Knowing your pricing structure is one thing, sticking to it is another. Thinking business is business, especially in this competitive market, doesn’t mean it should be business at any cost. Not only does it undermine your rate card, it undermines it for other businesses.
It’s like selling a house under value. It ruins it for everyone else in the street and the repercussions are often extensive as it affects the mean price in the suburb and results in a lowering of the values with the bank, which means less borrowing power for the average punter, but I digress…
Just last week a client, who was in serious need of help, came to us and discussed his needs. He has invested a significant amount of money in stock, yet when it came to marketing he only had a very small amount of money to spend, and for what he wanted to achieve it would not have been possible.
He was devastated when we advised him that we were unable to help him, and I felt a serious pang of guilt. Once I would have taken the client, over serviced the account to achieve the results and committed my agency’s time and resources for a very small short term gain (if that). I would have been lucky to see payment and there were no signs of ongoing opportunities to secure additional work.
So in turning away one client, I now have the time, energy and resources to commit to chasing good solid new business, which is profitable for my agency. I am sticking to my rate card and I am committed to continually delivering my clients an exceptionally high quality of service at cost effective rates. Over the years, I have learnt that it can often benefit your bottom line NOT to take on every piece of business that comes your way.
As for my man with the budget restraints, I have passed him onto someone who can help him, and I am dealing with my guilt issues. I do have a positive outcome though, as in turning him away I received a great new business call which is looking very good.
