When I first started in business, I was willing to give more, accept more, and compromise more. I remember allowing potential customers to barter on price as if I was offering something at auction instead of a service. They would say things like,”Is that the best price” or “Can you include (fill in the blank) for the same price?”

I often wondered if they asked the light company,”Can you spot me a couple of kilowatts?” or if they would tell their mortgage company,”How about I just pay you half of the note every month?” You see, my time is valuable and my service is valuable. As entrepreneurs, we work hard at perfecting our craft to offer the best service possible.

If a customer is trying to barter on your price it is almost an insult, especially when you are offering the service at a lower rate than your competitors. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes you must fire a client! This will save you headaches in the future. All business is not good business! You’ve worked hard to start your business and you deserve to be paid for it if you give your clients all you’ve got.

The next time a customer ask you for a lower price, fire them! This was some of the best advice one of my business mentors gave me. He said,”When you are starting out, many entrepreneurs don’t want to act like they need the money, but the reality is you do so you cannot afford to compromise on price. ”

One thing I learned from IBM is if your service is valuable, there are people that will value it and pay for it. Do not accept anything less than what you are worth!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 4:14 am and is filed under Biz Start-ups, Entrepreneur's Journal.