Have you done too many ‘discovery’ sessions that go on for over an hour, you’re giving everything you have, and you can tell that this person REALLY needs you…
Then when you tell them about the cost of working with you they say ‘ I really want to work with you, but I can’t’ afford it, how about you coach me for free and we’ll do a trade?’
It’s enough to drive you ROUND THE BEND.
You know that your work is good, and that you work with people who happily pay you what you’re worth. But somehow, you are still getting those potential clients that you want to help, but who seem to think a contra deal is OK.
You may be wondering why it seems easy for other people, to get paying clients onboard, but it’s not happening for you right now.
You see the thing is, if you do an ongoing contra deal/services swap/whatever you want to call it – it immediately devalues your brand & your product/service. Now, I’m not saying that offering a contra deal for a specific period of time can’t be a good way to get a client onboard, help with a short term cashflow problem, or simply get them out of a hole for a while, but it needs to be clearly described & understood what each party is getting & how long that agreement is for before payment resumes. And payment must resume, or the agreement terminated or reviewed. If you continue to offer your services for nothing, the relationship is built without value, and that never lasts long term.
But if you find that your discovery calls are ending with that contra request more often than not, there are 3 mistakes you may be making that are attracting clients who don’t want to pay you.
The Wrong Message
If you don’t have value added messaging, your messaging could be actually repelling the people with money. It’s like the difference between Primark & Prada. They don’t have the same messaging.
Be confident about your service and sell the sizzle. Make your message all about why people should work with you, not about the cost of working with you. Make your message about the value you bring to your clients. Make it all about that sizzle!
The Wrong Pricing
Don’t let the people who don’t want to pay you convince you that your price is too high.
It’s not.
Those people (who are not bad people, and they DO need help) have a mindset of ‘shopping at Primark’. But just because they want that, doesn’t mean that YOU have to be selling there.
So if you’ve felt like you’re currently underpriced, AND you have people saying ‘I can’t afford it’ - something is off. Take a look at your pricing. Would you pay what you are asking? If not, why not? Your pricing needs to be something you are totally confident in. If it isn’t – lets have a chat.
The Wrong System
You’ve tried creating FB groups, going into other people’s groups and posting till your fingers are about to fall off, getting on every platform from Insta to TikTok to Clubhouse and none of your actions are bringing you clients who can pay you.
Sound familiar?
First, don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all done it. But organic isn’t as effective as it used to be. Doing more of what you’ve been doing, that hasn’t been working…that’s not a good plan.
Who is your ideal client? Not sure? Click here – this might help.
Where do they hang out on social media?
Where are you getting the most engagement?
Instead of taking the scatter gun approach with your marketing, focus on who you want to talk to & where they are engaging with you. Stop selling and start adding value. Share your knowledge, build your credibility & focus on creating relationships before you start selling to people. If your system is about adding value, then you immediately change the game with regards to people expecting you to work for free.
So if your marketing feels broken, it probably is.
The good news is, you can fix it – and if you need help with that, book a mini session with me & let’s see where it takes you.
Then when you tell them about the cost of working with you they say ‘I really want to work with you, but I can’t’ afford it, how about you coach me for free and we’ll do a trade?’
It’s enough to drive you ROUND THE BEND.
You know that your work is good, and that you work with people who happily pay you what you’re worth. But somehow, you are still getting those potential clients that you want to help, but who seem to think a contra deal is OK.
You may be wondering why it seems easy for other people, to get paying clients onboard, but it’s not happening for you right now.
You see the thing is, if you do an ongoing contra deal/services swap/whatever you want to call it – it immediately devalues your brand & your product/service. Now, I’m not saying that offering a contra deal for a specific period of time can’t be a good way to get a client onboard, help with a short term cashflow problem, or simply get them out of a hole for a while, but it needs to be clearly described & understood what each party is getting & how long that agreement is for before payment resumes. And payment must resume, or the agreement terminated or reviewed. If you continue to offer your services for nothing, the relationship is built without value, and that never lasts long term.
But if you find that your discovery calls are ending with that contra request more often than not, there are 3 mistakes you may be making that are attracting clients who don’t want to pay you.
The Wrong Message
If you don’t have value added messaging, your messaging could be actually repelling the people with money. It’s like the difference between Primark & Prada. They don’t have the same messaging.
Be confident about your service and sell the sizzle. Make your message all about why people should work with you, not about the cost of working with you. Make your message about the value you bring to your clients. Make it all about that sizzle!
The Wrong Pricing
Don’t let the people who don’t want to pay you convince you that your price is too high.
It’s not.
Those people (who are not bad people, and they DO need help) have a mindset of ‘shopping at Primark’. But just because they want that, doesn’t mean that YOU have to be selling there.
So if you’ve felt like you’re currently underpriced, AND you have people saying ‘I can’t afford it’ - something is off. Take a look at your pricing. Would you pay what you are asking? If not, why not? Your pricing needs to be something you are totally confident in. If it isn’t – lets have a chat.
The Wrong System
You’ve tried creating FB groups, going into other people’s groups and posting till your fingers are about to fall off, getting on every platform from Insta to TikTok to Clubhouse and none of your actions are bringing you clients who can pay you.
Sound familiar?
First, don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all done it. But organic isn’t as effective as it used to be. Doing more of what you’ve been doing, that hasn’t been working…that’s not a good plan.
Who is your ideal client? Not sure? Click here – this might help.
Where do they hang out on social media?
Where are you getting the most engagement?
Instead of taking the scatter gun approach with your marketing, focus on who you want to talk to & where they are engaging with you. Stop selling and start adding value. Share your knowledge, build your credibility & focus on creating relationships before you start selling to people. If your system is about adding value, then you immediately change the game with regards to people expecting you to work for free.
So if your marketing feels broken, it probably is.
The good news is, you can fix it – and if you need help with that, book a mini session with me & let’s see where it takes you.