0 days since "You're too expensive"

This past week I was told I was too expensive.

Not once.

Not twice.

Three times.

And to be honest, I am totally ok with it (hell, it makes for good content), simply because I'm confident in the price I provide and not willing to be available for less.

Lemme break 'em down so you can nibble on the popcorn

Client A, runs a HR business in the states and wanted someone to create a brand for her business. She needed help with messaging, theming, and positioning given she was trying to stand out in what she said was a crowded space. In addition, she wanted to have a sales page built BUT said she was "happy to be taught how to DIY to keep costs down" 🚩

On the call she was pretty all over the place to be honest. I could see needed a decent amount of work and was going to be a challenge to keep happy. She also used the words "budget" and "keep costs down" multiple times, so I got brave and called it out:

She then backtracked and tried to scramble, but I had already decided I wasn't a good fit and could see she wasn't going to say yes to my prices.

Client B had a presentation she needed turned around quick-smart for a session she was running on the other side of the weekend. She shared her screen to walk me through her slide deck that was basically done (it wasn't), and she wanted her final page to have a QR code that collected emails on a landing page with Convertkit, which she also needed me to build.

During the call, I asked about what her overall plan was, what was the enticement of someone scanning the code and signing up, and whether she had considered the next steps. I could see there was potential for so much more, but quoted what was asked.

She then started telling me how much less her last designer would have done it for, to which I responded "That's fine, but these are my prices, not theirs." After that, the call ended pretty quickly, and I wasn't at all surprised.

I got a message from her the next day saying she had gone with someone cheaper (specifically) and would keep me in mind for future. I'm not holding my breath.

Client C was a referral on from a current client who sings my praises (and rightly so 💁🏻‍♀️). He's been brought on as an account manager and wanted me to quote on a sales doc that was X amount of pages, sells the business in place of our poorly created website (his words were shite) and brings in a whole heap of new work.

I asked about budgets on the call, to which they skirted around, and they mentioned they wanted the working files for future edits. It was when I gave the price direct that we actually got somewhere...

That last line took him aback. He said he really wanted to work with us, but my prices were "cost-prohibitive". Buddy, that sounds like a you problem, especially when this doc is supposed to help you hit 6 figure targets...

Being expensive isn't a crime.

It isn't hurting anyone.

It's simply deciding that you are worth more because you aren't available for less.

I get that the gut feel is every client out there is trying to get the most possible for the least amount of dollars and anyone who dares to be expensive is never going to make it.

Then why am I on track for a $25k month from freelance work...

Let this this be a reminder to you that being expensive is an option for you, because the right clients will pay plenty for your genius if you solve the right problems, deliver on the value you promise and are ready at the right times.

But you can't be if you're filling your capacity with crap clients like this.

Price high so you can actually overdeliver the way you want to for those willing to pay the price.

Thank me later.