Why Your Clients Will Pay More

by Kendall SummerHawk

Published on this site: August 28th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

It's a fact. Clients will always pay you more than you realize. How do I know? Because price is not the be-all-and-end-all of why your clients hire you. It's usually third, even fourth on their list of important reasons why they'll choose your service over someone else's.

Let me get right to the point here. If you focus first on what matters most to your clients, the topic of price stays just that-a topic, not an issue.

Here are 3 things your clients care about more than price (hint: focus on over-delivering on each of these and price will rarely, if ever, keep a client from hiring you):

• Quality
  
  Quality seems to come up often when you're talking about a product but rarely when it's a service. But why not? Quality counts no matter what your business!
  
  What are the quality indicators your clients want with a service like yours? For example, in my business, quality indicators are the high value of the information I provide. Do my courses and products actually deliver results? Is my information somehow different, or presented differently than information on the same topic offered elsewhere?
  
  Obviously, the answer has to be 'yes!' to satisfy my clients'idea of quality.
  
  What indicators of quality are your clients most concerned with? List at least three right now.
  
  
• Service
  
  Is your service easy to understand and use? If you offer support, is it fast and friendly? These may seem like no-brainer points to make but unless you take a good look at how you stack up in the area of service, you might be missing an important opportunity to come through ahead of your competition in the eyes of your clients.
  
  For example, my website developer, Kevin of http://www.AcornCreative.com and his team (thanks Renee!) did an outstanding job at meeting my tight goal-line with my website makeover. Every phone call and email was answered promptly. Fixes were handled promptly. I knew where I stood every moment of the project. I felt like their only client for the week's duration of my project. I loved it!
  
  Where can you be as prompt and effective answering questions and serving your clients? No matter how good a job you're already doing, there's at least one area you can strengthen. Choose the area that means the most to your clients, not to you.
  
  
• Delivery
  
  Your clients are paying you to deliver a result. Period. So how quickly, easily, efficiently, nicely, excitingly, can you make good on your delivery promise? No one likes to wait these days, least of all a client. When you deliver what they need, when they need it, they love you!
  
  For example, in my HorseWise Brilliance Unbridled program my clients want a way to stand out from the crowd but they have no idea how to do that. I make sure in the 3-day retreat that we create their brand. Plus we create a starter list of simple ways to immediately cause their clients to sit up and take notice.

I promise they'll achieve their brand and by the end of the second day I see the looks of astonishment and delight light up their faces because they have it and they can't believe how easy it was!

Where can you excel at delivering your service? Think better, faster, easier. What can you tweak to come through in the areas of quality, service and delivery? These are the bells and whistles your clients care about and will happily pay for, every time!

Kendall SummerHawk, the "Horse Whisperer for Business" delivers smart, savvy ways entrepreneurs can turn their hectic business into a smooth-running, fun, 6-figure money-making dream. To learn more about her book, Brilliance Unbridled, and sign up for more free tips like these, visit her site at: http://www.kendallsummerhawk.com