I taught a pricing course a few weeks ago at our Tobago Chamber, and I ended it off with my lesson called the Five Levels of Pricing.
And though it’s title has the word, “pricing” in it, it is truly a lesson about marketing and its effect on your ability to earn.
The very first section of it is called WILL WORK FOR FOOD. And in it, I explained that before I started getting paying clients, I literally worked for food or for free. In those days, I’d sit in someone’s home or office, constructing marketing plans over a hot plate of pelau and a cold drink, which was often my payment.
Once I had started making a bit of a name for myself, through the results that I was getting… and promoting, I moved to the next level… WILL WORK FOR MONEY.
At this point, I charged people for my time and involvement in their business, but it wasn’t nearly what it should’ve been, when compared to the value they were getting from me.
At this point, I charged people for my time and involvement in their business, but it wasn’t nearly what it should’ve been, when compared to the value they were getting from me.
The third level, which should come as no surprise, is called WILL WORK FOR VALUE.
Curiously enough, once I explained that this was the level where I started charging what I thought the service was worth, a student enquired in quizzical fashion about why I didn’t start off charging for value in the first place.
And it was that question that really allowed me to teach the marketing lesson of the Five Levels of Pricing.
I explained to her that marketing consultants typically DO NOT have a good reputation of getting results, and so when you come to the table wearing that particular hat, there’s extreme skepticism and resistance that comes your way.
For me, the easiest way to overcome this was to not charge a single penny, with the idea being that the client would perceive it as a no-risk proposition.
But the truth is that for many a businessperson, this will still not let you in the door.
The fact is that marketing often demands changes to how businesses operate, and it is virtually impossible for an untested individual, as I was to them at the time, to be allowed that kind of access or influence over other people’s businesses.
She seemed doubtful even then, till I told her of how I got my very first client, a seamstress in Tobago, whom I took from $5000 per month to $26,500 in our very first month.
Even though I had met her in 2011 and we became fast friends, I was not able to convince her to give me a crack at her business till 2013, more than two years after we'd first been introduced.
Why such a lengthy period before pulling the trigger?
Simple. She didn’t believe in what I could do. And who could blame her?
Simple. She didn’t believe in what I could do. And who could blame her?
But the solution was not to take it personally. Rather, I opted to do a slow-drip marketing campaign on her, with hopes of breaking down her wall. Once she relented and gave me the opportunity, I proved myself.
The truth is that many businesspeople need to do something similar in order to get people to believe in them. And in some industries, where doubt and skepticism are rampant, this is even truer.
Of course, it may not require two-year campaigns such as the one I undertook. But there are a multiplicity of things you can do in a business to establish trust in you, your competence and the efficacy of your products.
As long as you understand that you will have to do things to encourage people to take a chance on you, you’re on the right track.
Cause if not, you’ll often get little business, and you’ll most certainly never ascend to the other two levels, WILL WORK BY REPUTATION or WILL WORK FOR OPPORTUNITY COST.
And by the way, if the title of the last two levels doesn’t fully give away what they mean, you can always come to my next next instalment of our Service-Pricing Masterclass. If interested, please click the link below to get on our waiting list.
