We all want happy customers. Because of that fact we entrepreneurs tend to go above and beyond to impress our clients. However, there’s also a pretty good chance we’re not communicating that extra work to our customers when we invoice them. And one thing is for sure: our customers can’t value or appreciate work they don’t know about or understand.
Let me give you an example. An electrician finds a loose wire. They want their customer to have a safe home free of safety hazards, so they fix the problem. However, they don’t say anything about it. They feel good about their quality of work, but their customer doesn’t truly understand the value they received by choosing this dedicated small business.
And it doesn’t end with the customer. By glossing over extra work, entrepreneurs also miss out on crucial information. From job to job, all of these small good deeds and extra bits of work add up – time, effort, materials, other jobs that we have to pass over because we ran short of time, the list goes on.
So today I’m going to assign you some homework. When filling out your next invoice, write down all the work you completed. All of it. Price that extra work at your full price in the notes field and then adjust the price to zero in the pricing column. Your customer will better appreciate how much you do for them, and they’ll get a clear picture of what they’ve received from you. Your customers will likely be incredibly grateful for that extra work (and they’ll want to pay you for it)!
For you as the entrepreneur, track all of these zero-priced items for one month and add them up. I want you to be aware of that number. It will be bigger than you think. Now, consider what you could have done with that money. How could you invest that amount back into your small business or yourself?
Are you ready to understand how valuable you are? Then, let’s set up a time to have a conversation!