Some people have little difficulty attracting and maintaining clients who have higher discretionary funds to spend for solutions. Others can't get to first base. If you are one of those and want clients that can pay more and you currently aren't attracting them, here is a list of 10 barriers that might be interfering.Higher paying clients are easier to work with, appreciate your work more, pay quicker and are more profitable.
Whenever I am asked by a independent profession how to get a client to pay more money,
first answer tends to be "you can't." It is very difficult to raise your rates with your existing clients. You generally need to find new, higher- paying clients.
1. Equal stature. People usually take
time to listen to people who are just as important as they are. Are you on their listening level? Dress
way they do, even if you deal with them only over
phone. Speak in their language. Show
same type of authority and posture. Avoid jargon and words they aren't familiar with, yet use ones that they are. Talk across or equal not down or up. Take control of
relationship. This may seem to aggressive, however, this is
way you raise yourself to their equal.
2. Thoroughly know their challenges and what solutions your service/product provides.If you can't relate to their "world" then they will not let you in. They are proud of their "world" because they made it so.
3. Be friendly with all those that surround them. Administrative secretary, receptionist, any of their gatekeepers. Yes, they will report about you on your behavior.
4. The higher
ladder you go,
more likely they will be a visionary. This means they are more concerned about
future and will talk and think in those terms. Visionaries are not price sensitive so don't even place that on your radar screen with them. Know what their visions are, support those visions in any way you can. If you have a product or service that can make their business better, you will have a sale. Remember though, it's their perspective of "better" and not yours.
5. The higher you go,
more they expect in great service and additional services outside
scope of what you provide everyone else.
6. ALWAYS keep your promises before an after
sale and they will keep
relationship. Break it once, yes, usually just once and you're history.