How many times have you found yourself worrying about your prices? Picture this… you’ve done the maths. You’ve figured out what you need to charge to make your business work. You’re confident in the quality of what you’re delivering to your customers. But you find yourself worrying whether or not people will pay it. You find yourself giving discounts a little too easily. You stop yourself raising your prices when really, you should. All of these things can be damaging to your business, and so learning how to be confident in your prices is crucial.
5 ways to be confident in your prices
When we are confident in our prices, that sense of confidence passes to our customers. It sets the expectations for what we’re going to deliver for them. It shows that we believe in ourselves and what we do as business owners. And it shows that we believe in the value of what we’re going to deliver. All of these things are the positive messages that we, as business owners, want to convey. Here are five ways to be confident in your prices:
1) Do your research
This is fundamental, as it forms the foundation of all the decisions you make in your business – and not just in relation to pricing. There are two three aspects to this particular research:
- What you need to charge your customers in order that the business survive
- What others in your market are charging for a similar product or service, and
- What your customers are prepared to pay
If you’re likely to meet your revenue goals, you know you’re in the right ballpark for your market, and you know that people are prepared to pay what you’re charging, then why should you not be confident in your pricing?
2) Know your value
Knowing your value isn’t necessarily about your product or the service you deliver. Or even the value of the the product or service that you provide. It’s about why your customers should work with you. It’s about your qualifications and your experience. Your approach and your passion. It’s about what makes you you, and what it is that draws customers to you. And when we take the time to understand and appreciate our value, our confidence in ourselves, and what we’re offering, grows. You can read more about this here.
3) Understand the justification for your prices
When it comes to learning to be confident in your prices, being able to justify them – to yourself and others – is equally as important. This step is about messaging, essentially. When someone asks you for your prices and you tell them, it’s about being able to present those prices in a confident way. It’s about being able to sell those prices, and about making your customers understand why the prices are what they are. So do your maths. Crunch those numbers. And, of course, don’t forget to add your profit margin!
4) Take confidence from your testimonials
Especially when we launch a new product or service, we don’t actually know if people are going to buy it, until they do! New customers give us confidence by default, but maintaining that confidence in the long term, is key. So keep a record of testimonials and positive feedback from customers – not just for use in your marketing, but to give you a confidence boost when you need it.
5) Don’t discount (very often)!
If we have a higher priced product or service, it can be easy to fall into the trap of discounting by too much, and too often. But actually, underselling, or discounting, can actually be more damaging as it devalues what you’re trying to do. So use discounts sparingly and strategically (eg. have a January sale).
In addition, if you feel justified in your pricing, but someone pushes back on it and tells you you’re too expensive, hold your ground. If your pricing is appropriate and you feel confident with it, either you need to sell your proposition better so that the client understands the value you provide, or the person pushing back isn’t the right customer for you.
The final word on pricing confidence
As a final word on how to be confident in your pricing, be strong and believe in yourself. Because when we feel and act confident, that confidence rubs off on others. Then people start to believe and trust you, and that’s when the customers (and the sales!) come.
And don’t forget, if you need any support with either your pricing or how you present it, let’s talk. Pricing and finance – and confidence too! – is a common topic with my business coaching clients!
Confidence is not ‘they will like me’. Confidence is ‘I’ll be fine if they don’t’.