I came onto the freelance scene charging a hefty $35/hour.
A respectable introductory rate (or so I thought) I was eager to increase. Just needed a few successes under my belt first.
Back then I wore different masks, offered separate but adjacent skills. SEO, content writing and web design. Plenty of people need those things.
Target rate $75/hour.
I never expected to hit it in a month. Never expected just a few years later, to hit $200/hr.
Weirdly, for doing a lot of the same stuff. The main difference (and your one trick)?
I started solving high-ticket problems for high-ticket customers.
The same goes for your courses. Solve problems people will invest in you to solve.
Then never have to work with lowballs again.
When your competition charges crazy prices for the same things, it might not be because they're better than you.
They’re just solving more “expensive” problems than you.
Don’t forget… execution is an expensive problem. Is your audience taking action?
Bigger budgets, higher expectations
High-ticket clients are the ones who:
have more money than time
are willing to pay a premium for your results
ask how much, with CC in hand
Premium clients want insurance. They want to know the job'll get done and they put their money where their mouth is.
They've got expensive problems, not time for the complexities.
Sure, with bigger budgets come higher expectations. You need to deliver.
They give you creative freedom, trust your expertise, and almost always keep your number when you treat them well.
(I’ll show you how to get really good at solving their problems. Then they chase you)
Lowballs not ready for you yet
Unlike the highballs, lowballs are focused on the lowest price. And there's nothing wrong with that, there's a market for that.
But you're not part of it.
Lowballs have more time than money. Time to micromanage you and how you do your thing.
They're usually looking for a freelancer.
They'll ask for free consults, kick tires, openly compare you to other creators.
You don’t really want that audience, do you?
Highball’s the work you want.
The lowballs have more demands. This goes for what they need from but also what they expect from you and when.
They nearly always require more support.
more hands-on
more frequent updates
more already-answered questions
more stress
But not more money.
So why work with lowballs?
-Patrick O.
P.S. - Wed’s newsletter is for subscribers only. I will begin breaking down my tricks and techniques for making high-ticket offers. Then I start pulling behind the curtains to some of my most recent six-figure offers.
No stone left unturned.