I lowered my fee to get more clients... and just made less money...

Last year we made a lot of changes in our business. While one of our favorite things has been seeing the huge return on investment we had from making those changes-there is one other thing that I LOVE even more. 

Because of the way our business now works, I get to do a ton of free consultation sessions with business owners across the United States- that is how I both give back to wonderful people around the country- as well as scoop up the most awesome clients to work with on an ongoing basis. 

This week I was overjoyed to speak to a wonderful person in business who is working SUPER hard, and has tried a million different ways to get her business working. Problem is, she has been trying all the WRONG ways! While I wish I had met her a year ago, it was nice that I didn't have to convince her that the wrong ways didn't work- she had already tested it and knew! 

Last year, she looked at her referrals and realized she just wasn't getting enough clients! So, she made an educated guess about what the issues must be- the price- and made changes to her business based on that guess. She tested lowering her rate to bargain basement levels, hoping that she would get 3 times as many referrals because she was the cheapest around! 

And guess what? She received the same amount of referrals as the year before, worked the same amount, did the same awesome work, but just got paid half as much! In fact, ultimately, since her expenses stayed the same- she got paid less than half as much! 

So- what can YOU learn from her experience? 

#1. Lowering your price doesn't make up for a lack of exposure. If only so many people see you, only so many people see you. Ultimately, building a business is a bit of a numbers game and advertising and marketing and more important than you realize in almost EVERY business on the planet! 

#2. Lowering your price doesn't convince your potential clients that you are awesome and valuable! In fact, it might actually convey the opposite. While I might love the idea of seeing a doctor for $20 in total, I assume that a doctor at a clinic seeing clients for $20 is probably doing this as a service to low income individuals in the community. I don't want to take up a "slot" and I know (from experience) that I won't get the same level of service in a clinic environment. 

#3. Lowering your price doesn't help people realize they are "ready" to reach out and purchase. And, if you are unsure of your value as a professional, it might just cause a whole different set of problems with people trying to "haggle" with you, or "waiting for a sale" because that is what you are teaching them to do. 

#4. Finally, being cheap isn't a specialty or a service. People respond to people are who are passionate and excited about what they do. If you love what you do, and convey that to others, and how what you do can impact their life- they will be drawn to work with you! If you try to say... I do anything... I do everything... I'm cheap... people are going to see desperation- not passion. 

So today, if you are struggling with how to get more clients- know that simply changing your price isn't the easy, big answer. And a big huge shout out thank you to my client for allowing me to use a little piece of her story anonymously! What about you? What are some things that you have tried that have or haven't worked? Feel free to send us an e-mail at help@zynnyme.com And of course, be sure you are on our mailing list.