How to figure out what your clients will PAY for with Abhishek Kumar

I moved to San Francisco on a brisk day in January 2014 with only a suitcase and two potential client meetings.

I figured if those didn’t work out, I could hustle something up. I was great at catching interest and closing projects but, in my early years, I dramatically underpriced my services.

By a lot.

I didn’t know how big that gap was until I shared my desired rate with one of the San Francisco clients.

“$50 an hour,” I said shyly.

“We’ll pay you $75.” They responded.

It was in that moment I realized just how much I was underbidding.

Of course, I took the deal. Worked a three month contract with them and ended up converting into full time after that. It was a good thing they paid 33% higher than I asked because those San Francisco rent prices are no joke. I should’ve asked for more!

Pricing is a conundrum we all face. Are we priced too high? Or too low? How are other businesses pricing this?

The big secret about pricing is that it’s not about cost. It’s about value.

So how do you sort out your value?

To unpack that, I turned to market researcher Abhishek Kumar.

Abhishek and I met a few months back and I was immediately struck by how different his approach is.

Many market researchers churn out reports that make you go “oh that’s interesting” but RARELY do they say “here’s how you make more money.”

Or as Abhishek says “the only real validation is money in the bank.”

I asked Abhishek all about how he does this magic and he shared the steps you can take to figure out who your buyers are and what they’ll pay for.

One of the gems he shared:
“Even if they have not spent money with you, they’ve spent money on a similar problem with others or they have spent at least a few months trying to solve that problem.”

Understanding that gives you a sense of what they’ve *already paid.*

As Abhishek shows us, you don’t have to go on a big ‘ol research endeavor to figure this out. A small set of conversations can speed up the wheels of sales.

Tune into the show to hear more of Abhishek’s recommendations on how to gather this intel and put it to work closing deals.

P.S. My live show is back every Friday at 12pm Eastern and this week, we’re mapping out your marketing system.