Welcome to installment three of our pricing series. Today we're going to talk about creating a big audacious price list for yourself.
Welcome to Bright the podcast for wedding creatives that want to earn more and have a life and business that they love. Hi, I'm your host and money mentor, Melissa. I make understanding money in your business easy. Each episode we'll be talking about finance, growth, mindset and real strategies for your creative business.
Are you ready? Let's get started.
Believe it or not, creativity and profitability work hand in hand together. The more value you offer, the more you can charge. But most people just ask themselves the question, how can I raise my prices? How can I make more money in my business?
I've noticed that many wedding professionals that I've worked with think small, they think incrementally, they don't recognize all the expertise and experience they have, and that they should be paid well for it.
But that can be a tough sell for some because not everyone believes that they are worth charging higher prices, or they might believe those types of clients are for someone else. That if they raise their prices, they might struggle more to book clients.
I believe at the core of having pricing that creates the money you want for your business is creating the value to charge the prices you want.
Getting audacious about creating a price list is exciting and it's scary. Think of the business you would love to have. What does that business look like? Take time, grab your journal and literally describe what it looks like from the 10, 000 foot view. Looking down, how much money are you making?
How many clients are you working with? How much do you charge? How much do you want to make for a 12 month period? How much time do you take off each year? How easy is your marketing? Describe how you feel about selling a higher price product or service. Who do you need to become to create this money in your business?
First, let's decide the number you want to make for the next 12 months. You have a baseline of what you need because in last week's episode, we talked about our income versus our fixed and variable costs. So, you know, the bare minimum you need to make, but now we want to thoughtfully create a number that makes you uncomfortable and stretches you out of your comfort zone.
Now, let's break down this number. How does our pricing need to change to reach that goal? How does what we offer need to change? And most importantly, how does the value that we offer need to change? Let's say you want to go from making 25, 000 a year to making 100, 000 in the next 12 months.
What needs to change? Remember, we aren't doing this exercise because we're going to increase the number by 75, 000 by just doing more of the same. We would probably kill ourselves. So we have to increase the amount of money a client is willing to pay us or diversify our income and create money from other sources.
Remember, we can phase out products or services that aren't working for us and add in something that excites us, is packed with value, and you can charge more for., are going to figure out pricing that will have us working more deliberately to make the hundred thousand dollars a year.
So let's say our old sales average was a thousand dollars per wedding. So we had to work 25 weddings to make the 25, 000. Now, if we want to make 100, 000 over 25 weddings, our new average per wedding is 4, 000. I certainly don't want you to even consider for a minute trying to do 100 weddings at the 1, 000 average.
Our goal is to create more value so that we can create a higher price per wedding. And less work and less stress. And I bet right now some of you are getting nervous at this idea. How can I increase my prices that much and still have my client base? Well, it's time to get audacious with conviction and belief in what you offer. It's time to bet on yourself.
If you create a truly unique solution to what your client needs, in essence, you can charge whatever you want. And what do I mean by this? To start, don't sound and look like everyone else in your niche. You have to stand apart.
If you want to make more money doing what you do, then you need to be the expert, the only one for them.
To become the business that stands out, it's generally not because you spend money advertising on The Knot or on one of the many wedding blogs. It's usually because people start talking about you. Your clients, other vendors, other wedding professionals within your niche, and people who saw your work from the wedding. You need people to notice you and pay attention to you because you are doing something different and better and with integrity and with kindness and passion.
Back to our example. at 25, 000 like our example. And this is where you want to be over here at 100, 000. How do we bridge the gap between the two? How do we adapt our pricing to create that 75, 000 difference?
By believing in your value and educating the client through the words you use on your website, in your communications, on social media, you continuously have to talk about what your value is, what you are for them that no one else does exactly the way you do it. You need to demonstrate that you are the expert.
You you need to educate. If If you don't do this through your words and stories, then a potential client assigns a value based on what they understand from what you've put out in the universe. Meaning when you blend in with everyone, when a client can't tell you apart from 25 others in your niche, you are not the expert.
You are just one of many interchangeable wedding vendors. So it's easy to see why a wedding client might interview five or six vendors for the job. And when they all look and sound alike, after all these interviews, they make their choice based on price rather than value.
As the leader in your niche, as the go to photographer, florist, baker, planner, cinematographer, designer, you need to explain, you need to educate to demonstrate what your value is. You are the expert, you are the one they need to hire, And this is why. If you've listened for a bit, you'll recognize the importance I place on knowing your why. Because having a strong why is what sets you apart. Your why, your superpower, this is your secret sauce. There is only one you and this is how you show the world how unique you are and why they need to work with you.
So I guess what I'm really saying is that it's time to stop blending in or hiding in plain sight. It's time to stop being afraid of raising your prices. It's time to evolve who you are and the value that you offer. Let's evolve into this new version of you, shed all of the old thoughts that are holding you back.
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audacious pricing? So that you, and I'm going to list a bunch of reasons, so that you get out of panic mode so that you stop taking jobs that you know you're going to hate just because you need the money, so that you say no to jobs that pay you too little and keep you working that much harder,
so that you can end the vicious cycle of clients that don't pay what you're worth.
So that you can stop taking jobs that don't value you because the more you take of them, you end up having no time to actually work on your business so that you can stop underestimating your value so that you can stop blending in with everyone else
so that you can stop offering what every other wedding vendor does. So that you can learn to be uniquely you in every part of your business. So that you can recognize that charging enough to get by is not good enough. It is time you made real money. So that you can become the expert in your niche, so that you can take charge of your business finances financial future, and last but not least, so that you can start creating profit in your business.
is the formula for value creation, for creating a big audacious pricing strategy? You need to understand what you're creating that is of value to your client. Your form of value is something that only you can create.
And I know some of you are having thoughts when I say this, like, yeah, but there's lots of makeup professionals that do a very similar job to what I do. Why is my value different from everyone else's? There's lots of talented musicians in my niche. If I charge more, then no one is going to book me.
Every category of wedding professionals can feel this way. I know many of you are nervous, even thinking about the prospect of charging outside of what your industry averages are, but stay with me here because the key to all of this is believing in yourself. And then you have a shit ton of experience and are really great at your craft
it's time for you to stop standing on the sidelines.
Here's a value creation formula to use as it relates to your pricing.
Step one. First, you need to understand who you are creating value for. Who is your ideal client? You need to get very detailed here. I'm attaching my ICA and niche worksheet to help you define who your ideal client is. For example, I mentioned in episode 30,
That Keith is a wedding photographer that uses black and white Leica cameras to photograph weddings. So his, or our, ideal client is someone who is looking for something different like this. We immediately remove ourselves from the huge pool of wedding photographers because shooting with a rangefinder camera, all black and white, is not the industry standard.
People love this. He always has a Leica with him for a sales meeting and it is always the center of attention. This works for us. The value we provide is that most photographers do not own or use a camera like this. We are set apart by Keith's skill set and his doubling down on his love of black and white photography and the way this camera photographs.
For someone else, like the florist I also mentioned in the previous episode, most couples want flowers for their wedding. So that isn't much of a niche. If you try to appeal to all those couples, you will have a hard time showing your value. Many clients want basic or have a smaller budget or truly really don't care whether you're an incredible designer, they just want flowers. To further niche down, it could be couples who want locally sourced flowers for their wedding.
Okay, that's getting a little bit more interesting. So to further niche down to maybe couples who want sustainable flowers grown within 10 miles of their wedding location. Most likely you've eliminated price shoppers and probably have an ideal client that yes, wants wedding flowers for their wedding and yes, wants locally sourced flowers, but your ideal client is most likely someone with a bigger budget that is eco conscious and will pay more for what they believe in and will undoubtedly value your expertise.
Appreciate that you are going to bring them to the farm where the flowers are grown. Chat with the owner of the farms that the flowers come from. You will demonstrate your knowledge on these local flowers and how they will make your wedding exactly as you envision it.
This ideal client is willing to pay to solve what they want for their wedding. And you are going to demonstrate your value by making this available to them. You are giving them the gift of what they want and they will pay you handsomely for it.
two. Now that you know who you are creating value for you now need to create a sellable solution for them This isn't about the features. It's about the benefits.
No potential client really cares about how Keith's camera works. They just want the benefit of getting dreamy, incredible, unique wedding photos of their wedding day that they will love forever, and anyone who sees them will rave about them. And that's social proof they get from friends and family at the wedding that keep commenting on Keith's cameras and how much they love his work.
The benefit for the couple who wants flowers from within 10 miles of their wedding Is that it ensures that the blooms are fresher, more vibrant and environmentally friendly being used to create the vibe that they truly want for their wedding that reflects the beauty of the season and supporting local growers.
Your clients are interested in the solution you offer. It's an exchange. People give you money for what they want, especially when it comes to weddings. You need to give them what makes their dreams come true. if you take what you offer, the value to the next level, it becomes an absolute no brainer for the client. offer. Think of the top six points related to what you do. Brainstorm everything you know about the solution you offer. Put these points in order so that your potential client can consume the points orderly so that it all makes complete sense. Expand on each point, really drilling into the benefits you offer.
Using the flower example again, what are six points related to the offer? Maybe for the florist, you visit the farm, you learn the process of how the flowers grow, when they're in season, how they go from farm to wedding, then of course is the design. How are you going to make these locally sourced flowers shine for their wedding?
Since the couple obviously cares about sustainability, what impact do you make by using these flowers or what impact of florists that don't locally source, what impact do they make? This is how you start creating that no like and trust factor that clients need before they are comfortable enough to book with you while you're creating these six points.
Remember you need to overcome their objections through your words as well. Yes, of course, these locally sourced flowers will be pricier, but what objections might come up based around that? What other objections might come up in general? Directly answer any of them. The client wants to feel supported and comfortable making their choice.
Once you develop this honest relationship, it starts immediately because they've read these words on your website and socials, and now that they are meeting you in person or on Zoom, you are further creating value and demonstrating trust in why you are the only vendor for them.
Next, give results ahead of time. Show people how you can help them. Back to our floral example. The florist would probably have written well thought out and researched blog posts about locally sourced versus sourcing flowers from around the world, the impact that has on the environment and on the local economy.
have a guide to local flower varieties and what you can expect from season to season. She may host a webinar that discusses how she designs or how she sources her flowers and why. She has a ton of valuable information on her website that educates the client. She's happy to share with you images of other weddings she's worked on.
She whips up a sample flower demo on a Zoom call. She explains to you what you should be looking for in a florist that claims they are eco friendly and sourcing locally. Even if you decide you don't want to work with her, she wants you to know as much as possible. She's always giving, always being generous, not salesy, generous.
She has video testimonials of clients that rave about working with her. She may even have a YouTube channel where she teaches about flowers and how to grow them yourself, or how to care for a flower garden, or how to do a gorgeous flower arrangement.
She continuously educates her potential clients on what she does and how she can benefit them. If you do this well, you will never need to sell. This is great marketing. Demonstrating how to help your potential clients by actually helping them prior to ever getting a dollar from them.
This further establishes like and trust provide results for them ahead of time, let them get a result and get a feel of what it will be like to work with you. And they get this valuable info ahead of signing on the bottom line, a big win
in our experience, if you demonstrate your value and do a great job of educating your clients about what you offer, then there should be very little selling going on.
They convince themselves ahead of any sales interactions that you are the wedding vendor in this niche that they want to work with.
Solopreneurs, or small business owners that aren't successful, tend to have a bunch going on in their heads that they really need to weed through in order to believe in a new pricing model and accept that they're worth a hell of a lot more than they are currently charging.
Changing your thoughts, understanding your money story, and learning to believe in yourself is the first step towards charging what you're worth. anyone can on paper create a big audacious price list, but living up to it, embracing it, and believing in it, are two completely different things.
You can do this. You just have to start believing that you can. I have a bonus episode on pricing coming up next week that shares my 10 pricing commandments. Thank you so much for joining us for this three part pricing series, and I'll see you next week where we talk about my 10 commandments. Thank you so much.
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