James Doan - Just Minding My Own Business

Because I dislike feeling inept, I generally wait to try out new technology until I need it. On occasion, I find myself dealing with a company or person who assumes I've mastered a tech skill that I haven't. They think everyone knows it backwards and forwards. To me, though, it's a daunting challenge.  I understand how feeling intimidated can be a barrier to buying something. It can hold someone back from using a product or service to its fullest.   Intimidation comes up with many other elements besides technology.

Don't commit one of these 5 common pricing mistakes: 1. Pricing your services in the same manner as everyone else. When most folks go into business, they look all the others in the business. , They examine their contracts and what they are delivering. Then they model THEIR services after what they see. What they don’t realize is that what they’re doing is building a commodity-base business. Their service looks, sounds, acts and costs like everyone else’s. Then they wonder why they get shopped on price. Dumb.

 "I've never lost a client," a seasoned entrepreneur once told me in a proud declaration. To her astonishment, I explained that it was that very pride stifling her growth and keeping her income down. Clients she'd taken on when she was new were reluctant to pay the much higher fees she could charge once she had lots of experience. I've seen others run themselves ragged to please clients who expected them to meet unrealistic deadlines. They wound up sacrificing evenings and weekends.

We all want to charge a premium for our work, but to do so, you must definitely be able to answer this one question: The Ultimate Pricing Question: “Why should I buy from you over any other business offering similar security services?”  If you don’t have the answer for this question, you better get it! Some advice… Go to the drawing board and determine what you are providing for the money. Do you have a better deal to offer? If not, then work on IMPROVING what you’re offering. Make it worth more based on what customers want, NOT what you think is valuable (a critical point...don’t miss it).