You Want Premium Clients But Your Messaging Screams Bargain Bin

You want to charge $10,000. Maybe $20,000. Hell, maybe even $50,000.

But right now? You're charging $500.

And your audience is used to that. Your messaging screams that. Your presence reflects that.

So here's the truth: if you want to attract premium clients, everything needs to shift. Your messaging, your pricing, your positioning, how you show up.

Think about it. The difference between Wet n Wild makeup and the Lady Gaga brand. Between a Kia and a Bentley. Between a general practitioner and a specialist.

Premium clients aren't looking for generic. They're looking for someone who gets their exact problem and has a proven path to solve it.

Let me show you how to build that authority.

Premium Messaging: Stop Being a General Practitioner

When women come to me in Sales Mama School, they have vague positioning. Vague messaging.

"I help women with health and wellness." "I help women scale their business."

Then they get on a call and say their program is $15,000. And the prospect is like, "Holy shit, I cannot afford you."

You need to be a specialist, not a general practitioner. You're charging for your area of expertise.

Let me give you an example from my own life.

Years ago, I had thyroid issues. I went to my general practitioner. They gave me levothyroxine and sent me on my way.

But I didn't want a $7 pill as a band-aid solution. I wanted to solve the root problem from the inside out.

So I went down a rabbit hole. I saw specialists. Health and wellness practitioners. Energy healers. People who specialized in the thyroid, in healing the throat chakra.

Ten years later? I'm cured. I no longer take thyroid medication. My thyroid levels are well within normal.

Did I solve my problem with a $7 pill? Sure, temporarily. But I paid a premium to really solve that problem.

I wanted a proven path. A specific path. A specialist who knew exactly what I was struggling with.

The messaging that attracted me immediately qualified me:

"Are you sick and tired of general practitioners just giving you a pill?" Yes, I am.

"Are you sick of being dismissed and nobody taking you seriously?" Yes, I am.

That messaging immediately attracted me. And on the flip side, it immediately disqualified the wrong people.

Anyone without thyroid issues clearly wasn't going to work with that practitioner.

If everybody relates, nobody is going to pay a premium. It's like if everything's important, nothing is important.

Premium clients need to know you understand their exact problem. Not a general version. Their specific problem.

Premium Pricing Signals Premium Results

Here's what goes wrong: you either underprice or overprice. We need the sweet spot.

Underpricing doesn't just leave money on the table. It actually repels premium clients who assume you cannot deliver at their level.

Let me give you a perfect example.

Earlier this year, I ran a program. I let several people talk me into lowering the price. Hundreds of people opted in. Only two people took me up on the offer.

Why? It felt too good to be true. "There's no way they can deliver this much value for that. What's the catch?"

The next month, I tripled the price back to what I normally charge. I doubled my signups. Maybe tripled. Six to eight people signed up and paid in full.

Because people expect to pay a certain price for the level of support and access you give them.

I've even done this as a buyer. I've been on calls looking for support. Someone says, "This is $2,000 for six months of one-on-one."

And I'm like, "I probably know more than you then."

I have programs I charge $2,000 a month for. What are you going to give me that I don't already know if that's your rate for six months?

Premium clients are looking for a certain level of support and accountability.

At some point, you have to expand your financial comfort zone.

For me now, spending $10,000, $15,000, even $20,000 on a coach or consultant is no big deal. I just spent $20,000 on my most recent investment. It wasn't even about the money. It was about the time.

But ten years ago? I would have been like, "There is no way in hell I'm spending $20,000 on something like this."

I wasn't that premium client then. But I've been able to uplevel my money mindset and the level of support I'm looking for.

Premium clients expect to invest for transformation.

Low prices signal low results, low accountability, little transformation. Whether that's true or not, that price point signals that.

Think of that Equate pricing. That low-value branding. That Kia versus a Bentley.

Yes, a car will still get you from point A to point B. But if you're driving a Kia versus a Bentley, what's the difference? The luxury. The feel. There's so much difference, not just the brand name.

A Word on Supply and Demand

People sometimes get caught up in pricing as their self-worth. But keep the simple law of supply and demand in mind.

The more people demand you, the higher you can charge. But if there's not much demand, you need to price accordingly until that demand is there.

This has nothing to do with your self-worth. You need to create the demand.

Sometimes you have to work for low cost or free until you get the testimonials and results that justify premium pricing.

When I first started, I charged $20 or $25 an hour. My first group program was $400 for eight weeks. I was so excited someone paid me $400.

Now my DIYs are $400. But I didn't start there.

Start where you're at and grow from there. Don't be one of those people who feels entitled to a $20,000 premium package just because you feel like it. You're setting yourself up for failure.

How You Show Up Matters Way More Than You Think

Premium clients are evaluating you. They're reading you like a book.

This is why I still get professional photos every three to four months, even though I don't dress in sparkly suits every day. I get them for my website, my branding guides, interviews, everything.

You need it.

You need your website up to date. If you don't have a website, what are you doing?

You need to ask for testimonials from everybody.

You need to have a brand. Not perfect. But a brand kit, brand awareness, brand visibility.

I update my brand just about every year. Little tweaks here and there.

You need to look the part.

This is the same as looking and feeling confident. If you do your hair, your makeup, dress nice, you're going to feel confident.

The same thing happens for premium clients being attracted to you when you show up and play the part.

Now, people who work with me know that sometimes I show up and look like a hobo. I live on a ranch. I have a bunch of kids. I'm not walking around in sparkly suits and cowboy hats 90% of the time.

But I do try to dress nice. I try to do my makeup. I try to do my hair. I try to look the part.

Even though sometimes I'm like, "This sucks."

But when I dress nice, I feel more confident and I attract the right type of people. Dress to impress.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes. But if you want to make money, you'll do the things you need to do to make the money.

Right now, as I'm recording this, I'm wearing yoga pants and a sweatshirt. But when I'm on camera recording videos, I have makeup on. I have my hair done. I try to look the part.

Because that helps build my professional brand. That helps attract premium clients. That helps people take me more seriously.

I know it sounds terrible, but how many people have you seen who look like a lazy scuzz bucket? And you're supposed to pay them how much when they can't even get out of their pajamas?

You are signaling that you run a serious business and give serious results.

If your business looks like a side hustle, if you treat it like a side hustle, if you talk about it like a side hustle, you're not going to attract premium clients.

You're going to attract people who are also side hustlers.

Invest in Yourself at the Level You Want to Charge

You need to invest in your business like you are a premium client.

The amount you invest in yourself, the amount you're able to expand your financial comfort zone, that's going to be the level of people who show up in your circle.

I work with women who want to charge big numbers. I ask, "Have you spent that much before?"

"Well, no."

"Do you feel comfortable talking about it?"

"Well, kinda. Yeah, I think so."

And they can't even pitch their product or service without flinching. Without cringing. They're not confident because they haven't even spent that much on themselves.

How much are you investing in you? Because that's a direct reflection of the type of people you attract.

Then you can walk them through the process.

"Yes, I've been there. I know what it's like to spend $5,000. I know exactly what you're feeling writing in credit card information for a $1,000 purchase. I know what you're going through having to spend $25,000 and put it on three different payments. I know the objections you're going through. I can walk you through it."

Really good salespeople have been there and done that. They believe in their product or service so much they've invested in their product or similar products.

They know exactly every thought, every feeling, every step that person needs to take so they can walk them through it.

You can't believe how many salespeople I've talked to in insurance, real estate, consulting, coaching, and they're like, "Well, no, I've never actually done it myself."

Are you kidding me? Why would you sell something you've never done yourself?

That'd be like working at a Ford dealership and saying, "Yeah, but I drive a Chevy."

Get out of here.

The Bottom Line

If you want to attract premium clients:

Premium messaging. Be a specialist, not a general practitioner.

Premium pricing. Price signals value. Too low repels premium buyers.

Premium presence. Show up like you run a serious business with serious results.

You can't charge $10K when everything about you screams $500.

Position yourself as the authority you are. Clean up your messaging. Clean up your pricing. Clean up your positioning.

Ready to position yourself as a premium brand and attract clients who pay accordingly? Book a CEO strategy session and let's clean up your messaging, pricing, and positioning so you can finally be seen as the authority you are.

Listen to the full episode: Sales Mama Podcast on Apple Podcasts

Connect with me:

• Instagram: @salesmamaschool
• Instagram: @sausha.davis

Sausha Davis is the founder of Sales Mama School, helping women entrepreneurs scale through premium positioning and authentic sales strategies. She's closed over $15 million in high-ticket sales.