The Triple Threat: Perception, Price, and Value

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably experienced a time where you undervalued yourself or gone through a stage of “paralysis by over-analysis” trying to figure out how to calculate value on the service you provide.

Don’t worry I got you.

Here’s problem #1… we don’t really know what we do… and if we do, it’s not to the level of understanding the consumer cares about.

Step 1 is figuring this out. Here’s a 4-question framework that you can use:

What is the problem my client has?

How long does it take to solve?

How am I uniquely qualified to solve it?

What happens if they don’t act?

I’ll use my old self as an example. I’m a Physical Therapist. What comes to mind for you?

Do I stretch people all day? Do I get people out of bed in the hospital? Neither.

I help fitness athletes navigate training with pain and bridge the gap from rehab to performance. (Remember this was the old me and you can probably do better than this ;)).

What is the problem my client has? – They are currently training with pain or injury

How long does it take to solve? – spectrum is 3-6 months pending severity and injury type

How am I uniquely qualified to solve it? – I’m a PT with sports medicine knowledge who has a process that combines in person rehab with online strength programming so their journey can take place in the gym.

What happens if they don’t act? – The get stuck in the traditional medical model and ultimately fall back into unhealthy behaviors.

Now I know: who they are, how long it will take to help, what qualifies me to help, and the cost of inaction.

Step 2 understanding price – what the client pays.

Pricing is a strategy of research and feel. You need to understand what different pricing models provide and where you want to live on that spectrum. If you want a low-price offering, you’ll need high volume for conversion. If you want a low volume offering, you’ll a high price to make money. No model is “wrong” you just need to understand the realities of each.

Let’s look at the range here for physical therapy: Copays can be as cheap as $20 per visit to cash-pay rates of $350 per visit. A wide range with profound difference of experience and feel.

So, I ask you this… What number challenges you? (This is the “feel” part). Try and avoid how other businesses calculate your worth. For example, I was working at a nursing home making $50/hr, like the genius I was, I almost started my cash-based PT rate at $60…. Cause why not… 20% raise! Massively undervalued (I actually started at $90, still low… I know, but 50% raise from $60!!!!)

Step 3 understand value – what the client gets.

What do people consider valuable? Typically, it’s a combination of: time, outcomes, process, access, touch points… So, what set you apart?

Does your offering take less time? Time value! Does it take place outside of a traditional clinic? Process value! Can you guarantee the outcome? Outcome value! Do they get to touch base with you between visits? Access and touch point value!

Expressing value converts!

Now that we have established: who you are, what you do, what you charge, and what value you provide, let’s move the final act: Positioning the offer!

A personal trainer sells personal training. What’s your perception of that statement?

OR, are you a personal trainer who offers an assessment and remote programming to help you break through performance plateaus? Did the difference in words, change the way you felt about it?

Absolutely. So, let’s wrap this week with an example you can use to model this after!

Example: Old Clinical PT Me

My service is for the fitness athlete who has been failed by the traditional medical model because that model didn’t understand the demand of their sport.

My process starts with an in-person evaluation that tests: range of motion, strength, endurance, lifestyle, technique, and mindset. From there we combine: education, hands on treatment, and a remote programming process to keep them training in the gym.

The value: No more than 1 30-minute appointment per week (time value), rehab in your training facility (process value), with 3 touch points per week (touch point value), messaging access (access value), and rehab that looks like strength and conditioning (process value x2!).