Make Sure Your Price is Right

Welcome to the eighty-fifth edition of “In-Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.

Story of the Week: "Make Sure Your Price is Right"

Last week, a friend of mine – who works in the same industry as me – was approached to deliver a keynote speech at a major conference in the USA. He confidently proposed a fee of $8,000.

After some time had passed and he had still not received a response from the conference organizers, he shared his thoughts with me and I encouraged him to reach out to them again. After all, he had nothing to lose and, perhaps, everything to gain.

Before contacting the organizers for a second time, he reviewed his original proposal and, to his astonishment, discovered that, due to a typing error, he had inadvertently inflated his price to $80,000! He immediately called them to rectify the error but, before he was able to explain what had happened, they told him that they were interested in hiring him for the conference but deemed his price to be “a bit too high”!

As you can imagine, my friend’s self-belief and confidence were immediately reinforced by the organizers’ confirmation of what they perceived his true worth on the highly competitive international stage to be.

Probably one of the most difficult parts of running any business is deciding how much to charge for your services. If they are seen as too high, potential clients may be discouraged, while if you ask for too little, they may think that you are unable to deliver the standard they require.

Additionally, it’s important to find out what your competitors are providing and at what price. Knowing the answers will, of course, help you decide what you should charge but what is more important is knowing what differentiates you from others (i.e. your skills, reputation and perceived value) and your confidence in your own worth.

If you believe in yourself and the value you can give your clients, you must persist until others are persuaded that, when it comes to your unique services, your asking price is always right.

Words of Wisdom

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

Warren Buffet

A Question to Ponder, dear friend.

“Have you ever experienced a setback that ultimately led to a positive outcome? I’d love to hear your story.”

Hit reply and let me know.