Do your clients fall off their chairs?

Last Friday, I gave the first workshop of our book tour for the Jersey Shore PR & Advertising Association. (For more details on the book tour, click here or here.)

The topic on Friday was pricing, which is apparently something a lot of people want to talk about. The room was fuller than they expected and I didn't have enough handouts! Nevertheless, it was a very lively discussion --- in fact, half way through, I almost abandoned my material and just let them ask questions -- but then I thought better of that and continued with my presentation.

Here's something I realized as I led the discussion: many pricing questions actually point to marketing problems. In other words, the solution to many pricing challenges is marketing. If you are marketing well and properly, many of the pricing challenges you face go away.

For example, Joanne Thweatt asked "How do I prevent my clients from falling off their chair when I tell them my prices?"

My short answer was, "Qualify your clients better by discussing money way up front (in the very first conversation). And, get better clients who understand the value of your services and are willing to pay for it."

How? Do more proactive marketing. Choose your clients and woo them. Don't worry about being a pest. Just qualify them well and show you why you think you're a perfect fit. They won't all turn into clients but at least you'll be in the driver's seat and you won't be liable for broken bones due to high prices.

Any other ideas to prevent broken bones?