Pricing Strategy – Does Your Current Pricing Reflect Your Value?
Value, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. If you don't understand or can't articulate your value, how can you expect to be compensated for it? If you know you have something special above and beyond a competitor, especially if you are a young company, it is important to stand up confidently and sell that belief. You may have proprietary processes, access to first-hand research or data, specialized talent, or decades of experience. Whatever your secret sauce, it is worth something to your clients and prospects.
But how do you demonstrate your value before starting a relationship with a client?
Start by building a common definition around value for you and your client while you get to know them. Demonstrate that you understand their problem deeply.
What are the tangible and potentially intangible components that could impact the project? For example, is the organization undergoing a great deal of change? Is there a specific initiative your client is solely responsible for leading? Is there new leadership impacting expectations? Are there external forces the client is reacting to? Understanding the greater landscape allows you to position your products and services not just based on solutions and fees, but value.
Don't jump right into solving a prospective client’s problem. For most professional consultants, we are trained to spot the issues of a client's problem right off the bat. Sometimes we can see what they can't.
However, the challenge is to frame the problem for the client allowing a view into what you see without providing a solution.
If you start providing solutions to the problem before being hired, you are devaluing your expertise and services. And you might just be giving away the solution for free, as the client might choose to implement your ideas themselves.
To truly meet the needs of your customers, it's important to research their unique goals and challenges both on and under the surface. By taking the time to understand the specific jobs they're trying to get done, the outcomes they're hoping to achieve, and any obstacles or risks they want to avoid, you can effectively communicate how your products and services can help them. By emphasizing the benefits of choosing your company, you instill confidence in your customers that you're the right partner to help them move forward, and that’s the most valuable outcome of all.
