Let’s do a little guided meditation…
You’re sitting at your desk, sipping your favorite morning beverage, getting ready to dive into the work you love doing.
You open your inbox to thank you emails from current clients, new leads who want to hire you for your outstanding services, and an e-statement from your bank showing income growth yet again this month.
And you’re excited to get to work, because your systems, your packages, your workflows are melding together into a powerhouse productivity machine. So much so, that you’ll have extra time this afternoon to plan your upcoming getaway vacation, and listen to your favorite podcast while walking your dog.
Getting to this place takes a few key things: systems that work great and save time, a growth mindset that you can and will grow your business and multiply your income, and high-end clients who will pay you premium prices for your extraordinary work.
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Defining High-Paying, Premium Clients
Let’s define high-paying clients: these are the people who understand the unique value your services, trust your expertise, pay your premium prices (on time, I might add), and sing your praises to other business owners. They should be high-paying, long-term, and a pleasure to work with.
They are the opposite of clients who ignore your advice, demand your attention at odd hours, challenge your expertise, try to negotiate lower pricing, or fall behind on payments (we call these P.I.T.A. clients…you can guess why).
In order to exponentially grow your business, you’re going to need to ditch those time-sucking clients who take up 80%+ of your time and effort, and start positioning yourself to welcome a steady stream of high-end, high-paying clients who help you grow your business into a thriving, income-generating engine.
1. Get Clarity on Your WHO
First things first: you need to be clear on exactly who your “right-fit” clients are. They are your WHO.
Your WHO are going to get the most value out of working with you, and are therefore willing to pay premium prices for your services. Because you intimately understand your WHO’s wants, needs, challenges, pain points and internal language, you can offer big solutions to their big problems – and they trust you to do it.
Want to get a clearer picture of your WHO? Hop over to Define Your Ideal Customers and Rapidly Increase Your Income
When you start attracting your high-end WHO clients, you’ll be able to grow faster, alongside clients who are thrilled to pay a premium price because they understand the ROI they are getting is worth their investment. Whether it’s more sales, a healthier relationship, better health, higher website traffic…they’re able to see the value in what you provide.
These ideal clients are more motivated, respectful, and gracious. Sounds dreamy, right?
Once you have clarity on your WHO, you will no longer be competing in a giant field of generalists. You will be one of the few targeting your special vertical, and as a result, you’ll be in high demand for those seeking your exact expertise.
2. Define a Marketing Strategy That Centers On Value
To attract high-paying clients, you’ll need to create the programs and materials that will draw them in.
Remember, these are high-end clients with high expectations.
Think of it as selling a bottle of fine, rare champagne versus boxed wine off the shelf. There’s a big difference in messaging, packaging and product, right? You need to put the time and effort into creating high-end services that deliver high-end results.
You need to:
- Outline the need for your program or services
- Illustrate what things will be like once their problems are solved
- Briefly explain how you’ll help get them there
By doing the above and creating premium-priced packages of $3K-$10k (and beyond) that attract high-end clients who pay you what you are worth, you only have to sell a few each month to hit your income goals.
The main takeaway here: the price someone is willing to pay is NOT based on your experience, your offer, or the software you use. It’s based on the results you promise, and how you market the value of those results.
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3. Establish Credibility in Your Niche Field
To grow your influence and your audience, you want to be known for your outstanding proficiency in what you do. You want to become known as the “it” person for your specialized services.
So, gather the social proof your high-end clients’ value, and show them why others are choosing to hire you for your unique expertise.
Client testimonials are great for this. They prove to others that you’re the real deal.
Your leads will be much more inclined to reach out to you when you can show examples of how you helped others just like them.
It sparks their imagination and helps them visualize what their life might look like if they solicit your help. Give a behind-the-scenes peek into what other clients experience from you, and what they’ll have access to if they work with you, too.
It’s the kind of super-effective, word-of-mouth marketing every business dreams of.
If you want to learn more about how to get testimonials for your business, I wrote a blog post about that, too: How To Ask For Client Testimonials (And Get Them!)
4. Be Awesome (AKA Provide Value)
Here’s the clincher: you need to do things uncommonly well. Raise the bar, up the ante, push the envelope of what can be done. Because you now need to elevate your services to their high-end level.
If they’re paying premium prices for your services, you need to deliver premium results.
The good news: this shouldn’t be hard if you understand the one thing you’re really, really amazing at. Then, you develop your Signature System for helping your clients reach their goals and swim in success.
Deliver on (or even better, exceed) their expectations, and give your clients reasons to fall in love with you.
When you deliver an extraordinary value, your ideal clients won’t bat an eye at your premium pricing. They’ll want more of what you have to offer because it blows Joe Schmoe Competitor’s services out of the water.
This is where five-star online reviews are born, and where word-of-mouth marketing results in new leads flooding your inbox.
5. Charge Premium Prices
To attract high-paying clients, you must charge a premium price. Sophisticated buyers expect to pay more – as long as they are getting a return on their investment (ROI).
In addition, as long as you can show the high value you provide – the ROI – and can provide a remarkable customer experience, you’ll find that people have more confidence in you when you charge a higher amount.
The reason?
People tend to perceive companies with higher pricing as more prestigious and, as a result, more desirable. They also assume that a high price indicates that the product or service quality is high as well.
Want to learn more about premium pricing? Read this: Why You Should Charge Higher Prices for Your Services
And Remember to Thank Them…
Be a great example and show your high-end clients your genuine gratitude for their business. Say thank you, write a letter, send a special holiday gift, go the extra mile, deliver a “wow” moment.
They’re helping you scale your business and generate new leads through referrals, testimonials, feedback and more — it’s a symbiotic relationship, meaning high-end clients give a whole lot of value back to you, beyond just the monthly project payments.
Make it so that they won’t even consider looking elsewhere for services, because you have an ongoing relationship and they are now your evangelists.
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