des moines, iowa and beyond

workflow & systems strategist

3 Tips to communicate your true value with confidence

Business, Systems & Workflows

Do you ever find yourself struggling to get people to see the value of what you are offering? Not just the price tag, but the true, honest to goodness value of what they’ll walk away with? If I had a quarter for every time I heard “I would have paid you double for this!” at the end of a project… 

Over the last decade, I’ve learned a lot of do’s and don’ts for how to avoid that type of comment by being proactive. Let’s talk about my top 3 tips to communicate your true value with confidence!

When we talk about value, it’s defined as “the importance, worth, or usefulness of something”. In even more specific terms, consumers have a perceived value of what they purchase. As a business owner, we need to be communicating the TRUE VALUE of what they are buying. 

It’s not just the monetary investment. You put in so much effort, intention and years of experience that makes your offerings valuable. The challenge is to know exactly what you are doing and the pieces that make up your experience so that you can communicate that well up front. 

So how do we get that visibility and confidence? You guessed it, by writing out your processes and detailed workflows. 

When you have to write it down, you can start to see the intricacies and identify the things you want to highlight. What are those details that make your experience and expertise unique? What are the things your clients have called out that they really feel elevates everything? Once you identify those elements, you will have so much more confidence. Not to mention, those become talking points that will connect with people! Then, how do you share that effectively with your audience?

Here are the top 3 tips to communicate your true value with confidence using the visibility you gain from your workflows!

Tip 1: Write out exactly what you do for each client

Yep, your workflow, step-by-step. This will give you a scope of each action you do for them and make it clear to you that you actually do do a lot! And, once you’ve laid it out in black-and-white, you’ll be better able to have that specific conversation with your clients.

BONUS: I have a FREEBIE just for you to do this! You can also read THIS BLOG POST for more details!

Tip 2: Read past client testimonials

The reason for this is two-fold. First, it boosts your confidence in what you do. Second, these testimonials can help you determine what value you provide to clients. They may have pointed out a benefit in their own life from hiring you that you may not have thought of! They also will say it in a way you can use to connect with other potential clients.

EXTRA TIP: create a folder somewhere just for your testimonials; when you need a confidence boost, they’re ready to deliver!

Tip 3: Turn those “features” from Tip 1 into “benefits”

If you’re researching a product, you’ll often see a “product description” followed by a “features” section. Features in the creative industry are obvious things like “create your lookbook”, “design the logo”, “deliver final designs”. 

Benefits are intangible–they’re the things your client is getting because you’re doing this work for them. Maybe one benefit is that they don’t have to spend hours on Google trying to figure out how to order linen for their wedding. Or suddenly they have free time during the day now because you updated their workflow headaches for them. Or they have peace of mind because they trust your impeccable design skills and ability to take their words and turn it into a wicked logo. So, what’s the benefit of working with you (besides the obvious deliverable you provide)? Knowing this helps so much to communicate your true value.

PSSSST: Sometimes those benefits are “worth more” in their mind than the features.

After all of that, bring it all together. Put yourself in their shoes. How much would those benefits be to you? How much would you pay for peace of mind or hours of time gained back from Google? Your work is worth a lot to your clients. 

Immerse yourself in their world, in your offerings, how you make their life better (serving not selling). Then, practice a bit. It’s going to feel weird, but talking about what you do (even if only to the air in your workspace) helps you gain confidence. Confidence always pays off during initial client meetings because if you’re not sure what you do for them, how can they be sure you know what you’re doing?!

If workflows are overwhelming to you and you’re not sure where to begin or you need a sidekick to make them run a little smoother, I’d love to give you some time and brain space back. Let’s grab a virtual bevy and cozy up for a chat!

xoxo,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *