Price Like You Mean It: Ethical, Aligned, and Unapologetic Pricing
How did you arrive at the prices you offer for your products and services?
Often there is a lot of shame attached to pricing which goes something like this:
“I want to charge X (high price), but I am worried that people will think I am grasping/greedy/ruthless/a sell-out capitalist.” (All words I have actually heard clients use)
“I want to charge X (low price) because that would feel good to me and I could help a lot of people, but it would mean I am not making much money.”
What both examples have in common is shame.
Shame for charging a higher amount and worrying what people think, shame for charging a lower amount and not have enough money to live, and what people will think about that.
The shame is about being outside of the group/the tribe so what belies the shame is fear.
Shame and fear are no basis for pricing and here’s why:
If you feel shame about your prices, even though you deserve to be resourced AND do good work/help people, there is no way on god’s green earth that you are going to be able to sell what you do with conviction. And that is a huge problem for how much money you can make.
So, let’s look at this a different way. Base your prices on what you need your business to generate in income. In other words, address your basic, most pressing needs first. You know Maslow’s Hirearchy of Needs? It’s just like that.
You cannot become self-actualised/get to where you need to get to in your business, if your most basic needs are not being met. You have to use your monthly income needs as a starting point and work back from there, as well as your capacity so you can work without becoming burnt out.
But here’s the rub; whatever your number is, you need to cultivate the demand for what you sell at the price you want to be paid and find the clients willing and happy to pay those prices.
And one of the ways you can do that simply and ethically is by offering payment plans. [I want to thank Kelly Diels for introducing me to the concept of ethical payment plans and how they have changed my business. Check her out. She is a living genius.]
Here’s an unethical payment plan (which you will no doubt see all the time):
“Sign up to my coaching programme for £2850 today and save 20% if you pay in full – total payment £2280.
Or pay £285 a month for 12 months” [Sneakily adding 20% to the total cost for the payment plan]
Sound familiar?
So, in this scenario, the person who already has money, who is already privileged, gets to pay less. The person who has less, gets to pay more.
This style of robber baron capitalism is something we see all the time. Not only is it totally unethical, but it perpetuates the division between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ and for me, sets a sour tone for good work to follow.
So here is a different way based on my own prices and payment plans:
I have two signature programmes which are essentially the same format but are different lengths to suit different budgets and stages of business:
My yearlong Elevate programme is £2850 or £237.50 per month for 12 months
My six-month Leverage programme is £1200 or £200 per month for 6 months. *
[*N.B. I also offer longer payment plans on a case-by-case basis to make the monthly payments more affordable for more people.]
I also offer a programme called Bespoke which is 6 hours of coaching over 12 months delivered bi-monthly for £75 a month for 12 months.
The prices I offer are based on my needs as the breadwinner for my family. I sell them with conviction in a way where I can work with lots of people and offer ethical payment plans.
My shame is gone (it didn’t happen overnight!) I make money and I do good work.
