Small Business Success - How Much Should You Charge for Your Professional Service?

By Felicia J. Slattery

Solo professionals often want to know how much they should charge for their professional services. As a consultant and coach, I've lost count of how many times I've seen people ask that question on forums or how much time I've spent with my clients addressing this very issue.

Pricing your professional services correctly is important. Price too high and potential clients could be scared away with sticker shock. Price too low and prospects doubt you're any good and you lose credibility. But if you're new to the market, how do you know where to position yourself for maximum results and success?

The question isn't, "What is my service worth." The question you should be asking is:

"What is my target market willing to pay?"

If you ask your ideal customer what it would be worth to her to solve her biggest problem successfully, she'd probably tell you it's priceless. You've likely heard people say, "I'd pay anything if I could just ... (fill in the blank)."

But will they really pay ANYTHING?

One strategy I suggest is offering a number of different products and services at varying price points. Then you'll begin to attract prospective clients within all price ranges and you'll start to get a good feel for what your market is willing to pay.

For example you could create a free or low-priced e-course. Then follow up with a teleseminar for a little higher price point, and finally follow with a multi-session telecourse for a higher price still. That can all lead up to your higher-priced individual service and help you generate some income along the way to getting those bigger-ticket clients.

One way to find out what dollar amount people are willing to pay for specific products and services is to ask those you want to help. You can do a free survey using Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com) and send it to those who are in your target market. Then you'll get a sense of what your service would be worth to those exact people as opposed to choosing some random price point that may or may not work for you or your potential clients.

You're smart to spend some time considering your price points and the message you want to communicate to your prospects. Choosing the right pricing structure for your professional service business will get you not only more clients and cash flow, but more credibility.

Effective communication with your clients and prospects is the key to making your business successful. The first thing you need to communicate-- and continue to communicate -- is your credibility. Without credibility, your business will go nowhere. With it, you'll automatically attract new clients and see positive cash flow.

Copyright 2008. Felicia J. Slattery.

Felicia J. Slattery, M.A., M.Ad.Ed., is a Communication Consultant, Speaker and Coach with more than a decade of experience teaching people effective and powerful communication skills in order to achieve their happiest and most successful lives. Felicia offers a free e-course for small business owners called Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility at her website: http://www.CommunicationTransformation.com. Sign up now!

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