What’s the most you’d pay for great coffee?

The secret to opening your client’s wallet a little wider

Think about a really good cup of coffee from your favourite coffee shop. 

A warm welcome from the staff, nice atmosphere, service with a smile (they even remember your order!), and great tasting coffee to set you up for the day.

Now think about the most you would pay for that coffee. 

Have you got a number in your head? 

That number is the maximum you would pay for your favourite coffee. In business terms, it’s a bit like a client telling you their budget for their recruitment spend.

Now what if I told you that your favourite coffee cost five pence more than the number you just thought of?

My guess is you’d pay the extra five pence without much thought. After all, it is a great coffee, you like the coffee shop, the service is good.

And if your original number was £5 or so then an extra couple of pennies doesn’t make much of a difference to you.

In fact, if I said it was eight pence more expensive… or twelve pence more expensive… then you still might have been OK with paying slightly more than you wanted to.

Now let’s bring it back to the business example. Some of your clients will tell you they have a maximum number they can spend… but that doesn’t mean we should take them at their word. 

I’m not saying they were lying when they told you their maximum number. But in the same way you can pay a little more than you expected for a great coffee, it’s worth finding you testing whether they can pay a little more for a great recruitment experience (i.e. you!).

We know from experience clients can often stretch their pay expectations when presented with a great candidate - and that is a far higher cost than a slightly higher placement fee.

The real secret to stretching your client’s budget is to make sure they see you in the same way you see your favourite coffee shop. They need to understand the value you bring, how you stand out from the crowd of other recruiters, and appreciate the great service they’ll get with you.

Once you’ve achieved that, then you’ll find a surprisingly high number of your clients will be willing to pay you a little more than they thought. 

If you want to learn more about stretching your clients’ budgets - and growing your profits - then simply reply to this email and we can talk over a coffee (and then you can show me how expensive your favourite coffee is).

Jon

P.S. In these​​ examples, the price only goes up by a tiny amount. But when you look at the difference it makes to your profits, you’ll find it can make a big impact.

In fact, a 1% increase in revenue can often be worth 10% growth in profits. Most clients can afford a 1% increase without too much pain… and most business owners I know are very happy with a 10% increase in their profits! 

If you want to learn more about stretching your clients’ budgets - and growing your profits - then simply reply to this email and we can talk.