I loved being a podcast guest for the fabulous Alex Burca who runs BAST, a company that specialises in helping music teachers and singing coaches run better businesses.
We discussed many aspects of pricing that will apply to anyone who is in a freelance or self-employed role, whether you like to sing about it or not!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
▶ The 7 step plan that Mark uses with clients looks at a company’s goals, customers, competitors, product offering, price, how the product is sold, and profitability.
▶ People are afraid to raise their prices for a number of reasons. Firstly, they don’t want to upset their customers. Secondly, they don’t know how their competitors will react, and thirdly, they don’t want to scare off potential new business.
▶ Start your pricing as high as you dare – you can always go down if you’re not attracting any business. Set a price that works for you before looking at what the competitors are doing.
▶ If you’re new to teaching, remember that your customers aren’t just paying for the qualification you’ve only had for a few months. They’re also paying for your experience. That includes everything you’ve done in the past, for example performing on stage.
▶ Don’t just stick to one price or hourly rate; offer your customers choice between different packages. Give them a price for ten hours and the price for one, with the ten hours being better value per hour. Give your customer the highest priced thing first, if you give them the lowest first then they become anchored at that price point.
BEST MOMENTS
✔ ‘The myth I want to dispel is that increasing your prices is a scary thing.’
✔ ‘Be mindful of your competitors, but don’t get hung up about them.’
✔ ‘Ask yourself how much your best customer is willing to pay.’