Last week I realised I’d lost control of my pricing message.
Which, to a pricing consultant, is a pretty big deal. In fact, staying in control of your pricing message should be as important to you as it is to me.
Reading a reply to one of these emails, I noticed that Substack (the platform that sends these messages to you) had ‘helpfully’ added a note asking you if you’d like to pledge a future subscription.
The note also confirmed that ‘Added Value from Jon Brooks is free today’. Now the moment I read this I thought, ‘if they’re telling me it’s free today it sounds like it won’t be free tomorrow’.
Now I have no plan to get you to pay a monthly subscription for these emails. But the note appeared to be a not-so-subtle hint that I was planning to do so.
I had lost control of my pricing message.
It’s more common than you think, and it’s important to be aware of how you could lose control of your message if you want to charge the fees you deserve for your work.
For example, you could have moved away from a no-win no-fee model… but missed a point in your terms that still relates to contingent recruitment. So every time a client checks your TOB, your pricing message is undermined.
Another example. You ask your consultants to hold the line on your rate card prices and avoid giving away discounts. But your consultants still introduce their ‘standard rate’ to clients, instantly suggesting that a lower rate is available if they negotiate.
Of course you can’t control everything all of the time. But if you’re making a pricing change, it pays to think about how your message is seen by your clients and how you can strengthen - rather than undermine - what you want them to hear.
If you want help in reviewing every aspect of your pricing change, simply reply to this email and I’ll talk you through the next steps.
Jon
P.S. The irony is, I might choose to charge for these emails at some point. It’s a pretty common business model these days, and there are some good arguments for doing so (as well as some decent arguments for keeping it free).
But my point is that I need to change my pricing on my terms. Not from an automated note dropped into your inbox without my knowledge.
Likewise, if you want to change your pricing make sure you’re communicating it on your terms.
If you want help in reviewing every aspect of your pricing change, simply reply to this email and I’ll talk you through the next steps.
P.P.S. If I do ever charge for my emails, you’ll be the first to know. And I won’t rely on an automated note from Substack to tell you :-)