Your Fees Are Set. What’s Next?

Business transformation coach Gail Doby on building a solid foundation for your company

Three things you need for a successful sale: the right price, the right customer, and the right offering. If one of those elements is slightly off, you may not be able to close the sale or you may end up making little or no profit.

Let’s start with the first item. Getting your fees right goes beyond ensuring that your customer will be willing to pay for what you are offering. It makes sure you will earn enough revenue to cover your costs and meet your profit goal. It’s a balancing act between what the customer wants and what you want. If you haven’t yet mastered this step, we have a tool that will help. Text FEES to 38470 to get my exclusive (and complimentary) Easy Client Fee Calculator. You’ll never have to worry about how to set your fees again.

Having the right fee structure is only the beginning. You need all three legs of the business success stool to keep your company from toppling over. To craft the second leg, identify the right customer for your services and your fees. This will take some research.

“Don’t try to be all things to all clients and hope for the best.”

To identify your Ideal Client, narrow down your criteria. What types of projects do you want to do? In what revenue range? Who has the need and the resources to hire you? How can you engage them and make them aware of your services? By the same token, what types of clients do you not want to work with? Are there red flags to help you spot them quickly?

Bernhardt Furniture

“Once you’ve set your fees and identified your Ideal Client, you need a sales message.”

If you’ve done your homework well in identifying your Ideal Client, then you should have a pretty good idea of how to answer the first question. However, you need to translate the value of your services into language and reasoning that the client will understand and appreciate. Help them to envision how your services and solutions will make their life better or more ideal. Remember, in their minds they are not paying for a service, they are buying a result. They want reassurance they will get that result with what they are willing or able to pay.

“Once you have shown them “what,” show them “how.”

The answer to the second question is related to the first. Guide your prospects through the process of how you will deliver not just the result they are looking for, but an even better result than they might imagine. Be professional, respectful, and attentive to their wishes and concerns. Communicate clearly and calmly, and earn their trust.

At that point, all three legs of the stool will be in place, and closing the sale should be just a formality.

For more insights on how to succeed and grow your business, stop into one of our seminars at Spring Market. For topics, dates, and times, check out the Events section in mid-February. We look forward to seeing you in High Point.

About Gail Doby

Gail Doby, ASID, is a mentor, advisor and Co-CEO who is passionate about design, experienced in business, and on a mission to help you experience a quantum leap. Her firm Gail Doby Coaching and Consulting, and its sister company, Design Success University, have been coaching interior designers to make more profit and rapidly scale their businesses since 2008.