What Should I Charge For My Services?

What should I charge for my services? Are my prices too high? Are they too low? Should I set my prices to match my competition?

These questions cross the minds of entrepreneurs from time to time, whether you’re just starting out or whether you’ve been in business for many years. I’ve highlighted 4 key factors to consider when setting your prices.

Ask Your Market – I believe that surveying your ideal client is a great way to get feedback on your prices. The trick here though is making sure that your questions are clear so that you receive the information you need to consider when setting your prices.

Your Cost of Doing Business – What are the costs involved in running your business? This is important because you want to make sure that your prices will cover your expenses. Some entrepreneurs base their prices off what others are charging that’s fine to use as a starting point but what if that price isn’t high enough to cover your expenses? This is an area that I’ll be covering in detail this Friday during my upcoming virtual day, How To Keep More Profits.

What You Want To Make – Beyond the cost of doing business, what would you like to be paid for the services you provide? What do you want to be paid for the value that you bring? This is often an area that many entrepreneurs overlook but you deserve to be paid for the value, knowledge and expertise that you bring.

Neiman Marcus vs Walmart – Which one do you want to be considered in the market and industry that you serve? Are you the low cost provider? Or do you want to be considered the high value, exclusive provider?

Remember, there’s a customer shopping for shoes at Neiman Marcus and there’s a customer shopping for shoes at Walmart. And both are making lots of money. There’s a client willing to pay for your services but you must first get very clear about the 4 factors above.