Rate setting is difficult for any business, but it can be especially hard for someone venturing out on their own. Here are three things to avoid when pricing your goods or services.
1. Emotional entanglement with your business. It’s difficult to untangle your own feelings or ego from the business you’ve worked hard to create, but if you’re too emotionally connected to your outcomes you may find yourself making poor decisions.
Do this instead:
Separate your feelings from the business problem at hand and try to frame it through an invested, but less personalized, lens.
Expect rejection. Imagine yourself on the other side of difficult conversations. If we plan for pushback and discomfort, we’re less likely to be rattled when it happens.
2. Operating in a vacuum. It’s tough to make informed decisions when you’re the only data point. Without access to other perspectives, insights, and experiences, it’s common to over, or underestimate, a fair market price.
Do this instead:
Foster your professional network and begin to seek out and share information between one another for shared gains.
3. Not having a solid testing plan for pricing. You’ve got a million things to do, and taking time to develop a plan probably feels like a luxury at best and a waste of time at worst. However, without a plan you’re more likely to be throwing out random darts than improving.
Do this instead:
Write down what you’re trying to accomplish, test, and the risks. Even as a solo entrepreneur the act of organizing your thoughts and self-critiquing your ideas will lead to better outcomes.
Examples of areas to explore:
What rates would you like to test and with what types of clients or prospects?
Tracking wins/losses, reasons, and targets
What product offerings could be tested for addition or removal?
Warning – Don’t over index towards planning vs. actions as this can be even more counterproductive to your forward progress.
Schedule a Free 30 Minute Introduction if you’re a solopreneur who could benefit from outside perspective and years of experience,
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