Why People Aren’t Paying You - Yet

Your car charger IS NOT WORKING!

And the battery on your phone is at 4%!

It’s all RED up there in the corner, and panic’s settling into your brain.

Even though for YEARS you drove around without any phone because that shit was something you’d only seen available on THE JETSONS?!

But now you & your space phone are in a committed relationship, the only downside being its lifespan is essentially the same as a gnat’s.

You’re hurtling down the highway, sweating out a 4% battery. How will you post on Instagram when you get to your next stop? What about those texts you won’t be able to respond to immediately if THIS BATTERY DIES!

And - for realz tho - what if you get into an accident & need to make an emergency call?

Wait! There’s a gas station with a convenience store! You know they sell those cheap car chargers there - usually. Do you really want to stop?

You think about what that car charger will mean:

 Peace of mind. Access to the world. Ease.

 It’s worth it, right?

Even if you get in there & that car charger costs $20 - and you know you’ve seen these things go for $7.99 in a normal store - this is not a normal store in a normal situation.

This is a 4% situation!

So you spend almost 3x what you’d normally spend because this is WORTH IT TO YOU.

You buy that shit because it’s valuable in that moment. You understand what it’s WORTH.

You understand the cost of NOT buying it!

THIS is the thing many entrepreneurs lose sight of when considering pricing themselves and the value they bring. 

We like to think, “I’ve got loads of certifications and trainings and education, so people are gonna pay me BIG time for the shit I know.” 

NOPE.

That’s not how it works.

People don’t pay for your certifications. Trainings. Degrees. 

They don’t pay for WHAT YOU KNOW. 

That’s NOT why you can charge what you want.

People pay for the RESULTS you get them.

Think of it this way: your clients are the phone and you are the charger. They pay when their pain point is SO BIG that they’re willing to invest to get the problem solved.

Be prepared: I'm going to repeat myself again because it’s my theme this month!

People pay for TRANSFORMATION. Not INFORMATION.

Until you understand that difference, you’re going to struggle with how to price & value your offers.

Let’s explore how to price yourself. How to know what you’re worth - and to become aware of what you’re worth to WHOM!

As a sweeping generalization, I’ll say that most women I work with undervalue themselves.

That’s why they keep paying for more & more trainings. Their false belief is that “The more training I have, the more valuable I am.”

And the more valuable you are, the more you can charge.

But they’re asking the wrong question.

Instead of asking, What do I need to learn?,  entrepreneurs need to ask, “What results do I get for my clients?”

They need to ask, What makes me special? HOW do I get results for my clients?

I’d like to share this moment from about 14 years ago that transformed how I valued myself.

I was a high school teacher for 6 years at the time. I’d just gotten a new job at a new high school and was fairly intimidated.

My colleagues were INCREDIBLY smart & accomplished. I thought my new department chair was a brilliant visionary.

And all that year, I sat in meeting after meeting where we GOT NOTHING DONE.

These people - brilliant as they were - just flung ideas around. Everything was “What if we tried THIS”? Or “Oohhhh, wouldn’t THAT be incredible.”

Meetings came to an end with an entire white board filled with ideas - that would never be implemented. 

By the end of that school year, I had HAD ENOUGH. I was frustrated and annoyed that we never  - in my concrete & sequential mind - ACCOMPLISHED any of it! 

So, in the middle of a full-day planning meeting, I got up to the white board and started putting all their alike ideas together. I silently just moved ideas around, showing them how their ideas worked TOGETHER - how they were linked and built on each other.

They weren’t even paying attention to me. They were busy throwing ideas around, giddy in creation mode!

Then they looked up & noticed the sequencing. They saw how if one idea was brought to life, the rest of their ideas could happen.

Mind you: I was terrified. Who was I to be up there? I was a NEWBIE! I didn’t have their visionary brilliance. I’m a mere worker bee. I’m a mere do-er.

And frankly, my friends, a do-er was exactly what they needed.

They couldn’t see how their ideas actually formed a cohesive plan until I got up there & color-coded that shit for them in a sequential, clear way.

Still afraid of their judgment, I watched my department chair examine what I’d done.

He looked at me, mightily impressed, and nodded. “Well!” He said. “You are exactly what we needed in this department!”

And it was the FIRST time in my life I felt seen for my do-er talents. I’d always hung out among a sea of visionaries and had felt ‘less than’ forever.

In that moment, I realized I had value because I made THEIR brains BETTER. I made THEIR IDEAS come to life.

Maybe I couldn’t get paid more because - hello I was a teacher & no one had any say over that shit - but I sure knew I was valuable as HELL.

Which meant I could jockey which classes I wanted to teach. Which sections I got. Which professional development I was allowed to do.

I could be compensated in that way because they knew I was WORTH IT.

What’s the transformation YOU get for people?

Where’s one area you already KNOW YOUR VALUE?

In other words: HOW do you make your clients’ lives BETTER for them?

(psst…it’s not arrogant to know this. You may feel like you’re bragging if you answer. I assure you – confidence & arrogance are worlds apart.)

This example will help:

Maybe you’re an incredible interior designer. You have expansive skills that your potential clients lack. Because of your brilliance, you KNOW you’ll save them time & money. You’ll help them avoid mistakes.

They don’t know the cost of NOT hiring you.

Sigh. So they’re not ready to hire you because they don’t see your WORTH - yet.

They just don’t what they’re about to endure.

They’re willing to waste HOURS of time researching colors and textures - when you could save them all of that because you know what works.

And you’ve got relationships with local tradespeople and sales people that will save them both time & money - especially when they hire that guy who’s notorious for not showing up & leaving a mess.

They don’t know that they’re planning to move a load-bearing wall to make room for that steam shower they’re dreaming of. And that’s bad news.

They don’t know that the wallpaper they chose won’t stand up to the steam and will start to mold soon.

BUT THEY DON’T KNOW THAT!

So, in the words of George Costanza - it’s not you, it’s them.

These are not your people.

But there are people OUT THERE who WANT TO WORK WITH YOU.

They might not be ready.

They’re scared. DON’T TRUST THAT ANYone  WILL really HELP>

Telling themselves they can’t afford it.

It’s SCARY to jump.

This is a STORY they have right now.

My potential clients have it. YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS HAVE IT.

• Clients who decide to create their OWN FITNESS PROGRAM – rather than hire you, Coach.
• Or look for FREE ONLINE LEGAL TEMPLATES – rather than hire you, Counselor.

EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW they need their hands held to get it done for realz! Without wasting time & money & energy.

Even though you’ll make their lives easier & BETTER – saving them time & getting RESULTS FASTER & QUICKER!

So, I hope by now you have an idea of the value you bring - to your job, your home, your relationships, your business.

And your job is to share that value. Show your worth.

And price yourself accordingly.

Keep showing up for them. Until they can see the worth. (and remember, some never will. It’s not your job to save everyone.)

Stop thinking you need to “make yourself more valuable”.

Find the people who VALUE what you offer.

You’ve gotta show HOW you make their life better. Why they need you.

To go back to the beginning of this blog, when you’re hurtling down the highway with a phone about to die:

Who are your people at 4% battery life? FIND THOSE PEOPLE.

They’ll think you’re worth every single cent because they KNOW you provide something they cannot provide for themselves.

Go get ‘em!

And you can start by downloading my free checklist that will help you grow your business! Be sure to click the link below to start now!