Afraid to Charge More? Try This...
Afraid of charging more for your branding services?
Check out what happened when Cortney charged a price that she thought would likely get her a “no” and what she learned in the process:
“Well…In the spirit of learning (and messing up) out loud…here I go.
This morning I hopped on a Sales call for a $20k brand strategy project. I sat through 40 minutes of feeling like I wasn’t saying the right things or offering clarity to the client. I felt like we were speaking different languages. I was talking about emotional connections and threads. He was talking about ROI, UX, and analytics.
As Jessica put it, I was battling my insecurities and trying to facilitate a conversation at the same time. I was asking big questions and getting computed answers.
What’s worse is that one of the business partners didn’t show. Neither of us knew he wasn’t attending until 5 minutes after the meeting started. His partner chose to go without him, but I felt like I was missing something only speaking with one of the two business partners.
During the conversation, I didn’t feel like either one of us was getting what we needed. I didn’t speak up. I just let the awkward continue. Even when I tried to mirror what he was saying and clarify what I heard, it didn’t seem to resonate in the same way for him.
Nearing the end of the conversation is when I made the biggest mistake of all. He asked me to send him 3 tiered pricing. Gold, silver, and bronze he called it. I agreed. I agreed knowing I don’t have tiers. I don’t even know what the tiers would be if I wanted to have them. I left the conversation lacking clarity, feeling disappointed, and looking at a handful of red flags. I was blaming myself for everything that didn’t feel like it went “right”.
It was a referral so I felt like I was disappointing the person who referred me too.
The story doesn’t end there.
I don’t know where it ends because it hasn’t yet. I think it’s important to talk about things as we go through them. I know that every situation is an opportunity to learn and grow. I’m grateful for this call whether or not it leads to a good project. It was an uncomfortable call that made me feel imperfect and even exposed.
The cool part of this story is the very beginning. I asked for $20k for brand strategy (including identity design). I asked for TWENTY K and didn’t get a door slammed in my face.
I asked myself what number is likely to get me a no...and asked for that number. It got me a meeting, not a no. That’s a HUGE win. Even though I’m feeling a little discouraged right now, I’m equally proud for doing something that old me would have NEVER...EVER done.”
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When asked what she would do differently next time, she replied:
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“I think it comes down to two things:
I would ask for help. This felt like a big meeting for me to walk into alone. For me, it was a big ask and going in, I was feeling more on edge than usual. It would have been a lot more enjoyable to ask a fellow strategist to join me in the meeting. Even if nothing had changed, it would have been so nice to have some friendly moral support.
I would have spoken up. A simple “Does that sound good to you?”, “Is anything still unclear?”, “I’m not feeling crystal clear about X, can you elaborate?” etc little questions the MOMENT they creep up. I would rather say it out loud than try to silently untangle it in my head.
One thing I can say for sure is that you will grow from whatever experience you have. Taking action is the hardest part. When I feel like I just had a big fail, I think of the story I can share with this group! If we all do that, we can mess up and learn together.”
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I hope Cortney’s story encouraged you!
Melinda
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