But what if it doesn't work?

Dealing with fear, doubt and the realities of a new pricing strategy

When I rolled out a pricing strategy for the first time, I was confident that it would go well.

I had run a trial with a small team, checked and rechecked the numbers, and got some great advice from some pricing experts (always a good idea!).

So I had every reason to be confident. And yet…

A big part of the change was getting consultants to walk away from low-priced deals. In theory it should have been happening already, but most consultants told me that in reality they rarely walked away from a bad price.

I had focused on this point in the training, making sure consultants knew how to identify good and bad deals, how to respond in the right way, and why it was important to get this right.

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It worked. In the very first week not one but two experienced consultants gave me a call to proudly tell me how they walked away from a low price.

I congratulated them, and told them they were doing the right thing. But I clearly remember the knot in my stomach as I thought to myself, these consultants have just walked away from revenue for their desks, ignored their KPIs, and taken a hit on their bonus.

Maybe they should have taken the jobs anyway…

I kept my game face on. But in my mind I kept going over the consequences for those two consultants who had put their bonus on the line when I asked them to.

The next week, both consultants called me to give me an update on their situations.

The first consultant told me they’d been thinking about the client a lot after walking away, and realised that client always treated recruiters badly. She had a new feeling of freedom now she didn’t have to work with that client on a badly paid job, and she’d already spent much more time with clients who valued what she did - and paid her higher fees.

Then the second call came through. The client had phoned the consultant back after a couple of days… to agree to a higher price. While all their other recruiters were on the low rate, the client said they could see it was worth paying more for our service.

I’m sure I said something to both consultants along the lines of See, I told you there was nothing to worry about - but it was only then that I could truly feel confident in the new approach.

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These days I am confident, because I’ve done this many times over. But if you feel a few nerves about trying something new with your team, believe me - I understand.

And if you’re looking to roll out a new pricing strategy, with confidence, simply reply to this email and we can talk about how I can help you get it right first time.

Jon

PS. I’ve spoken to several recruitment leaders who tell me they put a new pricing strategy in place but it didn't work. When we get into the details, it’s clear that they lost confidence in their new approach… and their consultants quickly picked up on their fears.

So if you’re looking to roll out a new pricing strategy, with confidence, simply reply to this email and we can talk about how I can help you get it right first time.