Being cheap in business is one of the fastest ways to attract cheap clients. These are the kind of clients that are never satisfied and will constantly demand more for less.
Your money values are what attract your clients, when you are being cheap in business, you will attract like minded clients. Here’s an example.
One of the multiple streams of revenue in my business is my marketing agency.
I have a team of outsource talent that does done-for-you marketing for selected clients.
One of my favorite providers is my photographer who is totally terrific!
She is eager to scale up her business and take on higher end clients, and I’m one of them.
This week she invoiced me for a job and I wanted to pay by credit card (I love my points, they’ve taken me first class, round trip to Australia, points rock!)
She informed me that there would be a $30 fee on my $1K invoice.
While I didn’t mind paying the $30, it said to me that she was being cheap in business and wasn’t ready for the bigger clients she is looking for.
She is caught in small thinking when it comes to money.
Up until now, she has always imposed a 3% charge on her clients if they wanted to use a credit card.
(Do you do that too? Or perhaps you don’t accept credit cards at all.)
The moment I decided to start taking credit cards, I made the decision that the processing fees are simply a part of doing business and I needed to ensure my rates are generous enough to cover those.
I have never been cheap in business because I have always sought the best quality at the best price, never just the lowest price (there’s a cost associated with cheap always.)
My photographer is learning the same thing, and after we had a conversation around this (I coach my team too)she is abandoning this practice of charging her clients for credit card convenience, it makes her look cheap.
Instead, she’ll raise her rate slightly (though I’m pushing her to double, she is well worth it.)
Where are you nickel and diming your clients?
Where are you being cheap in business?
By doing so you are staying small because upscale clients look for a good rate (and when your rate isn’t high enough, you’ll be ignored also), convenient payment terms (that means credit cards without an extra fee), and awesome service.
When you miss any of those three you are going to miss up leveling your clientele.
My photographer recognized that she was thinking small because of the interaction we had this week that brought this fee to the forefront.
While it made her squirm a bit to push beyond her comfort zone, she is taking this step because she knows that how she runs her business is key in attracting the bigger and more lucrative clients she is looking for. Being cheap will cost you too much every time.
What’s holding you back? I’d love your comments here.
