Pricing your concierge services?

Avoid three common mistakes that affect senior concierge businesses, house managers, home helpers, and personal assistants.

After coaching hundreds of people in the concierge and helper-service industry, I see the same three pricing mistakes come up again and again.

And pricing is one of those things that can make people spin.

They look at what everyone else is charging.

They create a complicated list of rates for every possible service.

Then one person says, “That’s too expensive,” and suddenly they are ready to change the whole thing.

Before you lower your prices, I want you to look at these three common mistakes first.

Because sometimes your pricing is not the actual problem.

Pricing Mistake #1: Copying Someone Else’s Prices

One of the first things people do when they are trying to decide what to charge is look at what other businesses are charging.

That part is completely normal.

The problem happens when you take someone else’s pricing, bring it back to your own business, and decide that must be what you should charge too.

You do not know everything that went into that person’s pricing.

You may not know how long they have been in business, what kind of clients they work with, what level of service they provide, or how confident they feel selling at that price.

And honestly, in this industry, pricing often comes down to something much simpler:

What feels right to you? Yes – I said “feel”. 

You can look at other people’s pricing for information. You can use it as a starting point. But then you have to run that number through your own internal filter.

Can you say the price out loud?

Can you explain it without shrinking and wanting to hide under a table?

Can you stand behind it when someone asks what you charge?

When you are new in business, some nervousness is normal. You are asking people to pay you for your services, and for many people, that feels very new.

Nervous is okay.

Resistance feels different.

Resistance sounds like:

“There is no way anyone will pay me that.”

“I feel ridiculous saying this price.”

“I do not believe my service is worth that yet.”

That resistance will show up when you talk to potential clients.

Your price needs to feel like a number you can grow into, stand behind, and communicate with confidence.

You do not need to copy someone else’s number to build a successful business.

You need a number that feels right for you and the service you are offering.

Pricing Mistake #2: Making Your Pricing Too Complicated

The second mistake I see is creating a different price for every service. This is how people were charging when I started in 2010 – and guess what- they weren’t very successful… 

For example:

You charge one price for online research.

Another price for pet sitting.

Another price for errands.

Another price for organizing.

Another price for appointments.

And before long, you need a spreadsheet just to remember what you charge.

That is too complicated.

When you feel confused about your pricing, your potential clients will 100% feel confused too.

Your pricing should be easy for you to explain and easy for your client to understand.

You should be able to clearly tell someone how your pricing works without walking them through ten different rates.

Simple pricing also makes everything else easier.

It makes quoting easier.

It makes invoicing easier.

It makes packages easier to create.

And if you eventually hire help, it makes your business much easier to train and manage.

You do not need a separate hourly rate for every task you might possibly complete.

You need a simple pricing structure that makes sense for the way your business works.

Pricing Mistake #3: Having a Pricing-to-Marketing Mismatch

This is the mistake people often do not recognize.

A member of my Fully Booked Business Club once asked me whether she should lower her prices because someone told her she was too expensive.

My answer was: not yet.

First, we needed to figure out what had actually happened.

She had created a premium service and priced it as a premium service.

The pricing made sense for the type of support she wanted to provide.

But then people started referring her for basic errands, transportation, and one-off tasks.

When she gave them her price, they told her it was too expensive.

And she immediately assumed the problem was her pricing.

It was not.

The problem was that her marketing was bringing her people who wanted a different service.

I explained it to her like this:

She was selling filet mignon.

The people contacting her wanted strip steak.

There is nothing wrong with strip steak.

But when someone wants strip steak and sees a filet mignon price, of course they think it’s expensive.

Her pricing matched the premium service she had created.

Her marketing was not making that service clear enough.

That is a pricing-to-marketing mismatch.

When someone tells you that you are too expensive, pause before changing your rates.

Ask yourself:

What service did I actually price?

Who was that service created for?

Am I clearly marketing that service?

Are people contacting me for something different from what I want to provide?

Sometimes the price is fine.

The message around the service needs work.

You may need to be clearer about the type of client you work with, the level of support you provide, and what makes your service different from someone who simply runs an occasional errand.

Before You Change Your Pricing

If you are second-guessing your rates, start here.

Do not automatically copy what someone else charges.

Do not create a complicated pricing menu.

And do not lower your prices every time someone says you are too expensive.

Look at whether your pricing feels right to you.

Make sure you can clearly explain it.

Then make sure your marketing is attracting people who actually want the service you priced.

Pricing gets much easier when the service, the message, and the price all match.

And when they do, you can talk about what you offer with a whole lot more confidence.

Want Help Pricing Your Services?

Inside the Fully Booked Business Club, I break down pricing in a way that makes sense for you, your business, and the services you are actually offering.

I have spent the past 15 years working in this industry, watching it grow, change, and evolve. I have seen which services people are willing to pay for, where business owners tend to overcomplicate their pricing, and what helps you confidently talk about your rates without second-guessing every number.

You will learn how to create a simple pricing structure that fits your services, feels right to you, and is easy for potential clients to understand.

If pricing is where you’re stuck, join the Fully Booked Business HERE.