Instead of viewing your limited one-on-one time as an unscalable weakness, frame it as an extremely scarce resource. This fixed, low supply naturally drives up price. The goal isn't asking if a task is 'worth your time,' but setting a price that makes it worth your time.
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Mid-level performers often say yes to urgent, low-value client requests (like personally delivering a part) to show good service. Top performers delegate or decline, understanding that a two-hour task costs thousands in opportunity cost, far outweighing a hundred-dollar courier fee. This requires valuing your time at a high hourly rate.
Don't let your personal perception of what's 'expensive' limit your earning potential. Set your price high based on the value you provide. It is easy to lower a price that gets no buyers, but impossible to know if you could have charged more if you start too low. Never say no for the customer.
Proposing an outcome-based pricing model next to a high fixed-fee option forces the negotiation to focus on value, not cost. Even if the customer chooses the fixed fee, they're anchored on a much higher number and are less likely to negotiate it down significantly.
To set your price, ask clients what they would do if your service didn't exist. Their answer, like hiring a full-time employee, reveals the 'replacement value.' This figure provides a concrete benchmark for your pricing and uncovers powerful marketing language.
When prospects invest significant effort in a co-creation process, their brains justify the work by elevating the outcome's value. This cognitive bias reframes the solution from ordinary to extraordinary, making price a secondary concern.
Even if rarely purchased, a premium one-on-one offer serves as a powerful value anchor. Its high price tag transfers a degree of perceived value to your more accessible, scalable products. To work, you must confront the high price directly with prospects before offering a downsell.
When designing a premium service, prioritize reducing the time to value (latency). For affluent customers, time is more valuable than money. A promise to deliver the desired outcome in half the time is a far more persuasive selling point than a discount or greater magnitude of result.
Calculate your effective hourly income, then divide it by four. This number is your 'buyback rate'—the maximum you should pay someone per hour for a task. If you can delegate a task for less than this rate, you achieve a 4x return on your time, making delegation a financially sound decision.
A single hourly rate prompts a binary yes/no decision. Offering several packages changes the customer's question from 'Should I hire them?' to 'Which option is best for me?' This assumes the sale and focuses the decision on the method of engagement.
Instead of hiding price until the end of the sales cycle, be transparent from the start. Acknowledge if your solution is at the high end of the market and provide a realistic price range based on their environment. This allows you to quickly qualify out buyers with misaligned budgets, saving your most valuable asset: time.
