Signs You're Massively Underpriced: The Quick Diagnostic
Business coach with 90% close rate finally learns that “everyone says yes” means you’re leaving money on the table
Yes Without Pushback Isn’t Proof You’re Priced Right
Your close rate is 90%. Maybe higher. Almost every prospect you talk to becomes a client.
You never get price objections. People agree to your rates without hesitation. No negotiation. No pushback.
You tell yourself this means you’ve found the sweet spot. Your pricing is perfect. You’re great at sales.
Here’s the truth nobody told you: If everyone says yes, you’re charging too little.
Over 55% of service providers with close rates above 80% are significantly underpriced—leaving 30-50% of potential revenue on the table. The ones making real money understand something counterintuitive: price resistance is information, and zero resistance means you’re too cheap.
What You Think Is Wrong vs What’s Actually Wrong
What you think: High close rate means perfect pricing, strong sales skills, clients recognize value.
What’s actually wrong: A high close rate means underpriced. You’re not closing deals—you’re giving discounts disguised as full price.
Here’s what’s happening: A 90% close rate isn’t a sign of sales mastery. It’s a clinical diagnosis of underpricing.
Petra’s a business coach. $48K/year. She closes 9 out of 10 prospects. Never gets price objections. People say yes immediately, often before she finishes explaining her offer.
She thought this meant she was doing everything right. Found her ideal clients. Nailed her positioning. Built real value.
What she couldn’t see: Price resistance is a signal, not a problem. When clients accept your rates without any pushback, they’re telling you they would have paid significantly more.
Think about it: When was the last time you bought something and thought, “that’s way too cheap, let me offer more”? Never. You paid the asking price and felt like you got a deal.
That’s what your clients are experiencing. Every single one.
The optimal close rate for premium services is 50-70%. Not 90%. Half your prospects should walk away because you’re too expensive for them. That’s not failure—that’s correct market positioning.
If nobody flinches at your price, you’re not charging what you’re worth. You’re charging what makes people comfortable saying yes.
The Reframe That Changes Everything
“If clients accept your rates without pushback, you’re undercharging. Price resistance is information—zero resistance means you’re too cheap.”
Stop celebrating a 90% close rate. Start targeting 60%.
Do This Today (The Immediate Fix)
You don’t need to analyze your value proposition. You need to test what the market will actually pay.
Step 1: Calculate your close rate over the last 10 proposals
Pull your last 10 prospects. How many became clients?
9-10 yes: Severely underpriced (50%+ money left on the Table)
7-8 yes: Significantly underpriced (30-40% money left on the Table)
5-6 yes: Correctly priced (optimal range)
3-4 yes: Possibly overpriced OR wrong prospects
0-2 yes: Definitely overpriced OR positioning problem
Most service providers who ask this question land in the 8-10 range. That’s not a sales victory—it’s a pricing problem.
Step 2: If the close rate is above 70%, you’re underpriced
This isn’t subjective. It’s math.
A 90% close rate means 9 out of 10 prospects could afford you. That’s not premium positioning—that’s commodity positioning.
Premium services have selectivity. When you’re priced correctly, roughly half your prospects self-select out because you’re too expensive. The half that stay become your best clients—they value results over price.
Step 3: Raise rates 25% on your next proposal and observe
Not 10%. Not 15%. Add 25% to your current rate.
Current rate: $_
New test rate: $_ × 1.25 = $_
Quote this to your very next prospect. Don’t announce it. Don’t explain it. Just quote it.
What you’re testing:
Do they say yes immediately? (You’re still underpriced—go higher next time)
Do they pause, think, ask questions? (Good—you’re in the right zone)
Do they negotiate? (Also good—shows you’re at market ceiling)
Do they walk away? (Data point—not failure)
One proposal won’t tell you everything. But it starts to calibrate your pricing to reality instead of comfort.
The goal isn’t to close this prospect at any cost. The goal is to find the price point where you hear “I need to think about it” or “that’s higher than I expected”—because that’s where real revenue lives.
The 7-Day Protocol (Complete Solution)
Day 1: Audit the close rate over the last 20 proposals
Go back 6-12 months. Count every proposal sent.
Total proposals sent: _
Total accepted: _
lose rate: (Accepted ÷ Total) × 100 = _%
If you don’t have 20 proposals, use whatever data you have. Even 5-10 proposals reveal patterns.
Key insight: If your close rate exceeds 75%, you’re probably underpriced. The math doesn’t lie.
Day 2: Calculate what a 50% close rate pricing would be
This is reverse engineering from the optimal close rate.
If you need to cut your close rate from 90% to 60%, you need to approximately double your pricing to achieve proper market filtering.
Current rate: $_
Target rate for 50-60% close rate: $_ × 2 = $_
This feels absurd. That’s the point. You’re currently so far below market ceiling that doubling sounds impossible. But check competitor pricing in your space—you’ll likely find you’re not even at market average yet.
Day 3: Analyze client quality at current pricing
List your last 10 clients. For each, rate:
Ease of working together (1-10):
8-10: Dream clients (low maintenance, clear communication, trust your expertise)
5-7: Average clients (some back-and-forth, occasional scope issues)
1-4: Difficult clients (constant revisions, question everything, high maintenance)
Results achieved (1-10):
8-10: Exceptional outcomes (clear transformation, they’re thrilled)
5-7: Good outcomes (satisfied, got what they paid for)
1-4: Mediocre outcomes (underwhelmed, minimal impact)
Pattern check: Do your difficult clients cluster at the bottom of both scores?
Low prices attract difficult clients. They’re price-shopping, not value-seeking. They hired you because you were affordable, not because you were the best solution. That creates entitled behavior and mediocre results.
Day 4: Identify your 3 best clients ever
Who were your favorite 3 clients to work with? The ones where:
They trusted your expertise
They implemented your advice
They got exceptional results
You’d work with 10 more just like them
Now ask: Did price matter to them? Or did they choose you for results, expertise, or fit?
Almost always: Your best clients weren’t price-sensitive. They paid your rate without negotiation because the price wasn’t their primary concern.
That’s who your NEW pricing should target. Not everyone. Just more of them.
Day 5: Create new pricing targeting a 50-60% close rate
Take your current rate. Apply this formula based on your close rate:
90%+ close rate → Multiply by 2.0
80-89% close rate → Multiply by 1.75
70-79% close rate → Multiply by 1.5
- Current rate: $___
- Close rate: ___ %
- Multiplier: ___
- New rate: $___ Example:
Petra charges $4,000 per client
Close rate is 90%
New rate: $4,000 × 2.0 = $8,000
Sounds crazy? Check what established coaches in her space charge: $8,000-$15,000. She wasn’t overpricing at $8,000—she was finally entering the correct market tier.
Day 6: Test new pricing on next prospect
Someone inquires. You quote the new rate. No caveats. No apologies.
“For this type of engagement, I work at $_ for [deliverable/timeframe].”
Then stop talking. Let them respond.
Three possible outcomes:
They say yes immediately: You’re still underpriced. The next prospect gets another 20% increase.
They pause, ask questions, think about it: Perfect. You’re in the right zone. Price is now a consideration, not a non-issue.
They say it’s too expensive: Also perfect. You just filtered out a price-sensitive prospect. They were never going to be a great client anyway.
Track their response. This is market research—real data from real prospects about real pricing.
Day 7: Evaluate response and adjust
After one proposal at the new pricing, you have a data point. Not a conclusion—a data point.
If they said yes easily: Raise another 20% for the next prospect.
If they negotiated but closed at 90% of asking: You found your ceiling. Stay here.
If they walked away: Don’t drop price yet. Send 2-3 more proposals at this rate. If all walk, adjust down 15% and test again.
The goal isn’t closing every deal. The goal is finding the price where you close the RIGHT deals with the RIGHT clients who value what you deliver.
Go Deeper: The Complete Framework
This solves the immediate problem—identifying underpricing and testing the market ceiling.
But if you want the complete system for restructuring offers, pricing tiers, and value positioning to capture premium rates while delivering extraordinary outcomes:
The Revenue Multiplier shows you how to double your earnings without working more. You’ll learn exactly why hourly rates cap your income, the three pricing models that scale past $100K/year, and how to package your work so clients pay for outcomes, not hours—positioning you where price becomes secondary to results.
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