Recently, I asked some members of our community: “What’s the #1 thing holding you back from moving forward in business?”
One of the comments that came back was: “I’m afraid or anxious asking for higher fees”.
One of the comments that came back was:
“I’m afraid or anxious asking for higher fees”.
This actually comes up a lot. Whether it was salespeople I managed in the past or coaching clients that are selling their own products and services.
It’s one of those fundamental stumbling blocks that will undermine all your efforts to sell your product and/or grow your business.
So, in this post, I’m going to show you how to overcome this insidious fear and help you go from feeling uncertain, anxious or afraid to ask for larger sums of money to feeling completely confident..
..provided you’re willing to follow some simple suggestions.
Because trying to run a business or sell with this type of fear is like trying to run a race with one foot tied behind your back…
…not going to work out well.
This needs to be addressed, and, you need to feel 100% confident asking for a fair price for what you offer…even if you think it’s expensive.
The first thing to realize, to overcome this fear is that your client’s wallet is not your own.
I started selling higher priced services to businesses when I was 20 years old.
(damaging admission: back then I would deepen my voice when speaking with clients on the phone to sound older..)
I worked for a staffing company, made about $45,000 a year and I would sometimes need to ask my clients for a $25,000-$30,000 or more fee to hire one of my construction management candidates.
That was on top of the candidate’s salary…
It seemed like so much money to me back then…and I felt a little awkward at first asking for that much money.
That is until my manager explained that I needed to stop viewing the fee from the perspective of my own finances.
Just because it seemed like a lot of money to me, didn’t mean that they thought it was.
The fact is they expected to pay that much for a quality candidate. And they needed to find that person…badly!
And that leads me to the next realization to overcoming this fear which is:
Focus on the problems you’re solving and the fee becomes smaller….
Business is an exchange of value. That’s all it is.
Assuming you’re selling something that works – it produces a positive result(s) for your client.
..it solves problems or enhances your customer’s life in some way.
They exchange their money for that result. Period.
So, if you want to feel confident asking for higher fees, take your mind off of the amount you’re asking for and place all your attention on the results you’re creating for your customer..on what’s in it for them.
On top of that, when you start thinking of the implications of the problems you solve…the price shrinks even more.
Using the staffing example from earlier, often times my clients needed to hire those construction managers for multi-million dollar commercial jobs they had contracted.
If they didn’t hire them, the project might be delayed. Weeks of delay means thousands of wasted dollars. Months means millions.
…and those quality candidates didn’t grow on trees. They were in demand. They were rare.
A $150k was nothing compared to what they stood to lose if they DIDN’T fill that position.
And the same is true for your clients. What are the consequences of them not solving the problem that your product addresses?
Look, the fear of asking for higher fees often stems from not valuing what you offer enough.
And this is rooted in a simple misunderstanding…it’s not realizing how positively it impacts your customer’s lives…
Finally, let me leave you with another technique I’ve learned that you can benefit from.
It’s served me well over the years. Especially when I started asking businesses for commitments that meant millions of dollars and hundreds of hours of their company’s resources.
And that is when you ask for your fee – say it nonchalantly, with a neutral tone of voice.
It’s not good, it’s not bad. It’s not high or low, it just is what it is.
Whether it’s $10 or $100 million, when you say your price, say it the same way.
Say it the same way you would tell someone their shoe is untied if you were standing next to them in a grocery store line.
So, there you have it. Follow this sage advice and advance to Jedi level in your salespersonship…
…well, maybe not but at least become more confident asking for money from your clients when it’s time to discuss price.
The alternative is to let this fear or anxiety hold you back. You get to feel awkward when you ask for your money and your prospects pick up on that. It has and will cost you sales.
Your call.
If you’d like me to be your personal sales coach and show you how to double your sales in the next 90 days, book a free 15-minute chat with me here to see if you qualify for the “2X in 90 Sales Sprint” program.
In it, we’ll break down your current selling system (from prospecting, lead generation to closing and follow up) and I’ll show you how to improve each phase so that you make more sales with less effort and in less time.
…we’ll also work on overcoming any internal obstacles that may be holding you back from reaching your sales goals as well.
This program is for business owners who sell their products or services, their sales teams or individuals who work for other companies that want to improve their sales results…and income.
