A common challenge that lots of heart-centered business owners have is how to set their prices in a way that will both generate the income they’d love from their business whilst at the same time offer good value to their customers.

And so today I’m going to share a formula that I use when setting prices – one that helps guide me towards setting attractive prices because it considers pricing from number of important perspectives.

A huge thanks to those of you who kindly completed my recent post Give To Profit Summit survey – it’s wonderful to realise there is definitely a growing swell of interest in ethical and compassionate marketing. And so heart-warming too that 24% of respondents are already supporting charities through their business.

I thought I’d share ideas on how to overcome key challenges faced by respondents incase you relate to any of them too:

During this month’s free monthly community call I shared ideas for ‘How To Find Out What Your Ideal Clients Want’ and because it was so popular, I thought I’d share some of these here too.

In one of my recent surveys 52% of participants stated that not generating enough income is one of their biggest challenges in business. And yet there is one thing you can do that will make this easier – that most people don’t and so are missing a really valuable trick!

I wonder if you’ve ever felt awkward around sales. If yes, then you’re not alone! In a recent survey I did, 38% said they feel uncomfortable ‘selling’.

And it’s usually because while we know what we don’t like when it comes to sales (and don’t want to come across as a pushy or sleazy sales person ourselves), not many of us have the conscious awareness of what people say or do that leads us to say ‘yes’ and buy.

The good news is that  huge factors influencing whether someone buys from you is how much they ‘know’, ‘like’ and ‘trust’ you. And so if you’re in the business of helping others one of the most important factors as to whether you’ll convert leads into paying clients is your ability to grow good relationships. Particularly with those who may be interested in your services or those who could refer clients to you.

So today I thought I’d share 3 ways you can build relationships with potential clients:

1. Set up an email list of potential clients and send subscribers regular emails – email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build relationships and showcase your expertise (as long as what you share is interesting and adds value to your audience). To get ideas on what to write about, write answers to the top 10 questions that people ask you to help them with – then write an email on each. Questions from leads and clients is what inspires me to write my emails/blog posts.
2. Offer free monthly calls to those on your email list – these are a great way for you to connect an build stronger relationships with those who have expressed an interest in your work. During these content only calls (i.e. no selling) I share my latest ideas on a particular topic (often chosen by my followers) and invite those listening in to share their ideas and ask questions. Again if you’re on my email list and what to experience how to do this, simply listen in to one of my monthly calls that you’ll receive an email about.
3. Set up & run your own Facebook Group – this is a great way for you to connect and get to know people who resonate with your message/work. Invite people who are your ideal clients to join, share resources and encourage participation. The beauty of this strategy is that for open groups, others will be able to find your group and ask to join if they like the look of what you’re doing. If you’re not already a member, you can check out my Facebook Group HERE.

Remember, these strategies for building relationships with potential clients are just one step in the ‘sales’ process. And making sure you have no holes in your sales process (including inviting people to buy from you) is still important.

That said, you are likely to find that by building credibility and relationships over time in the ways I’ve suggested, is likely to result in more people approaching you to sign up or refer business opportunities to you. Because most of us tend to prefer those who ‘help’ rather than those who ‘sell at’ us. 

If you’d like to find out more about how you can sign up more clients by ‘giving’ rather than ‘selling’, I’m running a Give To Sell Workshop on this topic in Edinburgh on 12th June – you can find out more HERE. 

I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts – please do share your comments below.

Alisoun Mackenzie is The Compassionate Business Mentor, Author, and Speaker who inspires business owners and social entrepreneurs to turn their passions into profits and make a difference in the world. 

She is also the author of two Amazon Best Selling books Heartatude, The 9 Principles of Heart-Centered Success and 

Alisoun is also the founder of The Heartabiz Hub a business network and training academy and has written the following free ebooks:

• The 9 Secrets to Signing Up Clients Without Selling (click here)
• 101 Ways To Attract Great Clients, With Heart, Integrity & Social Impact (click here)
• 52 Ways to Raise Funds for Charities and Social Causes Through Your Business  (click here)

You can connect with Alisoun here:

• Alisoun’s website – www.alisoun.com 

• Alisoun Mackenzie Facebook Fanpage (for tips on authentic living and business mastery) – click HERE

• The Heartabiz Hub Facebook Fanpage (for details about our courses and events) – click HERE

• Give To Profit Facebook Fanpage (tips on supporting charities and social causes) – click HERE

Recently I had a lovely evening meeting some new like-minded souls at a networking group I’d been keen to attend for a while. But I’d almost forgotten about the event until I received a reminder from Meetup.com.

Have you ever missed something you’d really wanted to attend or see but forgot about?

Yet do you ever feel reluctant about reminding people about your events or product offers?

I know I used to feel anxious about sending out reminders, as I didn’t want to bother or pester people. But now I realise that some people will be really pleased to receive them!

I love that nowadays there are so many great free resources available on the internet, that give us as consumers the chance to check someone out ahead of deciding whether to sign up to their products or services.

Do you think potential customers would be more likely to buy from you if they knew more about how you or could sample your products/services?