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In Practice: Juliet's Marketing Wisdom:
Are You Charging
What You’re Worth?
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by Juliet Austin |
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The topic of fees and money in general is often a taboo subject amongst Therapists, Holistic Counselors, Alternative Health Practitioners and others in the healing arts. There is a belief that holds that because you are called into a profession that provides healing services to others, that it is somehow unethical, unspiritual or even greedy to think about what you are getting from the experience.
The problem is if you don’t identify and eliminate beliefs that tell you it’s not appropriate to charge what your worth, you will never be successful in your business.
If providing healing services is a hobby or a way of picking up a little extra money on the side, then what follows in this article does not apply to you. However, if you are serious about having a successful business in the healing arts, you should continue reading. Either you are running a business, or you are not. And if you are, there are certain things you must do if you want to be successful and charging what you are worth is one of them.
5 Beliefs that Hinder Your Ability To Charge What Your Worth
1. I Shouldn’t be Concerned About Money as I Love the Work I am Doing
As mentioned above, many practitioners in the healing arts feel they are providing a service to humankind that they should do out of the goodness of their hearts. Sometimes this is an explicit belief and sometimes it’s more implicit in that healers don’t fully realize they hold this belief or how it is holding them back. Part of the problem is that many healing professions have been plagued by this kind of thinking so it’s not surprising that healers end up internalizing it.
Providing a healing service helps others live happier and healthier lives and this is certainly a valuable service to offer to the world. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get paid appropriately for what you do. Earning a healthy income and providing a valuable service to humanity are not mutually exclusive. If you are holding a limited belief about this, you need to find a way to change it—and fast if you care about your success!
2. My Clients Can’t Afford Higher Fees
While it is true that some clients will not be able to afford your fees, “being able to afford” something is often a matter of what is called “perceived value” in the marketing field. Just because someone says they can’t afford something, doesn’t mean they can’t. It is often a case of them not full understanding or appreciating the value of what you are offering so they decide it isn’t a priority for them.
I am sure you have met many people who earn an excellent living, who claimed they couldn’t afford your services. On the other hand, there are people that are truly scraping by financially and yet, find a way to pay for your services. If your service is important to someone and they perceive it to be valuable and able to help them, they can often find the money.
If you continuously find that your potential clients are telling you they can’t afford your fees you might want to think about how you are articulating the value you provide. However, if it truly is the case that you are marketing to people without sufficient funds to hire you, perhaps it’s time to find a way to market to a different audience.
3. There is Too Much Competition in My field
While it is a reality that there is a growing competition for those offering services or products in the healing arts, increased competition is not necessarily bad for your business. In fact, more competition actually increases public awareness of the value of healing services and alternative health products, which can mean more business for you in the long run.
Another problem inherent in this belief is that many in the healing arts don’t have a focused niche audience that they market to, nor do they have a clear and well-articulated marketing message. It doesn’t matter what kind of healing arts business you are in or how much competition there is, there are people offering similar services and products that are getting paid what they are worth and sometimes even have more clients than they can handle! These professionals have learned how to market effectively and the first step in doing this is having a marketing message that stands out from the crowd. The more unique and compelling your services sound, the more people will be willing to pay you.
4. I can’t Charge More Than Others in My Field
Similar to believing that there is too much competition in your field is the belief that tells you that you have to charge the same fees as what others are charging for similar services. Again, it’s a matter of perceived value. People often will pay higher fees if they think it’s worth it to them. If you can show that you are worth the fees you are asking, the price often won’t be an issue for people.
Charging more than others gives the perception that you must be better than others at what you do. People do want to feel that they are hiring the best and are often willing to pay for services they believe to be exceptional.
5. I am not Skilled Enough To Charge More for My Services
Many healing professionals worry that they are not “good enough” to really charge appropriately for their services. If you have done sufficient training and/or have adequate experience in your field, how can you really believe that you are not skilled enough? Of course you need to always be improving and updating your skills to stay competitive but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be charging what you are worth now.
You do need to feel confident in what you are charging or your prospective clients will pick up on your uncertainty and lack of confidence and will also feel you are not worth your fee. Furthermore, if you have an amateur looking and non-compelling website or otherwise don’t present yourself professionally, you will have difficulty getting paid the fees you want to be paid. It you don’t value yourself or the services that you offer enough to present yourself appropriately, how can you expect others to?
On a closing note, it is important to mention that although you should be charging what you are worth, there is nothing wrong with consciously choosing to lower your fees for certain clients. The key here is choice. If you choose to offer lower rates at times, make a decision in advance as to how and when you will reduce your fees. For example, perhaps you decide that you will carry 2 pro bono clients at any given time. Or maybe you will lower your rates 25 or 50% for a set number of clients who really seem to want your services, but truly can’t afford to pay.
In summary, you need to remember that keeping your fees low only devalues your services, giving the impression that you are not good at what you do. If you are frustrated because you are not yet getting paid what you are worth perhaps its time to examine your beliefs.
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Juliet Austin, MA
Marketing Coach, Consultant & Copywriter
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Juliet Austin has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and worked as an educator, researcher and counselor for over 20 years.
In the late 90's Juliet completed a career change into the field of marketing when she Graduated from CoachU, The Institute of Life Coach Training and became a member of the School of Coaching at Coachville. Juliet also completed numerous courses and classes on marketing, Internet marketing and website copywriting and promotion.
She is a member of several professional organizations including The International Association of Coaches, The Canadian Counselling Association, Healers in Business and The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.
As a Marketing Coach, Consultant and Copywriter, Juliet assists healing professionals and socially responsible business owners who are struggling to attract clients or sell their products. She helps her clients in overcoming resistances to marketing, develop and implement no or low-cost marketing strategies for both on and off the Internet, write compelling website copy and promote their websites.
Juliet writes for several publications both on and off the Internet. Her articles have appeared in publications in Canada, the US and in Australia. In addition, she is also co-author with Sue Bond of the ebook: How To Become A Coach: A Guide for Therapists and Counselors.
Juliet also leads workshops and teleclasses on various marketing topics for those involved in the spiritual, metaphysical and healing arts.
Assisting healing professionals in marketing a practice has become a creative and intellectual form of self-expression for Juliet. Being an ideas person who thrives on change and variety, she is constantly developing new projects. Her ongoing quest for knowledge as well as the passion she has for marketing and her work with her clients ensures that she stays current with cutting-edge on and off-line marketing methods.
Juliet is the author of the Free Report, " 67 Surefire Ways To Attract Clients" which you can get at:
www.julietaustin.com
For more information about Juliet's services, visit her website at:
www.julietaustin.com
or one of her blogs at:
www.marketingaprivate
practice.com
and:
www.websitedesignand
promotion.com
Juliet can also be reached at:
604.730.1838
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