The Pricing Lady

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Many businesses use cost plus pricing to determine their prices but what is the role costs in pricing?

Cost-plus pricing is one of the most widely used methods for setting prices, but it also more often to not leads to over- and underpricing. While understanding costs is important to having a successful Pricing Strategy and understanding your profit story, relying on them too heavily puts your business at risk. It begs the questions what is cost-plus pricing. what are the disadvantages, why do people use it and what should you base your prices on instead.

We look at that and more in this episode.

Podcast Highlights:

• 0:00 Intro
• 03:03 Understand What Cost Based Prices are
• 5:00 Limits Flexibility in Your Business
• 06:35 Competition in the Marketplace
• 08:40 Why do People Use It
• 10:16 Costs shouldn't Determine Your Prices
• 12:03 Understanding the Profit Story
• 13:10 Wrapping it Up

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

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"For a long time pricing was this great big mysterious thing. I didn't understand where the numbers came from."

If you feel or felt this was then you're not alone. Pricing is rarely taught, in fact most people don't even know there are people out there who are experts. Your job, one of them, as a business owner is to demystify pricing so that it's not so difficult for you to do. Learn what you need to know and figure out how to make it simple for your business.

As I discussed with this episode's guest understanding value is the key to opening up that mysterious little box you call pricing.

In This Episode

I sit down with Geraldine Carter, Owner of She Thinks Big Coaching where she helps CPAs get out of the accounting rut. Her clients routinely double their margins in 6 months or less while working fewer hours. She shares with us her own pricing journey. How she went from just doing what everyone else was doing and feeling like pricing was a great big mystery to realizing it's a powerful toolset for her and her clients to master. We talk about that and so much more. Enjoy the episode.

Podcast Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 02:07 Getting to Know Geraldine
• 06:30 What Value Clients get from Geraldine
• 08:26 Pricing at the Beginning
• 15:49 Most Businesses and Services Lack and Understanding of the Value
• 18:55 Is Pricing more Art than Science
• 24:55 I can't do that in my Industry is not (a fact) it's a Thought
• 26:51 Pricing is Something that I can Learn
• 28:05 Wrap Up Questions

How to Reach Geraldine:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geraldine-carter/

Website: https://www.shethinksbigcoaching.com/

Don't go yet. If you're enjoying the show please rate and review. It helps us spread the word to more people and ultimately get more small businesses on the path to sustainable profitability and business success. Thanks for Listening.

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

Avoiding everyone-itis is a better path for most small business owners. Certainly better than being a generalist.

"Who's your target customer?" I asked.

" Well, anyone." They responded with proud smiles.

"Oh no...here we go." I thought to myself.

When it comes to starting or running a business nearly every program, coach or consultant will ask you who are you targeting. There's a really good reason for that (hint: it's not to annoy you). It's because the answers to most of the questions you have around your business, depend on who you're targeting. 

Most things can be done in a much more targeted and efficient way when you're clear about who your offer (product, service, software or other) best serves. 

Everyone-itis is what I refer to as the disease of creating an offer targeted to towards everyone. Most businesses that suffer from it are at best struggling and sluggish. I've had many guests on the show share how when the made the decision to be more focused it shifted their business in the right direction. 

In this Episode I'll share 3 problems that casting too wide a net for your target customer can cause in your business. Enjoy!

Highlights:

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:14 Casting a wide net
• 3:12 Aligning your communication
• 5:05 Becoming the generalist
• 6:30 Less than average
• 8:39 Can it be too narrow?
• 10:13 An example
• 13:58 Wrapping it up 

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

Commonly businesses believe they have to set their prices low to entice customers. However more often than not it can be counterproductive to - in fact it might be what's keeping people from buying. They just don't believe they'll get the value, because the price is so darn low. That's what my guest learned and shared with us during this episode.

She was advised to raise her prices and when she did her conversion rate shifted. Maybe the price was better aligned with expectations. Maybe it was that she herself believed more in the price she was asking for. Maybe it was both and more. The fact is things changed for her business for the better.

In This Episode:

In this episode, I sit down and talk with Maggie Bergin. Maggie is a brand strategist on a mission to eliminate brand vagueness. She helps businesses build a distinct, compelling brand strategy so they can deeply connect with their ideal clients. She quite candidly shares with us her own Pricing journey. The mistakes she's made and how she's been able to learn from them and continue building her business. It didn't come easy she confesses and she feels her own pricing development will continue to grow. 

All of that and so much more. Enjoy!

Highlights:

• 0:00 Introduction
• 02:10 Getting to know Maggie
• 04:00 The Value clients get from Maggie
• 05:25 How she started
• 07:43 Pricing discussions at the beginning
• 11:18 Pricing mistakes
• 16:32 Are there generalizations in work
• 19:12 Wrap Up Questions

How to Reach Maggie:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beunderstoodbranding/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/berginmaggie/ 

Don't go yet. If you're enjoying the show please rate and review. It helps us spread the word to more people and ultimately get more small businesses on the path to sustainable profitability and business success. Thanks for Listening.

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

There are three types of discounts effective, ineffective and unnecessary. Most small business could benefit from being more careful about the discounts they offer and when. In fact, when it comes to "leaking" profits, poor discounting habits are often the biggest drain on your profits. It makes sense to put more rigor and thought behind what you're doing.

Preparing in advance for what you will do and when, and having a clear internal policy for your team (if you have one) will help you eliminate unnecessary discounting. It can also help you improve the effectiveness of the discounts you do offer. 

In this episode:

We take a look at 6 questions you should be asking yourself before you decide to grant that discount or even before you decide to lower the price. These questions will help you be more clear about why your offering them and help you be more clear about the business purpose behind the decision.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Introduction
• 02:45 Business Purpose of Discount
• 07:02 Impact needed for Success
• 08:01 Impact on Perception
• 09:04 Who am I really targeting
• 10:18 How can I monitor how this is going
• 12:19 Do I still want to offer a discount
• 14:07 Wrap Up

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

Over the years I have heard the battle cries  from businesses and sales people about how the competition has such low prices.

"It's killing our business. What can we do?" They cry. 

Often they feel defeated and like they don't have a chance to be successful because these "cowboy" competitors are in the way, with their very low prices. "Shouldn't we lower our prices too?" They ask.

Not necessarily, in fact more often than not, it isn't the best solution. Just because the competition has a lower price doesn't mean you should too. Nor does it indicate that they have a successful business. Nor does it mean that all is lost for you. In fact, it might just be an opportunity.

 To figure out what to do and how to deal with what seems like a rogue competitor you need to understand WHY, they might have such low prices and what it means for you.

My mother always said to me, "Well Janene if your friends are jumping off a bridge it doesn't mean you have to as well." Little did she know I was often leading the charge. But that aside the same thing applies to your business and pricing.

In this Episode

In this solo cast episode I share with you 6 reasons why they might have low prices and why it may not be the same for your business even though you offer the same / similar product, service or software. Then we take a look at what it means you should do. Enjoy the episode!

Highlights:

  - 0:00 Intro

  - 2:41 Who's the target

  - 4:10 Value perception

  - 5:38 How to set prices

  - 6:31 The strategy

  - 9:10 The tactics

  - 10:44 Profit margins

  - 11:24 What to do

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

"Sometimes it's just as simple as asking for more."

These are words to live by in life and in pricing for your business. Most young businesses start out underpricing. This happens for a variety of reasons by design, lack of confidence, untested offers, their offers often have lower value. But most come to a point in time where they know they must raise their prices. That's when fear often gets in the way. Reality is if you don't test the waters and ask for more you'll never know what's possible.

My guest in this episode has done it himself and seen it with his clients, sometimes you simply have to test your prices and see what happens. Then test it again.

In This Episode:

I sat down with Bob McIntosh, Co-Founder of 3 Degrees Consulting. Bob is a national speaker and entrepreneur having spent over 3,500 hours on stages and helped more than 15,000 people across the US, he’s a #1 Amazon best-selling author and has been personally responsible for helping thousands of entrepreneurs generate millions in profits through digital marketing.

He shares with me his own pricing journey and behaviors he sees in his clients that get in the way of their pricing. That and so much more, so you'll have to give it a listen.

Podcast Highlights

• 00:00 Intro
• 1:58 Getting to Know Bob
• 3:13 The Value Bob delivers clients
• 5:35 How he started
• 7:10 Pricing at the beginning
• 11:39 Internal thinking
• 15:39 Asking for more
• 19:37 Biggest takeaway & wrap up

How to reach Bob:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBobMcIntosh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheBobMcIntosh

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBobMcIntosh/

Don't go yet. If you're enjoying the show please rate and review. It helps us spread the word to more people and ultimately get more small businesses on the path to sustainable profitability and business success. Thanks for Listening.

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

Ease-based pricing. No it's not a technical term but it some that many people do at the start. For example hourly based pricing can feel like the easy thing to do. The question is, is it the right thing to do? If you do it just because it's easy, it's probably not the right thing to be doing. And just think of all those years you've spent getting great at what you do or your product does. The schooling, the hours of learning, experimenting, getting it wrong, getting it right and making it "easy" for others. Doesn't that count for something?

And just because it's easy for you, doesn't mean it's easy for everyone else. If they were to take the same path as you to know what you know or do what you do, then they too would have to invest all that time, energy and resources to get the results. You're offering short cut of sorts...and that has value. If you're pricing based on ease, then you're ignoring the value you deliver.

In this episode...

That's precisely what this episode's guest found herself doing. Dr. Carrie O. Graham, owner of Carrie O. Graham Learning Solutions and Adult Education Expert confesses she defaulted to what was easy. She soon recognized it left her feeling that what she was charging wasn't matching the time and energy she put it in nor did it reflect the value of her offer.

How to reach Carrie:

WEBSITE: https://learningandsolutions.com/home

Inst: https://www.instagram.com/drcarriegraham/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriegrahamphd/

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

Pricing versus the competition may seem like the best and sometimes easiest thing to do in some businesses. In other businesses, where there's less price transparency, it may feel like you're missing out on a key piece of price setting information because you have no idea what the competition charges.

Of course the competition is an important pricing consideration for many but what does it mean for your business? Can you only know what price to offer when you know the competition?

It begs the question, should I based my prices on the competition?

In this episode, we break this down and talk about when and how to use the competition when it comes to price setting in your business.

Podcast Highlights

  - 0:00 Introductions

  - 1:23 What's Your Strategy?

  - 3:08 Small business specificities

  - 4:59 Rules of Thumb

  - 7:24 When not to

  - 8:50 How to use it

  - 10:11 Wrapping it up

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.

Send us a text

Making the shift from job to entrepreneurship can be tricky. Pricing is one area where most people have no idea where to start.  They end up making it up as they go along, which leads to mistakes & a lot of wasted energy. Finding the right prices is more difficult than needed and the uncertainty in your prices makes communicating them feel incredibly awkward. Of course, learning the hard way may also lead to some great successes. Probably with more pain than necessary along the way.

What can you do? Listen to others who have gone before you. Learn from their mistakes and successes. Someone like my guest on this weeks' show.

In this episode I sat down with Kristen Westcott, online business strategist and copy writer for coaches. When she started her business she made two simple mistakes. She's also seen, as a coach herself, how others struggle with pricing. We can learn from her experience and better understand what doesn't work and what does.

Reach Out to Kristen:

https://www.instagram.com/kristen.westcott/

https://www.kristenwestcott.com/facebook

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenwestcott/

Book Recommendations:

The Work, by Byron Katie

Delivering Happiness, by Tony Hsieh

The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks

Let’s Talk

Looking for pricing support or interested in a partnership? Start here.

Connect on LinkedIn

Connect with me on LinkedIn for practical pricing insights, new episodes, and behind-the-scenes updates.

Why Pricing Feels So Hard

Curious why pricing feels so difficult? Explore the decisions behind confident pricing.