What are you worth?

I met with a prospective client a few weeks ago and after the meeting I sent him a follow up email to recap the meeting and tell him what I thought he needed to help expand his brand and grow his business.  He agreed with every thing I wrote and asked me to put the proposal together.  I then asked the question that makes or breaks some deals…

What is your budget?

He had a great response… he asked me to compile past proposals that were similar to his needs, so he could determine a budget.  I worked on it feverishly for a couple of days, but didn’t send it over right away, because I was scared of his reaction when he saw the price.  Now I am confident that my work is worth the price I was suggesting, but I really wanted this clients business.  I had no idea of his budget and did not want to lose the chance to work with him, but in order for me to give him the services he needs I had to charge him this fee.

There have been times that I charged clients much less than the services were worth in order to get the business only to find out later that they would have paid my fee, so I made the conscience decision to start charging what I am worth.  If I discount for this person and he refers me to a friend or colleague, I have set the bar so low that I may have to stick with it.

Although there are times you have to give a special client a break do not make it the norm and settle for less than you are worth, it is not going to help you in the long run.

Be Blessed
A. Mayartis J.