Charging what you are worth can really hurt your business. Widening The Value Gap is the win-win play.

In this article, I’m going to share with you some of the most effective ways to increase your chances of signing a client through value leverage.

Charge your value?

Have you ever been told, charge for the value you deliver?

The intentions are good. Too many coaches and consultants undervalue what they create for their clients.

Clients usually do as well, so this is not a blame game.

And people who pass along this advice just want you to get paid fairly.

The problem is, charging what you’re worth is bad for business.

Because if you charge what you are worth, no one in their right mind will hire you.

Think of it this way.

Would you hire me for $10,000 if the value I created for your business were $10,000?

Hopefully not. There’s no margin in that deal.

Now, I know that’s not what people mean when they say charge your value. They mean charge according to the value you deliver. But even that can cost you money.

Here’s why…

Sell The Gap

Smart clients look for a high price-to-value gap. In other words…

Clients want to pay far less than the value you deliver. That’s good business. Buy a dollar and sell it for two.

The wider the gap, the more attractive the deal.

But if you focus on setting fees that reflect your value, you’ll close the gap by bringing your fees closer to the value you create.

That makes you less attractive.

But if you focus on increasing the gap between your fee and the value you create, you make your offer far more compelling.

And no, you don’t have to lower your fees to do that.

Here is the most effective way to leverage existing value to increase the price-to-value gap

Increase your Perceived Value

Most clients don’t realize how much value you deliver.

And if they don’t know, how can they value it?

Smart marketing always illuminates the full value you bring to the table across every aspect of your service, delivery and terms.

By increasing the perceived value of your service, you increase the gap between price and value and make your offer more attractive. Increase the value by 20% and you can increase your fee by 10% and still widen that gap. All you’ve done is reveal the value that was already there.

Here are three ways to increase the perceived value of your offer.

Three ways to increase Perceived Value

Market your process

Clients buy proven processes. They are evidence of methodical expertise and rigor. They are reassuring and reasonably transparent. But it’s not enough to say you have a process. Explain it. Explain how each step delivers the outcomes your client wants. Explain why your process delivers consistent results.

Market your support

When I hire a service provider, especially for the first time, I want to know I have a certain level of access and support. I also want my service provider to know that’s important to me. How do I know they know? Because they highlight it in their marketing. They tell me they know this matters and that they will, hopefully, exceed my expectations. Do that for your future clients.

Include an Off-Boarding Clause

This last one is piece-of-mind value. Every time you are hired, your client is taking on a risk. One of those risks is that they might need to part ways with you. And that’s a perfectly reasonable thought to have. Let your client know that, if within the terms of your contract, they wish to break the engagement, you will provide an off-boarding service to help them transition smoothly to their new consultant or coach.