Has anyone said this to your face and left you tongue-tied: “You are too expensive to work with…”
Well, instead of finding yourself lost for words or getting offended thus saying something that you might regret later on, here is a script for you to turn around the situation, gracefully and rapidly.
Before we get there, this is definitely what NOT to say:
“No, it’s not expensive at all! Here is why ___________[followed by your 30 minutes speech or 500 words to justify yourself”.
This, my dear friend, immediately kills your budding connection you’ve been working so hard to build on. It really takes courage for your prospects to open up and share their views. It’s not your job to prove them wrong.
Instead, your first step is to put yourself in their shoes and show empathy: “I understand/I hear you/I know it is not cheap and we are talking about your hard-earned Money…” A simple opening like this can ease the friction and open up the conversation flow.
Then pause for a few seconds to acknowledge the soul of your prospective client energetically, and show curiosity: “What has brought you here with me today? What’s your biggest challenge at the moment? How willing are you to resolve this?”
If you have already touched on some of this in your previous conversation, don’t avoid it here, it’s an opportunity for you both to assess the situation better.
While they speak, you listen carefully and depending on their situation, here are two outcomes:
1. This is your ideal-client and s/he wants to work with you and is ready but genuinely struggles with the investment, which is the only thing that keeps them on the fence.
Now it’s time to brainstorm with them ways to manifest the investment required, and help them to see how working with you can take them from A to B and resolve their challenge in the shortest possible time-frame.
If you feel comfortable, you can also offer practical solutions such as payment plan options.
Or perhaps direct him/her to your smaller products/packages to help them get started + offer to touch base in 30/60 days.
2. The real reason behind “You are too expensive/I can’t afford you right now” is that this is not a good fit (ie, they are not ready to work with you or would be better served by someone else).
Don’t feel bad about this, again, take this opportunity to be of service:
– recommend them to your colleagues who might be a better fit
– point them to books/free resources/whatever your intuition says
Honour where they are in their journey.
There is no need to push or hard-sell to a point that everything sounds so ridiculously & desperately fake: “This is your last chance/ Working with me is your only way to get XYZ, take the leap now or you are a loser…”
Be detached- a forced tango cannot be satisfying anyway.
Be of service – chances are they will simply enjoy your presence, love and generosity and talk about you with their friends, who happen to be your exact ideal client; or you’ve now built up trust with them, you will be the first one they think of when they are ready further down the road. Instead of crying over your spilled “conversion”, celebrate your future raving fans in advance!
Have you come across a similar situation before? How did you handle it? Please share in the comment.
Finally, and most importantly, whatever you are charging, you need to be comfortable with it within and without. Otherwise, no matter how many word-to-word scripts you use, the energy in the air will just be, well, weird…
Curious about how further assistance can help you? You can get more mantras, scripts and subliminal audios in my Money Course: Money First Aid Kit
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
Great article. There have been coaches I have spoken to who jumped into the “let’s find the money” part way too quick. There are two other specific coaches I talked with who when I said I didn’t have that kind of money, they just said, “Ok, then maybe it’s not your time. Just know that I am here when you need me.” I will most likely work with those women in the future and not the one who was trying too hard.
Thank you for sharing your experience Casey!! It’s wonderful to know that there are people who are simply there for you, without artificial urgency, isn’t it?!
These are wonderful tips, Yiye! I’ve unsubscribed from many lists because of they hard and aggressive tactics. I agree that it’s more effective to empathize and let them go if they are not my ideal clients. This creates space for my ideal clients to show up 🙂
Love what you said about creating space for your ideal clients Sarah – such empowered femininity!
Such a great post 🙂 Absolutely!!
Love this and appreciate it very much since I have had these hardselling experiences and they left me feeling trampelled over without regard to my soul. As much as we sometimescwant to work with someone, it is not always possible financially.
Simple as that!
Thanks for sharing your experience Nadia!
Brilliant! Getting to the heart of it without being pushy I show I like to do things. This wording is wonderful!
I had pushy so I would never do that to my clients however it’s easy to just kinda walk away from that without a genuine response that actually serves both parties. This is that response!
Getting to the heart of it without bein pushy is how I like to do things. Whoops with autocorrect!
So glad you resonate Vanessa! I love what you said with “getting to heart of it without being pushy” – simplicity & authenticity is a lot of creative & spiritual people crave for!
D’you know, I used to listen to very “pushy”, “sales-y” teachers years ago. I believe I needed that energy because I was still in the “I don’t deserve money” camp; I needed the nudge to acknowledge my worth and my needs. I certainly learned a lot from those teachers, but recently I feel like I’ve outgrown those teachings. What you say here resonates deeply; it’s exactly how I wish I’d be treated as a potential customer. It’s how I strive to treat the people who come to me as well, and I’m picking up so many hints here – the pause to acknowledge their soul, the inquiry into their motives instead of steamrollering the objection… Lovely.
Thank you so much, Yiye, as always!
Thanks for inspiring more depth to this Siyblle! Each style has its own merits. If the business owner’s key learning curve is standing up for their services, being assertive is a beautiful liberation but this can be worded and approached in a respectful way that can only encourage long-term loyalty. So glad that you find it helpful!
Love,
Yiye