My area is really price sensitive

Quite often, when I talk about pricing, bookkeepers tell me “my area is quite price sensitive. I can't charge that much.”

In the last few years I've heard this about Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Midlands and almost every other part of the UK. I'm never really sure where this idea comes from, but it's demonstrably untrue. Clients are not price sensitive, they're value sensitive.

If we look at the reality of this comment we can see how untrue it is. Go to any part of the country and you'll see people driving Range Rovers, BMW's and Audis. You'll see them with their Mac Books and iPhone. There are cheaper alternatives to these things. If parts of the country were genuinely price sensitive everyone would be using Alcatel phones and driving Dacias. They're not.

If you've come across a potential client that struggles with your price it's normally because they don't yet see the value in what you are offering. Not because they are price sensitive. They can't visualise how your service can really help them. They're in commodity buying mode. They know they are legally required to do something and they want the bear minimum and the lowest price. It's up to you to open their mind to the real benefits you can deliver them.

More often than not, though, it's our own negative self talk that restricts how much you feel able to ask for. We suffer from the curse of knowledge. We forget what it felt like not to know what we know now. We underestimate the true value we offer. We're not confident in our offering. We think people will say no, so we don't ask. We make up excuses like “my area is quite price sensitive” because then it's the economy and not something we can change.

Of course, sometimes we will come across a prospect who genuinely is price sensitive. Not because of the area they live, just because they don't value what we do. When this happens just remember, they are in the minority. It's your choice if you let them into your business.