Episode 889 – Boundaries vs Confrontation-How to Have Hard Conversations
Today on the podcast, we have Mike chatting with Gina Reim of GIna’s Cleaning Service. She has been in business since August 2017 and services residential and commercial clients. She is struggling to transition out of hourly rate cleaning and into flat fee as she gets quicker and more efficient in her cleaning. Listen in as Mike talks about the importance of not charging hourly for cleaning services, what to do instead, and how to have a smooth transition.
Value Over Monetary Sums
The most important concept to understand when it comes to pricing your services is that people will pay for value. Mike gives the example of speaking on his podcasts for free vs being hired to speak at a function. If he sells his speech as something that will be life-changing for those listening to it, that is going to have a lot more value than ‘Mike talking for an hour’. It is essential that you sell an outcome rather than a service. You are going to give them back their time, you are going to give them better relationships, less stress, etc. When you can frame the service you are doing in terms of value, then you aren’t just competing to be the cheapest company out there. You understand the value you offer and so do they.
What to Do With Current Clients
It can be intimidating to have conversations about changing your price structuring with current clients who you’ve had for years. The way Mike recommends doing this is by having a conversation based on value. Talk to them about how instead of a cleaner, you want to be a business person. Instead of them watching you clean and counting the hours, you are now going to provide them with a result. That result is more time with their family, a better relationship, and less stress, whatever that pain is you’re solving for them, that’s what you’re going to show them. From this perspective, it doesn’t matter if you spend 2 hours cleaning or 10, if the results are there, that’s where the focus lies.
Setting Boundaries Vs Confrontation
In this conversion, Gina was worried about having a confrontation with the clients. Mike then explained the difference between a boundary and a confrontation. In a confrontation, you are both trying to show why the other person is wrong. With a boundary, you are telling someone what YOU are going to do. Not them. At that point, they decide what THEY are going to do. In this case, you are raising your rates. When you let a client know you are raising your rates, they have a choice to stay with you or not. That’s it. It doesn’t leave any room for argument or confrontation, it leaves room for decisions to be made.
Final Takeaway: Be clear about the difference between controversy and boundaries when raising your prices, and go in with confidence showing what value you bring.