Recently, I was sat in a Hot Seat at business mastermind group.
I knew I’d be challenged on my business plans and I wasn’t wrong. I ended up like this:
I scored what felt like a huge own goal.
I was discussing a potential offering to clients, and when asked how much we were planning on charging there was shock in the room.
One of the new group members who I’d never met until that meeting said to me, “I’ve been following you on social media, I’ve heard Jon McCulloch rave about how good you are, I’ve heard the quality of the questions you’ve asked other people in this meeting, and I’m genuinely shocked to hear what you’re thinking of charging for (our new thing).
When asked why we’d chosen that price point, I explained how I thought it should be significantly cheaper than any one-to-one coaching I offer, and how it was roughly the same price as something I subscribe to myself offering what felt like a similar thing.
I could feel a wave of embarrassment creep up in me when I heard the words coming out of my mouth, as those reasons are exactly what I caution my clients to think about when they are making such decisions on their own pricing.
BALLS!
What I wasn’t taking into account was it’s the value I bring to a business owner’s life that matters most, not the hours I spend working with them.
I certainly shouldn’t have benchmarked it against something that’s designed for a different audience.
It’s schoolboy stuff, and a concept I discuss all the time with my clients, but I was too close to my own emotional reactions to be objective about my fees.
Of course, the great thing is now I’ve had the reality check I needed, I’ve corrected my course.
There is still a part of me that feels bad that many people will never be able to afford to work with me, but my time is precious and I’m becoming more and more in demand as the months roll by.
However, I will always continue to put effort into my daily emails to give inspiration and advice to whoever reads them.
They will always be free to read (unless we suddenly get charged for sending emails), but it costs me my valuable time to write them, so they aren’t cheap to produce!
The main message for today is when there is a high probability you could make a similar cock up, then get advice from people you trust and who are qualified to help you, and be humble enough to admit your mistakes.
Everyone makes them!
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