Adjust Your Selling Skills to Creatively Raise Your Prices and Fees

While you may not be able to implement all of these ten strategies, read each of them carefully and ponder how you might creatively use them in your business or practice.

1. Raise your current prices and fees

 

This is a no brainer and requires little skill. However, it does require a lot of  courage. The reality is that people will pay you more than you are currently  asking. Maybe not 50% or 100% more but certainly 10% – 30% more. All you  have to do is convince yourself of this and transfer this conviction and  confidence to your buyers.

2. Change your target market

 

Start going after the type of clients who are not price shoppers. While price is a  consideration in most buying decisions, research shows that less than 10% of  buyers buy strictly on price. You must retrain yourself that price is not the reason  most people don’t buy from you. It may be that they don’t trust you or they don’t  see you as an expert or they don’t see the value in what you offer. Whatever the  reason, it isn’t price.

3. Stop giving stuff away for free

Sales people are notorious for giving away products and services for free. Some  where in their head they have the idea that if they will be nice and give “more  value” (that usually means the company’s resources) they will be elevated and  achieve exalted status in the eyes of the buyer. That’s rubbish. The reality is that  the more you give away the more they want for free and the harder it becomes to  get them to pay for future products or services. The solution: Charge for everything.

4. Bundle products and services together

Instead of selling individual items, start selling packages by bundling various  products and services together into one sale. It is much easier to sell three items as  a package deal than it is to make three individual sales.

5. Sell a deluxe version of your product and service

Offer a premium or deluxe version of what you sell. At least 20% of your buyers  will upgrade and by the “platinum” version of your product or service. This is  easy money that you are leaving on the table. The more affluent the buyer the  more likely they are to want the “upscale” version.

6. Upsell with the current sale

Once you make a sale give the buyer an irresistible offer to buy an additional product or service or add on as part of the original order. Present this as a one  time offer and have the guts to stick to it. You will be amazed at how many people will buy it because they don’t want to let the opportunity pass them by.

7. Upsell immediately after the sale

 

Immediately after the sale offer the buyer an opportunity to purchase an additional  product or service within a very limited time frame. This offer can be made via  the phone or mail or in person.

8. Build in a renewal program

Offer an automatic renewal program that will lock your customers into future  purchases unless they opt out of the program. This eliminates the need to sell  them every time your current contract expires.

9. Develop a continuity program

Develop and offer a continuity program so that you get ongoing, residual, monthly income from each account or customer. Examples of this might include  newsletter subscriptions, service contracts, etc. Sell once and get paid  repeatedly.

10. Change what you sell and how you sell it

The fastest growing segment of the North American market is the affluent market. Every 8 minutes a new Millionaire is created. At present there are 8.4 new middle class millionaires in the US alone.

While the middle class struggles, this class continues to amass wealth. They have plenty of disposable income and are not price sensitive when it comes to indulging their preferences, Seek them out. If you don’t have a high end product or service that targets the affluent you are missing the runaway economic freight train.


John Butler

Steve

Steve
Love your approach and insight on price. Price is one of the 4Ps of marketing and the most fearful and unappreciative. Think about it PRODUCT gets lots of attention. PROMOTION also. PLACE more and more these days.

But PRICE comes up as the number one sales problem over and over again everywhere in the world.Ironically it’s the easiest to deal with for a professional but needs a deeper understanding of economics and marketing and psychology than the average person appreciates.
Keep up the good work Steve

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