It happened with me too at the beginning of my career when I was trying to sell some futuristic automation products to corporation at a price which I then thought was astronomically high. Much the same way, Chris Gardener would have felt trying to sell bone density scanners in the movie Pursuit of Happyness, at the end of most days I also would feel doggedly dejected. Till one day I realized that price was a mere perception. It was an indicator of the perceived worth of the product or service. And if there was mismatch between this perceived worth and the indicator, in most cases the indicator being higher than the perception, price was considered to be high.
How would the buyer be made to perceive the true worth? Obviously, by the seller making it known. A little soul searching led me to quickly understand that the worth I was making the prospective customer known was colored by my own perception of the worth of the product I was selling. And this perception, in turn, was colored my own self-worth or lack of it.
This was a revelation of sorts. I was projecting my own self-worth on to the product. And the customer, being no fool was getting to see it. The bigger revelation was that as soon as I became aware of it - and so acute was the realization that I will always be aware and watchful of it - this unconscious transference of worth vanished. I was still coping with my low self worth as an individual yet as a professional, in my role, I could with exactitude, communicate the value proposition pretty well, creating in the prospective customer a desire to own.
Much later, in early 2000, when I started my own consulting practice, I was faced with this challenge to set my own price. This time i was alert and aware. Because the market conditions due to recession were not very conducive I kept my person day rate low. But mind you, I would always say that this is s specially discounted price to suit your affordability. My rack rates were never compromised.
Only y'day i was sharing with my partner how for a facilitating a management intervention recently my rates, which by industry standards are considered to be premium, got accepted without the customer batting an eyelid. And I know it's going to be this way only. even if I am doing something pro bono, I never fail to mention what is the rate chargeable for my services.
So next time, before you want to state that the price is way to high for what you are selling, look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what is my own worth to myself? Do I value myself for what I am? Do I love myself? Do I demonstrate it in my day to day action? And if not, do I carry my perceived worthlessness in my awareness, being watchful of not projecting it on to the product or solution I am selling or worse still on to the customer, who might also be struggling with her own worthlessness?
There is nothing called a right price. The price at which you buy your own product or solution, honestly, is the price at which you can easily make the other buy. And if you can manage to raise your self worth, you can imagine what good you would be doing to what you are selling and the business. The 'how' of it will fall in place once you have bought into the 'how much', inside out.
Those who want to work with and raise their self worth may reachme@indroneil.com.
