she almost lied to me
She had the higher number. She almost sent the lower one anyway.
A couple weeks ago, a client of mine almost lied to me.
While we were sitting in the same room. (Bold strategy. I respect it.)
We'd just walked through the process together and worked out a new number for her proposal. A higher one.
Then it came time to send it. I was right there, still talking with her.
And she almost typed the old, lower number back in. (With me sitting RIGHT there. The guy who'd just helped her land on the new one.)
She didn't. She sent the number she wasn't comfortable with. The HIGHER number.
Then, right after she hit send, she confessed how close she'd come.
And guess what? They said yes!
So why am I telling you this?
Because your new number is going to feel a little wrong when you first see it too. Like a number a different kind of creative would charge, for a different kind of business.
You type it into the proposal and your stomach drops.
You hold it up next to what you charged last year, and it looks ridiculous. Like a typo. Like somebody leaned on the zero key.
So you round it down. Just this once. Just for this client.
(Narrator voice: it was not just this once.)
(I know, my friend. I've done a double take on price more times than I want to admit.)
But you can't compare the two.
Her old number was priced against the video. Her new one is priced against an outcome. They're not the same thing, so they can't be compared on price.
Stop comparing your new price to your old one. One pays for the thing you make. The other pays for what it does for them.
And honestly? That should take some pressure off. The new number isn't you getting greedy. You're not Scrooge McDuck diving into a pool of gold coins. You're finally pricing the right thing.
So before you send yours, practice saying that number out loud.
Get in front of a mirror, get in the shower, get in your car, whatever you need to do to be by yourself. And say it. Pinky to the corner of your mouth is optional.
Why? Because most of the time we sound unsure about a price because we've never actually said it. And if WE don't sound comfortable with it, how will the client feel comfortable saying yes to it?
Hit reply and tell me. What's the number you've been scared to send? (I promise I won't flinch.)
Jonathan "say it in the shower" Ray
PS. My vote's the shower. Great acoustics, and nobody can see you flinch.
