April 9, 2015, Dr. Bill Dyment, Co-Author of Fire Your Excuses
It was a pleasant fall Vegas afternoon as I emerged from the cab in front of the Bellagio Hotel, the sun was still bright and blinding in the November sky. I was exuberant. Professionally, I felt like I had finally arrived. I had been chosen to deliver an all-day session for a Fortune 500 company at a 5-star hotel. It would be an event to remember. Not only were the seminars a success and the audience engaging, I was treated like royalty complete with lavish dinners, a show and a great room overlooking the famous lake and fountains.
Just one bubbly but honest comment from the organizer gave me pause: “We were delighted to learn your price was only X, in truth we would have paid double!” I am so glad that I enjoyed all the extras, because the truth was, in a very real sense, I had paid for my 5-star room, dinners and the great show!
I wish I could say that I instantly began “right-pricing” my speaking and consulting services, but a decade later I am better at it than ever. Equal parts “nice guy” and, at times, a second-guesser of my market worth, in the past, I have been an easy mark for better negotiators.
If you have your own business, sell a product or service on the side, or recently asked for a raise or interviewed for a new job, you may be able to relate to capitulating on your price or salary in the face of hard bargainers or sad stories of budget woes and personal finances. The good news is, I am confident that applying some of principles and strategies below can put hundreds, even thousands more in your pocket and add to the financial security of your family.
Underpriced is undervalued
Tweet ThisSome years back, in an effort to make my consultation services more affordable to all, I priced my services at the lower end of my profession. Feeling a bit self-righteous about it, I was shocked to her one client say; “We interviewed several firms for our project. It came down to you and another group who charges considerably more. Since we had to choose, we figured they had to be more experienced to command and get their fees, so unfortunately, we have decided to go with them.” Wow! What an instant, albeit painful, education!