Oh money and business. They go together like peas and carrots, right?
If you’ve answered “no” then you might actually get a greater reward from your work than getting paid. This may seem great. After all I am, and you are, in business to make a difference and do work that’s fulfilling, right?
But, if you’re not getting paid appropriately, then you don’t really have a business. You have a lovely thing to do with your time that makes you feel good. I’ve actually heard people argue their case about being OK with getting their rewards elsewhere. But there’s a problem with that (aside from the Truth that most people actually need to make money).
The Truth About Investment
The problem is this:
- Your client’s emotional investment will match their financial investment.
- You need your client’s financial investment to align with your energetic investment.
Let’s take a look.
Let’s say a client is a perfect client for you. You know they are in need of that deep transformation that you provide. You are ready to go with them to the root cause of whatever has been stopping them, and work with them from that place. It will have such amazing value for them, it will have a ripple effect on the rest of their life. They know it too. They are ready.
Now lets say you undercharge them or sell them an offering that is less than what they really need to get that transformation. Immediately there is an out of alignment. Because their emotional investment will match their financial investment. So the moment it gets hard, the moment they have to move past where they have stopped in the past, they will pull back or quit.
I’m not saying they will quit working with you, or even be unpleasant. They might be perfectly lovely. But a part of them will quit. They’ll become what I call “slippery.” You may even want to take a minute and think for yourself if you’ve ever been a slippery client because you weren’t invested. Like joining a gym you never visited for example.
Give Your Substance Where It Can Do Most Good
I’ve watched countless clients go down this path to learn this lesson firsthand. Their personal energetic investment in the outcome is greater than what the client is putting in. It can all look great and feel great on the surface. The client is happy. You’re spreading your wisdom. All is well. Except you’re just not able to go deep. And when you’re more committed than them, because your payout is to feel good rather than to get paid, you will eventually become frustrated.
“Give your substance where it can do most good,” is a quote I love from Raymond Holliwell’s working with the law.
While it’s not a 100% across the board truth, 90% of the time, where your substance can do most good is with the people who are paying you in alignment with that substance.
“I just have this feeling…”
In a recent client call I found myself talking about this concept (thus inspiring this article).
My client was considering hosting a 1-day event. She had growing momentum in her following and she had an abundance of ideas about how to serve them. Free and paid webinars, a low end community program, and now a 1-day event. She had her retreat offering planned and ready with the date drawing close, and her high level program up and running as well.
She said, “I just have this feeling that there are people out there who would just want to come to something smaller with me.”
Now, this may very well be true and accurate. And I’ve had that thought before so many times.
I’d think: “Wow, I’m getting so many comments on my posts, and people are loving my newsletter. I offer retreats that are awesome yet there are probably lots of people who are just aren’t ready for that who want to buy something smaller.”
(Maybe this is a familiar thought to you too?)
I have found that every time I follow this thought it simply doesn’t work. When my thought process is coming from doing something smaller for people who just aren’t ready yet, all those people who I imagined wanted it… well, they just don’t act on that either! And they don’t register.
When you’re making something smaller when what your RIGHT people actually need is bigger, you’ll spend a lot of time and energy catering the wrong people.
And if you’re like me, or like my clients, you may not be very good delivering your work “light.” In other words, you give it all you’ve got and you like to go deep.
This creates the perfect storm of giving all you’ve got for people who aren’t your right people. (Even if they are perfectly lovely.)
The 1-day vs. The 3-day
I am a fan of a 3-day retreat. Well actually 2 ½ days is usually ideal. It’s enough time and space that people are invested, and you can charge enough that they are financially invested. You can go deep, do the work the really needs to be done, and still leave your clients wanting additional support from you. You can really do your best work if you’re someone who loves to go deep.
A 1-day event is simpler logistically. Yet in a 1-day event, depending on what you charge, people may or may not be truly invested. This isn’t wrong, and it can be a brilliant strategy for some business owners. It has worked well for me at times (though never as well as a retreat). What you really want to keep in mind is simply the alignment of the investment. If it’s a low price point event in someone’s own back yard, they are not likely going to arrive prepped and ready to go deep. You’ll want to deliver great value in your information of course, but you don’t want to bring more, energetically, to the table than they are invested in receiving.
If you gravitate toward delivering transformation, and diving deep with people, it may not be your best strategy. A longer retreat may work better for how you are designed. And a short workshop may fit better for your more surface offering.
I’d love to know what your experience has been with matching your investment of energy to the investment of money. Please leave a comment below!
Also if you want to develop your “go deep” retreat strategy with my guidance, check out our upcoming Retreat and Grow Rich Essentials LIVE retreat here: https://retreatandgrowrich.com/essentials/