Would you buy what you’re selling for the price you’re selling it for?
One of our readers just let us know she’s grappling with this dilemma: “My biggest challenge is believing in myself. I have trouble asking for the sale, because I personally wouldn’t be able to afford my [own work]. I can’t get my head around the fact that my prospective customers can afford it. I feel out of integrity when I ask what my galleries want me to ask.”
Well hot-diggedy-dog! That *is* a conundrum. (Especially if it got me to say “hot diggedy-dog.” You’re lucky, I could’ve said “Great Jumping Jehosaphat!” with equal verve.)
If your reflexive answer to whether you’d buy is “No,” “Maybe,” or “Uh… let me think about it,” perhaps this is a piece of why others aren’t buying either.
Time to Drop Your Prices Like A Rock
Well hold on a second. Sure, that’s the impulse, but let’s look a little more closely before you commit financial suicide.
Two things come to my heart about pricing in this situation. The first is that the price is not about you. And the second is that the price is only about you.
First: The Price is Not About You
One of the biggest shifts participants in our courses make is from how they see and understand the world to how their clients are seeing and understanding the world. That’s when their marketing becomes most effective, when they speak and write from the perspective, viewpoint, and language of the client.
The price is a part of that language. You may consider dinner out to be an extravagance, and your client may have a personal chef. If you price to make yourself comfortable, you’re speaking in your language, not theirs.
If you price too low, you won’t be communicating with your clients. They won’t know what to do with it, they won’t respond, because it just won’t make sense. They literally won’t believe that you can deliver what they want if the price is too low.
Here’s an example: You walk into a store looking for a desk for your office. Beautiful mahogany monument of a desk. A desk that could launch ships. Price tag: $25. First thought: “What’s wrong? Was this stolen? Is something broken? Was it produced by slave labor?”
The price *literally* doesn’t make sense. You’ll get the same response from your clients if you charge too little. They won’t understand what you’re saying and will take a LOT more convincing.
Strange, but true. A too-low price can make it harder to connect. But there’s an even more important factor in all of this.
Second: The Price is Only About You
You’ve probably spent years learning and mastering your craft. And when you do what you do, it just flows out of you like the God-given talent it is, yet directed, formed and perfected by your experience and learning.
You love it. When you’re in flow, you can barely believe you get to do this as *work*! You, and what you provide, has become a vehicle of help from the Divine to your client. Your business is the access point, everything that comes through is a gift of Divine support to your client.
Well, guess what? That goes two ways. Your client has been blessed with whatever provision they have. The same way your client needs and wants what you offer, you need and want what they can offer in return–the moolah. And what they give to you, the money and the appreciation, is from the same Source.
That’s right, fair’s fair. If you get to be a Divine vehicle, they do, too. You get to ask for, and receive, your resonant price, which is the price the Divine has set for you in your heart in this situation. (Note: I’ve written about the Wackiness of Resonant Pricing.)
The Divine delivers it through your client simply because the money is not going to rain from the sky.
Why won’t the money rain down? The point of this existence is not to make money. The point is to know Love and connection, and by both being a vehicle for Divine help, and receiving Divine help through other people, we learn about love, and we heal deeply.
Money is Not Special
Because survival fears get wrapped up in whether or not money is available, you can fall into giving money and pricing a lofty position of power over you, with you cowering below. Don’t let that happen. Money is just another feature on the physical landscape of the world. Respect and love money as you would love any manifestation of Source, but don’t cower before it.
Deliver what you deliver with a full heart. And receive what is right to receive with a grateful heart. And allow your business to be nourished by the joy of profitability.
Can you afford the prices you charge? How do you handle your pricing gremlins?
18 Responses
When I was doing custom web design I charged way more than I would ever pay for a website design. But that’s largely because if I needed a website designed, I’d do it myself. If what you are offering is a service, there’s no reason to expect that you would pay for that same service – especially since you have likely been doing it for yourself for free for a long time anyway.
Think of a waitress working at an expensive restaurant. Maybe she would never eat there herself, but it’s not unethical to be tipped well for doing a great job serving. The question is if your work is good and providing the value that you are charging for your clients.
I think it’s important to charge what feels right for you, but I also think it’s important to keep pushing that edge upwards. And play with numbers.
I started out charging $20 an hour (!) because I didn’t feel comfortable charging any more than that. Then my first paying client gave me a “bonus” — I could see she felt bad that she had paid me so little for the work I had done her. That really opened my eyes. She was *clearly* valuing my work more than I was.
At that point I began a steady increase in my prices. I always made sure I felt internally comfortable with them, but I kept pushing that comfort level up gradually until I was at industry standards, and then at “high end” for my niche.
But I also got feedback all along the way that my work was valued by my clients. When your clients give you positive feedback, really listen. It’s worth it to *them*. That’s what matters. And pay attention if they give you feedback on experiences they’ve had with other people, if they are “refugee” clients. I would often get clients who said that their other webmaster just disappeared, or finished half of it and quit. In this world, just being a trustworthy, competent, honest person who genuinely cares about the service they offer is worth a LOT.
My first client? I charged her $200. Several years later she came back for another website. I explained that I was charging more industry standard prices now and that I would charge her $1000 for the site (it was very similar in scope to the original one). She said absolutely and of course. And her niece had me do one too with similar price/scope. She didn’t come back because I was cheap. She came back because she valued what I offered.
When I think about my clients, I don’t think about how I wouldn’t pay that much for a website. I recognize that this is true, and I felt very grateful that my clients are willing to pay me. But I also think about how well I guided them in a field that they knew little about. I think about who else is out there in my field/niche, that they might have ended up with. I think about how they trust me and I live up to that trust. I think about all the things they don’t have to think about because I am on top of them.
So utltimately I think that yeah, I am lucky they want to pay me. But they are also lucky to have found me because I can do just exactly what they need and look out for them.
And being a business owner myself, and having looked for help on various things – it’s hard finding good people. There’s a lot of searching and risk. So I know what an asset I am to my clients. All of that goes into a feeling that yeah, I’m worth that.
The other thing is that I have been a cheapskate in my life and tried to get away with paying less for something and ended up paying more in time or money. People who are willing to pay for quality often have already been through this lesson. I actually would look to my clients who were willing to spend money on their website and I would think, “I need to learn this. I need to learn how to invest money in my business like this.”
Emma McCreary
I almost didn’t read this post. I started, but found myself distracted. I think what really happened is I was uncomfortable on some level, talking about valuing myself and my services. Sometimes it’s hard to convince yourself you’re worth the money, then you wonder why people aren’t thanking you for what you do . . . maybe because those are the type of people you attract when you don’t value yourself.
Terry Heath
@Emma- Good for you, Emma! You’ve had quite a journey with it all, and I appreciate how you described it so thoroughly. Some great experience you share here with us.
@Terry- I hear you… this kind of discomfort hits me, too, and I’m glad you stuck around for it. Anything I can support you with around your own pricing and services since you did stick it out? You deserve a reward for pushing through the discomfort. 🙂
Excellent article! I love how it is written in that it could apply to basically anything that has a price, web design, craft, copywriting. BTW – someone tweeted this…
Keith
Since I have been reading your articles I found myself consciously zoning in on my client’s conversations about money; and I began noticing comments about being able to afford different types of services… I became acutely aware that when “they wanted” something, the idea of purchasing an item or service was never beyond their reach, but when they did not want that something the item or service became unaffordable. Internally I smiled and thought hummmm…. individuals really do have money for what they want…. and it’s not as price sensitive as I originally thought. Your articles are great Mark because they go right to the heart of what many of us experience, but don’t talk about…. You’re unabashed discussions of subjects such as money and value are so important and create a bond of deep connection for me with others who choose to serve the greater good. Thanks again!
@Keith- I’m so glad you liked it so much, and yes, the spiritual principles are universal and can apply to many different things. Love those spiritual principles…
@Joan- Aha! You have seen through the veil of “affordability!” I’m glad you pierced through that- very exciting, and what a big step forward in dealing with your own pricing, eh? It was a big step for me, at least, when I saw that.
I think a more important question is – can you sub contract the WORK TO BE DONE at the price you’re charging?
I spent YEARS building my business – and after about 5 years got to the point where I had so much work, I needed to hire help. The problem – I couldn’t hire ANYONE to do what I was doing for the price I was charging – let alone find someone who was willing to provide all I did for how little I charged.
So when you’re wondering about how to price your services – ask yourself if you could sub-contract out the project and still break even.
Kathy | Virtual Impax
@Kathy- I trust you, Kathy, to take the conversation to the next place. This is a wonderful question, and I love it.
We’ve had some success in starting trainers out at “introductory prices”– but that’s because we’re not doing work “for” clients- but “with” clients- the healing/consulting work we’re doing isn’t the same as providing a deliverable like a website, or some other “thing.”
How did you figure it out, Kathy? What works for you?
Great article.
If you can’t convince yourself that you are worth the money you’re charging, how will you convince potential clients?
At a time when many prospective clients are bemoaning the recession (read, trying to haggle down before they’ve even heard your rates), it’s great to read an article like this. Just as how you value yourself influences the type of people who come into your life, what you charge influences the type of clients you attract. We simply need to be reminded every now and then.
@Mr Uku- glad you liked it! And, I would caution against trying to “convince yourself.” Sometimes that just doesn’t work. But, it’s true, if you don’t arrive at some peace with your prices, how will it work?
@Betty- I know, I need the reminders, too. We’re all of us human, ain’t we?
This was such a helpful article! I’ve always struggled with what to charge and being comfortable with my prices so thank you for this!
@Corinne- I’m so glad it was so helpful! And, thanks for coming by- I feel some kinship with you, since I spent years in EMS, from 1986 through 2001. First as an EMT- volunteer and paid in different positions, then the final eight years as a paramedic.
Thanks for doing the work you’re doing! It was time for me to move on, but part of me still misses it.
Many years ago, I was told by a business mentor of mine the golden rule of pricing.
“The price is whatever it is worth to the client.”
It was in reference to a project I was bidding for. I had identified it was a critical project, but was concerned I had over priced it.
I learned a golden rule on that project.
I lost out because I was “too cheap”, and the project was so critical, the prospect put higher value on it and went for a more expensive option.
Freelance writing is likely to be no different.
Karl Rohde
It’s so true, Karl. If a price is “too low” then questions can arise around quality, and people can be suspicious.
Neither too high nor too low. Just right.
Mark, Thank You for your work here. As an aspiring writer, thinking about price is something I’ve worried a little about. Reading Your article has brought up some very good points for me, and helped me to see that I AM worth a whole lot more than I’ve lead myself to believe I’ve been worth in the past.
Keep doing what You do brother. I too would like to use the gifts that my creator has bestowed upon me to enlighten the masses.
I’ve given myself the title of “EMPOWERMENT COACH” now I just need to live up to that, and empower those in search of IT. Thanks again my friend.
Sincerely Damien Balderrama
@Damien- You are so welcome. Price can be such an issue for all of us, I’m glad what I wrote resonated with you! 🙂
Before you get too attached to “empowerment coach”, you may be interested in this one: Don’t Spend Ten Years Avoiding Who-Who-What Not that you shouldn’t hold that as an internal title, just in support of your business, read that article.
I’m glad to hear about writers charging what we’re worth, what we need, etc., and people willing to pay it. But who are all these people on job sites who want to pay less than $10 an hour to writers, and writers jumping all over each other to get the jobs? — Baffled