Written by: Daniel Mangena, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Absolutely not!
Hey everyone, I’m Daniel Mangena — best-selling author, public speaker, Wall St. Journal ‘Master of Success’ yada yada, multi-millionaire, blah blah blah… You can find out more about me and what I do on my website and social media. I don’t want to bore you with a list of credentials here that, to you, will probably seem fairly arbitrary at this point.
Suffice it to say; I have helped make a lot of people very rich. Not always in financial terms, but certainly that way too. I give people the tools to create a life of abundance, in the mold of what that looks like to them. I want them to live abundantly, joyfully, and with purpose.
Over time I’ve worked with people from all walks of life. I know that a BIG sticking point for many entrepreneurs and small business owners is; what to charge clients! Especially when you’re starting, right? You want to compete, and the only way, it seems, to do that is on price.
Start low and work your way up…right?
Well…
One of my fabulous Micro 2 Million clients raised this question with me recently, on one of our group calls. She asked: “Should we cut our rates during lockdown to attract more business?”
Absolutely not, and here’s why: lowering your rates lowers your frequency. You will not attract the clients that you want by doing that. As one of my mentors says, “If you’re going to change your rates - put them up. Always be expanding!”
Ultimately you want your business to grow and for you to achieve the life of abundance that you deserve…yes? So, for that to happen, you need to attract the kind of clients who are aligned with that. Have faith that they are out there (they are, trust me).
I’m sure you’ve had some experience of this, whether it’s been from putting your business rates down in the past or just reducing the price of something on eBay.
Did you get what you wanted out of it, or were you forced into a compromised position of ‘lack’?
When we price something, we assign it a value, but we also give it a frequency designed to attract people at the same frequency. Put another way: we wish to attract others who value said good or service to the same degree that we do.
So how many times, when you lower the price to a level that you think will appeal to more people, do you get anyone actually willing to pay your new price? Odds are, you get people who want to drive your price down even further and take up more of your time, trying to squeeze the maximum productivity out of you.
Before you know it, your new clients are eating up your time, causing you stress and maybe even losing your money/business from other sources. No good.
Why does this pattern really happen, though?
I’ll tell you why, "Because you made your decision from a space of lack. So lack is what you got back!"
Think about it. You wanted to broaden your client base to attract more business and, therefore (presumably) more revenue. But the basis for your whole strategy was lack!
“People are struggling right now. They don’t have as much income. I don’t have as much income. So if I bring my prices down in alignment with that, they’ll be able to afford my services again.”
You just identified a client base that doesn’t have the means to afford your goods or services, and you plan to target them. What do you think you’ll get back?
Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that the answer is to target the Sultan of Brunei as your sole client and put your hourly rate up to $1M (nice though that would be, I’m sure). Being generous, giving away free resources to people, and creating special offers can play an important role, but it’s all about your intention.
Make your intention one of service.
I give away lots of free resources (and I have some for you, but more on that later), I have lots of courses and group coaching that I offer at a lower price point, but my intention for all of that is to be of service. My private coaching still starts at $10,000, and even then, I am very selective with who I agree to coach. This is partly because I want to attract clients to my private coaching who are already at a certain level; in service of that end: I make many of my resources available at a relatively affordable price. In effect - I create the clients that I want.
I give away these resources for free to raise people to a level at which I can start working with them. I don’t want to attract groups who have nothing invested in my programs, so I help them generate enough money to invest in them. Even if I’m charging a nominal fee, like $20 for a workbook, that attracts the kind of person who wants to invest in their development. The $20 is, frankly, neither here nor there for me. It’s about what it instills in those who buy the program. The value exchange has to take place for both parties to benefit!
So what to do when you find yourself in the space of lack energetically?
Now it may well be true that you and your regular clients have lost out financially since the start of the COVID pandemic (or rather, as a result of our collective response to it).
The first thing is to recognize when you’re in that space. Bring your awareness to the present and how you’re feeling. Then work on connecting to an energetic frequency of abundance.
If you are giving of your time and/or services, for cheap or for free, before giving it away, be sure to connect to the feelings/energy of abundance and then bless that gift before you give it away. In other words - don’t give things away out of desperation. Give them a way to be someone who can afford to give them away - the intention of service.
When you break everything down: this thing we call ‘time’ is really just part of the cosmic, energetic soup that we’re all a part of. Emotional energy only exists in your body for around 90 seconds at any one time. The rest of it is a choice. Do you choose to hang on to it or let it go?
I say, "choose to step into that energetic space of abundance. Really practice getting yourself there every day, whatever it takes. Then ensure that your business decisions are made in that energetic space and don’t court more lack by holding on to the emotional energy associated with lack."
Thank you so much for reading this article!
As I mentioned earlier, I have many free resources designed to help get the ball rolling for those of you struggling with financial stress. The aim of providing free resources is not to devalue my services but rather to proactively enable you all to become precisely the kinds of clients I want to attract!
Now they may well be all you need to get to the level of wealth you desire. If so: great! If not: you’ll be resourced enough to do some higher-level coaching with my team and me.
If you’d like access to my free resources page, all you have to do is ask. Please leave a comment down below requesting the link, and we’ll get it to you.
Also, if you have any questions on what I’ve covered here or have something else you’d like me to cover in a future article - please drop it in a comment, and I’ll take a look!
Till next time! Keep dreaming with your eyes open!
Daniel Mangena, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dan Mangena is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and public speaker. Recently named in the Wall St Journal as a "Master of Success", he is completely self-made and has spent decades perfecting his world-class coaching methodology. His books, podcasts, events & retreats continue to help captains-of-industry and private individuals alike live an abundant, joyful, purpose-driven life. He offers many unique and effective free tools via his website.