Claire: I enjoyed reading Raise Your Fees Without Losing Clients. I especially liked the imagery and personal anecdotes you used such as the description of a burnt first pancake as a metaphor for a first draft, and your story about keeping up with sports to connect with customers. What are some other strategies you use to engage with your readers? 

The Most Effective Strategies for Engaging with Readers

Jan: Here are the strategies that I find are most effective in engaging with my readers. 

• Know them – look at their social media profiles, media one-sheets if they are guests on podcasts and speaking. Look for things you have in common. For example, see if they’ve written a book or are writing a book and what it’s about. 
• Be active in social media groups where your readers are. I also recommend hosting a social media group for your readers and clients. 
• Be curious. Be interested. Comment when they post on social media. Connect with them and talk about them first (not you). 
• Invite your readers to special trainings and live Q&As on Zoom. 

The Importance of Subheadings

Claire: You incorporate a lot of subheadings; as you wrote the book did you write with these in mind or did you divide your thoughts up later.

Jan: I wrote the book with these I mind because I believe in the Learn-and-Do Method where readers learn something and then apply it immediately to their own business, situation and goals.

Also, it’s easier to read and skim the information when there are lots of headings. Raising your fees is a big decision–a life-changing decision. I want people to be able to read my book easily and put the proven concepts in place easily. That way, they can raise their fees, the sooner the better.

Providing Daily Action Steps for Success

What’s important to me is my clients’ success. They learn how to raise their fees step-by-step. I designed the book and the Value Framework so that my readers have proven practical action steps they can do before bed the same day they learn them. 

Learning to Recognize Confidence

Claire: Many of the obstacles and self-doubts you describe that people face when deciding to raise their prices are also applicable to authors deciding to write a book. Have you ever struggled with having the confidence to decide to write any of your books? 

Jan: Good question. You’re right. Self-doubts do come up whenever we’re doing something that’s new and important to us. It’s a funny thing about confidence. It’s not like we think of it. Confidence goes up when we do things that are comfortable, and down when we do new things. Those of us who are changemakers experience these shifts often.

I talk a lot about confidence in my book starting on page 23. Before I wrote my first book, I wrote articles, blog posts, guest blog posts and had many speaking engagements. People told me how much they liked what I was writing and saying. That gave me confidence. The more I wrote and the more speaking engagements, the more positive audience response I received. That gave me confidence to put my thoughts and knowledge into a book.

The Advantage of Participating in A Community of Writers

It can also be helpful to be in a community of people who are also writing a book, and experiencing similar things. 

Claire: You include various exercises to help readers develop their 90-second Results Statement, ExpertiseDNA™, and VALUE Framework. How did you develop these questions, and how closely do they mirror your own process when deciding to raise your fees?

Designing Exercises to Prepare Your Readers for Success

Jan: When I realized that there was no career path in my corporate job, I decided to take a position with another company, and to ask for higher compensation and a promotion. I studied the best ways to get higher compensation and promotions. I practiced until I was comfortable asking. And I was successful. I did that twice more before I started my business.

 When I realized that it’s concerned me for a long time that so many entrepreneurs under-charge, I looked back at what I did to successfully get higher compensation, and developed them as exercises to include in my book. They were proven and practical, and they worked. 

Opportunities Abound for Authors

Claire: This is your third book, after writing your first book LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less, and The New Social Selling Revolution: Change the Way You Sell, was there anything you did differently? What was your main takeaway after having more experience writing and publishing?

Jan: I love this question! I wrote this book in large part because of the success of my first book.

After I wrote my first book, opportunities came to me for speaking, training sales teams and consulting with companies and universities. That’s one major takeaway.

It’s Easier to Write Your Next Book

 Another takeaway is that it’s easier to write the next book–the first one takes longer.

 After so many opportunities came to me and I saw success, I knew three things:

1. A book enhances your credibility. You’re the expert. Clients call you.
2. Because I wrote the book, I had information and content that I could repurpose into articles, blog posts, social media posts, presentations, online courses, videos and more.
3. I was going to continue to write books that cover the things that people in my audience and community already know they want.

I continue to do that. 

You Are the Expert!

Claire: You mention a time when a client came to you as an expert because you (quite literally) wrote the book on the subject. How has writing books on your wisdom and experience in sales impacted your career? 

Jan: Writing books on my wisdom and experience in sales has had a huge impact. Huge.

Writing a Book Enhances Your Credentials as an Expert

One day I was in my office and the phone rang. It was an organization calling. The person on the phone introduced himself and said that they were looking for an expert to give a presentation to their organization. As he said, “You wrote the book. You’re the expert. When are you available?”

 There was no, “We’re considering other people.” No, “Would you like to apply?”

 It was, “When are you available?”

Opportunities Come to You When You’re the Expert and an Author.

 About Jan

For over a decade, Jan Wallen has worked with B2B consultants, coaches and speakers to raise their fees and revenue. By following Jan’s expert guidance, you will master the five simple steps to the income you want, and gain the confidence you need to Raise Your Fees. She is known for getting extraordinary results fast—faster than with traditional methods. When Jan’s not speaking and strategizing for the media or her wonderful clients, you will find her meeting with friends in New York City, having interesting and stimulating conversations, meeting new people, spotting trends, and painting colorful watercolors.