What's up Brand Builders! Stephen Houraghan here of brandmasteracademy.com and in this
video you're gonna learn how to charge more for your branding services so you
can build that business and that lifestyle that you envision for yourself
now there's no getting around that the branding industry the design industry it
has changed a lot in the last five to ten years and the main reason for this
is got to do with the change in the market conditions there are a lot more
options for entrepreneurs going into the marketplace today looking for these
types of services they can go and get this done online themselves through
design software they can jump on to different marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork
and find a designer overseas for very very cheap but the implications of
all of this is a push down on price on expectation on the the price and the
cost of these kinds of design services so that when designers and brand
specialists come across their clients on on the front lines and come across their
prospects they often have these conversations about price and the
expectations are there for all to see a lot of prospects will say I can go and
get this done cheaper online or you know why do you charge so much compared to
other designers so that's what I want to go through in this video I want to go
through five different techniques that you can take into your business so you
can start charging more for your design and your branding services number one
differentiate now the very first thing that you need to do is distance yourself
from all of those generalist designers out there charging those low prices if
your prospects are comparing you on price to all of those other generalists
designers then it's because you haven't positioned yourself effectively so you
need to position yourself and that means changing everything on your website
changing all your messaging the conversations that you have with your
clients so that you can tell them listen what I do is different I see you know
those generous designers over there and what they charge but that's not what I
do I do things differently and you need to be able to describe what it is that
you do differently so whether that's Brand Strategy or whether it's illustration
whatever it is that you are telling your client that you do differently is your
differentiation strategy and it it's what differs you from all of those
generalist designers and it's the reason that you are not charging those same low
rates you are a specialist and that's what differentiation helps you do it
helps you to position yourself as a specialist in the market and justify
those higher rates number two ask questions strategically now the more
questions you ask your client the more you will be in control of the
conversation and the more you will come off as an expert as well because it's
those who ask the most questions that control that conversation and are able
to demonstrate their level of expertise by that gathering of information you'll
be surprised how your client will see you as an expert just by you asking
questions you don't necessarily need to talk shop here and demonstrate a huge
amount of expertise at this stage just simply asking strategically placed
questions will really help them to see you as an expert in your field so ask
those strategically positioned questions and really focus on the outcome that you
want so of course you're learning about their business and you're arming
yourself with information to be able to guide them and to give them the best
possible result but you're also trying to position your questions in a way that
will make them have their own epiphany that they need more than just these
bottom drawer services that are out there they need more than just that logo
and they need to really think about who it is that they're trying to connect
with number three listen intently and display empathy now one of the biggest
mistakes that I see inexperienced brand builders make is they talk too much they
spend their time on the phone with their client and they are speaking more than
their prospect and if you do that well then you drown out the opportunity for
your prospect it's really talked about their business so the time that you
spend talking should be asking those questions and then you want to sit back
and listen give your prospect the opportunity to really open up and
encourage them to elaborate where possible and listen intently so you want
to take in exactly what they're saying you want to
take notes as they're doing it and then show some empathy show them that you
understand show them that you understand their business their idea and you know
give some encouragement if you're able to do that but really spend your time
listening instead of talking when you are talking ask those questions and then
take in all of the information that your prospect is giving you
number four display expertise and authority so this is where you've taken
the time to listen to them so you've gone through that prognosis stage and
you've really understood what they're doing what they're trying to achieve
you've asked the right questions you've really gotten them to open up about
their plans for the future their vision for their brand so that they can really
start to think big picture about what the possibilities are for their brand
and this is where you come into the conversation now and display your
expertise so you talk to them about the opportunity that lies in front of them
and what their prospects are and what it is possible to build for them from a
branding point of view and this is where you talk to them about strategy and the
individual elements of brand strategy and really talk to them about why these
elements are so important and why they need to be considered when it comes to
building a strategic brand now of course they will know that every brand needs a
logo but if you do this right if you do this well enough by the time they are
finished with this call they will have a much higher understanding of what real
branding is all about and this is where you really display that authority if
they get a feeling that you really know what you're talking about
then you will really earn that trust you've already opened up the
conversation got them to open up the idea about what their business is and
where that business can go so that's really preparing them for this next step
which is now coming in and educating them on how to get them from A to B so
if you do that well enough if you really display your expertise here and you
educate them on the value of strategic branding then they'll really feel that
affinity towards you they'll really feel a trust with you and that will open the
door for them to becoming your client and number five show successes now the
more brand strategies that you produce the more ammunition you
at this stage if you have stories of success and you're able to tell your
clients those stories well then that's really going to solidify the
conversation they already trust you at this point from the process that you've
brought them through you brought them through opening up about their business
and the better brand and about really envisioning what life could be like if
they make this a success and then you've come in with your expertise and
authority to demonstrate what real branding is all about and the different
strategic elements of branding now if you back this up with a story of success
or a number of stories of success they're really gonna feel that trust and
they're really gonna feel that they're on the right path or on the right
journey and that they really are in good hands one of my clients after the brand
strategy process she came to me and she said look due to this strategy I've
changed a lot of things within my business because I better understand my
audience now and there's a lot of things that I can see within my services that I
could do better so she restructured a lot of her services and a lot of things
that she did within her business because of the strategic branding process so
that's an example that I use with my prospects to really highlight the value
of brand strategy so the more strategies you produce the more examples you're
gonna have of this the more opportunity you're gonna have to talk to your past
clients and really ask for those success stories and use them when speaking with
your prospects now look there is no doubt that there is a lot of
misinformation out there in the marketplace about what branding is what
branding is not and it's not helped by designers who are charging bottom drawer
prices and selling their services as browning services because you have
newbie entrepreneurs coming into the marketplace and their perception is that
this is what branding services cost and this is what they should pay but part of
your role as a brand strategist as a branding specialist is to educate your
clients on the most part these entrepreneurs are just coming into the
marketplace not necessarily looking for bottom drawer prices they're just
looking for help and what they tend to come across are designers who will
provide cheap services but all they're left with is a cheap logo at the end of
the day you have an opportunity as a brand specialist as a brand strategist
to educate your clients and really helped them to get to where they want to
go they have an idea for a business and their idea is not to fail they want to
succeed and they want to give their business the best possible chance to do
that in it they're lucky enough they will come across you your processes and
your ability to develop a strategic brand on their behalf and for that
service you will be able to charge a premium if you learn how to position it
correctly so take the time to differentiate yourself from all those
other designers ask strategic questions listen intently and display empathy
display your expertise and authority and then show your successes and if you do
this well enough you will show your value in the marketplace why you're
different to all of those other designers and why you should be charging
more as a specialist if you like this video please give it a thumbs up and hit
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is free and I will drop those tips and techniques right into your inbox but I
want to hand it over to you now what is your experience when it comes to
charging for your branding services do you feel that there is downward pressure
on prices do you feel that there's a lot of clients and prospects out there with
high expectations and very little budget and how is that impacting your business
I'd love to know in the comments box below let me know what your challenges
are I'll do my best to answer all of those questions until next time Brand
like a master and I will see you in the next video