After investing so much time trying to look for new potential clients, you finally receive an email asking for an estimate for your services. Amazing! You spend a lot of time researching and writing the perfect proposal and finally hit the “send” button. And then, nothing happens… You wait for a few days and, after a while, you get an email saying “I’m sorry, but you are too expensive” or “we were expecting something cheaper”.

I know the feeling. I’ve been there too. It seems that all your efforts are wasted over a simple email. This type of emails also makes you rethink (and often lower) your rates. From now on, there’s a little voice in your head telling you that your rates are too high and no one will ever accept your rates.

And that’s one of the most common mistakes. When we’re writing a quote for a client, we tend to think: “I can’t charge this, my clients won’t never accept this rate. They’ll think I’m too expensive”.

But, let me tell you something. Your clients most likely can afford your current rates. Don’t even think about lowering your rates, or you’ll be underestimating your own services.

As a matter of fact, I even recommend overcharge first in case you need to negotiate your estimate. And that’s probably the main reason why you’re receiving “you are too expensive” emails.

Your clients can afford your rates, but they’re trying to negotiate to get a better deal. And there are normally 3 scenarios where this can happen. I’m going to analyse them below, but it’s very important that you can identify what’s your specific situation to act accordingly.

Let’s dive in!

3 scenarios where you may receive “you are too expensive” emails

1st scenario: Most of your clients say that you are too expensive

If that’s your case, you don’t have a problem with the price of your products/services; you have a problem in your brand positioning.

The good news here is that you’re doing a good job when it comes to marketing, because you’re attracting clients interested in your services. However, you’re not attracting the right clients.

In other words, you’re not attracting clients that are willing to pay your prices.

The bad news is that you could be investing in marketing efforts that aren’t working for you and your brand. And probably you’re wasting your time writing and sending quotes for clients that will never hire your services. These are probably clients looking for low-cost services, and that’s exactly the type of clients that you want to avoid.

Is that your case? Don’t worry, all you need to do is to step back and analyse your Ideal Customer Avatar. You need to identify and get to know that perfect client that you actually want to attract. Someone who not only accept your rate, but they also appreciate your services and even recommend you to other potential clients. Have a look at this video with some questions you should be asking yourself:

Then you have to identify all the marketing actions that you’re implementing and are attracting the wrong type of clients. Are you using words like “cheap” or “low-cost” on your website? Are you promoting your website content in the wrong places? Then, you need to stop doing that.

Even if you’re attracting clients thanks to these actions, you’re not attracting the clients you want to work with. Identify all these actions and replace them with other actions to start attracting your ideal clients.

READ MORE HERE: Market research: define your niche market

2nd scenario: Your client is trying to negotiate

Another common situation: A potential client contacts you and then says that you are too expensive. But you’re pretty sure that this specific client can afford your prices.

In this case, your client is simply trying to negotiate to get a better deal. And this type of clients can be easily identified.

This is when I recommend overcharging in the first place. You should also set a price limit for your negotiation. Any offer behind this price should be out of the table.

Remember that the price of a project is only one of the aspects that can be negotiated. There are other aspects to be considered, like extra services, a deadline extension, You shouldn’t negotiate only on the price of an assignment but also on extra services that you normally offer, deadlines, etc.

For example, when I translate websites, I normally offer SEO and keyword research services to complement my translation services and offer a better job overall. Of course, this increases the price that I charge to my clients.

Some clients are willing to pay more for a better service, some aren’t. So I can reduce the price of my services just providing translation services and not including extra services when clients aren’t willing to pay more for a better service.

Work on your negotiating skills to get the most of your sales conversations.

It’s also possible that your clients don’t understand the reasons behind your rates. How many times have you wondered why a Public Notary charges so much money just to sign a document? Your clients may be wondering the same about your services.

Make sure that you explain the benefits of hiring your in your marketing materials. Don’t take for granted that your clients know what they can achieve with your services.

Sometimes changing the approach of your marketing is enough. Instead of saying “I provide the best website translation services”, you can say “I provide website translation services that will increase your online visibility by 65%”.

Then your client will link your prices to the benefits that you’re offering and will value your work in a completely different way.

3rd scenario: Your clients actually can’t afford your rates, but you’re interested in the job

This is normally the case of NGOs or business looking for volunteers or internship opportunities.

In these cases, employers can’t afford to pay standard rates. However, you may be very interested in a particular project, maybe because you want to expand your experience in a particular field or because it could be a good opportunity to get to know influential people in a particular field.

If that’s your case, you can negotiate the requirements of the assignment so you can still have time to work on other jobs at your normal rate. You can try and negotiate flexible working hours, or a flexible deadline, so you can work on this assignment while juggling the rest of your workload.

The most important thing here is to know what you’re going to achieve taking on this project. There should be a clear advantage for you and your business. Clearly it’s not going to be money, so make sure that whatever it is that you’ll achieve will compensate the money that you could be charging for this job.

3 questions you should ask yourself to answer “you are too expensive” emails

• Does your products or services provide enough value for the price that you’re asking for? Why? How can you prove it?

And this should be the foundation of your pricing strategy. There should be a reason behind your prices and you should be able to justify your price at any time giving a reasonable answer to convince your clients. So, you better be ready to answer this question!

• Does your marketing materials reflect this value?

Your marketing materials should scream this value as loud as possible. That’s the best way of educating your potential clients regarding your prices.

If your products are expensive, don't be afraid to show it, but make sure that your prices go according to the value you provide. #branding Click To Tweet

• Is your marketing attracting the right people?

Every time that someone that isn’t your Ideal Customer Avatar contacts you asking for a quote, you should be asking yourself why and how this person contacted you.

Are you using the right means to reach potential clients?

If you don’t position your brand correctly, you’ll end up spending too much money and time on your marketing to end up talking to people who aren’t willing to pay your prices.

What about you? Have you ever get one of these “you are too expensive” emails? How did you manage them? I’d love to read your experience and provide my approach to your particular case if that helps you improve the way you manage them.