What to do When Someone Says, “You’re Too Expensive!”

Have you experienced that awkward moment when someone you’d love to help says “you’re too expensive”? They may continue with “the cost is higher than I expected”, or “I can get the same cheaper from another practitioner”.

Then comes the uncomfortable silence. Your heart sinks and you start to question your prices. It’s scary and frustrating but it’s something most of us face at some point running our own business.

Pricing is such a subjective area, one person’s cheap is another’s expensive. One client will put a huge value on your service, whereas another will see it as an extravagance, or think they can get better value elsewhere. Personally, I don’t see a massage as a treat, but a friend of mine has one every month and absolutely loves them. On the other hand, I see a huge amount of value in visiting my Osteopath regularly for an MOT.

Own and Acknowledge

You have put in a lot of time and money to be able to offer the services you do. To help you own your value, work out the cost and time it’s taken you to train and the ongoing costs and requirements for you being a practitioner. This will help you to reinforce your value to yourself if you feel a little wobbly about your charges.

You have set your prices to match the value you provide to your clients. Keep them written down and displayed somewhere so you can refer to them easily.

Don’t Justify

This is where you start rambling on, trying to justify your prices. How what you do is better and why you charge what you do, and it goes on, and on, and on.

Instead, say “you’re right, I’m not the cheapest” and wait for their response.

If they don’t see the value, you can always dig a little deeper to understand why. They may just have more questions before they make a decision. If they want your services but don’t have the budget right now, you could offer them other options.

It’s Okay Not Being The Cheapest

Not every client will work with you and that’s okay. Being the cheapest has a perceived value and you may be perceived as less effective, less experienced etc. as the more expensive options.

Part of your growth as a practitioner is to value what you do - the value that your experience brings and the results you provide.

Have Other Offerings

When I worked as a practitioner, I had a number of different options for ongoing support for my clients. There were free resources, some low-priced paid resources and then premium personal support. Having different options allowed my clients to access support whatever their budget and I was helping them as well as respecting myself.

As a chartered marketer helping holistic practitioners, I have a range of offers:

• Those who aren't ready to invest can join my email list and receive free resources and guides and they're welcome to access hundreds of articles on my website.
• My book 'Your Holistic Business Recipe' provides guidance on how to set up and run a holistic business.
• My masterclasses and courses are affordable ways to learn how to do specific things in your business.
• Or if you have the budget, you can have 1:1 coaching and mentoring from me.

Think about what you can offer people who aren’t ready to pay for your services and products. Do you have information on your website you can send them links? Do you give free talks they can attend?  This is where you can get creative.

If you don’t have anything yourself yet, are there useful videos or resources you can point them towards? Being helpful, even if it’s with information from others will reflect brilliantly on you. This person may never work with you but could still be a great ambassador for you.

Your Prices are Your Decision

Respecting your value doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible for the right reason. If you really want to work with someone and they genuinely can’t afford it, it’s your choice. You can decide to offer discounts or be flexible with your service, just make sure it’s for the right reason.

The last thing you want is to take on a client and feel you’re not being rewarded appropriately. This will cause you to feel frustrated, which will affect your ability to do your best.

If you're struggling with your pricing and what alternatives you can offer, book a discovery call with me and find out how I can help you.