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A Quiet Inheritance: Why Your Business is Stuck in the Mid-Market · Abundant + Aligned

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Abundant and Align podcast.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: It is an exciting week around here.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: We opened 2027 applications on Tuesday for those on the wait list as you get priority access pending your application and then to everybody else last night.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I am so looking forward to receiving your applications and seeing whether the collective or private business consulting is the engagement for you and really looking forward to celebrating that moment with those who do move into one of those spaces in the new year.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also off to actually, as you are listening to this, I am on a plane off to Hamilton Island for a week in the Wit Sundays.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I am so excited for some relaxation by the pool, sipping my wine, reading my book, and reviewing your applications from a tropical island.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: What a vibe.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now that is the vibe we love around here.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Receiving applications for 2027 while I am hooning around on a golf buggy on a tropical island or sipping my chilled white wine by the pool reading a real book.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: I've gone back to reading real books.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: My Kindle has been parked for the time being.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, a really cool week around TR and yeah, one I'm very excited about.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope you have had a week of expansion in your own business.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if not, this episode is for you.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: I have crafted this episode for those female founders who are feeling at capacity at the moment, but you still aren't earning the income you would like to be earning, or perhaps you have gone to increase your prices over and over and over again, but you keep coming back to that same question of will anyone actually pay that?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Today I really want to take you through the reason why.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: The reason why you are working a lot with a lot of clients on smaller jobs and not earning the money you would like to be earning, or why you keep hesitating when it comes to increasing your prices.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And as we know by now, it has very little to do with your talent.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: What it has to do with is the trap keeping you in the mid-market.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So in today's episode, I want to talk about what the mid-market is and why it's the only market your brain currently knows, which is why you're stuck there.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're then gonna look at how you are stuck in the mid-market because of your marketing, your prices, your sales processes, your services, and the two stories that keep you there.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'm gonna give you some gold nuggets to help you step out of the mid-market and into the luxury market so that you can earn more for work you are already doing, charge higher prices, and have clients happily pay them and get the opportunity to frolic around an island while your business is expanding and you're working with dream clients, and you open your Stripe dashboard and you see the income you want to see.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Chef's kiss, music to our ears.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into the episode.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: So that is your reality sooner rather than later.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want to talk about the mid-market, what it is, and what it's actually costing you in your business.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we are comparing today mid-market, which is based on volume and for the masses, and usually geared towards clients who are afraid to spend higher prices.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then we are looking at the luxury market, where those clients who pay higher prices because they're seeking quality are sitting and are willing to pay for services without hesitation when it meets the standards of a luxury brand, which we won't go into today.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I have spoken about that in previous episodes.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: But again, we are talking about the mid-market.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I talk about the trap keeping you in that mid-market, I want you to look at the trap as the familiar markets, the only one your brain knows.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let me just get one thing clear.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: You're not in the mid-market because it's where you belong.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Your work is exceptional, it could be priced a lot higher.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And there are clients out there who would pay for your quality of work at a higher price.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you're not in the mid-market because it's where you belong.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're there because it's the only market you've ever been shown.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why we're calling the trap the familiar market or your borrowed ceiling.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: We'll talk about what I mean by that in a moment.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I want to touch on what this is costing you though, just so that your ears really prick up when I am speaking in this episode, just so that you can see the gap and so that you can see the possibility that comes when you move from mid-market to the luxury market.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: First and foremost, those who are positioned in the mid-market are using volume as the only lever.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that results in the scenario I painted at the start of this episode, whereby you are at capacity when it comes to clients, workload, but yet you still aren't earning the kind of money you would like to be earning in the business.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: The other cost of staying in the mid-market is your income is nowhere near what it could be.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And what this results in is a level of scarcity and lack.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's not to say that you are struggling financially.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: I know your business is able to provide for the life you currently have.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's putting food on the table, it's paying for the bills, but most months the revenue your business brings in is already spoken for.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: You are already calculating where that money is going to go.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And you may even end up at the end of quite a bigger month in the business wondering where all of that money went.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: You aren't living in overflow essentially by staying in the mid-market.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then the biggest cost I see to so many female founders is one, you are already delivering luxury services, but it's presented in the mid-market and being paid mid-market prices.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, someone else in your industry with probably less experience delivering a much lower quality service with half the care and the effort that you put in, being paid a lot more than what you are already booked out for 2027 while you are scrambling or while you are wondering where your next client is going to come from.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: So being in the mid-market is costing you a lot.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And again, that's why I want to shift your work into the luxury market.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: To do that, we need to understand this step-by-step system I take my clients through.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it starts with your belief, your subconscious beliefs, which we'll talk about in today's episode.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And those beliefs influence what you focus on.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Your focus then influences what you see.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: That then influences what you do.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: That then creates the outcomes you are currently seeing within your business.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to come through and pull apart what you believe in, what you're focusing on, what you are seeing, what you are doing, and therefore what you are creating in order to create a different reality in your business, which is you making more money.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So that's essentially the framework we're stepping through.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Belief, focus, what you see, what you do, and what you create.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I wouldn't be me if I didn't start off with your subconscious program.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is the foundation of everything unfolding in your business right now.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when I talk about your subconscious program, I mean the environment that shaped you.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And given we are talking today about repositioning your work into the luxury market so you can charge more, earn more, and attract clients who are more than happy to pay.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: We need to understand why you have a belief that has been creating an opposite outcome, where clients are saying that's out of budget, they are deleting lines out of your proposal to fit within a budget, they are wobbly whenever you present the price, they are choosing the lower price service, even though what they actually want is your higher price service, and that's where you know you can deliver the best outcome for them.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're just not wanting to spend the kind of money that others are when you are focusing on a different client.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: The reason that is your reality is because you have a belief driving all of that.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So again, in order to figure out what that is for you, we need to rewind the clock and we need to go all the way back to childhood, early life, and really take a look at that environment that did shape you, particularly the beliefs you have, which create the mind that creates your income.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to have a think about what you heard in this arena, what you saw in this arena, and what you experienced.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: I have a few examples just to jog your memory and get you thinking, but actually think about what you heard, what you saw, and what you experienced because your own awareness is key.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: But some examples of things you may have heard that has created a limiting belief is things like people want everything for nothing.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be greedy.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Who would pay that?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Or perhaps what you saw was your mum choosing the cheaper option over quality, or you saw money treated as something to protect rather than circulate, and then what you experienced was probably a form of lack, which you now project onto your clients by assuming they can't afford you or a higher price simply because once upon a time you couldn't, or perhaps you still can't.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: You are projecting your own money in securities, whether still current or have come from the past, onto your clients, and that's why you're seeing the outcomes you are seeing.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: So ultimately you're pricing for the woman you used to be, not the client you now want to serve.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if any of those landed with you, again, listen up, but I want you to think about others that may not have fit within there that have created a limiting belief that's driving this trap of you being in the mid-market.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said before, you're not in the mid-market because your work belongs there.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're in the mid-market because it's the only market your brain knows.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I've shared this study on the podcast before, you're going to hear it on Instagram tomorrow, but it's one that's worth remembering.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: The study conducted in 1970 by two neuroscientists who took a group of kittens and raised them in a dark room, except for a few hours a day, they were brought out and put into a cylinder showing only horizontal lines.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: After about five months, those kittens were put into an ordinary room and they observed the kittens running into chair and table legs.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Their eyes were perfectly fine, but their brain hadn't learned that vertical lines exist.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so, according to the kittens, they didn't.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a luxury client is your version of a vertical line.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: They exist currently, but your brain is simply filtering them out and replacing them with clients who want a discount, and therefore you only know the mid-market.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the whole subconscious reprogramming required to upgrade this belief is in depth, but it is worth noting what you heard, what you saw, and what you experienced so that you are aware.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I have this belief.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I focus on clients who wobble at a higher price.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's why everywhere I look, people are offering discounts, creating fake urgency, selling using mass market strategies, using sales processes, assuming clients will object, and then creating outcomes on that frequency.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: So awareness of the environment that shaped you is step number one.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: I then want to draw our attention to what you are consuming now.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: So step one is looking at your past and everything that shaped you.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're now looking at what you are consuming in the present moment because that's also creating or adding to the trap of you being in the mid-market when your work should be in the luxury market.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now I have an example.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: I was in a mastermind a couple of years ago, and overall it was great.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: But towards the end, I realized a lot of the strategies that were taught in that space were for clients who would hesitate at higher prices, who wanted discounts, who moved into spaces based on urgency, who needed a lot of exposure and proof and hard work before they were willing to purchase.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: But as I was in this mastermind, I realized that a lot of these strategies were keeping me in the mid-market when I knew my work should have been in a higher market.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I knew there were clients out there who don't need a lengthy sales process, who don't need heaps of exposures, who don't need a million client testimonials, who don't need urgency and discounts to move.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: They will move when they see the quality in the work, when they feel the energy of the brand, and when that brand delivers on a service they were already looking for.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was in this mastermind realizing I'm sitting here learning strategies that are keeping me in a market I no longer want to be in.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where I want to circle back.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Be mindful of what you are consuming on social media, on podcasts, and in spaces, and ask the question: is this creating the kind of brand business that I want to have, or is it costing me more money and freedom?
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: And if by now you are realizing perhaps you are in the trap of the mid-market because of the environment that shaped you, and then the information and the advice you are currently consuming.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: I now want us to conduct an audit of your business because it's in these parts of your business where I always see a brand positioned towards a client who would object to price when we really want to be positioning your brand in front of luxury clients.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is marketing.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now I was on a meeting this morning in the collective and I was talking to a client about a content format we suggested she introduced into her marketing.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And she mentioned she has been procrastinating on doing that because it's so much quicker just to create some B-roll, put some text on a screen, some trending audio, and get it out.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I said to her, I would much prefer you to focus on two pieces of content that take you ages to create, produce, and execute, then pump out B-roll just for the sake of posting that day.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I reminded her, we want to focus on quality over quantity.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: And again, if it means you're only getting up two posts that week on social media, but those two posts are so beautifully created.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: The production is insane, it's so intentional.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: It is completely for that high-end client through the language, through the aesthetics, through the message, through to the again, the production of this piece of content, I would much prefer that.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then again, you just pumping out content for the sake of it.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: So when it comes to marketing, I see so many female founders still following mid-market marketing strategies that have been designed for low price, high-volume businesses.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: There is nothing wrong with that, by the way.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: If that is your model, absolutely go for it.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I consult on brands who want to be charging high-end prices, making a lot of money for work they are already doing and working with a higher caliber client.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: So taking a look at your marketing formats is number one.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not to say B-roll, it's not to say there's anything wrong with B-roll.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm saying here is if you are just posting for the sake of it and focusing on quantity over quality, you are missing the point of marketing for high-end clients.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Again, the biggest value they have when it comes to luxury brands is quality.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are delivering shit for the sake of it, they will see that and they will move to another brand who is doing it properly with much higher quality.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: The next order I want us to carry out is the language you are using in your marketing.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I see it time and time and time again when I review Instagram captions, website copy, when I listen to podcasts, they are speaking the language of a client who is afraid to invest, who wobbles on price, who wants discounts, who takes ages to move to your higher price product, as opposed to just speaking the language of a luxury client who wants your high-end service and will pay money for it now.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: So marketing format, marketing cadence, and the language you are using in your marketing matters.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: The next area I want you to audit is your service architecture.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, when I come through and move my client into the luxury market, one of the first things we will do is either introduce a high-end full scope service or bring that to the forefront of her business.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time they have a high-end full scope service, but it's collecting dust on the bookshelf.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's there, but clients aren't asking for it or paying for it because of the kind of client they have been focusing on.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: Or if they don't have one yet, we introduce it asap because a luxury client who has more than enough money to invest in your service wants the service that's going to deliver the best results.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: They also want you to do it for them because you are the expert.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if you are an interior designer, they want you to come through and do their entire house, not just consult on what tiles they should put in their bathroom.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a wedding planner, they want you to take care of every single step in the wedding planning process, not just be there on the day and tell the florist where to go.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a business consultant, they want access to months and months and months of advisory and access to you in close proximity.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: They don't want access to some digital course that they're going to forget about after they purchase it.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: A luxury client wants quality, expertise, and the job done for them.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to deliver a service that gives them that.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing I look for when I am looking at service architecture with a client is the way they have created their suite.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this was a shift I made a few years in my business and it's been a game changer.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: But what I often see is this ladder approach whereby they have an offer that's a low-priced offer as a way to get people through the door.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then they prove themselves more, they work harder, they build up their trust, and then that client moves up the ladder to their mid-tier offer.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: They warm them up a little bit more in there, and then eventually, hopefully, this client ends up spending money in their top-level service.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, I see it within marketing agencies.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: They'll get a client in on a lower budget service, even though they know that client would get better results by being on their full service marketing package, where they get organic, ad spend, photography content, all of the things, but they just get the client in.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: If we just get them in on organic alone and we look after them and we nurture them, eventually we can upsell them into the photography content package.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then eventually, after years of working hard and proving ourselves and over-delivering, we might be able to eventually get them into our full service marketing package, which is where they'll get the best results anyway.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, what you are doing here is creating delay, and you are spending a lot of time and energy on clients who may never end up wanting your full service, full scope, higher priced package.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of spending so much time and energy nurturing and looking after and over-delivering, let's just attract in the clients who want your highest priced high-end full service package from the get-go because they are out there.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, number one, we need to have a service like that in your suite.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then we need you to be known for that service.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: The last thing I want is for you to be known for your cheapest service.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: I want to see you talking on podcasts.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: I want to see press in magazines.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: I want to hear someone talk about your brand and mention the high-end service, and then send clients your way who also want the high-end service.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, service architecture.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Who are your services built for?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: And have you made it easy for a luxury client to jump in to your high-end service from the get-go?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: The next part of your business we are going to audit, and this is another thing I see and notice straight away is your sales process.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: So many founders have a sales process geared towards clients who have objections.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: They will study sales scripts on how to overcome an objection on price.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: They will know exactly what to say when that client comes back and says, now's not the right time.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: They are so ready for an objection.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: When you are ready for an objection, when you expect an objection, you create an objection.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: Just the other day, actually, I had a client in the collective and she was asking about sales calls, scripts, and what to say.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: When a client objects to price, what to say when they push back on the proposal, what to say when they come back and say, Now is not the right time.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: I said, if you want to have that conversation, we can.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: However, I would prefer not to.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you are entering these meetings with prospective clients ready for an objection, guess what you're going to do?
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Create an objection.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: So sales scripts for me can get thrown out the window, especially if those sales scripts are geared towards clients who will have objections.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: But yes, your sales process.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Has the process been created for a client who needs convincing, who will object, or is your sales process geared towards a luxury client who has been researching your brand for months, who knows you are the one they want to go with, and simply just wants to meet you and understand your process, pay you the invoice and get going.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Again, when I look at my client's sales process, there are so many steps, so many opportunities to overcome an objection.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's just geared towards a mid-market client.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why they attract mid-market clients.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: So your sales process, take a look at it.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Are you doing sales calls?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: If so, what expectations do you have when you enter that sales call?
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you even have an opportunity for a sales call to be booked?
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Your onboarding.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: What does that process look like?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Are you expecting a pushback on your proposal?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Have you allowed multiple meetings to go through the proposal, assuming the client will object to so many clauses and negotiate on your price?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Are there far too many touch points, assuming your client needs that nurturing and that proving by you?
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: Or have you created a process geared towards luxury clients, which there is, and it looks very different to the mid-market sales processes we see all over the internet?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, the next area we are looking at is pricing.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: And all I want to ask on this topic is when you priced your work, what kind of client did you have in mind?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: And are you someone who has been hovering over that new increased price for some time?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Are you someone who discounts your work before the client even asks?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Are you someone who adds in a bonus to justify the price?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: If yes, that tells me you have priced for a mid-market client, not a luxury client.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: So something else I audit when I work with clients is their pricing.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: And most of the time they go up, relying on what's called the perceived value effect.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a consumer will usually look at a higher price and assume it's of better quality, which is an assumption we are happy for your prospective clients to make of your work because it is of quality.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: We make sure of that, and we also raise them because you are delivering a luxury service, which means you can command luxury prices.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: And not only is your service of a luxury standard, but your onboarding is the welcome gift you give your clients, the little touches you make as you are delivering the service through client experience, these additions we make is why you can charge more and why that higher price makes sense.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: The next thing I want to order is your client experience.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: I touched on this briefly before when I was talking about pricing, but we want to look at the inquiry process, the proposal, onboarding, how you send your invoices, what your meetings look like, how you deliver your service, those little touches I mentioned.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, visibility strategies that you have in place.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Are they mid-market visibility strategies or are they luxury market visibility strategies?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you are putting all of your eggs into the basket that is Instagram, it's very likely you are in the trap of mid-market visibility strategies.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you are obsessed with vanity metrics going viral, then you are stuck in the mid-market visibility trap.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm definitely not saying Instagram does not have a place.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love Instagram.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: You should definitely use Instagram, but we should also be relying on other ways to get in front of high-end clients.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Getting in the right rooms, not more rooms.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, how are we feeling?
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Have we had many aha moments?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: Realizing the marketing, the sales processes, the onboarding, your prices, services have been geared towards a mid-market client who will wobble on price and hopefully some ideas on shifting it into the luxury market.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you have already realized this.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, maybe you're the client I mentioned at the start who has who has wanted to increase their prices, but they keep putting it off because they are afraid that no one will pay those higher prices, or they're questioning if anyone will pay those those higher prices.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: So to finish this episode, I want to talk to two stories that keep you in the mid-market, even though you know it's capping your income, even though you know it's making your job harder than it needs to be, even though you know your work could be seen in a much higher market.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: The two stories I want to talk about are I want to stay accessible, and if I raise my prices, I'll lose clients.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: So story number one, I want to stay accessible.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: You may think by keeping your prices lower, staying in mid-market, that you open yourself up to a wider pool of people.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: To that, I want to say the story of you being accessible is simply resting on a belief that charging more will make you unavailable.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you're nodding your head.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I am afraid if I increase my price, I will no longer be available.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Accessible, I will lose clients.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: But to that, I want to say this: you are always going to be unavailable to somebody.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: When you increase your prices, you are now unavailable for clients who can't afford your higher prices, yes.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: But by keeping your prices low, you will never available for the luxury client.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I am so passionate about changing that story.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Increasing your prices does not mean you now have a smaller pool of prospective clients available.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: The next story I want to talk to is quite similar to what I just said.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: If I raise my prices, there will be a gap.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: I will lose current clients who can no longer afford my higher price, but then I have to rebuild before those luxury clients will come in and pay my higher price.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: You're painting this picture of losing clients and then having to rebuild to gain new ones.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I really want to reframe that.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: A higher price doesn't mean fewer clients, it means different ones.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: And by increasing prices and positioning yourself into a new market, you aren't starting again.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're literally just taking your work and popping it into a new market in front of new clients.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: Clients are an energetic potential anyway.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: There is more than enough going around.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And before I let you go, I actually have a couple of client stories I want to share that prove what I'm saying is true.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: I had one client come to me, and her business was built on a model where she had a$200 product and she was selling it to the masses.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: In order for her to reach her revenue goal, she needed a lot of clients buying from her.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it really was based on volume, low price.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: I said to her, I see your work is phenomenal.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't we increase the price?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of you focusing on selling to the masses, let's focus on being exclusive to few.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the first thing she said to me was, I'm afraid people won't spend more money on this.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: She also mentioned where she lives is a low socioeconomic area.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: But, anyways, we ran through the framework.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: We upgraded her subconscious belief that was creating that thought.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: We upgraded her services, her prices, her marketing, her visibility, her sales process, or her onboarding process.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: She then went on to sell out her 10K mastermind.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: A$200 offer, afraid to increase, because no one in her area spends a lot of money on things like this, went out, went on to sell out a 10K mastermind.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: Another client, she was an interior designer, and she had a regular pattern in her business where she would send a proposal off, the client would come back and negotiate on her proposal.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: They would delete services out saying, let's not worry about that to keep the cost down, or they would mention they had a budget.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Is there any way she can fit within that budget?
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: And she would move on her price to suit that limited budget, or ultimately go from thinking the scope was a full service design to just consulting on the tiles in a bathroom.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: We come through, applied the framework, upgraded her subconscious program that was creating and attracting in clients who wanted a discount and who were afraid to spend or who couldn't spend more money on the design of their house.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: We introduced a new high-end service.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: We put it at the front of her business.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: We made her brand known for that high-end full service design package.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: We filled her partnership pipeline with builders who built luxury homes.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: She went from always hearing that's out of budget.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Can we remove that to bring the proposal down?
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: to sending off a 75k proposal and receiving an email back saying, looks good, send me the invoice.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: In both cases, we took their work and we put it in front of a different client.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: There was no lag, there was no delay, taking exceptional work and putting it into the luxury market where it belongs.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, what has become so clear is your belief influences what you focus on, which influences what you see, which influences what you do, which influences what you create.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing that, we need to go all the way back to the start of the line.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if your belief is shaped by your environment, we need to get you into a new environment.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: If what you consume influences what you do, we need to get you into rooms and around other female founders who are pricing at a luxury level, who are normalizing incredibly high income months, and who are living, already living the life you want to be living.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: So that becomes your new normal.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: So your brain becomes more familiar with that way of being as opposed to the way of being that your past has been.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, what we can say to all of that is you don't think your way out of the mid-market, you're placed in a new environment until the luxury market becomes the one your brain knows.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, with all that being said, like I mentioned at the start, applications for 2027 engagements are now open.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: That includes both the collective and private consulting.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: I have linked the application below.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: That application will take you to one, and then you'll be able to select whether you are drawn towards the collective or private consulting.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: I will review your application and then you can expect a response from me within three business days.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that's linked in the show notes below.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: And just remember, like I said at the start, you're not in the mid-market because that's where your work belongs.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: You can be earning more for the work you are already doing.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: There are luxury clients out there looking for the services you provide.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: And this is how we position you exactly there.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you love today's episode.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, so many golden nuggets.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I otherwise look forward to reviewing your applications for 2027.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: Keep an eye on my Instagram for some spam from Hamilton Island.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: And otherwise, I will speak to you guys next week.