Podcast 35: How to Value Yourself and Your Services
Oct 15, 2020
Do you value the service you offer your clients? It’s not unusual for therapists, coaches and holistic practitioners to undervalue themselves. Often looking to offer their services for free or cheaply because they feel everyone has the right to health and well-being.
Whilst I totally agree, as humans, we deserve to be happy and healthy, as practitioners we deserve to thrive. The work we do to support our clients is too important for us to be struggling to make a living.
Value isn’t just about money; it’s also how you feel about the work you do and owning the difference you make in the world.
I’m going to be covering this topic from three angles over the next three weeks including valuing yourself, money mindset and pricing your services.
The cost of becoming a practitioner
I spoke at the Herbal Medicine Conference at the weekend and asked the attendees to review how much it cost them to train as herbalists. There were some shocked people sharing figures ranging from £10,000 - £60,000.
Exercise: You can estimate this or work it out accurately if you have the figures available. How much did you invest to train as a practitioner?
- How much was your training?
- What was the cost of your books and any other materials?
- Did you need to buy any equipment?
- How much did it cost you for insurances and memberships to professional bodies?
- If you weren’t able to work while you trained, how much income did you lose?
Your figure may not be as high as the herbalists but it’s still likely to be a significant amount. You’ve made a big financial investment to be able to do the work you do and that has value.
Setting up your practice
Depending on your discipline, you may have had substantial additional costs to set up your practice. If you had to make a significant investment for furniture or equipment, including the amount in your total cost of becoming a practitioner.
Ongoing costs to maintain your practice
Once you’re qualified and set up, it isn’t the end of the investment. For every practitioner, there are the ongoing costs of being able to help your clients. You have to continuously invest in yourself to be able to maintain your practice and update your skills.
Exercise: How much does it cost for you to continue to be a practitioner each year? Include these and any other services you must pay for to maintain your status.
- Membership to professional bodies
- Insurance
- Data Protection
- CPD/training
What qualifies you to do the work you do?
How you help your clients isn’t just about your practitioner qualification. There are years of different experiences that make you unique. Different life experiences, jobs and hobbies give you a different perspective and way of working. It’s this uniqueness that will help you stand out and attract clients.
Make a note of the different things that qualify you to help your clients and do the work you do – include everything from work to life experiences and hobbies.
The value of results your clients achieve
What is the value of the results you help your clients achieve? Many clients will have invested time, energy and money into trying to resolve their issues before coming to you. How do they value the work you do with them?
Whilst this is more difficult to quantify, there are ways you can understand this value and that’s from feedback.
Keep a file of all your great testimonials and client stories as a reminder of the great work you’ve done and the people you’ve helped.
Remind yourself of your value
Those times when you struggle to see your worth, remind yourself of these:
- The financial cost of training and running your business
- How you’re history has provided you with different experiences and skills.
- Client stories and testimonials to remind you of the great work you do.
If you don’t value the work you do and the change you facilitate, why would anyone else? Start owning your value and it will communicate confidently through everything you do with your clients.
If you're struggling to value yourself and your services, book a discovery call and find out how I can help you.
Podcast 35 show notes:
- (01:42) The cost of becoming a practitioner
- (03:46) Setting up your practice
- (04:10) Ongoing coats to maintain your practice
- (05:10) What qualifies you to do the work you do?
- (06:36) The value of results your clients achieve
- (07:26) Remind yourself of your value
