Are you obtaining your worth in fees and services provided?
In order to reach your ultimate vision, it is necessary to know where your strengths and weaknesses reside. The painful piece is to focus on strengthening those weak areas. And it may require further education in terms of self-study or hiring someone to mentor you.
We all have weak areas that affect business, so the only embarrassment would be to not take the time to improve upon the more important ones. It is these that will make or break your business.
Significance
When you do strive to improve upon what is lacking, you will find greater all around strength. As this occurs, confidence builds. The new you will be better heard in all of your communication including audio, verbal and visual. Speaking with confidence, and not arrogance, tends to have others seeing you as the expert or leader in your field. This is when unexpected inquiries come your way along with new opportunities.
Given the importance of speaking with confidence, should you be timid in this regard, seriously consider taking a public speaking course. Sticking with improvement in this regard will make an enormous difference.
Lead
Once you are in the lead, research what others in your position are commanding in fees. Putting a price on your value is difficult, and that’s why the research is a great place to begin. Also speak to colleagues and friends about their knowledge of what others command in fees and salary.
Again, maintain confidence and remain above average in all regards. You don’t necessarily have to ask for top dollar, but you do want to put yourself in a higher category than average when it comes to remuneration. Distinguishing yourself from being “average” goes miles to build your personal brand.
Circle back
Remind yourself of your previous weaknesses that were turned into strengths, your inherent talent, and the achievements you made over the years of which you are most proud. No one else is quite the same. Consider how to present the 360-degree perspective of everything you have to offer. Re-bundle all of this into a mission statement, tagline, and adjust the communication style for all future platforms.
Sell but don’t sell
As contradictory as this may sound, knowing your worth and not using hardcore sales tactics sells best. The reason is a more relaxed style allows you to lead discussions of inquiry as to what the your prospective clientele is seeking. Delve deeply into problems and ask how they perceive the solution(s). Multiple possibilities lead to larger and more frequent sales.
Driving the open discussion is a more fruitful way to come to a negotiated agreement most of the time. Using this model, you are perceived as easy to work with. At worst case, you know your value and are well prepared to find better-matched clients. This is key for building relationships and sales.
Knowing your value will help you target the right audience and find the Smooth Sale.
