How to avoid being a ‘price-pleaser’

Your personality could be costing you a fortune

We’re people-pleasers in the recruitment industry. It’s a natural consequence of being in a service industry, and doubly so for us as we’re connecting people with people.

But when it comes to pricing, the traits of a people-pleaser lead to disastrous results.

-> Recruitment agencies regularly discount their fees by 40% or more

-> Consultants state their rate, then ask “is that OK with you?”

-> Clients feel they can renegotiate fees at the end of the process

(Rumour has it the screaming face emoji was inspired by the level of discounting in recruitment)

The good news? There is a simple way to avoid these problems, without having to transform your whole personality… and it won’t even upset your clients!

And when you know how to avoid being a ‘price-pleaser’ you come across as more confident in the value of your service, you negotiate higher fees, and your clients respect you as the expert you are.

This revolutionary approach all starts by taking you out of the process. 

When you have a system for pricing and negotiation, it’s no longer about what you can offer the client… it’s about you steering the client through a clear, fair set of guidelines that help to justify the value you create for them.

So if you’re looking for a more effective way to pitch your prices and negotiate fees that reflect your value, simply reply to this email and we can talk about how a system would work for you.

Jon

PS. Recruitment owners typically want to give their consultants a high degree of autonomy when negotiating fees with clients. This makes sense, because the alternative involves long back-and-forth discussions that take up too much leadership time.

A well designed pricing strategy continues to give consultants autonomy… and adds boundaries and guidelines to make it easier for them to win deals at the right price. What’s more, clients enjoy a consistent approach to pricing and negotiation from every consultant in the business.

So if you’re looking for a more effective way to pitch your prices and negotiate fees that reflect your value, simply reply to this email and we can talk about how a system would work for you.