Life is very complex and most answers to pricing questions should be nuanced.
Especially since many times the right answer is “it depends”.
However, there are contexts and moments when we don’t have enough time for too many details and shades of grey.
Here are my straight, un-nuanced, short answers to the most common 7 pricing questions I have received and I have seen repeated in different shapes and forms.
How to handle questions about the rates on the first meeting?
Talk about budget examples or broad intervals of unit prices, but don’t ever give a price on the first discussion.
How can you differentiate yourself from the pool of competition out there?
By specialising and selling a very narrow set of services and skills.
Dealing with RFP/official tenders issued and overseen by procurement teams?
I would never completely ignore an RFP/RFQ, but I wouldn’t put too much effort and hope into it either.
Getting the right leads. How do you find them? Is there a way to discover them faster?
Yes, you can find them faster, if you have a clearly defined strategy, so you know what you’re looking for.
To survive it’s better to go narrow down to some niche, or do “everything”?
No discussion, go narrow.
How can we increase our rates during the negotiation stage?
Be careful not to break the little trust you have built, give the message as you would with an existing customer.
How to increase rates and maintain a healthy client relationship when you are already charging above market average?
All that matters in this situation is the customer’s willingness to pay and whether you can influence it or not.
May your pricing be right,
Manu
Inspired by this:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tt038-1-sentence-answers-15-most-common-questions-i-ray-j-green/