Business success relies on being creative and flexible. Even comparing
coaching and consulting fees to an ice cream parlor can increase you
income if you know what to look for. Business and marketing tips come
in all flavors so pull up a stool and let me show you what fee-setting
and ice cream parlors have in common.

Ever walk into an ice cream parlor and want a single scoop of your
favorite flavor? Imagine you walk in and all they have to offer are
triple scoops? They even have your favorite flavor, but the only way
that you can have it is to buy a triple scoop.

Maybe it’s hot outside and you want to walk around without having
ice cream pouring down your arm and onto the sidewalk. Or maybe
you’re in a hurry and you only have time for a single scoop. You
might be saving room for something else to eat a little later.

We could go on for quite awhile as to all of the reasons you may
prefer a single scoop of ice cream over a triple or even a double scoop.

This seems so elementary that we probably couldn’t even IMAGINE
an ice cream parlor that would be short sighted enough to offer
only triple scoops to their patrons.

But let me ask you another question. Are you doing the same thing
to YOUR market? Are you offering nothing but triple scoops when,
clearly, many prospects would just like a single scoop?

People want a chance to get to know, like and trust you. Some just
won’t be prepared to jump in and snatch up a triple scoop. Perhaps
their schedule doesn’t permit it. Or they want to enter your program
gradually. There’s a host of reasons that you should create multiple
offers for your market.

So what do you do with these people? They might turn out to be your
ideal clients, but if you don’t have anything else to offer them
then you’ll never know.

Whether you are a coach, consultant, holistic service professional or
any other fee-based solo-preneur, you can always create multiple
offers for your prospects and clients.

Here are a few ideas ranging from free to full-fee:

* Newsletter and ezines
* Tele-classes
* Tele-seminars
* Information products
* Published books
* Group coaching programs
* Packaging your services into 2-3 tiers

For coaches, one of the quickest tweaks that you can make is creating
what I call a split fee.

The typical coaching model may look like:
4 calls at $400 per month

But how about this:
4 calls at $550 per month
2 calls at $300 per month

You just increased your hourly income with both offers and created a
new option for your clients that’s less of an investment of time
and money.

Frankly, you may find that most clients opt for the higher of the
two, but having options means that they feel in control of the
experience.

If you’re interested, I go into much more detail about creating
multiple solutions for your market over here:

http://chargewhatyoudeserve.com/products/audiocoach.php

Remember, not everyone who walks into your ice cream parlor is
looking for a triple scoop ;-)