Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Your Price is Your Price

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your price is your priceI had a massage the other day (#winning) and her payment app gave me an option to leave a tip – which is new. She’s always been a non-tipping massage therapist – so I asked if I could tip her. She said no – and that it’s part of the app and she asked how to remove it but they aren’t having it. So we started talking about it – and I really liked her reasoning for not having tipping.

Her philosophy is that she doesn’t want people to think of massage as a luxury but as part of your wellness plan. She has a good point, I definitely think of massage as part of my wellness program, along with chiropractic care, over the past couple of years more than I used to.

This got me thinking…your price is your price not your price plus 20% (or whatever spare cash you have in your wallet that ends up making it look like you had a terrible experience…) I appreciate, and agree with, her pricing philosophy. I’ve tipped for massages and other services before, and I will again. But, as you’re looking at pricing in your business, consider how you market your pricing.

I don’t negotiate my rates. I work with clients who value my services and the price to work with me. Every time a client wants to nickel and dime me it always ends badly. Luckily after 6+ years they’re easier to spot and haven’t happened in a while. If you like putting out a high price and negotiating to a lower price with a client, then great, you should do that. If you like the rush of getting a tip for services rendered, then go for it.

By setting my pricing structure the way I have (flat fee & project based) I know what I can add on if I want, or if in discussions I realize the project will be easier than it typically is – I can change my rates, but it’s on my terms, not theirs.

What’s your pricing philosophy? Do you price high and negotiate down? Do you allow tipping? Do you have a take it or leave it approach?

October Pop Culture Round Up

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October is always pop culture overload on TV, add in a few rainy weekends to get caught up on comics and a couple of great podcast series concluding AND Stranger Things? I need a sick day to get caught up on my pop culture priorities!

Happy Halloween folks, here’s what’s been keeping me on my toes this month…

Reading

I mentioned last month that I started HRC’s book – What Happened. I finally finished it, and as a (giant surprise) supporter of Hillary’s I liked it. Parts of it (the Russia stuff) went on longer than I would have liked, BUT I learned some stuff I wish I’d learned (or heard through the noise) before the election.

I also had some time to catch up on my comics lately – huzzah! Ms Marvel, Hawkeye and Captain Marvel continue to dominate my comic faves these days. Well done ladies of Marvel. AND I like the new Princess character in The Walking Dead, I think…

I have been fascinated by Rasputin (the crazy Russian monk) since I first learned about him in high school (and that terrible movie Nicholas & Alexandra) so when I saw a new graphic novel about him a few weeks ago I snagged it. It was OK, but not what I was hoping for and seems to have taken some historic liberties…

Next up for the plane ride to NYC – Fierce Kingdom…

Listening

All the usual suspects are showing up in my ear balls, but thanks to an Entertainment Weekly MUST list, I discovered Dirty John earlier this month and it was CRAZY good. It’s a mini-series podcast so you have time for it. If you like Serial or a good long con, this is for you.

I was sad to realize today that Ear Hustle has finished their first season. It’s been a fantastic series and I hope they’re back soon.

And in music (I know…) last week I went to see Depeche Mode last minute with a friend and it was AWESOME. I was never a big fan, not because I don’t like them, they just conflicted with my Dave Matthews listening time growing up. (I don’t judge your musical taste!) Their latest album includes my new favorite song Where’s the Revolution which you should listen to…

Watching

Strangers Things is back and congrats if you’ve finished it – I have made it through the first two episodes so far and really loving it. I decided to savor this season/I had a busy weekend but I promise it’s a top priority!

I’m LOVING this season of The Good Place! The twist last season and the twists this season are fantastic. “It’s Chinese for Japan” is easily my favorite line of television in 2017.

I’m also really enjoying The Mayor, if you haven’t checked it out, fix that. Black-ish continues to be a great family show, the Monopoly night episode was great (also their premiere was Hamilton inspired, so get on it people).

I think Mr Robot is better binged, or else that’s what I’m telling myself because I’m 2 episodes behind, but loved the premiere! I am sorry but This is Us isn’t making the cut this season.

OK, that’s enough pop culture for one month – what’s on your pop culture list task list this month?

6 Things I Look for on My Google Analytics

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6 Things I Look for on My Google AnalyticsAt the beginning of each month I take a few minutes to review my website traffic from the previous month. I look to see how many visitors I had, what days were more popular (new blog post days usually) and where all my traffic comes from. I also look to see what pages people land on.

Reviewing your website’s analytics is an important part of having a website. You spent a lot of money and time on creating this thing, shouldn’t you know how people are using it? This week I wanted to share with you 6 Things I look for on my Google Analytics:

  1. How Many Visitors –  First things first, how many people really come to my website? The number at first glance is GREAT – but the real number comes once you dig into “All Traffic by Source.” This is where you see every traffic source that sent people to your site. If you had a guest blog post or did a Facebook Live you may see more traffic come in from a specific source. This is the most important analytics piece for what I’m looking for.
  2. Goals! – Yes, setup goals on your website. Every time someone reaches out through my contact page there’s a thank you landing page they end up on so I can track that traffic. AND I can track where it came from (thanks Facebook!)
  3. Page Views by Page – This is all about what pages people are landing on. Do people want to know more about my services or do they go to the About page to learn about Norm and me?
  4. Landing Pages – This is different from page views – this is the first page that people come to on your site. For me it’s often a recent blog post that brings them to my site – and then hopefully they look around for a while. And it’s good to see what old blog posts are bringing folks to my site.
  5. Devices  – I setup a “sessions by device” when not all websites were mobile friendly. Since most websites are mobile friendly this isn’t as important to track, BUT still worthwhile. If you realize 50% of your site traffic is coming from a phone – you should take a look at your website and make sure that it’s easy to read and get what they want (your phone number, your address so they can drive there, etc.)
  6. Traffic Type – I like to see where all the traffic to my site comes from. Direct traffic, social media, referral sites, email and organic (search). It’s important to see WHERE your traffic is coming from. If you start to get a lot of traffic from one referral site you may need to figure out what’s going on. Maybe you wrote a guest blog post, or maybe it’s a new company that added you as a referral source. Either way, make sure you know who’s sending traffic to your site.

It’s important to know what’s going on with your website and where your site traffic is coming from. It’s OK if you don’t use Google Analytics, but make sure you’re tracking traffic somehow. If you want to get Google Analytics setup on your website, talk with your web developer to get the coding properly setup so you can get started. THEN, feel free to download my Dashboard. This is not the end all be all, and every marketer and SEO person will tell you I’m missing a lot of things – but I think this is a good place to start for your business.

If you use Google Analytics – what other widgets and tools do you include? Please share them in the comments!