Smart Marketing Means Higher Earnings

 
What's the best way to increase your earnings? Smarten up your marketing plan! Effective and sensible marketing can do wonders for your earning potential. The key is to market your services in a way that makes your clients want to pay top dollar!

Whether you want to enjoy a better lifestyle, buy an expensive car, take more vacations, spend more time with your family, send your children to college, or simply become a philanthropist, you could always use more money. 

If you provide services for clients, your main limitations on earnings are your operating costs and the number of hours in each week.

Most professionals already work well over 40 hours a week, so working more hours to increase earnings isn't really an option. You need to find ways to work less while earning more. How? By marketing smarter while realizing higher profits!

Here are a few tips for increasing your earning power:

• Never discount the fees for your services. Have you ever heard of a Dentist or Accountant offering a 25% discount on their hourly rate? When you offer a discount or reduce your regular rates, you're sending a message to potential clients that your services really aren't worth what you're asking. 
  
  Once your clients realize that your fees have been discounted or are negotiable, you'll always be fighting a major battle to get paid what your work is worth. Never offer discounts and your clients will understand that they're expected to pay the asking price for your services.
   
• Overcome your clients' price objections. Potential clients will always inquire about your fees before they understand the benefits provided by your products and services. Quoting prices is meaningless until your prospects can put the fees into the context of the results they can expect. 
  
  It's a good sign when prospects question your pricing!  It indicates a sincere interest in procuring your services and a need to comprehend the value you provide. While you could list all the benefits of your services, if you really want to make the sale, it's much more effective to let your prospects sell themselves. 
  
  Clients' perceptions of value aren't based on how much they 
  pay, but on whether their expectations will be met and the 
  benefit they will receive in exchange for paying your fees.
  
  Don't get stuck on the rates you charge per hour. Instead, help your potential clients define the monetary benefit of your services. 
  
  When prospects ask about your price, respond simply by asking questions of your own to help them fully understand for themselves the problem they want solved, the cost of the problem, the solution they need, and how you can effectively help them.
  
  Prospects are turned into clients when they think their expectations will be met. Let them define their own expectations, and they'll be far more likely to sell themselves when you finally explain your pricing at the end of the conversation.
   
• Demonstrate that you're an expert in your field. You can differentiate yourself from the competition by writing 
  articles that regularly provide insight and ideas to your 
  prospects and clients. Use expert positioning and consider raising your prices.
   
• Avoid charging hourly rates. Unless you offer hour-long tennis lessons, charging by the hour will surely limit your earning potential.
  
  If you charge by the hour, you lose money if you work efficiently or if you know a shortcut to finishing the job. Prospects will always negotiate with you on the number of hours they want you to work, undermining your ability to put in the time needed to fully meet their expectations. 
  
  Clients want results. Help them understand and clarify the results they're looking for and then set a project fee for accomplishing those results. Make sure your contract allows you to adjust your price in the event that the project changes in mid-stream.
   
• Always use value-based pricing! You can pay anywhere from $30 to over $5,000 a night for a hotel room. Both provide a roof over your head, a bed, and your own bathroom, so why do some people willingly pay over 150 times more for one than the other? 
  
  People make purchasing decisions based on their perception of the value provided. If they understand the true value provided by your service or product, they may be willing to pay quite a bit more than you're currently charging. Closely examine the results you provide for your clients and reassess your fees.
   
• Leverage your time and money for maximum earnings. Like most service professionals, you have a limited amount of time and money to spend on marketing. A large amount of your time is spent on delivering services.
  
  Is your marketing helping you earn higher fees? Do your prospects understand the unique value provided by your work? If not, take a look at the way you're positioning your business and adjust it to clarify your value to clients.

Charlie Cook is a top marketing professional. He offers practical marketing tips at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/.

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