Amanda asks:
I’m loving Plug & Play Pricing but I’m hitting a bit of a snag. I’m using the first pricing model and looking at the other people in my industry, but I want to set my prices higher than they do because I have a special process that I think makes what I do more valuable than what they do. But I’m afraid that customers won’t be able to get why my way is better and they will think I’m charging too much. How do you tell people that your service is better without coming off like a braggart?
Good question, Amanda.
There can certainly be a fine line between confidently selling yourself and coming off like a braggy-braggypants, especially when you’re trying to communicate what makes you awesome in your own copy, in first person.
Ideally, you don't want to put yourself in danger of skirting that line in the first place.
So, here are 5 options for you:
1. Show, don’t tell.
You can reveal a lot about the relative merits of your process by examples, case studies, and the results that applying your process creates without ever having to say anything qualitative about your own stuff. People can pick it up when the proof is in the pudding, so the more pudding you can show, the more proof they’ll see.
2. Don’t acknowledge the existence of competition.
One of the hallmarks of excellence is not comparing yourself to others. Simply do your thing, focus on what you’re best at, and don’t refer to other people unless it’s strictly necessary. (Usually, necessity comes when you’re comparing things you can measure, like features of your cell phone plan vs. competitors, but that’s not applicable to you here.) Also remember that your potential clients aren’t necessarily shopping around, comparing you to other providers like they would a cell phone. If they like what you’re offering, they like what you’re offering.
3. Educate on features and benefits.
The more depth you can provide about what’s inside your process, or inside the experience of working with you, the more little nuggets of value start piling up for the person who’s considering handing their money over to you. Tell them what they’re getting in the kind of detail they can appreciate. Again, don’t do this comparatively, do it absolutely. Tell me about the 11 herbs and spices that make your fried chicken delicious – don’t tell me you’re better than Popeye’s.
4. Testimonials go a long way to show other people your value.
Every picture of an actual human saying they liked working with you shows a new prospect that other people have been comfortable paying your prices. The more testimonials you have, the more you normalize your pricing, so even if you’re charging on the higher end, the social proof of those testimonials show that paying that price isn’t a weird event.
5. Branding. Visuals matter a lot.
This could be your overall branding (website, headshots, logo), or it could be the branding of individual items, like diagrams and pictures in your content or services page, or in anything they can download. Invest some extra oomph in your visual branding, and the experience will match up more easily with your higher pricing.
That’s what I’ve got. Again, great question, Amanda, and I’m glad you’re enjoying Plug & Play Pricing.
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