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How to know your value and charge your worth

How to know your value and charge your worth

Many people get paid too little, charge too little or both. This article will help you in knowing how to know your value and charge your worth and why it's important to know your value so that you can begin charging the amount your services are actually worth.


So, what do I mean by value? To a customer, value means what they perceive their dollars would buy them if spent in another way (time, energy and money invested towards other options). Value is also about trust: an action has more perceived value when done by someone the recipient trusts.


All this boils down to two things: skill set and profitability.

You need to determine your skill set which hopefully you already know well enough since you're reading this post! Then decide how profitable each method of doing business or service is.


Let’s delve a little deeper.


Know your worth

The first step to charging your worth is knowing your worth, which may sound simple but it's not. If you're a coach working with clients in their home and they love you and take advantage of every coaching session that you have with them, but complain about money all the time and even “borrow” money from you by not paying you on time, how do you know what to charge?


When you are starting out in your coaching business, you may be reluctant to be paid for the work you do because charging for your time is quite alien a concept. So instead of charging a fee for services provided, it becomes more like volunteering or working as an employee where there is no pay structure involved.


Or maybe you charge some people who come through word of mouth by offering them free sessions in order to get to know them and to have a good chance at winning the business. But if you're in the habit of doing this, then how can you truly charge your worth?


If you look deeply into what value you provide for clients and whether it is enough, you need to be clear on some telling questions:

What are my strengths?


What solutions am I offering that other professionals aren't or don't offer?


Do those who come to me feel a transformation after our time together?


How much time am I investing in each client or prospective client on average?


What level do they end up feeling/being at when we are done working together (for example – less frustrated than when they first came in)?

Who is my ideal client and would they be willing to pay for what I offer? If so, how much would they be willing to pay and why?


It just may take some time before it feels comfortable for you to value yourself dearly enough.



Know your market value

Once you know what your worth is, now it's time to determine the market value of others who are offering similar services and products as yours – otherwise known as competition analysis.


- What do others charge for their services or products?

- How often are they in demand?

- Is there anything that makes their services stand out above other people who offer similar services or products to yours?


Knowing this information will help you answer these questions:

- How much is this person charging for their services or product and how often does someone buy from them?

- What is the demand for this person's service or product and how often do they receive offers for something like theirs?

- Does their company have a good reputation?

- Or are there complaints about them that you need to know about before dealing with them (detailed below)?


I’m not saying you should copy what your competitors are doing. Do what’s you. But just be aware of what’s in the market and where you are positioning yourself. You can charge much higher than the norm, but you must be crystal clear in communicating the extra value they get from going with you. (See more on the rates to charge in a later section.)


Know your weaknesses

When comparing myself against the competition, there were a few things I noticed that others could offer better than me. For example, some provided more expertise on a certain topic that I didn't specialise in all the time, another offered more services in one package, another offered free consultations and waived initiation fees, etc. So how could I make up for my weaknesses?


My solution was to ask myself what I had that others didn't. It's something that sets me apart from the rest of the competition – my strengths. My strengths were as follows:

I offer an easy-to-understand systematic assessment process on a topic where most competitors only do one or two sessions with someone, usually charge more than $1,000 for their services when all is said and done including follow ups and additional work if needed whereas mine is half that price (all depending on customisation) and we work together for just as long as it takes until you're satisfied with your results.


Another strength that I could offer was personalisation in the services and products I provide because sometimes people need something tailored to their unique needs when it comes to dealing with their situation. This was especially helpful for me since I didn't feel like I had much competition on my end of the spectrum – offering something a little more personalised for those who needed it and weren't sure how.


Know your market rates

To know if what you are charging is fair or high, you first have to consider the time you spend working on each project/assignment/client. For example: If someone hired me as an employee, would they be paying me $20-$25 per hour for things related to this type of business? What about my opportunity costs? How much could I be earning if I wasn't doing this? What additional costs do I have to consider when running their business (i.e. office supplies, invoicing and project management programmes, website expenses, etc.)?


All of these things will factor into your final rates.


Charge your worth

Knowing your worth can take some time, so the more value you bring to the table for those who need it the better. For example, if someone comes to me and tells me they don't have enough money I ask them a few questions:

- Do you think this is something that can be fixed easily?

- Why do you think this is happening?

- What are your goals and what do you hope to get out of working with me on this?

- Can we accomplish what you want to get done in one session or will it take many sessions over a period of time, after which I'll follow up with you until we've reached your desired results?


These types of questions help me gauge what someone is looking for, their frame of mind and my overall ability to be of service to them. Look at your services as a whole and realise how much you can potentially charge based on the type of work that actually goes into it and then seeing what other people are charging on average in your field (i.e. internet research, writing an article, web design).


Consider too all the time and expense it took for you to master your craft. Are you charging your worth? Are you willing and comfortable to charge the amount you were charged in the past by those you perceived to be ahead of you on the learning journey. Have you overcome the I’m not good enough, or I’m not quite ready mindset?

If charging your worth is something you struggle with, join me in my Facebook group Work from Anywhere. I cover a lot of tips on getting over this mindset limitation there.

About me

Hi there 👋 My name is Ange Dove, professional copywriter and messaging strategist. I help working professionals escape the 9 to 5 and start their own online business that they have the freedom to run from anywhere around their lifestyle and on their terms:)

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