In my original 8 Steps book I wrote of how entrepreneurs underprice their services due to deep-seated, psychological fears of such things as rejection or perceived hubris. It's just human nature to want people to say "yes" rather than "no" to our offerings and the perception is that these alternative answers have a direct correlation to price. (Even though they often do not.)

But how much we charge is not the only area of potential concern. There is also the issue of how we charge, that is, what exactly we charge for.

This can quickly get complicated and lead to such existential strategic planning questions as "What business are you in?" but for now, let me give you a recent example from my own business and then bring it back around to you.

Over the past few years, I have developed what I refer to as a "course" entitled The Path: A Course in Prosperity. I call it a course because based on my former days of teaching University of Texas students, I realized it would take a full semester of lectures, slides, and exercises to convey the information contained in the 400-page (text) book.

Over the past eight years, I have held 16 major conferences for interior designer. And while the thousands who have come through those doors sounds like a large number, it is but a tiny fraction of all designers and decorators in the country. Part of that is due to the relatively high price point of these events.

So, one concept I wanted to test (a test, by definition means that you are not sure of the results) was a means to get the valuable information in the Path to more designers at a lower price point.

One alternative was to use The Business School (my online archive of instructional materials) and to create video tutorials for each segment of The Path. Students could go through at their own pace, join others who were at their same stage through forums, and ask me questions online. In other words, a fairly typical online course experience. Assuming about a 12 week completion on average, few potential students would blink at a price of $500 to $1,000—still substantially less than my national events.

As on a college campus, the course could get off to a faster start if students attended a live orientation of either a day or half-day.

So this is exactly what I tested recently in three Texas cities, limiting attendance to about a dozen designers in each. I made the statement in each seminar that this was a part of a course, and that they had all been given a trial membership in The Business School where they could truly master The Path over the weeks and months ahead.

Their registration information in the brochure explicitly stipulated that "the course" included a free trial in The Business School, after which they would be charged $47 a month, IF they chose to remain a member. They could quit anytime and were always guaranteed 100% of their money back if they were not satisfied.

Attending the seminar was $297 (versus a typical price of $1,995 for my national events) and assuming three months to finish The Path online (one of them free) their total costs for the course would have been $297 + $47 + $47 or $391.

I wonder what interior designer in America wouldn't think $391 was worth a full day live and in person, and three months of more than 30 video tutorials, a workbook, a 400-page text book (not available anywhere else) forums, etc. A year ago, I would have placed a minimum price on this (perhaps with a Webinar or two thrown in) of $3,500.

I won't bore you with the details of what came next, but first there were some delays in getting The Business School updated and there was a bug in our billing system that caused an invoice to be sent to attendees prior to getting a reminder letter from me about the fact they had also signed up for the online resources.

No one was charged, nor were they going to be. This was the free trial and gave me a month to remind them again and again before anyone was actually charged.

So, did huge value at no charge matter?

Not to everyone. A hate-email came flying in. I did not have permission to bill their card. (Yes, I did.) How dare I! What a scam business I was running. So this is how I take advantage of designers? All I want is their money! All I did was "sell" The Business School during the seminar.

The next e-mail I received was, "Great! I can't wait to get online."

Unfortunately, as politicians have taught us with negative advertising, it is the negative feedback that sticks. The human psyche screams out, "Don't ever try that again!" "Don't take risks!" "Stick to the tried and true!"

"Whatever you do, don't risk ANY angry clients!"

But if you never risk an angry client, you will find yourself in a stagnant, then atrophying, business model. Clients change. Technology changes. Markets and trends change. There may be a better way to price, or a different way to bundle your offerings, but if you fear to even test, fear the angry client, then you will be the one stuck in the past.

So for me, does that mean I abandon this test? Of course not. It means I learn from it and there are things to learn:
    •    The brochure should have focused on the entirety of the course, not just the 1-day seminar
    •    I should have made that clearer in front of the group
    •    The Business School should not have been automatically started when they registered, but encouraged as an option before they left
    •    The price could be bundled: $297 for just the seminar, or $391 with the online follow-through and perhaps access only to The Path rather than all of the courses of The Business School. Then continue with The Business School at your option.

Some consultants think that true success in business is as simple as a feedback loop. Test >> Correct >> Test Again.

Notice that's two "tests," so if you're too squeamish to try even one, you'll pull back, you'll become timid, and three years from now, your business will look almost exactly like it does today, only slightly atrophied.