If I Raise My Prices, My Clients Won’t Buy From Me

With Kanye’s and Drake’s recent releases causing so much excitement, I want to you back to 2013 to another hip-hop release that caused a major stir.

You see, in 2013, an unsigned rapper named Ermias Asghedom had an idea. He would release his next mixtape for free on datpiff.com, but if you wanted a physical copy, it would cost you $100.

When he told them his idea, they thought he had lost it! Nobody would ever spend $100 on a mixtape.

Asghedom’s friends always admired him for his business smarts.

Unlike other rappers, he would never spend his income on diamonds, brand labels or cars. Instead, he would invest in appreciating assets such as real estate or into his own business.

When he told them his idea, they thought he had lost it! Nobody would ever spend $100 on a mixtape.

Despite what his friends said, Asghedom went ahead. He would only make 1000 copies available.

He knew people would be “proud to pay.”

In 24 hours, all 1,000 CDs sold out, making Asghedom, better known as Nipsey Hussle, a cool $100,000!

I think about this story when my clients say, “if I raise my prices, no one will buy from me.”

It’s natural to have these doubts, But if you want to transform your business into a 6-figure or 7-figure business, it’s a step you will need to take. What’s important in making a successful transition is how you do it.

It is the model I used to grow my own business into a 7-figure business. Let me tell you why his idea worked.

 

1. Virality

Bonnie Raitt said let’s give them something to talk about. In your business, if you’re not giving people something to talk about they are not going to talk about your business. They’re not going to refer business and you’re not going to get new customers. So you have to give them something to talk about.

Nipsey Hussle’s $100 CD got people talking. The idea actually came from a book by Jonah Berger called Contagious about why things go viral. In it, there’s a story about a cheesesteak place in Philly that has a $100 cheesesteak. Now people talk about this place because it makes them mad that they would have the nerve to charge $100 for a cheesesteak but guess what, they are talking about and what they’re not doing is talking about another cheesesteak place that is selling cheesesteaks for $3.49.

It makes them curious and then they want to see what kind of place sells $100 cheesesteaks. Virality. Are you giving people a reason to talk about your business? A lot of people were talking about why they would never buy the CD for 100. But they were talking about it. In this age of social media, you want to keep your business top of mind.

 

2. Curiosity

Just like that cheesesteak place, when you charge high prices, people become curious. They want to know what is the big deal. What makes this thing so great? The mistake we make when we shy away from charging premium prices is that we’re not giving people the chance to be curious about our business. We’re actually saying nothing to see here. There’s nothing special about us.

When you have a premium-priced product our brains actually now want to know why. What makes us so special. People key in and start to take an interest in your business if even to understand why what you’re doing is so special. You start to get more attention, more curiosity. More curiosity more clients.

 

3. Scarcity

By only creating 1,000 CDs, Nipsey created an urgency to get your copy. If you can’t answer the question, why now then you’re not giving your buyer a reason to buy now instead of later. When you create scarcity, you’re creating the real possibility of them missing out, if they don’t get it now. FOMO is real and you should be using it to your advantage in your business.

 

VIP Days 

That’s why I love VIP Days. VIP Days allow you to set yourself apart from your colleagues in the industry by combining the elements of virality, curiosity and scarcity by creating one high-value high-income product. 

Join our VIP Day Blueprint Facebook Group where we talk about how to stand out from your competition with VIP Days and so much more! 

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Who is the Hero of your Brand?

Have you seen the new Amazon Christmas ad? It tells a beautiful story of a ballerina preparing for a big show. She diligently and against all odds, trains and rehearses, but unfortunately — Covid — the show is canceled. Her dream shatters before her eyes.

But then, in a burst of community spirit, her family, friends, and neighbors come together to give her a stage and an audience for her big night.

In the final scene, she’s seen on a rooftop at night, with a flashlight beaming down at her, creating a spotlight on her enchanting performance as neighbors watch and applaud through their windows.

Although I hate to say it about an ad for a big box store, but it kind of got me.  

Every good story starts off with a character who we can relate to, with a desire or motivation that we understand. We root for them as they overcome obstacles and cheer when they finally reach their happily ever after.

Who is this character in your business? Who are you rooting for and celebrating?

I’m subscribed to a newsletter, and their letterhead has the photo of a woman with a wide smile. Her hands are stretched over her head, and she points her index fingers directly at herself. Each time I see this picture, I cringe slightly because the message it sends is that their business is focused on themselves and not on the customers they’re serving. 

Just as every compelling story needs a hero, every compelling brand needs one too. Your brand’s hero shouldn’t be your brand. It should be your customer. Your customer should be the one you are rooting for, celebrating and guiding them toward their happily ever after.

When your customer is your brand hero, your business reaps the benefit. According to Deloitte and Touche, customer-centric companies were 60% more profitable compared to companies that were not focused on the customer.

Our brands benefit when we have our clients at the center of our communication as our hero. That means that we should communicate how well you know, understand, and empathize with your hero and their struggle and how much you applaud and cheer their successes.

That way, your clients know that their success is your focus, and you want to get them there. Let their victories be your victories. Let them be the star of the show and the hero in your stories.

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Oprah wasn’t having it!

Remember in 2017 when Oprah was a correspondent for 60 Minutes? If you blinked, you probably missed it.  

When I heard why she quit, I was blown away.

It was her first day and they were taping her introduction. Well according to them, she just wasn’t getting her name right. 

So they had the Oprah Miss Winfrey, 50-year veteran broadcasting legend, take after take repeating “I’m Oprah Winfrey. I’m Oprah Winfrey. I’m Oprah Winfrey.” Apparently, the way she said her name was “too emotional.” 

According to 60 Minutes, she just wasn’t getting her name right. 

“You know, when I walk into a room and somebody says, ‘You need to flatten out your personality,’ that’s not usually the space for me to be in.”  Oprah said of her time there. Within a few months, she had left the show.

If they would question Oprah’s capabilities, what about the rest of us?

Most of us, no matter how accomplished, don’t have an Oprah level resume. When we’re dismissed, most of us can’t just look at our bank account to remind us that we’re awesome. 

Oprah was able to walk away and return to her very successful businesses. For many of us though, constantly being underestimated or overlooked affects our business.

We don’t promote it like we know we should and that costs us clients, costs us business, and costs us money.

We need to remind ourselves that incidents like this happen every day, even to Miss Oprah Winfrey. The question is how do we respond?

Do we go into self-doubt or use these moments as fuel to get better in our business? As fuel to remember our accomplishments, our contributions and our achievements … As fuel to remember who we are and what we bring to the table.

When we fuel our business with that energy, our businesses benefit. So that, especially in these times, when we get the 60 Minutes treatment, we too can walk away because that’s not the space we need to be in.  

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