Your competitors are not your benchmark

I have seen it eight thousand times online. Business owners asking, what do others charge for XYZ? I understand this basic urge is to ensure you are staying in line with your competition, and that you aren’t overcharging or undercharging.

But it actually doesn’t matter what others charge.

What matters is that you have a price you are happy with, and an audience willing to buy from you.

So it isn’t about your competitor at all. It’s about your target market and your goals. You have to take both into consideration, otherwise, you might have some goals that are completely out of line with what your audience is willing to pay.

So where to start with pricing?

Figure out how much you want to make per annum and work backward. Reverse engineering your goal into monthly targets of what you need to sell makes it easier to digest and accomplish your annual income goal.

After you work out a rough price estimate of how much you will charge, then do some market research with your existing audience. These are the people with that you already have their attention, you already have some form of a relationship with them.

Jump on a few calls and quiz them about priorities, problems, solutions, and fees. It will give you some really great insight into what they value and where their struggles are.

But you might also find what you want to make and charge is totally misaligned with what your existing audience is willing to pay. This can be a bit of a cringe moment that can bring on the old friend's imposter syndrome, but don’t let it!

Instead, think of what changes you can make to attract your ideal audience that IS willing to pay the higher dollar figure. Think about the platform, messaging, packaging, and delivery. How can you attract your ideal customer? How can you package your services or products to make them extra attractive to this audience?

And here is a secret that I am going to share with you. If you haven’t done any work on your ideal customer. YOU HAVE TO. Today. Your growth and the future of your business depend on it. 

So next time you have the temptation to stalk a competitor or you find yourself on the sales page of another person in the same industry, comparing packages. Just know this is not a helpful task, it’s not a revealing task, and it’s not going to move you forward.

Spend time looking inwards rather than outwards, that time will be so much more beneficial. Evaluate your goals and your audience. Don’t look to your competitors to tell you what you need to be charging.

STRUGGLING WITH PRICING AND PACKAGING? THIS IS MY JAM. FEEL FREE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME TO LEARN HOW I CAN HELP YOU!