Transcripts
In this episode of Live With The
Pricing Lady, we're talking about
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:building trust through transparent
Pricing, why openness matters.
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:Sit back, relax, and enjoy the episode.
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:Hello, and welcome to this episode of
Live With The Pricing Lady, the podcast.
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:I'm Janene your hostess.
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:On this show, we turn pricing
confusion into clarity so you can
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:grow your business with confidence.
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:Today we're going to be talking about
building trust through transparent
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:pricing, why openness matters.
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:I'd like to preface this
conversation today by saying
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:there is no requirement for you to
put your prices on your website.
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:However, for some businesses it
will make sense and for other
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:businesses it is absolutely mandatory.
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:We're not here to judge or
to say what you must do.
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:What I want to do in this episode is help
you understand what some of the challenges
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:are, give you some tips that you can use,
and we're going to help you give you an
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:idea of how to do a little mini audit
for yourself, so that you can understand
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:what is right for your business.
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:Let's get started.
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:First, let's talk about why
this is an important topic.
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:Pricing transparency is a
foundation for building trust.
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:Now, you may not think that pricing would
have that much influence, but actually
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:has a lot of influence because people can
read a lot into the context of pricing.
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:So it's important because it is a
foundation for building trust and in
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:service-based businesses, trust is
usually a big factor in the decision
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:whether or not to buy something.
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:Second of all, lack of pricing
tr clarity will make clients feel
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:uncertain or suspicious, which then
sends them in the wrong direction.
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:If you don't have the right level of
transparency for your business, it
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:may actually be driving people away.
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:Furthermore, if you're unclear,
if your messaging around your
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:pricing creates confusion, or if
you have too much information.
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:Pricing wise on your website, for
example, that can also create confusion.
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:It's not just about whether or not
you put prices on there, it's about
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:the clarity of that communication.
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:Next, having prices on your
website does not mean you have
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:to give people everything.
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:Last year I had a client who sent me their
a link to their pricing page to give them
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:feedback on and, and review it for them.
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:And when I looked at the page, I
was scrolling and scrolling and
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:scrolling and scrolling and scrolling
some more, and scrolling some more.
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:I felt like I was scrolling
forever 'cause they had put.
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:Everything on there of all their
packages, of all the options, their
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:hourly rates, their da, da, DA rates.
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:I mean, there's just so much information.
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:Now, if I felt overwhelmed
by that, you can only imagine
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:how a customer might feel.
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:So again, there's a balance there between
what prices you choose to share with
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:people and when and how it's all combined.
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:The last element of pricing transparency
in terms of why it's important
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:is we're talking about building
an emotional connection, personal
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:, credibility, and rapport with clients.
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:These are absolutely key, and if your
pricing is off balance, whether it be
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:the number or the communication or the
volume as we just said, then of course
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:that's, you're going to struggle to
build that emotional connection or.
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:People are going to struggle
to see the credibility.
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:Even if you are very ethical and
credible person, they may struggle
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:with that simply because something
feels off about the pricing.
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:It's very important.
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:Again, I'm going to repeat this.
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:There is no one size fits all answer to
the right level of Pricing transparency.
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:That's why it's so important for
you to understand how to go about
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:assessing that for yourself.
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:I do have a guide on my website.
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:We're going to put the link in the
show notes, but this guide will help
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:you to assess whether or not even
putting prices on your website is
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:the right thing for your business.
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:You're going to want
to grab a copy of that.
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:To help you through this process.
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:So now let's take a look at some of
the challenges that people face when it
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:comes to putting prices on their website.
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:This could be a, actually
a very volatile topic.
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:I've had some, let's say, debates, if
you will, about this in, in different
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:forms or in different like when I
was giving a talk and we had quite
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:some heated debate around this.
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:Which is quite amusing.
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:People feel very strongly
about this topic, but again,
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:there's no one size fits all.
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:But let's talk about
some of the challenges.
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:One of the first challenges that people
feel afraid of scaring their clients off.
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:So they feel if they put their prices
on there, especially if they have
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:higher prices, that people will
leave before they even have a chance
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:to have a conversation with them.
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:And that's true, that fear that you
feel could keep you from sharing
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:any information at all, and in some
businesses that may be fine, but in
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:other businesses that may not be okay.
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:That's one of the questions in the
guide I was talking about, is who
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:do you want to get rid of first?
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:The people who are scared of your
price, or the people who think,
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:oh, you must be hiding something
if you don't have prices on there.
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:Therefore, I don't trust you.
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:Because regardless of what you
choose to do one of those two groups
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:of people may filter themselves
out naturally, and that's okay.
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:It narrows down the audience, which
is not a bad thing necessarily.
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:You just have to decide who
do you want to weed out first.
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:That's the first challenge that people
have when they think about putting
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:their prices out there publicly.
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:The second challenge, that I see,
is in people not knowing what
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:to share or how much to share.
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:So I alluded to this a moment
ago, but this is really important.
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:So you may have packages, you may
have hourly rates, or daily rates.
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:You may have, Additions or
options to your different packages
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:and your different services.
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:And for you, it may feel really
confusing to know what of those things
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:to communicate, what's important, and you
may feel overwhelmed enough by that, that
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:you decide not to put anything out there.
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:And that in and of itself is also
a mistake often because you want
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:to have some information, but you
don't always have to have everything
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:out there, as we said before.
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:But making no decision because you
feel overwhelmed and confused is
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:not going to help you feel clear and
confident about what you're doing
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:in that is ultimately going to have
an impact, probably a negative one.
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:The next challenge that people,
come to when looking at pricing,
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:transparency is the uncertainty they
feel around communicating value.
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:They struggle to understand the
real why behind the prices that they
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:have, and especially if you have an
offer that feels intangible or it's
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:more related to a transformation.
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:Then that can feel even more difficult
to be able to clarify what the value is.
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:And if you can't help your clients
understand the value, then how do you
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:expect them to really understand it?
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:So it is extremely important.
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:For you to be clear and be able to
communicate the value effectively.
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:And it doesn't have to be a long
list of laundry items either.
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:We'll talk about that
more in the next section.
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:Sometimes people feel like they
have to defend, defend, defend.
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:I'm not talking about defending here,
but I'm talking about being competent
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:enough to be able to explain in a very
simple way, the value behind what you
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:offer so the clients understand it too.
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:The next challenge people face is
feeling vulnerable or exposed by
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:putting their prices out there so
Pricing can feel very personal.
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:In fact, recently I ran a poll.
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:About asking people if they would trust
AI to set their prices, and most people
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:said, no, it's too personal, which
I found really interesting and will
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:be the topic of an upcoming article.
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:But in the context of of today's
discussion, you know, Pricing can
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:feel very personal, very individual,
and it requires, you know,
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:communicating it effectively requires
that you have confidence in their
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:numbers and in the value deliver.
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:So if you're feeling vulnerable,
exposed, or if you feel you know
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:the risk of being judged by the
prices that you put out there.
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:A lot of people have told me they, they
feel greedy if they're talking about
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:prices and money and things like that.
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:Pricing doesn't make you greedy.
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:It makes you smart.
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:I've said that for years, and I will
continue to say it for years to come.
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:The point here is that.
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:If you feel that vulnerability or feel
like you're being exposed somehow,
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:that may keep you from doing what you
should be doing for your business.
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:And the last challenge that
people face is being worried
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:about competitors and copycats.
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:So the fear of being undercut,
judged, or giving away your
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:trade, quote unquote secrets.
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:You can't see my air quotes here,
but I'm doing it so you know about
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:being judged or about giving up
those secrets in your business.
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:Now, first of all, your Pricing.
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:There's no need for it
to be secret, right?
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:I think that's a really important
PO to make here, but I, you know,
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:often I ask people, who do you
want to have the information?
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:Is it more important that your customers
understand the investment they might
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:need to make or hiding that so that
your competitors don't find it out?
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:Rarely it can be, but rarely
in the type of service based
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:businesses that I'm working with.
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:Is that ever really an issue?
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:And usually, I mean, if you're in a
business where customers are shopping
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:around for the cheapest offer, if
that's your your customer persona,
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:then that may be more of a concern.
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:But it, for most service based
businesses, price isn't what
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:people are basing the decision on.
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:It's not really what's influencing their
decision making first and foremost.
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:It's usually, you know, tertiary
or, you know, it's, it's down
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:the list, let's say of, of what's
influencing their decision the most.
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:And it's important for you
to be aware of that, but then
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:also maybe that can help you.
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:You know, look at that, worry about the
competitors having that information in a
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:different way, or maybe not worry at all.
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:So those are the challenges, the
main challenges, the five main
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:challenges that people face when
it comes to Pricing transparency.
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:Now let's shift over to talk about
three tips that I have for you.
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:So the first one is that you need to
define your version of transparency.
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:Now the guide that I spoke about earlier
about whether or not you should put prices
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:on your website is a great place to start.
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:It gives you a series of questions
you can answer for yourself that'll
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:help you logically think through what
could be right for your business.
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:And I can't say this enough,
there is no one size fits all.
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:Answer to this, it really
is business dependent.
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:If your business is one where you're
selling, let's say, online courses
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:that are self-paced, where people
just go to your website, click on a
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:course, buy it, then that's different.
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:The price has to be there for
them to make the purchase.
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:If you're selling a group course where
there's live components and you need to,
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:or want to make sure that people are a
good fit for the course, so you have a
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:conversation with them before, it could
be helpful to have those prices on there.
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:It may not be required.
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:And then of course you have consulting
services where you usually have to
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:scope the project before you can
give people a quote for it, right?
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:Or an accurate idea of what
the investment might be.
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:And in that case, you probably or
possibly wouldn't put prices on
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:your website, maybe even not at all.
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:You could still do something indicative.
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:But again, my point here is that it
really is dependent on the business.
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:Now, what can you do if you want
to put prices on your website?
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:Well, you could, instead of putting
everything, you could share a
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:starting rate or a price range.
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:You know, that's one way to go about it.
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:You can and should always make sure
that the value is presented before
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:you present the price and logistics
as well can help, although sometimes
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:logistics can come after the price.
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:Depending on the situation,
but value helps set the tone
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:for what a fair price is.
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:That's why it can be helpful or it is
helpful to put a value communication
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:before you're talking about the price.
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:What you want to try and do here when
it comes to your vision of transparency
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:is make sure that you can, when it's
appropriate, give people some information.
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:So they're not totally caught off guard.
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:You know, way further down the line, if
you will, enough information to say, okay,
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:yeah, this could fit my budget or not,
but not so much information that they get
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:confused or bogged down in the details.
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:I.
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:Tip number two is to always
frame your prices with context.
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:So when you share numbers,
give them context.
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:This comes down usually to things
like the value, helping people
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:understand the transformation or the
process that they may go through.
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:What are the results that they might get.
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:And there are lots of different
ways to share these things.
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:That don't feel over salesy or
smarmy if that's a concern of yours.
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:Also, how they'll offer a structure
to support your clients in getting
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:results can be a really effective way
to frame your prices with context.
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:So it's not about just blurting
out a number and you know, and
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:moving on with your life, and
they can take it or leave it.
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:But you want to be able to communicate
around that price effectively so that
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:that price seems like a reasonable
and fair thing to be charging for
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:what they're going to get for it.
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:The context around your price, that
value communication, the process,
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:the transformation, all of these
things can be very important.
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:What is absolutely critical is
that when it comes to these things,
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:you have to be communicating.
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:On topics or around things that
are actually valued by the client.
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:So if you're, let's say you're a
product based business and you have
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:a machine with a big red button and
you talk about the big red button and
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:your client hates big red buttons.
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:And having a big red button
isn't going to help them.
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:And whatever it is in your
business is equivalent.
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:You want to make sure that what you're
highlighting to give context to your
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:price is actually, are actually things
that are relevant to the customer.
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:So my third and last tip for
today is that you want to
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:build the Pricing conversation.
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:Into your process, so it's going to be
really helpful for you if you understand
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:where in the sales conversation
you are going to bring up price.
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:Now it doesn't mean that a client
might not ask for it earlier.
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:Or that it might come
up again later as well.
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:But by being clear with yourself about
where and when or how you want to talk
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:about price with your clients, then
you're prepared for that conversation.
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:Like mentally, you're like,
okay, I know it's going to come
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:here, and I feel okay with that.
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:Whereas if you just leave it up to chance.
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:Then you may find yourself in a situation
where after the conversation you're like,
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:oh, I should talked about that earlier,
or, oh, I should have waited for that.
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:Silly me.
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:By being clear with yourself about what
the process is and where the Pricing
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:conversation comes into that you can
help yourself to feel more comfortable
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:with having that conversation.
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:Whether you show them or not plan
how you're going to talk about prices
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:and when you're going to talk about
them with clients, it's important
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:for you to have that conversation.
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:Early enough to weed out mismatches,
but not so early that people
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:don't understand the value.
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:So there is a delicate balance in
there for you to be able to strike.
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:It's important that you be calm and clear.
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:And confident.
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:Definitely not apologetic.
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:So a lot of times what I hear from
people when they say their prices,
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:especially women, is they put a little
intonation at the end that makes it
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:sound like they're asking rather than
telling This is a big, big no no, no.
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:So if you're practicing with someone,
have them listen out for, you know,
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:what's the tone that I'm using?
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:Does it sound confident?
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:Does it sound like I'm doubting
myself or questioning it, you know?
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:Get good feedback on that so that
you can adapt that if it's needed.
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:Also, watch out for the qualifications.
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:So if you're, if you find yourself
when you're delivering the price,
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:if then you're saying, well, you
know, here's, it costs this much.
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:Oh, don't use cost.
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:The investment is, the price
is, but please don't use cost.
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:That was my own mistake right there.
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:See, you learn by doing.
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:What's important is when you
deliver the price is that
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:you don't add qualifications.
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:You deliver the price, you say, but
we can do something else if you want,
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:or, but I can offer you a discount.
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:No.
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:Deliver the price clearly, calmly,
and then let the client digest it.
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:Even count to 10 in your head,
if that's what it takes, let them
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:be the first to respond to that.
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:Don't start caving immediately afterwards.
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:Be strong, be confident about
what you've just delivered.
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:And most importantly, practice it.
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:I know that some of you think it's
a little bit silly to practice these
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:things, but I will tell you I've seen
it with my clients over in time again,
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:that over and over in time and again,
that was two statements worked into one.
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:That when they practice this, they
start to feel more comfortable.
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:They start to hear the things that
they're used to saying that they
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:know they shouldn't be saying.
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:You can really work through a lot of
the stumbles and the challenges that
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:you maybe face regularly simply by
practicing the Pricing talk, if you
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:will, with a trusted colleague or friend.
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:That is what I wanted to share with
you in terms of the tips, and be sure
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:to grab yourself a copy of the guide.
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:Should I put my prices on my website?
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:The link is in the show notes.
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:Before we go, I'd like to talk a little
bit more about your challenge for this
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:episode, and that's to do a 10 minute
audit of your Pricing transparency.
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:So here are three questions or series
of questions that you can ask yourself.
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:The first is, where and how Is my Pricing
currently visible or communicated?
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:I.
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:So you may or may not have
prices on your website.
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:That's one place of course, but you
may have prices in other locations.
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:So it could be like me, I have
the Fair price formula, my price
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:setting course on the Maven platform.
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:Of course the price for that is there.
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:It is transparent and it is
publicly communicated there.
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:I have, you know, other prices in other
locations and I'm sure that you do too.
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:So it's important to think about,
you know, what's on my website.
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:What's here?
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:What's there and how is it communicated?
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:Or where is it visible?
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:Second question, how does it feel?
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:So when you look at that or you
think about that, do you feel
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:good about the price out there?
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:Do you question it?
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:Is it clear?
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:Is it aligned?
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:Is it confusing?
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:If you were to look at it through
the lens of your customer,
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:does it feel overwhelming?
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:Or maybe it feels too vague.
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:So take time to look at each of those
locations where you have prices and
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:kind of, you know, just give yourself
the quick ten second, how does it feel?
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:What is my first reaction to this?
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:And then the last question is,
what's one small step that I
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:can take to clarify or make.
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:Pricing transparency
better for my business.
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:So I'm not asking you to
have a revolution here.
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:We're talking about evolution.
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:So just what's one small thing
that you could do differently to
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:improve upon what you have today.
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:So this little audit plus the Pricing
guide that I talked about earlier,
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:will help you be able to take some next
steps in finding the right level of
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:transparency for Pricing in your business.
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:And remember, transparency is
about clarity and alignment.
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:Not overexposure.
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:I wish you a great day and
as always, enjoy Pricing.