Don’t compromise your business. Why not? Because it sends out mixed messages. If people struggle to understand your offer it can be because you are not clear about it or your market.
However, compromise is hard to avoid. You develop a package for your consultancy service and someone comes along and wants something different. They want to work with you and so it is hard to resist their requests for a specially tailored service.
Is this compromise or simply responding to your client’s reasonable requests? Surely you need to be flexible, if not why shouldn’t your client seek something more suitable?
This is the issue. Is there someone who could deliver what your client wants better than you? Maybe it would be better if you referred them on? Think of the advantages:
- the client gets a good service, will thank you for sending them there and may be inclined to recommend you to others;
- the other practitioner will be grateful for the support from you and may seek some way to return the favour, and
- you don’t dilute your message and have time to improve your packages and market to the right clients.
If you’re not sure about your package or market, try different types to find the best fit for you. I suspect whilst the best businesses don’t compromise, they needed to compromise to work out what they should not compromise! Once established some businesses find they can relax their rules a little.
What Works for Me
So, I compromise by underselling my business. I charge less than my support is worth and as a result find my work undervalued. This is a common issue for new businesses.
Clarity about what I offer, makes it easier for prospective clients to say “yes” and the reason they say yes is they understand the value of my offer. If I don’t charge enough it means I undervalue my work! Obviously there are several factors involved in what I charge. Too much and people genuinely can’t afford it and too little they may not feel committed to working with me as a coach.
My Offer
I offer a Done With You (DWY) service to help clients sort out their organisation’s online presence, fully integrated with its in-person activities. It would not make sense to charge more than Done For You (DFY) website designers, of course. However, DWY has advantages over DFY for some organisations and so it is not just a way of saving money. Ultimately, I do not offer a website; I help clients develop and carry out a marketing strategy for their organisation. What they get is something the website (with other activities) delivers in terms of new supporters, partners and income.
And from my point of view I balance what I charge with capacity. I can manage only a few clients at a time, so it is crucial I find clients who are right for me, perhaps passing on others who need a different service to the one I provide.
How have you compromised your business or community activities? Did compromise work out for you or against your best interests?
This post is one of a series exploring questions in the circuit questionnaire and addresses the branding element of the questionnaire.