that if we do not recognize the fact that it’s about the outcome and not the effort, it’s going to be hard for us to convey that thing.

Pamela (03:48):
I get two objections to this principle when I start talking about it. One is, “Well, the work that I do is organic and it’s based on what the client brings me so I have no idea what the outcome will be.”
And in that case, I’m going to suggest that you need to hone down into an impact-based brand, an impact-based message, and an impact-based system, which we call a Signature System, which is a scalable system. And when you do that, you’re focused around a certain type of results that you tend to deliver. Now talking about, “Oh, should I niche down? Should I hone down?” That’s a little outside the scope of what we’re doing today.
We’re going to assume that you want to follow this general trend of, “Yes. I’d like to charge what I’m worth.” “Yes. I’d like to charge higher ticket.” And so you are going to want to focus around a particular result.

Pamela (04:37):
The other objection that I get is, “Well, I don’t know how long it’s going to take someone to get that result.” And so I’m going to share something that many people find mindblowing, which is the idea that if you can deliver a result faster, it should not be less expensive. It should be more expensive.
So, let’s just say, for example, that you could help someone create optimal health in six months. That’s a very valuable transformation. But if you could help them achieve optimal health in three months, that’s a more valuable transformation. And this is part of the concept of separating what you charge from the amount of time it takes you to do it and focusing on the result that you’re actually accomplishing.

Pamela (05:18):
So, when we say, “Well, you know, I don’t know how long it’s going to take for people to get a certain transformation.” The truth is that everyone who works with us gets a different transformation. I don’t think we’ve ever had, in the hundreds and hundreds and thousands of clients we’ve served over the years, I don’t think we’ve ever had two people make exactly the same amount of money in their businesses.
Like, we offer a transformation in Attract Clients Online and the Impact Accelerator called “you will make more money when you work with us.”
But we don’t know if that’s going to be, you know, $5,000, $10,000, $50,000 or $500,000. Everyone makes a different amount because everyone’s work and transformation is different. So, think about, you know, “as I think about taking people through a transformation, I think most people will get a good transformation in three months, or four months, or six months, or six weeks.” And other than that, I don’t have to take it so that everybody gets exactly the same transformation.

Gene (06:15):
And Pamela, I think one thing that’s important to note inside of that is the people that we are talking to, our potential clients, are also aware of the fact that there is a sliding scale of transformation inside of something. And so it’s not as if we’re having a conversation with a client and they’re only going to be happy with this exact precise outcome. Because one of the amazing things happens, and all of those who you who do transformation recognize this, is oftentimes as we are doing transformational work, the outcome that the client desire also changes along the way as they’re learning about themselves in that particular process.
And so don’t feel like if you are saying, “this is the transformation I provide,” that you’re boxing yourself in, that you have to land in that exact spot. There’s lots of really amazing work and satisfied customers all over the world who do not get the exact brand promise that is said word for word at the beginning, because they recognize their life is so much better in the way that it has shown up.

Pamela (07:10):
Exactly right.

Pamela (07:11):
There’s so much more we could say about this, but I think it’s important to go on about how to share these, hopefully new, higher fees that you’re now beginning to think about in a way that feels like integrity and creates understanding. So, one of the things, you know, going back to this whole dollars for hours and, you know, “how do I price my work?” and that kind of thing, most people who get started in transformation price on their cost.
So, the cost to them is an hour of their time for a session, or maybe 90 minutes for a session, or something. But basically, they’re considering their costs to be $100 for a session or $200 for a session, and they are setting prices based on that cost.
But the thing is, the value of transformation is so high that when you think about transformation, if you saw this on a piece of paper, right at the top, you would put the value of transformation because it’s so high.

How to Share Your New Higher Fees in Integrity

Pamela (08:06):
Most people would say, “Oh, it’s priceless to get my health or to find my soulmate or to improve my marriage or to build my business.” While you might be able to put a financial ROI on it, mostly we’re talking about transformation being priceless. And then the cost to you to deliver is very low. It’s an hour of your time or, or six hours of your time, or something. But if you value it at $100 or $200 an hour, it’s pretty low.
So, what if you priced in the middle of that? What if you said, “I’m going to price much higher than the cost to me to deliver, but much lower than the actual value of the transformation that people are getting.” And this to me is how you do it. You stay in integrity. You’re very authentic when you’re selling. Because although you are charging a great in terms of your cost, you are charging a fraction of what the transformation is worth.

Gene (09:01):
And the really cool thing about that particular framework is everybody wins inside of it. You know, I love having a high-ticket package having clients go through and at the end of it going, “Oh my gosh, that was worth double, that was worth triple what I paid for you.” And they recognize that, and they can see that, which makes it so much easier for them to become an amazing advocate for our work and wanting to come back and work with us again.

Pamela (09:22):
Right. So that idea of pricing in the middle, and I’m not talking about, you know, offering three packages and people will pick the middle one, I’m talking about pricing in the middle between the cost to you to deliver and the incredible value of the transformation that you provide. The other thing to consider with value is that it’s not just the actual value of your offer that’s important. It’s the perceived value of your offer. So, how valuable the client thinks it is.
One of the reasons that people often sell single sessions is that they have a hard time articulating “this is the value that I provide.” So, as they offer their services, it’s just easier to say, “Well, you know what, just come to a session with me. It’s too hard to explain, just do a session with me.” And the gamble for a single session at $100, $150, $175 is a fairly low gamble for a potential client.

Pamela (10:11):
So, they’ll come to a session. But they may not see the full scope of your work. They may not see the possibility inherent in long-term work with you. There’s lots of dangers with this model. But it does take a little bit of the pressure off and figuring out how to explain it.
The thing is, if you can explain the value of the transformation over time, not just the value of one session, but the value of the outcomes that you can help people achieve, then you can price according to that. And the cool thing about the perceived value going up for the client is that actual transformation has as one of its components perceived value.
Now let me explain that, because that was a little, little bit of a heady sentence. When someone perceives that something has a higher value, they tend to pay more attention to it. They tend to put more time into it. They tend to put more energy into it. And we know that when people put more time, more energy, more attention into the transformational work that they’re doing, they get a better result.
So, if it’s better for your client to have a higher perceived value and to really put effort and energy into this transformation, and it’s better for you because you get to charge more, as you said, Gene, it’s a win-win.

Gene (11:22):
And what’s really interesting as you say that, like the amount of skin in the game that someone has is going to be proportionate to the amount of effort that they put into it. Years ago on my podcast, I did a drawing and I would give away a free session every single week. And of the people who won the free session, a third of them never claimed the session. And those who claimed it, a third of them never showed up for their call. Because it didn’t cost them anything so it was easy for them to dismiss that thing. Where the clients who have invested in my time and my effort always show up and do the work. And so, it actually makes it easier for them to have the transformation because they recognize the value based on that.

Pamela (11:59):
Such a great example. Yeah. And there are so many examples that we could share. It’s not that we don’t ever want to give away something free. Certainly, you have a ton of free resources on your site. I do a ton of free trainings and things like that. But still, if you want people to actually get a significant transformation, there has to be an investment in that comes with perceived value.

Pricing Minimum for Transformational Work

Pamela (12:20):
So, let’s move to the minimum you should be charging for your transformational work. And this is an interesting question, because I have said, you know, you don’t want to charge hourly. Here’s the thing: You will put a value in my book of $300-$500 per hour of the private time that you spend when you deliver your work. Now you’re never going to charge that. You’re not going to a client and saying, “Well, my time is $500 an hour,” you know, “Would you like a session?” It’s not positioned that way.

Pamela (12:51):
Because you’re talking about an outcome, which we often package in something we call a Signature System. You are packaging, a combination of deliverables. You may be giving PDF handouts, videos, audios, a group session, or a group live event (whether that’s in person or virtual), there’s a whole lot of other things you’re going to combine with your private time. And so, if you create a Signature System that has all of these wonderful things in it, and it has five hours of your private time, then I would say that you should price that at somewhere between $1,500-$2,500, even though you wouldn’t usually charge $300-$500 for an hour of your private time. But it’s all about how you position the Signature System.

Pamela (13:37):
So, what’s the minimum that you should be charging for your transformation work? If you’re not making $300-$500 an hour, I think you’re shortchanging yourself, and probably you’re shortchanging your clients too.

Gene (13:48):
And the other thing that’s also really important to recognize, you know, as we’re thinking about this dollar for hour math is, the time I spend in my clients, isn’t just the time I spend with them in one-on-one sessions. I’m doing preparation. I’m taking notes afterwards. I’m preparing. Like, all of that is part of our time as well. And so, I think sometimes it’s easier for us to initially accept that’s the way that we should be thinking about the way we’re charging our one-on-one time, because we’re giving our clients a lot more than just the time that we’re showing up in those sessions.

“Well, that was a lot of information. Now what?”

Pamela (14:17):
So, I know that this is a lot of data and information. And I think, really, the key is understanding the basis of creating a really solid brand, a really solid message, a really solid offer, and a Signature System. And that makes the difference for people. But that’s for another day. And, for now, look at what you’re charging and ask yourself really, “Am I charging what I’m worth?”

Gene (14:41):
And if you’re in a circumstance where you are still after hearing this information, struggling to figure out where exactly you should be landing on your pricing, we would love for you to have a conversation with one of our coaches to have them help you figure exactly that out. The conversations are absolutely free. All you need to do is go to BookMyBreakthroughCall.com, that’s BookMyBreakthroughCall.com. Get on the calendar of one of our coaches and they will happily help you out figuring out the best way to price your services.

Gene (15:08):
If you’ve enjoyed the conversation today and you know another small business owner, a coach, a healer who could use this information, please be our ambassador and pass it along. It will mean the world to them as they have new information that will help them to be more successful.

Gene (15:23):
If you have a question or a topic that you’d like Pamela and I to cover in the future, we would love to hear from you. All you need to do is go to AttractClientsOnline.com. Click on the ‘Contact’ link. In the note say, “Hey, question for podcast!” We would love to hear that and respond to that particular request.

Gene (15:40):
If you haven’t done so already, Subscribe or Follow the show wherever you get audio. You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Audible. Whatever ecosystem you listen to audio in, just search for ‘A Profitable Impact,’ click Follow, click Subscribe, and turn on those Notifications so you don’t miss a future episode. For ‘A Profitable Impact,’ I’m Gene Monterastelli. Until next time, I hope you have an impactful week.

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ABOUT THE PODCAST

Building a business as a coach or expert is challenging, especially if you’re trying to find your clients online.

Join business coach and online marketing expert Pamela Bruner as she uncovers the secrets of successful transformational businesses. If you want to make a difference in people’s lives, expand your reach, and attract high-paying clients, you’ll love this show!