Art Of Value

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The Value of Social Media with Mojca Marš – 079

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Mojca Marš is a social media consultant who founded her own consultancy, Super Spicy Media. She resides in Slovenia and works with customers worldwide. She started out as a copywriter at an advertising agency and is proud to say she wears a dinosaur one-sie.

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Raising Your Rates

  • What is the most important thing you can share about pricing?
    • Raising your rates is something you can do on a regular basis.
    • She initially charged a fixed price, but it was a low one.
    • When she became faster at getting better results, she gradually began to raise her prices.
    • As she is building her own brand, there are people who only want to work with her and she can charge higher prices because of it.
    • She was busy enough to offer to schedule with prospects 3 months later or refer them; they chose to wait and pay a higher price.
    • She built her personal brand through Twitter with the dinosaur onesie pictures and her unique view of life.
  • What was the business model you implemented to double your income?
    • It was a very basic model, as she was not familiar with business plans.
    • She charged low prices to get customers, but she raised them over time.
    • Once she started creating more value for her customers, she raised the prices and her customers had no problem with it.
    • She raised her price 200% for a new customer and got it.
    • She has consistently raised her rates.
    • She read Brennan Dunn‘s book, Double Your Freelancing Rates, to learn about value pricing.
    • She sought out – intentionally – different people with the same mindset.
    • Jonathan Stark, Kai Davis, and Philip Morgan all connected with her on Twitter and that is where she learned more.
    • You will stumble upon people who tell you to charge by the hour, but she gets higher value from those who are not.
    • Before she got fired from her advertising agency, she got paid by the hour and thought it was stupid.
  • Why do you publish your consulting prices on your website?
    • She wanted to cherry pick the people who want to work with her.
    • Publishing the rates helps her weed out the companies that cannot afford her or had low budgets.
    • She productized Super Spicy Sessions at a lower rate.
    • When prospects contact her now, they know what to expect price-wise.
    • Currently, she does not go above the posted range, but she tailors the packages and prices per customer's needs.
    • She has one customer who has been with her over a year, but usually she works with a customer for 1-3 months and then provides a detailed strategy for them to continue on their own.
    • Providing the price for the lowest level of engagement allows her to charge higher prices.
    • If the customer wants to do a “test drive”, they are able to hire her for a Super Spicy Session to see how she works; she does not do it for free.
    • The initial customers she was working with at very low prices were the worst.
    • The customers who pay her higher rates now recognize the value and are better customers.
    • You can make more money with less work by focusing on value, creating a win-win situation and making work fun.

Social Media Conversations

  • What are the steps in your sales process?
    • The prospect contacts her via Twitter or through email.
    • Initially, they would email back and forth and then write a proposal, which was time- and effort-consuming.
    • Now, she schedules a 15-minute Skype call and asks them questions.
    • Based on their answers, she provides options in an email with a brief description.
    • The email is very goal-oriented with options that suit the prospect's business.
    • Her ROI is much better now that she talks to the customer.
    • She pushes them to acknowledge their problems in the call and puts them into the mindset so she can help.
    • During the call, she drops knowledge bombs, which create value for the customer, to convince them to hire her.
  • What is one of your favorite questions to ask during a value conversation?
    • What is the most painful problem you have with your social media profiles?
    • The customer may need a little prodding to dig deeper to answer the question.
    • Once they dig deep, they often acknowledge that the problem is much bigger than they originally thought.
  • How can social media increase sales for a business?
    • If you are a freelancer or consultant, you can establish your personal brand via Twitter to increase your sales and prices.
    • Brand awareness helps people notice you and your offers.
    • Paid advertising is a way to ramp up your sales, like with Facebook ads.
    • She uploaded her email list to Facebook, and created an ad, offering a lower price if they purchased her book before it was published; she got a 300% return.
    • Companies these days are not creating value for their followers; they just promote themselves.
    • Teaching people and creating value will develop a bigger following.
    • Gary Vaynerchuk wrote Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, that talks about how you have to give before you take or sell.

ROI from Social Media

  • How should a business measure the impact of social media?
    • Gary Vaynerchuk's video talks about what is the ROI of your mother to explain how to measure social media's impact.
    • You need to know how to use Facebook properly to get the ROI.
    • Sharing promotional posts will not get you what you want.
    • You have to nurture the followers first.
    • Once you are in the selling mode, you will be able to sell much easier because you gave so much.
    • The most important social network for your business depends on your business.
    • Facebook has a wide reach and is a good starting point for all companies.
    • Twitter is a great resource for software companies.
    • You can target your audience more specifically on Facebook than on Twitter.
    • The targeting is so precise that it is a little scary, but it can give you a great ROI.
    • Social media is evolving by the day, so there is not anything that is “hot” right now.
    • Companies and freelancers are not focusing on paid advertising, even though it is very inexpensive on Facebook.
    • Brennan Dunn has a great article on Facebook ads.
  • What is one of your best stories about creating value for a customer?
    • An advertising agency was doing a Facebook advertising campaign for a customer.
    • The agency was not able to meet the ROI they promised to their customer, so they contacted her for paid advice to keep that customer.
    • She provided another option, to modify the advertising campaign over the weekend for a fixed price.
    • Up until they had spoken to her, during the first 3 weeks of the campaign, they had reached 20% of the preset goals.
    • After she modified the campaign, the end customer was able to get 15,000 likes within 5 days to meet 50% of the preset goals.
    • The agency ended up surpassing their goals.

About Mojca Marš

The Story of My Pricing Journey with Carrie Dils – 054

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Carrie Dils is a WordPress developer and business consultant, a recommended Genesis developer by StudioPress, and an author of WordPress training courses at Lynda.com. Personally, she is a lover of rescue dogs and a craft beer connoisseur.

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Getting Started in Web Development

  • What is the most important thing you can share about pricing?
    • Every time she has raised her rates, she has increased the quality of her customers.
    • By charging higher rates, she attracts a different kind of customer – one who values her as a consultant, not just a technologist.
    • People who are at lower price points tend to not value the business side.
    • They are not looking for a business solution; they are looking for the lowest price to execute a specific task.
  • Can an NDA have a negative impact on the customer relationship?
    • An NDA can start off with an adversarial relationship with the customer.
    • Requiring an NDA demonstrates a lack of trust.
    • You cannot create high value if there is not trust.
    • The spirit behind asking for an upfront NDA is the equivalent to asking for a prenup before you go on a first date.
  • How did you get started as a web developer?
    • After college, she only knew graphic design and a little HTML.
    • She was a freelancer and worked on banner ads for KLTY in the late 90s.
    • Carrie did not like cubicles and left the corporate world behind, thinking she would start her own coffee shop.
    • She learned she did not want to open a coffee shop after working as a barista at Starbucks.
    • From there, she started freelancing as a web developer.

Pricing for the Web Developer

  • How did you price projects when you were getting started?
    • Initially, she was at a loss for how to charge.
    • She threw a number out there – $50/hour.
    • If no one tells you that you are too expensive, then you are not charging enough.
    • She pushed her hourly rate upward until people said she was too expensive.
    • The frustration of running out of time inspired her to search for another possibility rather than billing by the hour.
    • She moved to a flat-fee quote.
    • She is dipping her toes into the area of value pricing.
  • What were the advantages and disadvantages of quoting a fixed price?
    • “Scope” can be a scary word.
    • If you guess what a project will take and quote based on that, without digging into the scope, you can lose.
    • When you scope a project up front (discovery, road mapping, needs analysis), your customer can invest at a lower dollar amount.
    • At the end, the customer gets a document of what the core issues are and what the goals/outcomes need to be.
    • The document is educational and enlightening to the customer.
    • There is a comfort factor by starting that way so that the customer trusts you.
  • What is the difference between recommending a solution vs. technology?
    • If you are talking about what to develop, they will tend to go toward technology.
    • If you are talking about why, they will tend to go toward a solution.
    • Curtis McCale shared his initial prospect email with Carrie, that has three simple questions:
      • Why now?
      • What does success look like?
      • What is your budget?
    • Those three questions allow your customer to think more critically about his project.
    • From a comfort standpoint, it is a benefit to your customer to believe that they are not locked into the entire process with the consultant.
    • Due to purchasing requirements, the customer has to send out an RFP and can use your road mapping document to do so.
    • The IT Smile Curve by Ed Kless demonstrates that road mapping and delivery are where the value of a project is.
  • Where are you succeeding in your value pricing journey?
    • She is doing a good job with consulting:
      • Asking good questions.
      • Engaging in great conversations.
    • She is struggling with connecting the dots between the value from the consulting and the price being charged for the product.
    • She has pushed her numbers on the fixed price, but she is not basing her price on what value the project delivers.
    • She sees her journey as an evolution and appreciates that it does not have to be all-or-nothing.
    • Curtis used a weekly billing rate for a while and Carrie tried it out. It caused unnecessary anxiety for the customer.
    • You have to try things out, experiment and see what works.
    • Ed Gandia was also value pricing and did not realize it.
    • The History of the Billable Hour is an eye-opening episode, to realize from where the practice came.

Adding Value Through Accessibility

  • How did you land your training gig with Lynda.com?
    • When she left Starbucks, her dad bought her a subscription to Lynda.com for her birthday.
    • She learned WordPress from Morten Rand-Hendriksen.
    • In 2013, she was at WordCamp (community event for WordPress “nerds”) and met Morten.
    • Several months later, Morten recommended her to Lynda.com.
  • What is the value of accessibility to a website owner?
    • Web accessibility is the idea that your content is accessible to anyone, regardless of the device being used to access the content.
    • You enable more people to consume your content and provide a greater opportunity to reach the customer.
    • Some people believe that web content should be more accessible because it is the right thing to do.
    • However, the business case for web accessibility is that you have a more cutting-edge website.
    • A website that looks good on a mobile device is given priority over sites that are not on Google.
    • US government sites, as well as other countries, require accessibility.
    • For example, inserting the image ALT tag for screen readers provides an alternate description of the image.
    • Podcasts without transcripts prohibit the deaf from getting your content.
    • The business benefit is that Google likes transcriptions.
  • What is one of your best stories about creating value for a customer?
    • Carrie enjoys maximizing impact by doing something that can be used repetitively to be helpful, like her episodes on Lynda.com.
    • They continue to deliver value to people's lives, despite being a one-time investment on her part.
    • The lasting value has been personally fulfilling to Carrie.

About Carrie Dils

The Real Goal of Value Pricing with Ben Furfie – 049

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Ben Furfie is a web designer who specializes in front-end development. Business wise, he focuses on lead generation for small to medium size businesses. Technology wise, he uses WordPress and the Genesis framework. He started out as a writer and then began to pick up the technology while working on magazine projects. He recently spoke at WordCamp in London on value pricing.

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First Exposure to Value Pricing

  • What is the most important thing you can share about pricing?
    • There has been an explosion of people becoming interested in value pricing, especially in the WordPress space.
    • They are misinterpreting the purpose of value pricing as a way to increase their prices.
    • The real purpose of value pricing is that it enables you to match your price with what the customer can afford and where they see the value of the investment.
    • In the first 3-6 months, there is a significant jump in what you charge.
  • What was your first exposure to value pricing?
    • His sales director was taking a value price approach, but he did not realize it initially.
    • He did not understand it as “value pricing”, just as a good way to price services.
    • He realized what it was called in August 2014 when he listened to the Art of Value Show per a recommendation from Carrie Dils.
    • He knew the concepts and not to use hourly billing, but he was not using real value pricing concepts.
    • He started with project-based fixed pricing.
  • Why did you decide to implement value pricing?
    • He recognized it as the model his former boss had been using.
    • That company had won a large project on the basis of a value-based presentation.
    • The key point of the proposal was to reduce the cost of visas, staff, accommodations, and food.
    • They replaced onsite IT staff with remote management with the same benefits.
    • It improved the quality and reduced costs.

The Rewards of Value Pricing

  • What have been some of the rewards from value pricing?
    • The first customer he value-priced wanted a new website.
    • He quoted the site and the customer another provider whose price was half of Ben's.
    • The customer called back after their website was hacked.
    • He learned about their pain points and why they wanted the site to get an idea of the value.
    • He tripled his initial price, and the customer accepted it because the customer saw the website as a way to create leads instead of a cost.
    • He explained that it was not the price, but a percentage of the return they were expected to receive.
    • To get results, they needed to invest.
  • What has been the range of customer reactions to value pricing?
    • He has won deals he did not think he would.
    • He has left money on the table.
    • He has lost deals when the price was more than the competition.
    • Value pricing should be bound by the value of the results.
    • When he reduced the price to try to win a deal, he still did not win the project.
    • He learned from the mistake by analyzing aftward, discussed with his girlfriend and colleagues and realized the price was out of sync with the competition, despite proving the value.
  • What are some of the factors you consider when setting a price?
    • Ask to who else are they are speaking.
    • Some will answer; others will not.
    • If you can understand your competitors, it will help with the pricing.
    • If he learns there are RFPs being put out, he will not submit a bid.
    • Make sure you are talking to the decision makers and know who has sign-off on the project.
    • Going through a purchasing department can kill a project. Ben prefers to work with small to medium size businesses to lower the bureaucracy.
    • Look out for red or orange flags.
    • If the customer describes himself as a DIYer, it is an orange flag.
    • How much pain is this customer going to create? Prices are usually higher for high-maintenance customers.
    • Do they have content? If not, it is a red flag, and they need to talk about how to make that happen. It could increase the price.

Discovering the Customer's Value

  • What are some of the value questions you like to ask a customer?
    • His magic question is why.
      • Why now?
      • Why did you not do it six months ago?
      • Why are you not doing it six months from now?
      • Why are they looking to do the project at all?
    • Any permeation of the question “why” that gives you greater understanding of the value they are seeking.
    • You can even ask, “Why me?”
    • The more information you have, the more you will understand the value.
    • Look for easy wins.
    • How are you planning to measure the value you are capturing from the project?
    • If the customer is willing to have the conversation, it is more likely you can help them.
  • How do you respond when a customer resists a value conversation?
    • He channels Curtis McHale.
    • If the customer is not willing to have these conversations with you, then it probably is not a good fit.
    • The power of “no” is real.
    • Find out budget and timing if possible.
    • With more information, you can recommend a better alternative to do their project.
    • Decide if the customer is someone you can turn around or not.
  • What are some of the questions you have heard about value pricing?
    • Does it work?
    • Do I believe my lies?
    • A lot of people believe they do not create value.
  • What is one of your best stories about creating value for a customer?
    • With a previous customer, there were some major changes in the way the industry worked.
    • They have been able to capture more and better leads from the history of the searches.
    • They have been able to stabilize the company and have kept two people employed in an industry where they cannot grow.

About Ben Furfie

Clarity, Competence and Confidence with Kary Oberbrunner – 045

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Kary Oberbrunner left his day job to pursue his dream job. From that experience, he wrote his sixth book, Day Job to Dream Job. Because he has written six books, he now coaches authors through a program called Author Academy Elite. His next event, Escaping Shawshank, will be in August 2015 with Dan Miller.

The Three Cs

  • What is the most important thing you can share about pricing?
    • Pricing is a reflection of self-image.
    • You will never outperform your self-image.
    • You will never outprice your self-image.
    • If you see yourself as a “2”, you will not be comfortable charging higher prices.
    • Self-image is like a thermostat.
    • You will self-sabotage because you are not comfortable charging higher prices.
  • What is clarity, the first “C”?
    • Clarity is essential.
    • Clarity knows where you are going, what you value and represent.
    • Clarity is the accurate vision of yourself and your business.
    • Most customers want to see if you have clarity before they are willing to invest in you.
    • A customer wants to trust where you will take him.
    • Clarity is the outward reflection of the inner value.
    • Confidence comes when the external reflects the internal.
    • “What makes you think you are the next American Idol?” – Simon Cowell
    • Income follows as a result of clarity, competence, confidence, influence and impact – in that order.
  • What are competence and confidence (second and third Cs)?
    • Competence is the skill set that you achieve and bring to the relationship.
    • If you are competent, you have a mastery of a skill set.
    • If you have clarity and competence, you can still lack confidence.
    • False humility is when you lack confidence.
    • People will not buy if you do not have confidence.
    • Drive-through drill:
      • Think about yourself as a drive-through restaurant.
      • Someone asks what you serve.
      • You must quickly answer because confusion repels and clarity attracts.
      • Have a VPS (value proposition statement) ready.
      • As an example, Kary “ignites souls“.
    • After you have clarity, competence and confidence, you can gain influence, impact and then income.
    • Most people do not know what they can give others because they are too good at it.
    • When you share what is in your cup, you can have influence and make an impact.
  • What is the relationship between the three Cs?
    • On the return from a conference, Kary boarded a plane and sat next to a woman.
    • He focused on a project as he had a deadline.
    • The woman engaged him later in the flight, and they discussed writing books.
    • He asked how she was stuck, and he worked with her for the last hour of the trip.
    • Kary helped flesh out her book and did not charge her or sell her.
    • She thanked him and asked for his card.
    • She emailed him and at that point he offered to take the coaching to the next level.
    • She sent him $5000 without being invoiced or priced.
    • Jimmy Dean Sausage Strategy – give people a taste and work from an abundance perspective.

Taking Action

  • Why is the language we use important?
    • “The early bird gets the worm” is a story of scarcity.
    • There are a lot of worms out there.
    • You can share your wisdom in a collaborative way.
    • Thanking someone for their time is a poor use of language.
    • The result is worthwhile, not the time.
  • What is a one-sheet and how do you create one?
    • Take action; it will never be perfect.
    • As you act, clarity will come.
    • Questions to ask to create a one-sheet:
      • Who is the market?
      • What are you offering?
      • When? – Do not say TBA or “coming”. That is confusion.
      • Where?
      • Why?
      • How much? How will it happen?
    • Create just enough information to ask people to lean in and ask for more.
    • Have the discipline and ethics to follow through.
  • What are the types of guarantees?
    • Limited Time Guarantee (like Best Buy) – You can get a refund, but it needs to be quick. There are several rules to follow to get it.
    • Extended Guarantee (like Lowes or Home Depot) – Buy the appliance and see if you like it. If, after 90 days, you do not like it, they will come and pick it up.
    • Risk Reversal Guarantee (like Zappos) – Buy the shoes and wear them for a year in your house. If you do not like them, they will take them back.
    • Bad hires cost a company three times their annual salary, so Zappos offers a Risk Reversal Guarantee for employee training.

Market Before You Manufacture

  • What does it mean to “market before you manufacture”?
    • It is a philosophy, a mindset.
    • It is the minimal viable product (MVP).
    • In a content-creation space, you do not need to spend a lot of money to manufacture and then market.
    • A movie trailer sells to you before they manufacture.
    • A one-sheet is the vehicle to get your best thinking on paper before you manufacture.
    • When you get your first sale, someone says, “I believe in you.”
    • Sometimes, the first sale is to yourself.
    • Simon's question is a mirror. The new question, “Are you the next American Idol?” is not the same.
  • What is one of your best stories about creating value for a customer?
    • Early in his career, Kary left a comfortable job.
    • There was financial pressure when he went out on his own.
    • He met with a customer and listened.
    • He returned with a proposal and explained why it would help and what it would hurt if he did not act now.
    • He dated the proposal – always use an expiration date.
    • He took massive action to deliver outstanding value.

About Kary Oberbrunner

Pricing Tips From Real Estate with Casey Lewis – 019

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Casey Lewis is a consultant, helping people get out of debt. Additionally, he is a real estate agent. This episode shows his perspective on value in those areas.

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What is the most important thing you can share about pricing?

  • If you can't help solve a problem or add value, it is OK to walk away from a sale.
  • Sometimes the best way to serve a customer is to not serve them.

How does pricing work in residential real estate?

  • Real estate agents can charge the percentage they choose between the real estate brokerage and the buyer, so there is an opportunity to add value.
  • Pick your own commission rate (8-9%) by enticing the buyer's agent to show your house over the other houses.
  • Price is one of the biggest parts of a real estate transaction.

How does marketing affect the real estate price?

  • The real estate agent is responsible for helping set the price marketing. The seller is responsible for the condition of the house.
  • Condition and marketing are the other two parts and you can increase price based on those things.
  • You can add value by taking pictures with a professional photographer.
  • Under promise and over deliver is a general rule of thumb that can apply to all businesses.
  • Coaching, with a money-back guarantee, has some perks that Casey doesn't bring up during the initial consultation, like getting his books and some tools.
  • Airplane ticket pricing is a good example of how different people are priced differently.

About Casey Lewis