income

Is it Really Money you Want?

September 10, 2008 By Cara Lumen Leave a Comment

I’ve just finished going through my email and I’ve never felt so pushed and shoved in my life. All that hype about getting rich. This person made $100,000 in two weeks, that person became a bestselling author over night. And I stopped to think – is money all I really want?

No, In fact, money has never been a motivating factor for me – the joy of doing is.

How do you measure success?

For me success is about waking up every morning eager to get to my desk and work my business. It is about my creative Saturdays when I write for myself all day and maybe produce a product for my clients. It is the excitement that comes when I help a client breakthrough and create a new success. It is the joy of sharing ideas with my fellow entrepreneurs as we move our busyness forward.

Yeah, I want money. I want to feel valued and appreciated for what I do. But that’s not why I do it.

Up level your feelings of self-worth

As a metaphysician I believe we attract to us what we think. So how do I think about money in a way to attract it when I’m not very motivated by having money? It has everything to do with how I see myself. How much I value what I have to offer. I much I want to help others.

I need to stay in service and be certain I am continually helping others achieve their greatest success. I have to be willing to accept money when it comes, especially when someone offers to pay me more because they value what I have done… I have to value myself and my services enough to put a healthy price on them. Then I have to have the intention to attract clients and customers who love what I offer and can’t get enough of them. They also have the money to pay for it and willingly do so. That’s my ideal client.

And I have to keep producing services and products that express my values and my self-worth.

Raise your expectation

I recently filled out a questionnaire that asked me to name an income figure I would like for next year. I put in a wimpy amount because I couldn’t imagine a larger amount. I was all caught up in what I could see not what I could imagine. Why couldn’t I earn in the high six figures? The only person stopping me in my business is me – my attitude, my beliefs, my fears, my expectations.

The change begins with you

The success or failure of my business and my life resides solely on my own shoulders. It is in my actions, my choices, my interactions, my stubbornness, my generosity, my loner-ism or my outreach. My business is a reflection of who I am and how I see myself.

Write down the great things people say about you and start believing them. Get clear about where you can be in the deepest service. It’s going to be doing what you love to do because that’s what you are best at. Then go do more of it.

Money is a symbol, not the reward

If we were an ancient culture our wealth might be measured in horses or sheep. In others it may be the size of the roof over our head. In today’s world I personally have no concept of billions of dollars. I have to measure my success close up and personal.

A smile, a hug, a kind word? A well written article, a new idea for a workshop, an appreciative email from a client? A bill finally paid off, a new savings account opened? A trip to see family, a trip just because you can? A favorable earnings comparison with others, a new job title? How much you can give away? Who you can help?

They tell us in business to always find a way to measure your success so you know when you have achieved it. How do you measure your success? Is money really all you want?

Why You Are Worth More Than You Think You Are

August 25, 2008 By Cara Lumen 1 Comment

by Cara Lumen

It’s time to raise my prices. Why? Because I am worth more. I know more than I did a year ago. I have more experience than I did a year ago. I am more skilled in how I offer what I do.

So what’s stopping me?

Me.

It’s not about time

I have a web designer friend who sometimes says, "But it only took me an hour to do that." And I have to remind her to think what the value of her design is to her client. How many years it will be in place. How much income it will bring her. It’s not about how much time we take to do it, it’s about the value we give.

It’s not about money

Sure, there are people who spend time looking for the lowest price and pit vendor against vendor to save a few pennies. We have to let them be the judge of how best to use their time and resources. But each of us offers so much more than money and we must incorporate that added value in our pricing.

It is about the intangibles

You want to attract people who value you because they relate to you, because you understand their needs Look beyond the tangibles to place a value on the underpinning of the service you offer.

Reliable service has value

Never underestimate the value of offering reliable service. Only if you have wasted time waiting on someone to fulfill an order or create a project upon which others must act do you understand the full impact of reliable service.

If you get things completed when you say you will and if your back end system is efficient and fulfills orders on time, that is worth money to your customers and clients.

Understanding your clients’ market adds value

As you expand your own knowledge of your clients’ market base, you increase your value to them. Because of your knowledge of their competitors, your client will be miles ahead in their field. Think how that enriches the value of your offerings.

Strong project management adds value

Remember a time you had to work with someone who was disorganized? It was a mess. Things got lost, they didn’t get their work done and there was confusion even in the conversations you had. Huge amounts of time were wasted.

I’ve worked hard at my project management. I have a strong intake form that helps both my clients and me identify what is in place and what is missing that we need to develop. I developed a Coaching Call Prep Form that allows the client to report their weekly progress. It allows me to quickly tune in before a call to see where we left off and what we planned to do in the next call. I send them their weekly assignment right after each coaching call.

Strong project management keeps efficiency at a premium and saves both you and your client and money.

What your time is worth to satisfy your own financial objectives

This is not about anyone but you. What do YOU think you are worth? How does your financial math work out? How many hours do you need to spend with clients to meet your personal financial needs? How much time do you spend with marketing, with administration? How many hours are there that you want to work? How many do you not want to work? These are choices only you can make.

Do you just want to "get by?" Are you playing it "safe?" Or can you raise your vision and your expectations of what you would like to earn? Even if you are staying within your comfort zone at least move to the outer level and set your intention at least two steps beyond that. Growth is good. Higher expectations are good.

Giving wise counsel has more value than you can ever put a price on

My brain is worth more than my service. My brain things up fabulous ideas, it sees possibilities where others don’t, it recognizes the connection between one idea and another, it holds a vision of success for my clients.

What possible price can I put on that?

It is invaluable.

NEVER permit competitors, industry norms, or community norms to set YOUR prices.

Look at these intangibles. Give some thought to how much value they add beyond the time you spend with your clients. YOU decide what you are worth. Then find the kind of client or customer who has reason to accept your evaluation of that worth.

The Psychology of Pricing – How to Position Your Products to Sell

March 4, 2008 By Cara Lumen 2 Comments

In his article “Pricing tips for selling in a tough market” in the Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Clements presented pricing tips for the difficult housing marketing. Using this universal psychology of pricing I have translated his concepts to help you price your products to sell.

Make your first number count

Have you noticed how $4.99 looks like and feels like a lot less than $5.00? Manoj Thomas, a marketing professor at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management explains, “We read from left to right so we anchor our judgment on the first thing we see. We make that judgment in a fraction of a second.” A $99 home study course will look more affordable than a $100 one. A $124.75 teleclass series will feel like a better bargain than the same one at $125. Pay attention to number on the left. It’s the one your prospect will remember.

Make effective price comparisons

One study of price comparisons found that, if the left digits are the same, buyers will focus on the right hand numbers. Thus an ebook at $12.75 feels a lot more expensive than one at $12.54. Have you ever been on Amazon ordering a book from an outside source? The prices vary by only one penny, but you inevitably go for the cheapest one. We love bargains.

It also turns out that buyers perceive the discount to be larger if those numbers on the right are declining from two to one rather than from nine to eight. Go figure.

Sometimes comparisons get out of hand. Have you ever been on a sales page that says you are getting $3,572 worth of bonuses? I personally don’t need that much information, so it is a comparison that is not compelling to me. But if you tell me there is an Early Bird Special in which a $125 teleclass I’m considering is available for $99 I may jump on it. And you know what, that’s a 20% savings. Which number did you respond to—the dollar amount or the percentage amount? I’m a dollar and cents type of person but it doesn’t hurt to use both in your copy providing it’s a good percentage drop.

What is a reasonable price?

The best way to make a pricing decision has never been determined. There are guidelines, but no easy to apply rule. Obviously you want to be within the range your market dictates. When I priced my first ebook, a colleague said, “Oh well, you can always offer a discount.” I knew then that I had priced it too high. You may not be able to sell an ebook for $29.95 since you are probably sitting there with a bookshelf full of very informative hard cover business books that average $12 each. It’s very common to look at the amount of effort that went into creating your product and over price it.

Another decision is what your target market can afford. Eckhart Tolle prices his book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose at $7.70. In doing so he made it available to anyone who wants it. He wants to get his message out. And it will be since he’s an Oprah book club selection. Suze Orman felt so strongly about getting her message to women that for 24 hours she recently gave away a free PDF of her book Women and Money also through Oprah. If you have a book that you want to reach as many people as possible, keep it in a price range that will entice them.

Another consideration is that academics are used to paying more for a text book than the average reader. Research your market and stay within a reasonable price range for those you want to buy your product and services.

Do you want to convey quality or a bargain?

An interesting discovery about the psychology of pricing is that a round number will convey quality. A precise number will indicate a bargain. Vicki Morwitz, a marketing professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business says that’s because we associate precise numbers with lower-priced products. A precise number also indicates you have given a lot of thought to your pricing. Look at Amazon prices, the last two numbers are all sorts of un-rounded numbers – $14.37, $12. 64. It makes you feel like you are really getting a bargain because you assume they have arrived at those prices in order to be the lowest source for that product.

Make the discount easy to calculate

Make it easy for your buyer to relate to the price cut. If it is difficult to do the math, they will perceive the savings as small. A drop from $149.85 to $127.48 taxes anyone’s math skills. But with a drop from $149.85 to $129.85 you can see a $20 savings. And in a drop from $150 to $130 the $20 savings is extremely clear.

Instead of cutting prices, add bonuses

In my coaching practice I have two ways for people to pay for my major package. They can pay in two payments, or if they pay in one payment, they get a bonus of four of my ebooks that are related to what they will be doing in our coaching sessions. My reasoning? Every time a prospect pulls out her credit card, she has the opportunity to reconsider the purchase. Fortunately my shopping cart can automatically charge monthly payments but my clients have an opportunity for some valuable bonuses if they pay in full. What kind of added value can you add to your bundles?

Don’t stay married to your price

Price your product or service reasonably and if it doesn’t sell lower your price. If it rushes out the door, consider raising your price. You could easily do some split testing by having identical sales pages with different prices and send half your list to one and half to the other and monitor the results.

Give it time

It takes prospects as many as nine exposures before they purchase. That’s why building your list is vital to your success. An opt in list gives you permission to market. The prospects are willing to hear from you again. Through emagazines and special offer promotions, you will have time to speak to them often enough to build their trust and get ultimately them to purchase.

One last thought on information products

An information product is not your business, it is an adjunct to your business. It enhances your expert status, it lets people move up your marketing funnel. When people come to me for help in developing an information product, I make certain they have a strong name capturing system in place on a compelling web site with strong content that stimulates conversion. Laying that strong foundation is paramount to your success. Then you can create all the products you wish and use the psychology of pricing to position your products to sell.

Want to post this article in your emagazine? You may as long as the unedited article is printed in its entirety, and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps pro-active entrepreneurs translate their passion into a profitable presence on the internet with a minimum investment by using time, energy, information, and imagination. Through The Magnetic Marketing Method she offers innovative, inexpensive, and impactful ideas for internet marketing, content strategy, and signature product development. Her own information products are noted for their clarity and richness. Find more articles like this in The Success Magnets Emagazine at www.caralumen.com