Paying Less Doesn't Remove the Aggravation
When I asked why, he said that his coach, a well-known internet marketer, told him that I’m very expensive. His coach referred him to one of her students who charges 4-times less than I do to set up telesummits.
At first, I was pissed. A well-known marketer was stealing business from me. How dare she?
So, I continued asking questions. My anger soon turned to sorrow…
I asked him what he gets for the money he paid. He said that his virtual event organizer is contacting the speakers, getting their bios and session information and handling customer service issues. Then he said sheepishly:
“But the website isn’t done yet. I have to do that. And I have to write the copy, which isn’t done yet.”
Confused, I asked him why his virtual event organizer didn’t do it for him. That’s when he shared that that was a separate cost and he’d rather find someone overseas to get it done for cheaper. When I asked if his virtual event organizer was going to prepare the recordings and get them delivered to attendees, he said “maybe.”
I told him that I was saddened to learn that he still had to do so much on his own. I was equally sad that his business coach had set him up for failure by not clearly communicating what he would get from me at my price compared to what he’d get at the cheaper option.
I don’t normally justify my pricing because I don’t need to. I’ve been setting up virtual events since 2001 and Choice Magazine has called me “the go to person for virtual event know how.”
But I need to clear the air…
I know what it takes to set up a virtual event.
If you want to host a virtual event that helps you fill your database with quality leads (not just any leads), PLUS get you known in the marketplace, PLUS makes you money, you need to hire a team that can do it all for you.
My “expensive” pricing is all-inclusive.
I charge a flat fee and a percentage of revenue (and I teach my Certified Virtual Event Managers to do the same) because we do everything. In other words, I price my packages so you show up, tell my team your goals and desires, then go away until the day of your virtual event.
We don’t just reach out to speakers, we set up the technology, write the copy (and all of it, including the website copy and the countless emails), coach you on how NOT to sound or look like a newbie while facilitating the sessions, everything so you’re a success.
Then, when your virtual event starts, you show up, faciliate the sessions, go away and my team manages all the recordings and emails that go out to the attendees. We also answer the customer service issues that come through so you’re energy is in a positive place (have you ever tried to facilitate a session after seeing an email requesting a refund? Yuck!).
Plus, there post-virtual event stuff that need to be done that can take up your time and energy if you cheap out on virtual event help.
While chatting with my mom about this, she said that my pricing reminds her of vacation packages.
- You can choose a cheap vacation where your airfare and hotel are covered, but you’ll still need to pay out of pocket for food, activities, ground transportation and even to access the pool while you’re there. Of course, if you run out of money, then you’ll have to sit in your hotel room the rest of the trip.
- Or, you can pay a higher price for an all-inclusive package where you simply show up and enjoy everything without ever pulling out your wallet again. Activities are covered, food is covered, drinks are covered, so too is your hotel, airfare, ground transportation and you get 10 free coins for the slot machine in the games room.
In one scenario, you relax. In the other, you panic.
This is similiar to my all-inclusive virtual event pricing. After setting up virtual events for those in countless industries, I know that it takes ALOT of time, time that busy business people should be spending turning connections into cash, not fussing around with virtual event tasks.
One of my Certified Virtual Event Managers, Cindy Morus, put together a virtual event project plan detailing every task that needed to be done. When she was finished, she documented just over 200 tasks over 90-days which covered almost 8-pages.
Although the guy I spoke to saved money by hiring someone who charged 4-times less than I do, he was only getting 1/4 of the 200 tasks done for his telesummit. It meant that he has to still spend his time managing his own business, finding clients, PLUS doing the remaining tasks for his telesummit, such as writing the copy and setting up the website.
And really, who has time for that?
His coach isn’t comparing apples to apples. I’m a mango and her student, who charges 4-times less, is an apple. My solution is tastier to the non-price conscious business owner who totally understands that outsourcing what they’re not good at helps them to focus on what they’re good at – which is growing their business.
Or, as Carrie Wilkerson shared with me on Twitter:
“The ones that begrudge the money don’t value the results.”
How would you respond if someone says you’re too expensive? Would you recommend that I reach out to this Internet marketer, or simply let it go? What say you? Do you have any resources to share on how to handle price objections and how to handle those who think you’re charging too much? Do share below.
Further Reading
Nodding in agreement with each and every comment here. In response to your questions:
Q: How would you respond if someone says you’re too expensive?
A: I follow the adage “If you have to drag them to it, you’ll have to drag them through it.” If they’re super resistant and can’t see the value even after we’ve discussed it, I’d just say “I don’t think we’re a match at this time.”
Q: Would you recommend that I reach out to this Internet marketer, or simply let it go? What say you?
A: Let it go! Don’t feed the angry wolf.
Q: Do you have any resources to share on how to handle price objections and how to handle those who think you’re charging too much?
A: When you communicate the value and the high cost of not taking action, it’s obvious. I love Carrie’s A/C analogy too!!
Thank you for reminding me that communicating the value and high cost of not taking action is what will close the sale. I also love telling people that “we’re not a good match.” Just because someone owns a credit card doesn’t mean that they can become my client.
Great post Leesa. I would reach out to the internet marketer because you don’t know exactly what he or she said and maybe the client misinterpreted it. That marketer may be a great referral partner once he/she understands your service offerings and corresponding prices.
I tend to take an empathic approach- that it is human nature to want to save money because spending money is associated with fear (it threatens our survival instinct). And that people get focused on the money when they don’t understand the differences. I approach price objections as of course they don’t know the differences because it is not their field (and smart for them to be hiring someone in the first place), so the focus is on providing the education and empowering the consumer to make an informed rather than a fear-based decision.
Once they have the knowledge I feel that I have done my job and if they choose a lower-priced option then that is the right choice for them at that point in time.
I’m sending the internet marketer a review copy of my book. I know that she loves virtual events, so I trust that my book will help her see that no only am I the expert on this topic, but that I am worth what I charge.
As an Live Event Organizer I hear you loud and clear! They want to pay for beer and pretzels and have it come out looking and tasting like champagne and caviar! Great article!
As an Live Event Organizer I hear you loud and clear! They want to pay for beer and pretzels and have it come out looking and tasting like champagne and caviar! Great article!
What a great quote! I’m going to use it if you don’t mind (I’ll give you credit of course)…
“They want to pay for beer and pretzels and have it come out looking and tasting like champagne and caviar.”
Good convo! I solely setup my first telesummit and I recommend that NO ONE does this by themselves. The time and energy it took exhausted me plus the results were mediocre. The good thing is I have the recordings to do as I will.
Here’s what would be helpful Leesa (forgive me if it’s somewhere on the site).
Perhaps a listing of what is included in your Done For You Packages could be provided. For example: In Package A: you get web copy, web design, blah blah blah. Hence you (could) offer a variety of packages?
Perhaps this ‘marketer’ is only aware of the highest level package that you offer? I just can’t see anyone NOT recommending you and knowingly saying “I’m gonna give my client more work to do (which may or may not bring results to his business).”
Hope I’m making sense.
@SandraBaptist
Sandra and you raise a great point. I think that may be the issue. This coach got my contract by way of one of her client’s a year ago and is most likely using that as her template as to how much I charge.
But that’s only 1/4 of the picture because I customize the package according to the client’s needs and budget. So, if someone says they can do their own copywriting and marketing, then the pricing is a little less. Or, they may say that they only need to rent my brain to put together a strategy and they have a VA that can implement it, then that’ll be a different cost. Or, they may want to do a video summit and that’ll definitely drive up the costs. So, it all depends.One thing though – I’m not trying to disparage the other consultant at all. Nor is my goal to embarrass this chap. Hence the reason I didn’t mention names. My goal is simply to let people know that you need to evaluate quite a number of things before going with the cheapest option.
Ah! Great. So you know what? You’ll get him as a client…no worries.
If he’s gonna go thru what I did in setting up mine, he’ll be back! 🙂
Fantastic points all the way through Leesa. And do I really need to say more considering I just hired you myself for my upcoming virtual event for the EXACT reasons you’ve stated above?? 😉 Can’t wait to work with you girl! 🙂
Oh, my lady, I can’t wait to strategize about your virtual event. We’re going to have fun. I know that you see the value of getting the right help for your business needs. I mean, your gorgeous website is a great example of that – http://shesgotclients.com/home/
Love this conversation Leesa! 2 things pop up for me:
Loosing sight of the customers for the event – if you want to serve them well and are asking them to invest in YOUR event, why wouldn’t you spend more to make sure they have the best possible experience? Without happy customers you will not have a business for long!
Perhaps a little bit of conflict of interest for the business coach – recommending one of their own students says to me that they are loosing sight of their customer (the business owner) in the coaching relationship.
I am sure this will be a juicy conversation!
Love this conversation Leesa! 2 things pop up for me:
Loosing sight of the customers for the event – if you want to serve them well and are asking them to invest in YOUR event, why wouldn’t you spend more to make sure they have the best possible experience? Without happy customers you will not have a business for long!
Perhaps a little bit of conflict of interest for the business coach – recommending one of their own students says to me that they are loosing sight of their customer (the business owner) in the coaching relationship.
I am sure this will be a juicy conversation!
Interesting point, my friend. Devaluing one service provider in order to elevate another, especially if the cheaper one is currently paying to be in your coaching program. That sounds so yucky to me.
Sounds like there’s an ethical thing going on here. On the one hand, I get that a coach would want to provide value to their coaching clients. The coach would want to ensure that their clients are hiring each other and seeing a return on their investment. Often, one joins a coaching program for the networking and the ROI. I get that and as a coach, I’ve done that for my own clients.
On the other hand, I have to ask myself “Am I really recommending the right resource that will help my client grow and exceed their goals?” If my client is trying to get out of overwhelm and needs to outsource so they move into their great calling, am I truly being of service to them if I recommend the cheapest option out there?
Any coaches out there want to weigh in on this? Is this an issue of ethics? How do we handle this as coaches?
If price is the driving force then nothing will happen the way anyone wants. Unless one compares apples and apples, you just have fruit salad.
Good points Leesa
LOL! I’m loving how this analogy is turning out. Donna said gorillas, Roberta, you’re now talking about a fruit salad. How far can this analogy go? Oh, this is fun!
Sounds like his business coach needs to be reminded that most times you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, now his client is learning having to learn that the hard way.
I’ve been told before in my job search that my salary requirements aren’t within the budget that the company is looking to spend. I think it’s best to go back over your skill and qualifications and why you are asking the specific amount. If the decision maker still isn’t willing to pay what you are worth, sometimes it’s best to just move on because their mental block regading the dollar amount may sour the whole deal. If they are hell bent on staying under a certain number chances are even if you took on the work at a lower price, they still wouldn’t feel like you did enough. Plus on top of that you’d be devaluing your services to the other people who would have paid what you are worth.
I so agree with you. It takes confidence to stand beside your own pricing and not bend to the pressures all around. Kudos to you for sticking to your requirements. I celebrate you for that.
It’s the same way in the virtual assistant world. Cheap service providers get all the publicity, and then potential clients expect everyone to be cheap. They don’t stop to wonder if they’re comparing apples to apples or apples to gorillas.
It’s the same way in the virtual assistant world. Cheap service providers get all the publicity, and then potential clients expect everyone to be cheap. They don’t stop to wonder if they’re comparing apples to apples or apples to gorillas.
LOL! Apples to gorillas.
I’ve had a terrible experience with getting transcriptions done. I skipped over using a North American based service because they were too expensive. I, instead, hired help from overseas. Instead of paying $150 per transcript, I paid $45.
Boy, did I ever regret it. What I got back for $45 wasn’t even readable in English – and English is my first language, my mother tongue. My VA then spent another 3-hours trying to edit and clean up what the cheaper transcriptionist did. So, a $45 transcript ended up costing me $200 when you added my VAs time.
So, I no longer skimp on this. I have 2 transcription companies that I use and I’ll gladly pay $150 for a 60-minute audio transcription because when I get it back, it’s readable. I just slap on my logo and send it off.
I’m wondering if his “coach” referred him to her “student” and he didn’t receive the results he was expecting, is he really getting the results from his “coach”. That’s a hmmmm moment for me.
Brenda, that would be my question as well. And that’s why as coaches, we have a certain responsibility to our clients. We’re not wholly responsible because a client makes choices and the direction the client takes is based on his/her determination, budget and habits. But I think we stay in integrity as coaches giving our clients the whole picture and taking the approach that Barefoot Executive suggested above.
The clients that irritate me the most are those who want the moon and stars from you, but aren’t willing to pay for it, or they say they can’t afford it. I just got rid of a client today who refused to pay a deposit!
fun convo on twitter about this today… in Texas, a car without a/c is much more affordable, but then you suffer about 6 months of the year 😉
I’m sad that the reason the other marketer used was ‘too expensive’ – I always prefer a ‘it depends on what you need done and what you’re looking for’ approach.
Then you can compare what features (like air conditioning) are a MUST and which ones (like cruise control) are nice, but not required.
Great thoughts Leesa
Nice analogy. I like your approach because ultimately, it is the prospect’s decision. In this case, because his coach recommended he go with the cheaper option, if he fails with his virtual event and doesn’t make back his investment, doesn’t that affect whether or not she’ll regain him as a coaching client? A coaching client should make back their investment in a coach, plus more. So, if he fails with his virtual event based on her recommendation, she may just lose out on a recurring client, no?
Nice analogy. I like your approach because ultimately, it is the prospect’s decision. In this case, because his coach recommended he go with the cheaper option, if he fails with his virtual event and doesn’t make back his investment, doesn’t that affect whether or not she’ll regain him as a coaching client? A coaching client should make back their investment in a coach, plus more. So, if he fails with his virtual event based on her recommendation, she may just lose out on a recurring client, no?
ouch good point